God’s promise for Week 4:
“My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19
Last week we looked at pride as a barrier to faith. This week we will let God examine our hearts in the area of generosity. Like in every other area of our lives, God looks through the outward acts, right to our hearts. I don’t think there are many lures greater in our lives than the bait of the love of money, and I don’t think there are many proofs of faith greater than generosity. I pray that this week we will let God be heard in this area of our lives, and when we hear it, we will trust and obey Him.
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 22
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…for your heavenly Father knows that you need them" (Matt. 6:25)
Okay, it’s time to put our faith where our money is. Why do we find it so difficult to trust God to meet our material needs? We tend to put more faith in money’s ability to look after us than in God’s ability to do so. Some years ago, a survey was conducted to determine the most popular Bible verse of all time. The winning verse was, “God helps those who help themselves”. These words are to be found in the gospel of Benjamin—Franklin, that is. Of course, these words are not even in the Bible. The fact that these words were chosen as the favorite “Bible verse" tells us we need to spend more time reading the Bible! It tells of a pervading belief that it is through our own efforts, not through God’s power, that we are kept from poverty, hunger, and homelessness. Lack of faith in God’s ability to provide our material needs infects our lives, sabotages our faith, and hinders us from giving as God wants us to give: “It is a proof of your faith! People will praise God because you obey the gospel you say you believe and because you freely share with them and others" (2Cor 9:13). As much as we hope to avoid it, God is asking us to open our wallets and pocketbooks. Not because He needs our money, but because He wants us to trust Him, and it is tangible evidence to the world around us that we believe what we say we believe when we freely share what we have. We are often challenged in this area of life. Though we like to think that we trust God completely, often our worries and thought patterns are centered on money: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matt 6:24). What does it mean to “serve money." Serving money means more than just devoting our lives to the accumulation of it. It means that we put our trust in it to save us rather than in God’s power and love for us. How much time do we spend thinking about money, worrying about not having enough to make ends meet, or figuring out ways to get more? The answer to this question tells us that many times we choose to serve money rather than God. Our promise for the week is that He will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory. If ‘His riches’ include everything that is needed, and we trust that His word is true, why are we so worried?
Prayer:
God, help me to open my wallet and pocketbook so that people around me will see that I believe what I say I believe. Amen.
Day 23
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2Cor. 9:6
A person tells of having the following conversation with a very wealthy Christian. He had a beautiful home and a triple car garage filled with expensive vehicles. We began to talk about generosity and he told me that he gave ten percent of his earnings to the church because that is what the Bible says to do. That is true. The Bible clearly teaches believers are to tithe ten percent of their income back to God through their church. If we don’t, we are compared to thieves in Malachi 3:8. But the person walked away from the wealthy man feeling challenged in his own heart. Do we hide behind the “ten percent rule" in order to avoid asking God what He requires of me in the area of giving? Financial giving is just like every other area of our lives: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (I Sam 16:7). Isn’t the “outward appearance" of giving sometimes what we focus on? But if God were to look into our hearts, what would he find there? Stinginess? Fear? Pride? Often our reluctance to give is the result of our unwillingness to realize that “every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). If we were in charge of someone else’s money, wouldn’t we ask them how we should spend it? If we are truly convinced that God is the source of every blessing in our lives, wouldn’t we all be a little more willing to ask him how He wants us to share our money? Let’s all prayerfully consider the following: unclench our fists and just be more generous—with or home, our time, and our money. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “if you are living in the same manner as other people who are at your income level…if your giving does not in any way hamper or pinch you, perhaps you are not giving enough." What a challenge this is to our attitude about giving. Let’s ask: “what would You have me give, O God?” Are we reluctant to pray this prayer? Why is that? Because we know that God’s answer will require something of us that we will find difficult to give. But if we choose to focus on what He has done for us and we let the realization that everything in our lives is from His hand, won’t it become so much easier to unclench our fists?
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2Cor. 9:6
Prayer:
God, thank you for what you have done for me in my life. Help me to sow generously out of a heart that recognizes that You are the source of every good thing in my life.
