Money

We all need it. We all want more of it. It consumes most our thoughts whether we have a lot or a little. Even Jesus spoke of money in nearly half of all his parables. One in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions — more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.

Why such an emphasis on money and possessions? There is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money.

It was Martin Luther who said, "There are three conversions a person needs to experience: The conversion of the head, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the pocketbook."

Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I truly believe we will never be truly free or experience God's blessing until we are obedient to God's call to give. Living an open-handed generous life is very freeing. Whether you call it a "tithe" or "giving" or "generosity" it's the same idea. Unfortunately when some people want to argue about the "tithe" not being a New Testament requirement it's just to justify their lack of obedience to God's word.

Let's not live in bondage to fear when it comes to money. Trust God with a portion of what He has given us the ability to earn!


I recently taught at Mercy Church on the subject of money, here are the cliff notes:

WHEN IT COMES TO OUR MONEY...

1) Our HOPE should be in God.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 


2) Being GENEROUS shows our gratitude.

2 Corinthians 9:11 “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”


3) You will be BLESSED when you give.

Acts 20:35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'."


4) WEALTH comes from God.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.


5) Giving is a matter of the HEART.

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


6) GIVING helps us keep things in proper perspective.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

I am always open to questions and feedback ... thank you!

Trust Overcomes Stress

One of the things that we all face is stress! Financial stress, family stress, relational stress … ugh! Sometimes it can almost be overwhelming. Have you ever felt stressed? Have you ever had that sinking feeling that made you wonder, “Are we going to make it?” Are you dealing with those feelings now?

These feelings plague us all; I hope it is of some comfort to know that you are not alone! I know, I know, sometimes that is no comfort, but if you apply it correctly it is. Here is what I mean; God is with us in those darkest moments of stress! We are not alone!

I believe that biggest and most important key to overcoming stress is trust! Total and complete trust! I know one of the biggest stressors for most of us is financial stress. It was strange for me to find this true for even the wealthiest friends I talked to. They even claim having more financial stress as they have more to be worried about. More people counting on them, depending on them and their wealth to care for so many people. So how does “trust” help us overcome “stress”? I find it here in my favorite scripture of all time …

Proverbs 3:1-10 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[a] 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

It’s right there, v. 5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart …” v.6 “in all your ways submit to Him …” and one way we TRUST the Lord is to v.9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth …” many people hold tight to what they have and don’t even trust a portion of it to the Lord.

Now I am not talking about giving God what you might give a homeless person on the street corner, but really honoring God with a portion of your wealth. Many debate this, but I see the Bible teaching the principle of giving a tenth (tithe – 10%) to your local church (the community that you benefit from). Some interpret it different, but there is no interpretation that teaches stinginess. The Bible clearly teaches generosity!

One way I measure this in my own heart is by asking myself several questions, like, "If what I give to God was to be made public, would I be embarrassed about it?” I mean, “ … in proportion to what I earn do I feel good about what I give to God through my local church?” Another question I consider is, "if everyone in my church community gave like I did, how well would it be funded, if at all?" Not always an easy question, but again if we truly want to Trust and Honor God, then we must ask ourselves these questions. The last one I ask, because I enjoy coffee is, “Do I spend more at Starbucks each month, than I give to my local church?” Ouch! I wouldn't feel good about coming to the end of a year and having spent $500 on coffee, and only contributing $250 to my church.

Challenge: Trust God with your finances! Begin supporting the church community that you are a part of and that you find meaning from and in; contribute. Start where you can with what you can this Sunday, and I promise you will be so thrilled you did. And not only that, but when you begin to give to your church it will actually increase the love you have for the church you attend! I know at the church I pastor those who give are the ones who not only seem to be the happiest members, but the most interested in seeing it do well and fulfill God's purpose. Giving shows your love and gratitude.

Abundance

First I want to make it very clear - I am not a "prosperity preacher!" God and wealth do not necessarily go hand in hand, nor does evil and poverty. I know wealthy people who are evil, and I know God fearing people who are also wealthy. I also know God fearing people who are poor as well as evil people. There is nothing wrong with being broke, except the obvious part of it ... it stinks, I've been there! And there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, unless your wealth has you rather then you having it! Having wealth gives you opportunity to do many great things! Do it.

All that said, I do believe that God wants to take care of His people and there is nothing wrong with asking God to give you more than enough, especially when you use it for His purposes. Often we pray for God to bless me and mine, when a better prayer would be to ask God to bless you so that you could be a blessing to others.

God knows our motives for wanting more, we can't trick Him, so be sincere ... but I dare ya to ask God for extra and commit to giving that extra away to help others.

We should all cultivate an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mentality. Be generous!

The Resource Challenge

Here I sit preparing for messages in 2008, some in October of this year and looking into the future of Olathe Life Fellowship and I am hit with the reality of the Resource Challenge we face as a "church for the un-churched". Because as a "church for the un-churched" we are almost more of a Mission Organization, than a normal church.

• The un-churched typically do not understand giving or the concept of tithing to your local church.



• The un-churched typically don't trust "religous organizations" because of what they have seen from Religous TV personalities who seem to always talk, beg, steal and manipulate people to give their hard-earned money to them so that, "God can bless them in return".

So, this my friends is a challenge we face. How to over-come, or "take on" if you will, this Resource Challenge is my question.

Here are the facts:

1.) It takes money to operate an organization!

2.) God "commands" us to give! (I like the word "encourage" better, but "commands" is more biblical.

3.) God talks more about money then just about any other subject in the Bible.

4.) Giving to your local church, IS in fact GIVING to God. (We (the church) are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world; so when we give to our local church we are actually giving to God because we are giving to God's work, or God's purposes here on earth.)

5.) We are blessed when we give! (This is hard to understand, even for me (a churched guy). As I have said many times before, God can do more with the 90% then we can do with the whole 100%, so give God a chance by giving Him 10% first... and just see how far the 90% goes!)

6.) We've always done well financially and we've given 10% and as much as 20% for 13 years! And we've never gone hungry, or had to walk anywhere we didn't want to, and we've been able to give 3 cars away in the meantime.

7.) Giving to God (through the local church) your first 10% of all your increase shows where God is on your priority list.

I once heard it said, "If you want to know what is important to people... look at their checkbook registry". Wow, that is true; where people spend their money shows their heart, their commitment, and their priority!

Peace for now!

- Timmy