Is that thing in your back pocket saved?!

It's been said that the last part of a Christian to be converted is his wallet.  Now I want you to know that we are going to talk about money today so I hope you haven’t invited your friends out for the first time.

Our gifts must be the kind of gifts that inspire others to give.  We are called to lead by example in such a way that the flow doesn’t stop after we have given, but that we encourage gift giving to be reciprocated much like in the movie, ‘Pay It Forward’ where the debt is not paid back but done as a favour to a third party.  For believers we could never pay back the debt that we have owed; however we have been called to show that same kind of generosity in our love towards others whether in gift, deed or forgiveness. 

 I have been involved with the Ensenada Project over the past couple of years.  It is a ministry that is dedicated to building churches and homes for families in the local community of Maneadero.  The Mexican pastors were the ones who originally were blessed by this ministry as homes were built for them and churches where they could meet with their congregation.  Now, what is happening is that the pastors have become the means of blessing to people in their community as they choose the families, both inside and outside of the church to build homes for.  They work right alongside the teams that come from Canada and the US.  They lead by example on the construction site and work hard and display so much joy and passion for what they are doing.

Giving is meant to be reciprocal.  Matthew 18:23-35

When it comes to debt we are called to be generous.  We who have been forgiven an insurmountable debt have been called to show that same mercy to others.  We tend to forget that in the situation especially when it is us who have to ‘have to take the hit’.  We are quick to forget the price that has been paid for our forgiveness, to wipe our slate clean especially when we have been hard done by.  We think and may even say things like, ‘I must hold them responsible,’  ‘I must hold them accountable, I must make sure they pay up!  Really, is that our job?

When you lend someone money, the relationship between both of you changes. 

What kind of relationship does the Bible liken it to?

The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender  Proverbs 22:7

 

I love what Dave Ramsey says about this subject, if you see someone who truly has a need and you have the ability to help them out, just give it to them. 

Psalm 112:4-6

⁴ Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
   for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
⁵ Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
   who conduct their affairs with justice.

 ⁶ Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
   they will be remembered forever. 

Luke 6:34,35 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Do you see that what Jesus is asking of us goes completely against the stream of culture?  Money should not have the same grip on us that it has on the rest of our society.  We have to renew our minds when it comes to money.  We have to think differently about it and have a different mindset about it.  It’s not about possessing it and clenching it but holding it up to God with an open hand.

If you keep your fist clenched, it is impossible to receive anymore.

When I was in India a few years back, I was so moved by the story of the sponsored children I met there who were with Compassion and in West Bengal, India.  They w took the money that they received and in turn sponsored children themselves!

Now I know that all of us are not there yet, but wouldn’t you love to be there?   It is the place where you can hold everything openly and where you can trust God with the last part of you, your wallet!  It is a place where He will meet all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

It really is the ultimate test of our faith and trust in God.

Giving is meant to be the great exchange.  Luke 6:38 (take these verses in…a great practical word picture for those of you who work in the kitchen)

We are called to give up our lives for the One who has given His life for us.  We turn into spiritual parasites when we don’t follow through with the great exchange.  We do not dignify the life that Jesus called us to live when all we do is take.

It is David who tells us that ‘I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing. ‘in 1 Chronicles 21:23-25 so he offer Araunah the equivalent of 15 pounds of gold which is worth today about $274 500 for a place to make an offering for the Lord.  It is meant to be sacrificial as well.

We don’t have to exercise any faith, if it doesn’t cost us anything.

A person who receives but in turn does not misses out on the great exchange.  As the river of life flows through us we actually spur others on by challenging them to be rivers of living water through their sacrificial giving. 

We have a friend out west who is an amazing example of this.  She owns four properties.  She has a house in White Rock, a condo in Vancouver, a cottage on Victoria Island and a chalet in the mountains. If you talk to her about owning these places, she will correct you and tell you that it is not her’s, it’s God’s. She continually looks for ways to bless others with what she has and is always exceedingly generous.  As someone looking from the outside in, it seems to me that God continually entrusts her with more.  However, I do know that receiving more is not her motivation.

