Unattached

Source: holytrinity.com

Through the years, I have blogged about the ways I am downsizing and simplifying my life.

I've simplified my skin-care and cleaning routines.

I've recently downsized my closet and taken on the Project 333 wardrobe challenge.

But I've wrestled a bit with broadcasting this change of lifestyle on my blog for a few reasons...

First, I would never want to mislead you, dear reader, into thinking that owning less helps one attain some *higher* level of righteousness or intrinsically become a better person.

Secondly, I would never want to encourage you to place undue burdens on your life or be legalistic with the stuff that you own.

To be sure, decreasing the number of items in my closet and spending less money on cleaning supplies does NOT make me more righteous in God's sight or a better person.

However, I have found that this lifestyle shift has brought me closer to God and more ready to obey Him, and that's what I'd like to discuss on today's post.

I've been working to sort this out in my head for awhile now: How does owning less draw me closer to God if it in no way affects my right-standing with Him?

This came into better focus for me the other day when I was reading a passage from Kelly Minter's All Things New bible study on 2 Corinthians.  She was analyzing Paul's discussion of our earthly bodies being tents--temporary dwelling places that pale to the glory they will have when they become incorruptible, heavenly bodies (see 2 Cor 5).  Kelly then referred to a passage in Hebrews which describes Abraham's faith (see Hebrews 11) and she wrote:

"Tents aren't that complicated to set up or tear down and they're temporary in nature.  Abraham and his family were longing for the permanent dwelling place they knew the Lord had promised to them.  In the meantime, they were going to keep things as simple, flexible, and unattached as possible." --p. 73 (emphasis mine)

Those words just lept off the page for me:

Simple.
Flexible.
Unattached.

Yes, THAT is what the Lord has been challenging me with, dear friend!

It is not to strive to own a pre-determined (and arbitrary!) number of possessions.

It is not to glory in the fact that I have an uncluttered home or can pack light.

Instead, it is to be better available to do His will.

As I am flexible and unattached to my material possessions (realizing that He owns it all anyways!), I can be deliriously generous with all that I am entrusted with here on Earth by Him.

So I wanted to reach out to you, sweet friend, and set the record straight.

You and I do not attain our righteousness by owning less or simplifying our lifestyles.  However, owning less can free us to become more willing and available to be obedient to God's call on our lives, so we can better love and serve Him in innumerable ways.

Oh, I hope that we would listen closely to His call to obey Him in ALL areas of our lives, dear friend!  And may we both go forth in obedience and trust Him...with it all...and through it all!

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You Can't Afford Not To

Source: hiveminer.com

About a year or so ago, I shared a blog series on the subject of tithing.

While I only received positive words about it, I am sure in reality, it had a more mixed reception.  After all, who wants to discuss money, especially giving it away--isn't that one of the forbidden conversation topics (besides politics and religion) in our culture?

But I must just state--and restate--that God stands by His word and blesses those who step out in faith and tithe.

I have a few examples of this to share with you today on the blog, dear friend.

First, I was grinning ear-to-ear when a father in our church stood up and gave a testimony regarding tithing this week in our church.

He shared that while he and his family would put a few dollars in the offering plate each Sunday, they had never committed to tithing until last year.  He went on to share that in a year's time, their family finances have completely turned around.  Instead of living pay check to pay check, as they had for years before, they were scheduled to close on their NEW HOUSE this week.  What am amazing testimony to God's faithfulness to His word in Malachi 3:10:

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."  

I, too, can look back over the past year and see how God has blessed my family in a myriad of ways.  Like how we just "happened" to win an office door prize valued at over $150 this Christmas.  Or how we just "happened" to be selected to receive 5 tickets to the Maryland Science Center from our local library through their summer reading program.  Just last week, while on vacation, we were handed a meal voucher from the table next to us that covered 6 meals, including gratuity and tax, saving us over $70!  We had to just marvel when we walked out of the restaurant after our meal, thanking God as a family for His very good, very unexpected, and very undeserved gifts!

