money

The following excerpt has been on my fridge for a while. But more than that it has been on my heart, and in my prayers, and hopefully lived out through my actions. Lord, let me give and give and give!!!

“Christ’s words were direct and profound: ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ …What we do with out money doesn’t lie. It is a bold statement to God of what we truly value.

But what we do with out money doesn’t simply indicate where our heart is. According to Jesus, it determines where our heart goes. This is an amazing and exciting truth. If I want my heart to be in one particular place and not in another, then I need to put my money in that place and not in the other.

I’ve heard people say, ‘I want more of a heart for missions.’ I always respond, ‘Jesus tells you exactly how to get it. Put your money in missions, and your heart will follow.’

Do you wish you had a greater heart for the poor and lost? Then give your money to help the poor and reach the lost. Do you want your heart to be in your church? Put your money there. Your heart will always be where your money is and not where your money isn’t. If most of your money is in mutual funds, retirement, your house or your hobby, that’s where your heart’s going to be…

‘My heart isn’t in all the things of God.’ Is it because your treasure isn’t in the things of God? Put your resources, your assets, your money and possessions, your time and talents and energies into the things of God. As surely as the compass needle follows north, your heart will follow your treasure.” R. Alcorn The Treasure Principle

It’s not like I have a lot of money to try to decide what to do with. But what little I do make I want to invest in God’s kingdom. I’ve been challenged lately to labor with the goal of giving my money away. It definitely changes the job when I am scrubbing floors and thinking about sending the money to a new church plant in Russia vs. washing windows thinking about buying new drapes for my own windows. Of course the latter desire does bring momentary pleasure…but what about when my brief life is over? I’d rather have eternal rewards over the new curtains. Honestly, is it even about rewards? Isn’t it enough that one more life could be touched by God because I didn’t buy what I didn’t even need?

The more careful I am with my money, the more I can give. And the more careful I am the more I realize I need far less than I believe I do, I am content with far less that I am led to believe, and I desire to give more often than I have the opportunity too!

A friend posted this a few years ago. She probably doesn’t even remember writing it, but I was blessed and saved it as a reminder to myself.

Rules to Save & Spend By

1. We save so we can share.
2. We consider purchases carefully so we can give without hesitation.
3. We spend modestly so we can scatter liberally.
4. We do not save to gain a false sense of security.
5. We will not be stingy toward others in our careful consideration.
6. Our satisfaction is not found in with-holding from ourselves but in giving to the Lord.

May our lives be lives of generous givers for the glory of the Lord!

glory

I have a hard time getting my head around the fact that everything is about the glory of God, even God Himself. But I want to. This helps.

“Glory is not easy to define. It is like beauty. How would you define beauty? Some things we have to point at rather than define. But let me try. God’s glory is the beauty of his manifold perfections. It can refer to the bright and awesome radiance that sometimes breaks forth in visible manifestations. Or it can refer to the infinite moral excellence of his character…

God’s ultimate goal therefore is to preserve and display his infinite and awesome greatness and worth, that is, his glory.

…A moment’s reflection reveals the inexorable justice of this fact. God would be unrighteous (just as we would) if he valued anything more than what is supremely valuable. But he himself is supremely valuable. If he did not take infinite delight in the worth of his own glory he would be unrighteous. For it is right to take delight in a person in proportion to the excellence of that person’s glory.”  J. Piper Desiring God

feasting

I’m sitting in a quiet house. It hasn’t been a quiet morning, but it is quiet now and I am grateful. There is a fresh blanket of snow on the mountains today. The first snowfall of the year. Weird as it may be, I am delighted. Winter brings out the rest and peace that summer forgot about. So bring it on!

There is so much I want to study and learn this winter. Since May, I feel like I have been suffocating a bit spiritually. My days have been filled to the brim with the giving and living out of my faith. There is nothing wrong with that. It has been so rich and fulfilling. But now I am ravenous for more food! I’ve been snacking on Christ amidst the busyness and now I feel very much in need of a feast. Perhaps a very long one.

I have books by Piper and Mahaney and Alcorn sitting on my shelf begging me to pick them up. I have last year’s Bible study that I never finished. I have about a hundred verses I want to memorize and re-memorize and meditate on. And of course, most precious of all, I just want to study the Bible itself. Faith has challenged us to read Ephesians three times a week this fall. Did you know you could read the whole book in less than ten minutes? Why not read the whole New Testament once a week. Imagine what that could do to boost your spiritual life.

Honestly, I hate blogging. But in some odd way it does help me stop for a moment and reflect on my day and on what really matters. Since I don’t keep a journal, this must be that place for reflecting and gaining a new perspective. You are welcome to read this, but I think it is really just for me. A place to think out my thoughts and probably change them. My heart truly cries:

Psalm 86:11-12

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.