Giving is meant to be for gospel growth!   Luke 16:9,10

We are called to win souls for the kingdom of heaven and God by using material things to care for those in need.  The act of giving is a platform that God has given us.   The cardinal principle according to one ministry is that anyone who knows enough to be saved by Christ knows enough to tell another how to be saved.’ 

Through generous acts of giving, we are showing the love of Christ.  A disciple is one who reaches others to become disciples of Jesus as well.

Matthew 6:19-21 The true riches of heaven are the lives of those we touch and we can use our money to do just that. 

 

In my previous ministry, I had the opportunity to come alongside someone who served with a Christian relief ministry. He was most recently in Haiti and he shared something interesting about these countries that have been hit by earthquakes and floods.  When the supplies come in from a Christian relief organization, a Christian church, a quote unquote Christian nation, they really see coming from our God.   We really do represent our God and we are His hands and feet.

Through the power of the HS, we are called to pray, give and proclaim!

Giving was always meant to be simple and it brings freedom.   Genesis 14:17-20

The definition of tithe is 10% and we first see the example of this in Genesis 14:17-20.  So we can correctly identify that the tithe is ‘pre-law’.  Some people write it off and say well, that is the OT law, but no it wasn’t.  It was always about ‘firstfruits’ 22x it is spoken of and being an agrarian culture, they knew that this is the place that we begin.  It is the first line item on our budget.  There was no big calculations of how to figure it out, it was the first thing that you did with the goods or money that you received.

If you say well the NT doesn’t mention tithing and I will say that you are correct; however to be technical if you say you are bringing your tithe, it should be 10% because it is defined as that.

Studies have shown that the average Christian only gives 2.7% of their income.

People ask do I tithe 10% on my gross or my take home....As Dave Ramsey says, ‘I don’t care’ how you decide...let’s not get caught up in the technicalities.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

It is about a level of trust with God with our finances and once again we are faced with an incredible test to trust God with our level of giving.  How serious are we about believing these verses. 

Can you imagine a ‘belly aching’ laugh when you went up to give?  The fact is that we are to be hilarious givers!  We really do win the lottery in the ‘Christian’ sense when we can be set free to give.

Giving is meant to be reciprocal – lend freely

Giving is the great exchange – it is sacrificial

Giving is meant to be for gospel growth – it shows other’s God generous love

Giving is meant to be simple

The Takeaway

We receive in order to give in order to be entrusted with more.

Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

The more we understand this truth, the more we will experience freedom in our life and in the area of our finances.

As Dave Ramsey shares in the lesson on ‘The Great Misunderstanding, The Power of Generous Giving’ 

Water like giving money is supposed to flow through us.  When water flows into a pond and not out, it eventually turns into a swamp and then you know what happens, the scum starts to float to the surface and that is what happens to people who hold their money with clenched fists, they become ‘scummy!

Have a conversation with your spouse about this.  Are finances continually weighing on your mind?  This may be a good indication that it is still an issue.

Ask God to show you what you need to be giving to.

Journal about it and then ask him to start providing for you to do just that.

Test God in this.  Ask God to put something on your heart that you are trusting Him for, that you don’t have the finances for and let’s watch and see the supernatural happen together!

Let The River Flow!