Now, don't misunderstand me--I do not believe that God always financially blesses those who tithe--He blesses us in all kinds of different ways.  But let us not misunderstand either--the statistics stand for those who are skeptical:

 tithers ARE financially better off than non-tithers

I will link to a few articles for those who want to learn more, but here's a few stats that come up from a very simple Google search from reliable sources:

Tithers carry much less debt than most people and are financially better off than Christian non-tithers—80% of “tithers” have no unpaid credit card bills; 74% have no car payments; 48% own their home; and 28% are completely debt-free.

Of course, folks will skew this data to say that those who tithe do so BECAUSE they can afford to.  I know otherwise, as a tither myself.

I am so excited to cheer on some of our extended family members who have chosen the path of obedience and started to tithe a tenth of their income starting just last month in March. Will you join them, dear friend?  May we cheer each other on as we step out in faith and give a mere portion of what is already God's.

Let my message be clear today, dear friend.

           You cannot afford NOT to tithe!

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Forfeiting God's Grace

Source: pinterest.com

Whew!  It has been quite a whirlwind of blog posts about money, giving, and tithing, hasn't it, dear friend?!

If you missed it, here's a quick recap:

• We talked about the surprising interconnection between our hearts and money here.
• We talked about how giving becomes easier when we understand that God owns it all here.
• We talked about tithing--what it is, and why God encourages us to test Him with it here.
• We talked about how to stop robbing God and step out in faith with our money here.
• We talked about taking the next step in the lifelong journey of giving here.

I'd venture to guess that during this blog series on giving, you might have felt uncomfortable with the subject matter.

In fact, you might have even felt lectured to.

If you've hung in this long, you might even have even wondered, why do you care about this so much, Risa?

That's a great question!

I am not your pastor, pleading with you to give money towards the church's capital campaign.

I am probably not your fellow churchgoer, who might directly benefit from your giving more to our church's programming and expanding our office staff.

As we have discussed before, giving and tithing is God's idea.  It's aim is not to line the pockets of the church and make our stay here on Earth more comfortable.

Instead, God teaches us to give for many other reasons.

God's money can be used to further His kingdom here on Earth, as it allows the gospel to advance across the globe.  God can also use our generosity to save our souls from the evils of the love of money (see 1 Timothy 6:10).

Dear friend, please understand: my aim in encouraging you to tithe and be generous with your money is because I do NOT want you to forfeit a grace that could be yours through giving.

Jonah talked about this truth from the belly of a whale:

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."  Jonah 2:8

Some translations offer the word "mercy" instead of "grace."  Either way you translate the Hebrew into English, God's word is crystal-clear.  If you cling to any idol (and it doesn't have to be money!) you forfeit the grace and mercy that could be yours.

Tell me friend, is it worth it?

Is hanging on to God's money worth forfeiting untold riches of His mercy and grace, joy, and peace in your life?

THAT is why I care to tell you the truth about this subject, dear friend!

I am NOT a sage on a stage, but a guide on the side, encouraging you as I, too, step out in faith alongside you!  God has taught me and my family about the blessing of tithing, and continues to stretch my faith to give more sacrificially and joyfully.  And we must always remember that giving isn't limited to our money!  It involves our money, time, and talent--ALL the things God has blessed us with, even our weaknesses.

I know you--and I--NEED to hear this message.  Never before have I bawled my eyes out after posting on this blog, and with hands lifted high, asked God to tear down strongholds.  Never before have I felt pushback from friends and relatives alike, and never before have I been so encouraged to keep on writing from others.  This subject is a raging battlefield, and it is a war involving our hearts, not merely our bank accounts!

Pastor and author David Platt goes so far as to say that money is the modern-day church's blind spot, and he draws the parallel to slavery in our country, which was overlooked by the American church for far too many centuries

"We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask, 'How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?'  I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in American today and ask, 'How could they live in such big houses?  How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes?  How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn't have food and water?  How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn't even exist?'" --David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

Don't waste another day forfeiting the grace that could be yours if you walked in the obedience of giving, dear friend!

May you and yours be richly blessed by the giver of all good things as you step out in faith and obey Him today!

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Moving the Needle

Source: csmwire.com

Recently we've talked about bringing in the full tithe in response to the saving work God has done in our hearts.

