Tuesday, March 12, 2013

YOUR money?


Sunday after church we had a core meeting. We do this every so often with the members of our church and share things about what God is doing in our lives. Then we usually go over some things about how we are doing as a church and our lead pastor will talk about some great stuff he has seen God do. While I was listening, Rance said something that I can't get out of my head.

We don't know how much time we have left. 

Of course, this is true in anyone's situation. Not just that of a Christ follower. The difference is as a believer we have assurance of being with the Lord when that time runs out. We long for the day that Jesus will return. 
And so it made an deep impression on my heart.

Not because I am worried about how much time I have left here, Please by all means, Jesus, I would gladly go home with you now, but because others don't know either & it's my responsibility to make sure that before they're time is up, I tell them about the Lord. 

When he said those words I couldn't get the picture of Jesus returning out of my head. When he said the words he chocked up a little and I know why. Because Jesus could come back at any minute & we are called to live every single day as though today will be the day that we see Him face to face. This means in everything we do.
And my eyes welled up with tears because I don't want to be the reason someone doesn't hear about Him.
I don't want others to be left out and hopeless.
I want the Lord to break my heart for what breaks His. EVERYTHING I am for His kingdom's cause.

Specifically in ministry, we were talking about serving. Not only with our time and talents but also with our money. I know everyone hates when Christians talk about money. But why? It's not OUR money. It doesn't belong to us. There is not one thing in this life that is mine. So if money is holding me back from what God is calling me to do, then I have some serious things to consider.
Here's the thing friends, I am SO guilty of this. For a very long time, I hated the idea of tithing. I was never taught to tithe so I had no idea why I needed to give MY hard earned money to a church when I didn't like what they spent it on. I wanted to spend it on me.

I thought I knew best. I thought I knew what the Church spent the money on and I didn't like it. So I kept my money all to myself.

But God doesn't say only give if you think it's going to the right place. He asks us to give regardless of how we "feel" about it and also give joyously and if you really want to know where that money goes, ask! I promise you, the church is giving money to those who desperately need it. GOD has appointed the leadership in Church because He knew they would give to those who are hurting & struggling. There's no need to question that.

When we started going to Access, we both decided it was time to tithe. If I were being honest, I have never found a church like Access. Their hearts were to seek and save the lost. Nothing else mattered. Their mission was to see as many people as possible come to know the living God and they revealed that in the way they love. So I began to be OK with giving up my money.

Although you see, I still thought of it as mine.

The thing is, the more I seek the Lord, the less I care about money. The less I want it & the more I give of it.

Because I don't want what I give to ever hinder another from hearing the truth about Jesus. 
Because the truth is, money is different to a non-believer than it is to someone who follows after Jesus. Sometimes, it takes spending money to relate to them & if I am hording my money because it's mine, then where does that leave room for God to use what HE HAS GIVEN ME to reach the lost?

I say this all in love dear friends. Search your heart & see what the Lord does in your life when you give without holding back. See how He not only changes others lives but yours as well. He promises a blessing and I am living proof of that. I could go on and on about how much He has blessed us in every area of our lives when we began to give freely. But most importantly, remember, we don't know how much time we have left. So give freely friends because I can promise you will receive more fulfillment from seeing the lost find Jesus than you ever will from a full bank account.






6 comments:

  1. Im trying to save up enough money to go on a mission trip outside of the country :D it's a couple thousand dollars, but I think it would be worth every single penny!

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  2. What a wonderful post! We have also been talking about tithing in our church. At one time I felt the same about tithing. Not trusting with the parting of my money. When we found our current church, my eyes opened and so did my heart. More than it ever had before. Once we started tithing, things started to change, become clearer. It's something that is unexplainable to someone who doesn't fully understand or isn't a follower or a believer. I am so happy that you posted this, I take it as a sign that God has laid in front of me. Reassuring me that all our giving is a good thing and He will continue to provide because of it. Have a blessed day!

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  3. So glad you posted!!! This is so true and something I need to be reminded of!

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  4. Lots of truth here! I think it's hard for me to hear the "money talk" because I know I am suppose to give and I don't like being told that! It's hard. Especially when my husband and I aren't at the same place. Can I tithe with his money because I don't have my own...ya know?

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  5. Love this post! We had a hard time tithing at first too BUT now we do it no matter what. It always comes first!! It is so hard for us to explain to others the importance! It makes me sad to see so many not or not understand the value of it. Thye still se it as "their money" and or like ourselves even struggled with at first was we couldnt afford to tithe. BUt we had it all wrong. It is just a hard thing to explain but you did a wonderful job and i think it is AWESOME you shared it!!!

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  6. Wonderful Post! So well said Jess! Praise God for all he does!!!!

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