I’ll never forget the time Sharon and I were on staff at a camp all summer as the program directors and getting challenged to give at the end of our ministry there.   One of the board of directors stood up and spoke to us from Malachi 3:10 and challenged us not to rob God with our tithes and offerings.  I was thinking to myself...tithes and offerings, I haven’t even seen any form of pay yet!  The fact was that we were basically working for peanuts and I needed every last cent to put towards going to Seminary that Fall.  Anyways, the whole presentation really didn’t sit well with me, but God would do an overhaul on my attitude over the next 12 hours.  I’ll get back to that story later.
Every act of giving has not only a horizontal dimension to it, but a vertical one as well!  Our failure to give goes against the flow of how we’ve been designed as a child of God.  Recognize that you are the riverbed through which the goodness and blessing of God flows.  There are great catalysts to giving and we will unpack the truths that are found when we are faithful to the opportunities that are presented to us.  There is always a time to give no matter what that gift looks like.  There are times when our gifts seem all out of proportion to the need, but then God shows up and we are mesmerized!  On the other hand, do you ever think that you can give God too much?   You will be surprised what you find out about that too!  We will explore everything from fearless giving to how the math of giving works in the heavenly realm.
It’s time to get our feet WET!
Ready to sink or swim or how about STAND Joshua 3:9-11, 14-16
 Our giving causes God to lead the way.  God calls us to take the initiative!
The river was at flood stage for the Israelites, it was turbulent and there was no other way into the Promised Land.  Only if they were ready to get their feet, was God going to show up!  God doesn’t make it easy for them but He is ready for them to put His Word to their test.  All those great promises that Joshua proclaimed at the beginning of his takeover... Joshua 1:9  God wanted the people to first learn their complete inability to overcome this obstacle.
 So, we know what happens to the Jordan River,  the same type of incredible phenomenon that took place at the Red Sea.  However, this time it was different.  The instructions were different.  It wasn’t Moses using his ‘shepherd’s staff’ to part the way.  This time God literally wanted the priests to lead the way with the Ark of The Covenant which symbolized the presence of the Lord.
Has their even been a time where you felt the demands of serving in some kind of ministry but didn’t have any of the resources to pull it off?   Time and time again, God calls us to be faithful enough to initiate it as we let Him do it through us and then watch God work!
When you want to do a missions trip, when you get a clear calling to do a short term missions trip, when God has called you to help someone…and you don’t have the time or resources…it is His strength, He already owns all the resources.
There is also one other very significant storyline here in Joshua 3 and that is that the priests and Levites led the way with the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark symbolizes the presence of the Lord and in every act of giving, it is the presence of the Lord that leads us to step out in faith.  It is as we soak in His presence that we discover the things that He has prepared in advance for us to do!  Ephesians 2:10
Joshua 3:5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
Giving in the GAP
 Yes the challenge may seem insurmountable but we must never forget that our giving, our ‘standing in the gap’ will always unlock God’s unlimited resources.  God never disappoints the man or woman, the young person or child who says, ‘Here am I Lord, send me’!
We are the ones who He is waiting for to take the first step to perform His wonders.
A small town leader  Judges 7  When less is more!
The fewer our resources, the greater ability for God to act!
Is it possible that our gift is more than God wants to work with?  The answer is YES.  Gideon recruited 32 000 men for the army of the Lord and God tells him, ‘way too much for me to work with’.  If we can get to the place where we can explain it all in human terms; how it all boils down and how it is all processed we lose our way.  Are our gifts merely just the result of our own ingenuity and goodness of heart?  It has to go beyond that!  Where do our gifts point us?  Do they give us the appearance that we are helping God out or do our gifts point us to God’s infinite generosity?  It is all a matter of our perspective.
In Gideon’s case, God had to use a series of tests to move him and his men to a place of complete dependence on God.  ‘If He doesn’t show up, we are hooped!’  He had to bring them down to 300 men with unwavering confidence in the God beyond their human abilities and comprehension.  God wants us to give with pure hearts and be so ready for Him to take everything we got and multiply it for His good purpose.  We are the ones who open the door and God does the rest.
 Each of these 300 men took a lamp, an empty jar and a trumpet with them all that’s all they had. They lit their lamps, smashed their jars and blew their trumpets late one night and God caused such a great confusion that all the enemy soldiers turned on each other, running for their very lives.
Sometimes our wealth and the greatness of our gift can get in the way of what God wants to accomplish on our behalf.  We can be guilty of putting our hope in the budget, the financial giving of the top givers so we lose sight of how wonderful all giving is. 

 How are you opening the door to God’s instrumental giving through you?