We've also discussed how the alternative--failing to tithe--is robbing from God Himself.

So, by now, you might be ready to take the next step.

What should you do?  Where do you go from here?

For tithers and non-tithers alike, we are all on this same journey of faith when it comes to our money.  For non-tithers, the first step would be to commit to tithing regularly.  For those of us who do faithfully tithe, our next step would be to ask God how much more we can give.

Here's a great schematic of this giving journey, put out by my church leadership: (feel free to click on the picture to enlarge it and see it in greater detail)

Act 1.8 brochure, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church

Basically, there are five "pitstops" along this journey of giving.

The first is the Initial Investor.  This is a first-time giver, making the first step of faith to give and trust God and their church with their money.

Next is the Consistent Investor. This giver is someone who decides to give money on a regular, faithful basis.

The third stop is the Intentional Investor. This giver begins to ask whether they should be giving more to God than to the other things they are currently spending their time and money on.

Next is the Sacrificial Investor.  This giver begins to ask whether they are giving in a way that changes them as a person and effects their lifestyle.  This type of giving might require adjustments in the way they currently live and spend their time.

The last stop is the Lifetime Investor.  This giver is no longer asking God how much they should be giving, but rather how much they ought to be keeping!

Hopefully you will be able to easily pinpoint where you are on this Investment Index.

If you are a first time tither, you would be starting out as the "Initial Investor." This is a HUGE first step, my friend!!  I liken it to running training: the hardest race to train for is the 5K when you are just getting off the couch.  I know this from experience!  When I trained for my 10K, I found that it was much easier to work up to running 6 miles from 3 miles, compared to running 3 miles from just half a mile!

If you are already a faithful tither, how about praying to move along the path towards an "Intentional Investor," one that is prayerfully considering how to give more, over and above the tithe to their local church?

Let's say you do intentionally give, perhaps 14, 16, or even 18% of your income.  How about asking God to enable you to give more sacrificially, so that it might effect the way you live?

"God prospers you not to raise your standard of living, but to raise your standard of giving."  Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle

Finally, the last step on our financial journey is the "Lifetime Investor."  This just makes me so excited--and scared--all at the same time!  This investor no longer asks God, "How much should I give?" but instead dares to ask God, "How much should I keep?"

Yowzers!

Now imagine what God could do with a cheerful and generous giver like that?!

So where are you on this faith journey with your time, talent, and treasure, dear friend?  What would the Lord have you give this year?  Better yet, what would God have you keep?

I trust God will show each one of us the next step we need to make on this exciting journey of faith, as He changes our hearts to obey Him as He uses us to grow and expand His kingdom!  May we prove to be faithful with the resources He has given us to steward, because, as we've discussed before, He already owns it all!

May you be blessed, dear friend 😊

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A Mark of Salvation

Source: hmcoaching.co.uk

We've talked about the interesting connection between our hearts and our money before.

But what if I took it a step further and was so bold to assert that giving is an outward sign of our salvation?

Oh I am glad I don't have to go out on a limb to say that, dear one, because Jesus already has!

Let's take a look at a familiar Bible story to us all--the story of Zacchaeus.  Yeah, you know the one about a wee little guy up in a sycamore tree.  (Is that Vacation Bible School song starting up in the recesses of your brain, like it is for me?...)

"Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.'"   Luke 19:1-7

So, here we have Zacchaeus, a despised and sinful tax collector, who wants to meet Jesus, so much so that he climbs up a tree to catch a glimpse of Him when He passes by.  Jesus stops and takes notice of him and says that he must stay at his house.  This creates some controversy in the crowd because Jesus wants to stay at the home of a sinful tax collector.

But then the story continues, and we see Zacchaeus declare Jesus as his Lord:

"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.' Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'" Luke 19:8-10

And how is Zacchaeus' salvation manifested?  In giving back money he stole from people and making restitution by paying them back four times the amount he owed them.

And what is Jesus' response to this?

He declares: "Today salvation has come to this house."

A person with a repentant and obedient heart, that is serving God as Lord over their entire lives, will necessarily be generous with their money.

Deep-down we know this.

