Finances. Effort. Resources. Faith.

I can be a good steward, but my faith is not in stewardship. We should tithe, but our faith is not in the act of tithing. Our faith rests in God. I can put forth tremendous effort, but my faith is not in my effort. My faith is in the God who established these practices for our benefit. Our trust must remain in him solely, for His blessings toward us greatly exceed our investments of stewardship, tithing, and effort. How can we then elevate works as the reason we may prosper? We cannot. God is the one who both propels and anchors us. What do some of our forefathers say about how God sustains? I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread (Psalm 37:25). But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phillipians 4:19).

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Rejected Love Offerings

When you intentionally show the love of Christ and it gets thrown back in your face, it hurts, but how should you react? The bible has encouragement which we can choose to obey when we become discouraged while trying to minister to others. 1) Remember that ultimately God is our "boss" and it is him whom we work for. Our reward is in him. When people don't accept your labor of love God still does. (Colossians 3:23-24) 2) Keep loving! Don't let rejection harden your heart and cause you to freeze up. Continuing to love is challenging and it's natural to mistakenly put your guard up in order to protect your own heart. Resist. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10 NIV) 3) Don't forget that the love you give in his name has eternal value. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we ...

Are You Teachable?

Does your life feel like a never ending cycle? As seasons change and years roll by, we have to wonder whether or not we are advancing or moving forward. Are we maturing? The passing of time and age does not necessarily equal growth and advancement. To move forward we must be teachable. The book of Proverbs begs us to love wisdom and discipline. We have to welcome correction, and even appreciate rebuke. We should be open and sensitive to deepening convictions and then adapt to God’s latest personal instructions for our lives. We have to copy the Bereans and search the scriptures for our own deeper understanding when we hear a striking message. Moreso, we have to apply God's word and make adjustments along the way. Let's not be like a dog chasing its tail, with low standards of monotonous achievement. Scripture gives a more graphic depiction, saying some are like a dog returning to its own vomit (Proverbs 26:11). Don't part...

Walking and Followed

A couple of years ago I was followed when I took a walk at dusk in my own neighborhood. My neighbor who lives across the street diagonally from us saw me walk past his house on the sidewalk. He then got in his pick up truck and followed me around the neighborhood. He passed me a few times, turned around, and passed me again. I was listening to music and at first not thinking much of it. Eventually he even pulled up next to me as I’m walking, slowed down, and creeped nex t to me in his vehicle to match my walking pace. What was he doing? I’m not sure. My guess is that he was trying to get a closer look or on the phone giving the police a description of me. At this point I’m calling some one because I wasn’t sure if I was about to get snatched up. But yet because of the current events I did not run. I just looked straight ahead and kept walking. I was angry as well, thinking, “You are so-called trying to protect our neighborhood while you YOURSELF are behaving stalkerishly and scaring a...

YIELD: Pause. Assess. Proceed. Produce.

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