Fearless giving   1 Samuel 17

Let me paint the scene, a familiar one I know, but recognize the giving of a life.  David shows up and hears a giant blaspheming the God of the universe, His God and personally, he is incensed.  He focuses all his attention on the one who leads him from the heart and presents himself to Saul.  He comes to a leader who is wrapped up in human strength and so what does he try to do?  He tries to clothe David in human strength and armour.  However, the human defences only served to hinder this shepherd boy.  Fear will always keep you from seeing an Infinite God full of resources, full of blessing, full of life itself.
 Fear will do that to you, it makes you weak, it makes you cower, it makes you curl up and it makes you look small.  Our failure to look at life’s challenges through the light of God’s promises will always result in our weakness. 
We must remember that the weapons that we fight with are not the weapons of this world! 
2 Corinthians 10:4 
 Destitute giving -  when the brook dries up!
The last meal of a widow  1 Kings 17 
We find Elijah here, a victim of his own prophecy.  He predicted a famine and a desperate famine it was.   He goes to a foreign land and finds a poverty-stricken widow.  She is literally starving to death.  Elijah does the unthinkable, he asks her for her meal.   In her completely vulnerable state, she tells him this is it...their last meal and she and her son would die.  Elijah’s need in light of what her resources seemed completely nonsensical.  Who asks a dying widow for her last meal???  Apparently a man who knows that God always shows up when we trust Him with our resources!
He gives her an incredible promise v14 He knew the widow was the one that through whom God would pour out so much blessing.  When we give we empty a part of ourselves and in doing so we make room from the provision of God in us and through us!
So she goes ahead and first prepares a meal for Elijah like she was instructed. There are no more excuses, no more complaining.  When was the last time you let yourself off the hook for giving?  The fact is that none of us have been ever tested to that level of generosity and yet it is this act of faith that she must follow through on before her own flour jar and jug of oil would be refilled miraculously.
Ephesians 3:10 God does exceedingly above and beyond
 A boy and his fish and chips  Mark 6:41-44  Another example for us about standing in the gap!
 Math in the heavenly realm...
It was late in the day and we are told that were 5000 men so add their wives and children and about 20000 were out that day to listen the most popular rabbi on the circuit, Jesus
V37  8 months of a man’s wages.... ‘He said this to test them for He Himself knew what He would do’
John 6:6 NKJV  This is what God does. He wants to put staggering needs before us to see what we are made of!  Are we made up of our own human ingenuity or do we really believe that God is able to pull off the miraculous.
 Jesus asks His disciples the question, where are we going to buy bread for the people to eat?  It is the same question He asks us today.  How are you going to get the message out, the gospel out so that everyone can hear the good news?
 What do the disciples do?  They respond how we often think.  They start focusing on calculating their human resources and making the decision to ‘send them away’.  We don’t have the money, the resources, the man power.   We can ask the same question, ‘how can we minister to 23 million people with AIDS in sub-saharan Africa?  However as I shared last week, there continues to an incredible swell of support to buy a tractor and 10K was sent this past week to buy the tractor in time for the harvest season at Pastor James’ church.  The money for the irrigation system is coming in fast and furious as well!
 A radical event took place as Jesus asked the disciples to collect all the food that was available. 
 They came back and only one mother actually knew the service was going to go long that day so she packed her son a lunch!  It was a lunch he could share with a few friends as it was five loaves of bread and two fish.  Imagine her surprise when her son came home to tell her what happened to his lunch that day!!  Our giving allows God to multiply it and make it go further than you ever dreamed of!
You can give more than you think without your money!  Acts 3:4-7
The real gift they gave was the healing power and presence of Jesus’ Name.  Notice that they looked the man right in the eyes.  How often do we turn and look away when we see a desperate need or quickly change the channel.
The fact is that Peter and John didn’t have the money to respond to his immediate need.  
However,  they had something far greater to give and that was a miraculous healing and did something for him that was completely life changing.
We must never underestimate the power in prayer and how we can pray for those in need even when we think that isn’t enough because it may be more than enough.  We walk in God’s power and we give God’s power into each and every situation
He wants more than you think!
The story of the widow at the Temple illustrates that Jesus wants us to give our all...nothing less, nothing more in Luke 21   We see this again in the giving of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume in  Mark 14 / John 12  It is not the amount of the gift that Jesus is counting, but the cost and sacrifice involved and He knows and sees it all.
Building a place to meet with God  Exodus 36:3-7
When God says enough!
Is it possible that our gift to God is too much?  Could we ever give God a gift that He looks at and tells us, “I’m sorry you are going to have to take that back for a refund!” 
Let’s check out the work on the tabernacle in the OT under Moses
 Exodus 36  Check out the words of the skilled craftsmen in v5  ‘the people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.  Then Moses sends the word out through the camp , stop already!!,
 ‘no man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.  And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they had was more than enough to do all the work’