We know an Ebeneezer Scrooge could not possibly love God!  If he said that he did, we'd know he was a liar.  We know that a thief and a cheat could not possibly love God.  For why would he not respect God's law and mistreat others?

So why then, as Christians, do we feel like we can say we are true believers when we steal from God and rob Him of His tithe?

Why does the church's giving statistics look this abysmal?

Are we being truly honest with ourselves?

Will you take some time out today to pray over your soul, dear one?  Will you pray over your fiances and your heart, and will you be obedient to repent over any sin the Lord reveals to you in this area?  If you are faithful to tithe, will you pray about where God would lead you to give more?  Would you ask Him to free up more time, talent, and treasure to give to others in need?

Oh, I am right there with you, dear friend!  Every single one of us can give more and do more out of sheer worship to our great and loving God!

I pray God would do a work in ALL of our hearts and we seek to honor Him with our lives, mouths, hearts, and checkbooks!  He wants our whole heart!  May we seek to glorify Him in all we do and in how we give, as His born-again children today!

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Robbing God

As we've discussed before, current giving statistics for the American church are abysmal.  A sizable portion of church-goers do not give any money to their church, and the majority of those who do give only give approximately 3% of their income, far below the biblical minimum of the tithe.

So what do we make of that?

More importantly, what does God make of that?

Well, fortunately for us, He tells us clearly in His Word.  We have looked at Malachi 3:10 before, so today, let's focus on the verses which precede this passage:

"Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.  'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty.  But you ask, 'How are we to return?'  'Will a mere mortal rob God?'  yet you rob me.  But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?' 'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--your whole nation--because you are robbing me.'"  Malachi 3:7-9, emphasis mine 

Ouch.

God actually accuses the people who fail to tithe of "robbing him."

In fact, the people are in disbelief and denial at God's choice of words.  "How are we robbing you?" they ask.  "In tithes and offerings," God replies.

And as a result, these people--and their whole nation--are under a curse.

Remember our discussion about blessings and tithing?

This is no joke, friends!

So, hopefully by now you have prayed about stepping out in obedience to tithing ten-percent of your income.  Perhaps you have pulled out your budget and crunched the numbers and had some doubts.  Hopefully we've addressed those doubts with some biblical truth here.  Now you're ready to start giving.  But you wonder: do I need to jump straight to tithing ten-percent, or can I just incrementally increase my giving to be tithing a few years from now?

Here's how Randy Alcorn, author of The Treasure Principle answers that excellent question:

"Some say, 'We'll take this gradually.  We're starting with 5 percent.' But that's like saying, 'I used to rob six convenience stores a year.  This year, by God's grace, I'm going to rob only three.'  The point is not to rob God less--it's not to rob God at all."

I asked my own pastor this question, too.  His response was a little gentler: if you chose to increase your giving incrementally, you ought to strive to reach ten-percent as quickly as possible.

So do you see, dear friend?  Do you understand that if you are not tithing, you are counted among the thieves that rob God Almighty?  This God who loves you, who saves you, and who alone is worthy of ALL our hearts and souls?

Will you take a step of obedience to start tithing today, dear friend?  Will you turn away from robbing God and walk in the freedom and joy of giving the full tithe to your church?

Oh, I so hope that you do!  There are so many graces and blessings that await you!  We will talk about that in some blog posts to come.

For now, take in this somber warning, and take action today.

I can't wait to see what God will do in and through you as you obey Him with your tithe!

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The Math that Doesn't Make Sense

Source: providr.com

I'll be honest--tithing doesn't make any mathematical sense.

You give away money, only to have the money you need.

I mean, doesn't giving away money necessarily result in having less money?  I mean, that is kindergarten mathematics!

Sally has ten lollipops.  She gives away one.  How many lollipops does Sally have now?  The mathematically correct answer is 9, of course.

But not in God's economy, dear friend!!

I'd argue that Sally will have eleven lollipops after she gives away one.

How does this happen, you might ask?!

Well, I'd like to argue that it happens through a number of ways.

When we give, God changes our heart.  We talked about this money-heart interconnection in last week's blog post here.