Day 24
“Use your worldly resources to benefit others…in this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven." Luke 16:9
Remember the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to follow him? Jesus’ answer to him is one verse many of us like to skim over: "If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me." (Matt 19:21 MSG) I have heard a lot of discussion about this verse over the years, most of them going something like this: “Jesus was just saying that to him; it certainly doesn’t mean that I have to sell what I own and give it to the poor." This response usually causes everyone to breathe a collective sigh of relief as they go back to life as usual. I think that Jesus was speaking directly to the heart of that young man, but that fact in no way lets us off the hook. Jesus’ words devastated that man, because he wanted to hear that he could just do some more good things and that would be enough to qualify him as a follower of Jesus. “That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go." (Matt 19:22-23 MSG) Aren’t we often like this? We want ‘following Jesus’ to mean simply adding some good works on top of the other things in our lives. We want ‘following Jesus’ to mean that we don’t have to give up anything. If Jesus were to speak directly to our hearts today, what would He say are the things of which we are holding on too tightly? Money? Material possessions? Comfort? Security? What Jesus wants is not for us just to do a bunch of good things: "Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the kingdom of God (salvation), just do what He tells you." (Matt 19:17) Clearly, Jesus wants obedience to what God is telling us to do, regardless of the cost. But it is hard isn’t it? Would any of us, in our human reasoning, be willing to give up those dearest and most cherished possessions? But God can change any heart and conform us to His will by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). The book of Matthew brings hope to all of us who feel weak, helpless, afraid and unwilling: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt19:26). We serve a God who can do anything, and who has done everything for us. Let’s have the courage to ask what God requires of us, and the faith to believe that He will help us obey.
Prayer:
God, I am afraid you will ask too much of me. Help me to know that you will not test me beyond what I can bear.
Day 25
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’" (Hebrews 13:5)
Contentment is as elusive as the “blowing wind” in this ‘land of stuff’ in which we live. We are knee-deep in advertising that just won’t let us rest. “Bodies too big, hair needs a new style, cars is out-dated, the sofa is the wrong color, the carpet clashes with the bedspread, the towels don’t match the countertops, the house is getting run-down, our job doesn’t pay enough? The call of ‘stuff’ is never silent. It is a constant effort to be content in all circumstances, in this land of comfort and ease. Isn’t that ironic? We are one of the most blessed nations on earth and yet we are entirely malcontented. How much time do we spend thinking about the next promotion or the next raise or the next house or the next car? How little time do we spend thinking about how wonderful is it that our children go to school, drink clean water and have a warm bed to sleep in at night? When I first read this verse, I found it interesting that the idea of contentment is connected with the promise that God will never leave us. I think the secret to contentment lies in letting this promise replace the strident voice of ‘stuff’ in our lives. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." This truth should be enough for us. It is in this truth that we can be content no matter what is happening around us. It is not only during the times of pain and struggle that we need to cling to it; it is also for the times of prosperity and comfort, which for us in this part of the world, is most of the time. God’s presence in our lives and our belief in His promise that He will never leave us is the key to contentment. Even if every other comfort in our life was taken away, this would be enough. Instead of trying to keep up with the elusive call for more ‘stuff’, let’s “be content with what we have". “What we have" is Christ in our lives and that is more precious than anything else.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to value your presence in my life more than I value anything else. Help me to rest in the fact that you are always with me.
For those who want further Scripture reading each day here are a couple of suggestions:
-Read one Psalm a day and meditate on it.
-Read a chapter or part of a chapter out of Acts or Matthew or Hebrews each day, focusing on the idea of faith.
Day 26
“Bring your whole tithe into the storehouse…Test me in this, says the Lord, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it!" Mal 3:8-11
The following was written by a person who was struggling with trusting God with the finances of her family.
This week, as Mike and I got ready for our growth group to arrive, we got in a big argument. I know this probably never happens to any of you on growth group night, but tonight it did for us. Want to know what we were arguing about? Yep. Money. How we never seem to have quite enough to make ends meet. How we work and we work and we work and there just always seems to be a struggle. Hmmmm. I’m writing this week about faith in the area of our money and this is where I’m at. Pathetic. Wait, it gets better. As our growth group arrived and Mike and I attempted to switch from “at-each-other’s-throats" mode into “loving-caring-growth-group-leader" mode, God was preparing to speak directly to my heart about my lack of faith in His ability and His willingness to look after our material needs. One of the Bible verses we studied that night was “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-7). Talk about eating my own words! I think God has been trying to teach me to trust him for my material needs for my entire adult life and I still haven’t got it. I still have arguments with my husband over how we’ll pay all of our bills. I still wonder as I watch my tithe check disappear into the offering basket which bills I won’t be able to pay because of it. I like to think I give out of a cheerful heart, but now I see that I more often give out of a heart filled with doubt and fear. As much as I hate to admit it, I am like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. I’m standing here, month after month and year after year, squinting into the sky with my arms wide open, waiting for the floodgates of heaven to open, while deep in my heart I am tossed around by the waves of doubt. I fear that maybe I waste too much money and therefore God won’t help me; I fear that if I don’t give, sudden calamity will overtake us; I fear that I give for the wrong reasons: I fear, I fear, I fear. "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) Doesn’t this sum up perfectly how we feel a lot of the time? During this week’s Bible study, it was like the sun finally came up after many years of living in the dimness of the pre-dawn morning. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt" (James 1:6 emphasis). I have done a lot of asking for wisdom in the area of my finances, followed by a whole lot of doubting. But thankfully, God’s mercies are new every morning! I can repent of my doubts and my fears and choose to believe that God will answer. I don’t know about you, but from now on, when I ask God to look after me and give me wisdom, I will expect to get wisdom.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive my unbelief in your ability to care for my material needs. I am choosing today to believe instead of doubt.