The Takeaway
Our decision to give generously opens the floodgates of heaven.
 So to finish my story that I started with about the day that ‘giving’ completely turned around for me was that God reminded me to trust Him in giving back to the camp that I worked for above and beyond my tithe.  At this point, I knew that God was going to show up because there was no way that we had money to pay for tuition and rent, but God was faithful.  When we arrived in London, we put our resumes out and within a day, God provided Sharon with a full time job and four days later, I had a part time job and we were able to go through school debt free!
 I am not going to tell you that if you give God $10-, you can expect to receive 10 times that in the mail like some do, but I will tell you that when you are faithful with your firstfruits and your giving to God, He will supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!  Philippians 4:19
So where do you need to give generously?  What is your decision?  What will become your sacrifice?  Where will you see the floodgates of heaven open up?

Born Again to be Rivers not Retaining Ponds!

We are beginning a new series this week that will focus on giving.  Did you know that the subject of giving is mentioned 2500 times in the Bible?  The next closest subject is only mentioned 500 times.  This alone is fairly motivating for us to consider as we explore it.  The Word is very clear on the incredible joy and blessing of giving.  Most followers of Jesus would like to be more giving but see so many challenges that get in the way.  My aim is that we will discover in very practical ways a clear understanding of how we can position ourselves so that the spirit of generosity can flow through us!

When I mention the word giving, what automatically pops into your mind?

So we are going to take a step back…before you start thinking of this message as all about money, it’s not.  I want you to first understand the way that you have been designed as it relates to what God is doing in you and through you.

You have been designed to allow the living presence of God to flow in you and out through you like a powerful, rushing river. 

John 7:37 "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Why is the Holy Spirit compared to a stream of living water, a river?  What is so significant about a river?

So, we are going to begin by looking at actual rivers in the Bible and listen to what the river is actually accomplishing.

The Bible begins with a river which flowed from the Garden of Eden and flowed into the major tributaries 

Genesis 2:10

The river flowed to a land where gold is found , to land that is exceptionally pure, a place where the most precious stones are found as well and the Tigrus and Euphrates River.  In ancient times, you wanted to be along the river because it was there that the passage of all goods would take place and trading would be done.

The Bible also closes with a picture of heaven where the river flows through the central part of the city in Revelation 22: 1-5. Wherever the river flowed, there was life.  There were trees of life that grew along each side of the river.  The river brings perfect order.

·         The River is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38  - that is you and I

To be born again is to be part of that very flow of the Spirit and the presence of God.  Without His living presence we can easily fall back into becoming a pond or even worse a dam.  A pond or a sea can only contain water, it does not give water.  A dam completely blocks the flow and tries to contain the water with a focus on one’s own security.

·         We are designed for outward flow.

Ezekiel 47:1-9

A vision of a river

Ezekiel 47 mirrors this passage in Revelation and it is a vision of a river.  Ezekiel had the same vision and the realization was that the river flowed from the south side of the temple.  God is the river that is always giving, always flowing into our lives if we let Him.  It is a picture of the infinite generosity of a generous God.

Like Ezekiel, we are called to go into the river and we can go in ankle deep, knee deep and even to the place we can’t touch as we are led by the Spirit.

So, my question is where are you in the river?

·         You were meant to go with the flow...the flow of the Spirit

We have been created for generosity…so fast forward

On the last day of the seven day Feast of Tabernacles, thousands would gather in the temple and the priests would begin to act out the very vision of Ezekiel.  They would be dressed in white robes and would walk down to the Pool of Siloam very reverently and would fill up their golden pitchers with water.  They would then take the water and pour it out over the temple floor and it was created in such a way that the water would then flow out down the south side part of the temple past the altar.  The crowd would shout with incredible joy and for the nation it was a powerful reminder that through the nation of Israel the presence of God would flow to all nations.