Because our heart changes, our desires change.  Suddenly, when Sally finds she has nine lollipops, she actually feels like she has eleven.  Through the new heart God has created in Sally, she suddenly finds that she has enough--not just enough, but more than enough.  She is strangely satisfied.  She finds herself content with her nine lollipops--even joyful I'd say--so much so that she feels like she really has eleven!  In fact, she finds herself eager to share more.  She wants to share so much, that she might even have to be told to stop sharing! (This is actually a biblical truth--see for yourself--check out how Moses had to tell the Israelites to STOP giving toward the building of the Tabernacle, or how Paul related the story about the Macedonian believers who were actually BEGGING Paul to allow them to continue giving beyond their means!  See Exodus 36 and 2 Corinthians 8, respectively)

Another way that Sally ends up with eleven lollipops, after starting with ten and giving away one, is that it is a biblical truth that you cannot out give God.  As we've discussed before, God actually owns all of Sally's lollipops and every single lollipop in the world currently, every lollipop that ever existed in the past, and every future lollipop awaiting to be made!

Soooo....because God owns every lollipop that has ever existed, He may choose to bless Sally with another lollipop or two.

Now, ask any regular giver and we can all tell you story after story about how we gave, and God turned around and blessed us in return.  God takes care of His people, folks!  Such a story happened in my life just last week.  The kids and I listed a few toys online on our neighborhood yard sale Facebook page.  We were selling one particular lot of toys for $10 and a neighbor of ours was the first to inquire about it and wanted to buy it.  We marked it as "sold" and walked it over to her house that day, free of charge. (I didn't want to charge her money, and she is a single-mother to boot!)  Well, the same day my son was biking around the neighborhood and found something crumpled up on the grass.  He soon discovered that it was a ten-dollar bill!  He rode around and asked the only person that he saw whether or not he had dropped something (since we homeschool, the neighborhood is like a ghost-town during the school hours!).  He assured him that he had not, and so my son came home and told me all about it.  After making sure we exhausted all possible ways to recover the lost money to the owner, I finally felt satisfied that it was ours to "steward."  It was around the dinner table that night that we pieced together the events of the day: God saw fit to foot the bill for our friend who wanted to buy the toys!  We honored God by giving something away to be kind to a neighbor, and He honored us by paying us the exact amount of money we would have received.  This should never surprise us, really: God owns it all, right?  But what a great lesson for us to discuss around the dinner table that evening, to increase our faith and joy in giving as a family!

Source: faithandpeanutbutter.wordpress.com

Tithing ten-percent of your income can be a scary first step when you sit down with your budget and crunch the numbers.  The math will never make sense.  However, I can tell you, from personal experience and through the truths of Scripture, that God will bless you as you faithfully give to Him.  His blessings may not be financial--they may be the priceless riches of a contented and joyful heart!  Like we discussed before, test Him in this, dear friend!  You can never out give God--He will take care of you as His child, dear friend!

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts."  Malachi 3:10-12, emphasis mine

(For the answer to the mathematical puzzle pictured at top, check out this site!)

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Test Me In This

Source: devotionsfordisciples.com

Oh, how my kids just loooove to test me.  Even before they could talk, they seemed to enjoy stepping (or crawling, climbing, or scooting) over any boundry I placed, even the literal ones I secured (for their own safety, mind you!) at the top of the stairs.

Testing is really an undermining of an established authority.  In fact, we are taught in the Scriptures to never put God to the test.  Christ quoted this truth to Satan during His wilderness testing with temptation (see Deut 6:16, Luke 4:12).  However, there is ONE place in the Bible where testing God is not only allowed, but even encouraged.

The only time we are called to test God is with the practice of tithing:

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."  Malachi 3:10, emphasis mine

So what exactly is tithing?

Tithing is giving ten-percent of your earnings and income to God.  It comes from a Hebrew word that literally means "a tenth."  Tithing is first mentioned in the Bible when Abraham gave one-tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem (see Gen 14:18-20).  It is mentioned many times thereafter in the Old Testament.