Day 27
Michael lives in Canada. The following is his story of faith Christ.
At the age of 23, one year after studying agriculture, I had purchased my own agricultural business, and had firm plans for a major expansion. Young, aggressive and full of new knowledge, my goals and priorities were first and foremost my business, cars, and sports.
March 19th, 1971 was a beautiful day—my work was nearly done and I was anticipating an evening with friends. With only one thing left to do before my work day was over, I was surprised that my newest piece of equipment had broken down again. So, 30 feet up a ladder I went to repair and restart the machine. I pressed the button and the massive chain started to turn. Relieved that the repair had been a simple one, I stepped over the chain to make my way back down the ladder, but my pants got caught. Almost immediately my pant leg was dragged into the chain and it tore at my leg like a massive grinder. “God, Help!" was my first reaction. The pain was excruciating and in that moment of powerlessness, a hundred thoughts went through my head: “Was I going to make it—did I still have a purpose on earth or was my time up?" I felt myself go faint and knew that I was staring death in the face and in that moment, I felt the closeness of God that I knew I would not experience again until that day when I will meet Him face to face. God had a plan for me. What happened in the next minutes was God’s doing. Somehow I managed to get out of that machine through jammed doors and get down the 30 ft ladder while attempting to staunch the flow of blood from my mangled leg. I dragged myself across the dirty cattle yard to a phone. As a neighbor rushed me to the hospital, I prayed that God would heal my leg because, without it, I did not want to live. Then darkness set in. When I awoke the next day, my Mom and Dad were standing by my bed. The outcome of that long night in the operating room was evident in their tear-filled eyes. It was gone: my leg, my sports, my dreams of expansion, my touch football on Sunday afternoon with my friends, and so many other things. I felt like life could not get any worse and the days that followed would be the darkest of my life.
As I lay in my hospital bed over the next weeks, I nursed my despair until one day a man stood on his wooden leg at my hospital bed and spoke some of the most hurtful words I would ever hear: “Life is going to be hard and painful—with no short cuts; there will be many hard days—days you can’t even walk–but if you choose to, you will see the grace of God." These hurtful words changed my life. The process was harder than I would have ever expected. It took four months of intensive rehabilitation before I received my first prosthesis, and the complete physical and mental healing process took years. But it was during this painful process that I totally committed my life to Jesus. Little did I know that when I prayed for His will to be done, His answer would be one I would never have expected. And little did I expect that through the agony of His answer I would find such joy. Through my constant communication with God over the next months, I felt him saying: “DON’T CONCENTRATE ON WHAT YOU HAVE LOST – CONCENTRATE ON WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT. "What did I have left? LIFE! When one has been so close to death, the wonder of life never leaves. It is a daily reminder that every minute on this earth is a gift from a loving God. It’s amazing how a life can turn around. What changed because of March of 1971? Everything. It changed my priorities: first my God, then my wife, my family, my neighbors, and then my job. My merciful God gave me a chance to reorder my life, and that chance has made all the difference in my life. The amount of time spent with my family has brought more rewards than I could have ever wished for. It is their encouragement and support that has allowed us to enjoy activities like swimming, camping, skiing, and our family business despite my physical challenges. I am grateful for the way God has changed me through my leg amputation. It taught me the greatest lessons of my life. Everyday I wake up grateful for one more day. The pain and struggle forces me every day, moment by moment, to lean on God, family and neighbors whether I like it or not. But most of all it taught me that although he doesn’t necessarily protect me from pain, and can sometimes even seem nonexistent or out of reach, He sees me, comforts me, and remembers me. And I know that His Grace is sufficient for any challenge that this life brings. For me, I want to make sure the rest of my time on earth is well lived, for the question is not how much time I have to live, but what I will do with that time. I would challenge you to ask yourself: if this was your last day or year on earth, how would you live it? What thoughts would run through your mind? What would steer your actions? Would you choose to change your priorities? Choose today to allow Christ to prove himself in your life and allow Him to guide your steps. You will never regret it.