Some believers like to say that since the tithe is not explicitly commanded in the New Testament, it no longer applies to Christians today.  I find this argument ill-informed for several reasons.  For starters, when we see Jesus condemning the Pharisees who tithed, he was actually condemning their self-righteousness for tithing.  At another time, we see Jesus rebuke the Pharisees who tithed while neglecting mercy, justice, and compassion for others (see Luke 18:10-14, Matt 23:23).  It seems Jesus took tithing as a given; He spoke out against its misuse at the heart level.  When Jesus preached about matters of the law, He always seemed to "up the ante" of Old Testament law.  For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, He restated the Old Testament command "Do not murder" and expanded it to include being angry with a brother.  Similarly, while the Old Testament law forbade committing adultery, according to Jesus, one had already committed adultery with a woman if they had lusted after her in their heart (see Matt 5: 21-22, 27-29).  Far from negating the command to tithe, I strongly believe that the new covenant ushered in by Christ established it as the biblical minimum for giving!

Unfortunately, we live in an age where Christian giving is at an all-time low.  Interestingly, this is also the same era when we have unprecedented wealth as a nation and as a church.  It saddened me to recently learn that Christians today give less per capita than during the Great Depression.*  Here's some other eye-opening giving statistics taken from Relevant Magazine and HealthResearchFunding.org:

• Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of normal congregations
• Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income.
• 37% of people who attend church every week and identify themselves as Evangelical don't give any money to their church
• The average donation by adults who attend U.S. Protestant churches is about $17 a week
• If you make less than $20K annually, you're eight-times more likely to give more than someone who makes more than $75K

Source: sharefaith.com

Kind of discouraging, isn't it?  We are a vastly wealthy Christian nation that doesn't give.  Something is very wrong at the heart level with this, dear friend!!

But let me share with you another set of statistics.  In fact, multiple sources I found all agree on this:

Generous givers are better off financially than their non-tithing counterparts

Statistics show that tithers have less debt, fewer car payments, lower credit card bills, and owe less on their mortgages than non-tithers.  And before you jump to the conclusion that tithers just give because they have excess income, the data shows that tithers are distributed almost equally across all income brackets.**

"Tithers carry much less debt than most people and are financially better off than Christian non-tithers—80% of 'tithers' have no unpaid credit card bills; 74% have no car payments; 48% own their home; and 28% are completely debt-free."  Christianity Today

Now, I find this information especially interesting, given our verse from Malachi above: "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."

Tithe and be blessed.  God's word is crystal-clear on this point, dear friend.

Of the people with whom I have had the opportunity (or the courage!) to ask about tithing, many of them have said something to the effect that they can't afford to tithe.  My answer to them, and to you, dear reader, is that you cannot afford NOT to tithe!  The statistics above speak for themselves and underscore the truth of God's Word (as if it ever needs to be substantiated!).

So, let me close with a few simple questions:

Will you take some time out today to consider following the command to tithe, if you do not already do so?

For those of you who have the desire to tithe, but a spouse who is not yet on-board, will you endeavor to pray for them to see the truth and respond to God in obedience as a couple?

Do you want, more than anything, for God to "pour down blessings" on you "until there is no need?"

Will you trust God in this area, dear friend?

Will you test Him in this?

Oh, I hope that you will take the step to trust God and test Him!  Just you wait to see what He will do as you bring your full tithe to the church!

I can't wait to hear all about it  😊


*https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2015/12/facts-christians-tithing/
**http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2013/may/inside-look-at-church-attenders-who-tithe-most.html

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God Owns It All

Source: christianpf.com

My husband and I look back on 2009 as a watershed year for us, financially speaking.  We had been tithing our net income for five years (a practice for which I have my husband to thank, as this was a completely foreign concept to me when we married!).  But this particular year, we wrestled with a whole host of new questions for us.

Suddenly, we began asking God what He would have us to do with our money: What did He think of our finances? What was He calling us to do?

We learned a lot about God's view of our money that year--my husband, through a men's small group, and I, through reading books like David Platt's Radical and Randy Alcorn's The Treasure Principle.

We came to the conclusion that we ought to be tithing off our gross income, instead of net (after all, Uncle Sam looks at the whole amount, why shouldn't God?), and we also switched from giving "God" our tithe (which included church, but also missionaries, Christian non-profits, etc.) to giving the FULL tithe to church, then giving to all the other Christian organizations and missionaries over and above that.