Prayer: Lord, help me to live each day desiring to bring You glory. Strengthen me to see your ways even when staggering problems are present. Thank You for Your ever-sufficient love and care.
Day 28
Come to church today expecting God to speak to your heart and remember to give Him all the attention of your heart!
Have you been reading the 40 Days of Devotions? Probably so or else you would not be here at Day 28. Is Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord. Today, let’s take a clear look at how Jesus is trusted as Savior.
Knowing God Personally
Here are four principles to help you discover how you can begin a personal relationship with God and experience His love:
Principle One: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
God created you. Not only that, He loves you so much that he wants you to spend eternity with Him. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Jesus came so that each of us could know and understand God in a personal way. Jesus alone can bring meaning and purpose to life.
Knowing God Personally: Principle Two
Principle Two: All of us are sinful and separated from God. Therefore we cannot know and experience God's love and plan for our life.
The fact is, we need Jesus. The Bible says, "...all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23b). Though God intended for us to have a relationship with Him, we naturally want to do things our own way. We fall short because of the presence of sin in our life. We're stubborn, selfish, and frequently unable to follow through on our promises. Try as we might, we just keep stumbling.
Deep down, our attitude may be one of active rebellion or passive indifference, but it's all evidence of what the Bible calls sin -- an old archery term which literally means "missing the mark."
The Bible says the result of sin in our lives is death--spiritual separation from God, and eventually separation from God in hell (Romans 6:23). Although we may try to reach God through our own effort, we inevitably fail. We just can't ever be good enough. Our sin separates us from God.
Knowing God Personally: Principle Three
Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.
Jesus Christ is God's solution to the problem of human imperfection and evil. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, we don't have to be separated from God any longer. Jesus paid the price for our sin and in so doing, bridged the gap between us and God.
Instead of trying harder to reach God, we simply need to accept Jesus and his sacrifice as the one way to God. "I am the way, the truth and the life," Jesus said. "No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He also said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish" (John 11:25-26).
But not only did Jesus die for our sin, He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). When he did, he proved beyond doubt that he can rightfully promise eternal life--that he is the son of God and the only means by which we can know God.
Yet just having knowledge about God's plans and purposes isn't enough. We need to consciously accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sin and welcome Him into our life.
Next: It is not enough just to know these three truths...
Knowing God Personally: Principle Four
We must individually accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.
The Bible says, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).
We accept Jesus by faith. The Bible says, "God saved you by his special favour when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Accepting Jesus means first believing that Jesus is who he claimed to be, then inviting him to take the control of our lives and make us into new people (John 3:1-8). This is trusting Christ as Savior and following Him as Lord.
Jesus said, "I'm standing at the door and I'm knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20).
How will you respond to God's invitation? What will you do with the claims of Jesus Christ?
Knowing Jesus Personally
Choosing to submit your life to God is the most significant decision you can ever make. This choice involves more than simple intellectual agreement that Jesus is God and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Becoming a Christian also requires that you commit the rest of your life to God, to do what He asks of you and to live in accordance with His principles. This decision is not something to be taken lightly. It requires sacrifice and a total reorientation of your life around God rather than yourself. As Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
If you feel you are ready to make this commitment of faith in Christ, you can do so right now by telling God you desire to repent of your sin, put your trust in Christ to forgive you and ask Him to help you follow Him as your Lord. This step involves faith. Faith is trusting the death of Christ to pay the price for your sin, meaning Jesus is your Savior. Faith is also wanting to follow Christ as your Lord.
God knows the intentions of your heart. If you are unsure of what to pray, use the following prayer of faith in Christ:
"Jesus, I want to know you. I want you to come into my life. I admit I am a sinner. I'm sorry for the things I've done that have broken my relationship with God. Thank you for dying on the cross so that this relationship could be made right. Thank you for coming back to life again in your resurrection. Jesus, I believe You are God and the only One who can save me. Only You can give me the power to change and become the person You created me to be. Thank you for forgiving my sins and for giving me eternal life with God. I give my life to You. Amen."
By praying the above prayer-or one similar to it-you have just taken a that step of faith toward making God the center of your life. But these are just the words. What follows is a lifelong journey of change and growth as you get to know God better through Bible reading, prayer and interaction with other Christians.
If you prayed the above prayer of faith, please contact SonRise Community Church as we desire to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
God bless you,
Pastor Curt Brown