But these were easy steps of obedience, looking back on things.

Easy that is, after we understood one very important biblical truth: Our money is not truly our own.

The Bible speaks to this all throughout its pages:

• "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine." (Psalm 50:10-11)
• "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1)
• "'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty."  (Haggai 2:8)

The Scriptures also speak to the fact that our ability to make money is a gift to us from God:

• "Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."  (Deuteronomy 8:18)
• "Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all." (1 Chronicles 29:12)

Basically, we own nothing, not even ourselves! "You are not your own; you were bought at a price." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

This was a huge paradigm shift for us!  Suddenly, my husband and I came to understand that instead of owning anything, we had instead been entrusted with everything that we have from God, the true owner. 

For the first time, we realized that we no longer owned our cars.  We no longer owned our clothes, our furniture, and our craft supplies (okay, that one was more my realization than his!).

Instead, God had entrusted us with His cars, clothes, furniture, and craft supplies to go and do and serve Him as He saw fit, as His managers.

In the book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn offers this truth in a concise statement he calls the Treasure Principle Key #1:

God owns everything.  I'm His money manager. 

And like with any manager, my job is to do what the OWNER wants to do with HIS resources.  I have no entitlement to it.  Instead, I serve to manage His belongings and work for His benefit, not mine.

Have you learned this truth, too, my friend? Do you understand the fact that everything is God's and we are merely His managers, and does this truth impact the way you view and spend "your" money?  Or do you think of your money--your income, house, car, and all your possessions--as yours, to do with what you please?  Will you take some time to pray about this biblical perspective?  I know for us, it was much easier to give in faith when we realized that it was not even our money in the first place!

We will talk more about tithing and giving in the next blog post.  For now, may the Lord infuse our spirits with this truth as we seek His will for our lives, as we seek to obediently manage His resources well!

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The Surprising Connection

Source: sheevaunmoran.com

There are some crazy links in the human body that my kids find fascinating.

For example, they think it's a riot when someone makes them laugh hard at the precise moment they are drinking, and water comes shooting out of their nose.

They also giggle whenever they hold their nose and try to carry on a normal conversation in their new-found, nasally voice.

My son is also intent upon trying to sneeze while keeping his eyes open--still can't be done!

Our bodies are weird like that, aren't they?!

Jesus spoke about a very interesting connection of our heart and soul, that is also mysterious, and cannot be appreciated without the help of His wisdom and insight.

One of those surprising interconnections is between our heart and our money.

Here's a verse you may be familiar with:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" --Matthew 6:21

I've read this verse a dozen or more times in my life, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally understood it.

You see, I had always interpreted this verse to mean that you will spend your money on what you desire and find important in your life. For example, if you really love paper-crafting like I do, you will spend your money on paper, stamps, inkpads, and craft supplies.  Or if you love to play tennis, you will spend your money on rackets, tennis outfits, and tennis shoes.

But this is not what this verse is saying; I had gotten it all backwards!

This verse is speaking to the fact that your heart will follow after the things you invest your money in.  Look at it again: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  In other words, your money, necessarily dictates where your passions, concerns, and delight will be.  And when we think about it, this makes perfect sense.  If you were to invest money in Krispy Kreme stock, you would begin to pay attention to how well the company was performing in the stock market on a regular (perhaps even daily) basis.  You might choose to eat Krispy Kreme donuts over Dunkin' Donuts, and you might suggest Krispy Kreme donuts if your boss asks you from where to stock the break room breakfast items.  See what happened here?  Did your money follow your heart, or did your heart follow your money?

Now, you might think that I am just splitting hairs--could this just be like the proverbial chicken-and-egg conundrum?  Does it really matter whether our money follows our heart, or our heart follows our money?

I'm here to suggest to you that yes, yes it does.

It makes a huge difference.

Let me tell you why.

What this means is that we must sometimes make financial decisions before our heart feels like it.  For example, we might need to invest our money in our church, a mission trip, or in a Christian charity before we really feel the joy of giving, or feel convinced it is even worthwhile or necessary.  But, once we do give our money in obedience to Christ, our heart will follow!  This is good news!  We will start to care about the people we reached out to help financially.  We will become more personally invested in our church and in our world at large.  We cannot wait until the feelings come, dear friend!  We must first act in obedience to how the Lord commands us to spend our money, and then the desire, joy, passion, and delight will follow.

Now, you might be wondering what the Bible says about money, and how God tells us to spend it.  Good question!  We will be talking more about that in the next several blog posts to come.  For now, let us marvel at this beautiful connection that our dear Lord spoke about during His Sermon on the Mount:

Our hearts necessarily follow our money.

What does this mean for you, dear one?  How will this transform your week?  Will it make you pause before you spend something online or write that next check?  Let us prayerfully consider where our money goes, and what our heart chases after as a result!

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My Twenty-Dollar Call to Obedience

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You know how I confided a few posts back that I have been forgetting my first love?  Well, one of those "worldly weeds" that have been choking out my faith and focus recently has been over-spending on myself.

Oh, it started out innocently enough--celebratory, really.  I had worked hard for several months trying to conquer a fear of mine, a phobia actually, and was making huge strides.  It was high time, back in June, to celebrate and splurge for that full-body, one-hour massage.

Nice.

Then in July, I treated myself to some--okay, a lot of--crafting supplies to fuel my long-time papercrafting and cardmaking hobby.  I hadn't splurged in that department for some time, I reasoned.

And then came a windfall of new clothes, purchased during a rare opportunity to shop in peace, sans kids, while they were away at summer camp.  Clothes are a need, right?!

Next came several Amazon shipments of good-quality books and journals for the kids and I (okay, mostly me) to enjoy as our school year began--I mean, as a homeschooling family, these are downright essential items, and don't I need to pursue my own "professional development"?!

And so, this month, I finally took the opportunity to sit down and try to get a better handle of why our family has continued to miss the mark of our budgeting goals.

And when I sat down with a calculator and added up all that I had spent on myself each month, and compared it to what I had budgeted to spend on myself each month, I regrettably came to a glaring reality:

I have twenty-bucks to spend on myself for the remainder of this calendar year.

Ugh.

And I'll be honest, much to my shame, this just feels like an impossibly pathetic amount.

I mean, my kids are accruing more money than that in their spending accounts, as they save their weekly allowances and tooth fairy money!  (In their defense, however, they are master savers! They earn approximately $3 per week, and $1 per tooth, and somehow, they have spending money amounts in the $20 to $30 dollar range...they must get that ability to save from their father!)

But ultimately, this issue goes beyond dollars and cents, does it not?

This is ultimately an issue of my heart.

And I realize that the situation I am in--this call to rein in my wants, to be self-controlled and faithful to this task of simple obedience--is hardly a sacrifice to the vast majority of people on this planet.  I mean, I live in a nice home, drive a nice car, have plenty of food and clothing, and all my needs are abundantly met.

And so, I take this theoretical twenty-dollar bill and lay it at the foot of the cross.  While my heart wants to pray for a fishes-and-loaves transformation, I know where my real need lies:

radical heart transformation

Now, I share all of this with you because perhaps you, like me, often over-indulge yourself with material things and you seek out comfort at all cost.  Perhaps you, like me, need to take some time to reevaluate--to assess the situation of your heart and home, budget, and time--and ultimately, to look deep down into your heart and repent.

Are you over-spending on material wants and pleasures, like me?  Consider a spending freeze, like Lisa Whittle discusses on this blog post.  Unlike my seemingly impossible task of spending only twenty bucks between now and the end of the year, she successfully went on a personal spending freeze for a year, and it changed her life(!!).

Will you hold me accountable on this journey, dear friend?  We can't do this obedience thing alone.  We need each other--to hold each other accountable and cheer one another on.  Fortunately, we are in good company, and God has provided a host of fellow brothers and sisters to walk this journey of faith together.  I am thankful for Lisa and her example, and I am thankful for the examples of my husband and children.

May we ALL answer the call of obedience, in the big and the small ways, right here, right now.  I am not so certain how my spending budget will turn out by the year's end, but this thing I know: while I feel weak and incapable, He is able!

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it!"  1 Thessalonians 5:24

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