It would be at this incredible event that Jesus, looked upon as a young rabbi, would proclaim loudly in John 7:37 "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

What was the response...

It was incomprehensible for so many to believe that the temple was not the source of the river because they were really wrapped up in the physical temple being the source of the river.

1 Peter 2:5...we have become the living stones of God’s temple and the powerful rush of water was meant to flow through us to transform barren and broken lives with His love.

We come to Christ to drink and a river of living water will flow out from within us.

We were meant to be leaky temples!  It was meant to leak and hopefully at some point just pour out of us.

So, when we are born again, we truly begin to care about what God cares about and pursue what He pursues.  It is literally within us and so we can’t stay stagnant.

To become a river, you have to deny self in the sense that you no longer come first.

The origin of the river is in the complete reversal of what has come naturally to all people.  It is for that reason that it is often a river that goes against the flow of culture.  We are changed to the point where move from getting to giving and from selfishness to sacrifice.

Our rivers are born when we die to getting and learn to start living by giving

It was Satan who started the lie that changed the direction of the flow of the river in his heart when He challenged Eve in the garden to become like God...you can have everything, you can have it all, all the knowledge, all the power in essence to become retaining ponds.

Fear over possessions either gained or lost is a picture of that pond mentality which measures life by the amount of water in one’s pond.  The river mentality measures how much flow is going out and giving life to others all along the way.

1.      Fruit is the evidence of the flow

Ezekiel 47:10-12

In the garden, the enemy convinced both Adam and Eve into believing that God is not fair and that He holds out on us.  That is a lie straight from the pit of hell to believe that God is a miserly God.  Satan would love nothing better than for us to hold tightly onto everything we have, in essence to not trust God as our supplier and instead hoard our possessions. When we make concern for ourselves first, we separate ourselves from the joy, the life, the growth that God desires for us and we simply dry up and become overgrown as we see in Ezekiel 47v11’but the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will be sources of salt.

  It wasn’t too long ago, I was driving by my old stomping grounds in Acton and one of the things that really struck me was the pond behind my house which used to be a place for swimming and hockey had now turned into a swamp full of bulrushes, weeds and almost completely overgrown.  This happens over time when there is no constant stream flowing into it.  Spiritual rebirth is like going from stagnation to the raging power of a great river.  It is there that a flowing stream brings life to everything along its way.

All NT references to the lack of fruit or barrenness are pictures of death, of loss, of hell itself.  They are the stagnant ponds rather than the life giving rivers.

We can either believe the lies of Satan that we must hold on to everything like a pond turning into a swamp or believe that God will just keep pouring into us like a river

·         Complete Dependency is the means to increased flow.

 Remember that Ezekiel’s guide measured the river four times and the realization is that when God is the source of the river, He will be the one that will create the ever increasing flow.

So,  just as a child learns to swim, they eventually get to the place where they can’t touch the ground and they have to completely get to that place of trust with the one teaching them to swim.

So as a father or mother, where are you when your child is learning to swim?  You are right there with them.  As a child, you have to put completely dependent that they are going to be there to hold you up.

So, what happens when you are caught in an undertoe?  What do you do?

We are not meant to hold on to our own understanding, we are not to fight against what the HS wants to do with us.

I have done a lot of white water canoeing and rafting and the one thing the instructor would tell us is not to try to hold on to the canoe or raft or rocks along the way.  We had to get our feet up and let the current take us downstream.

It is about trust (swimming) and surrender (when you are in the rapids)!

1 John 3:1

How great is the love of the Father that He lavishes on us that we should be called the children of God.  (God’s extravagant love)

He wants to pour out His abundance through us.

Salvation is God using us as the streams of living water to the dry and weary land where we live.

Here’s the takeaway...

In light of breaking of bread and where we are in the Christian calendar which you may not think about but we are coming into a time called ‘Lent’.  Now if you have a Catholic background you will be more familiar with this event.  For those who have come from a more Protestant background, here is what you need to know.  It is a 40 day period for the church that leads up to Easter.  The Western church doesn’t include the Sundays as they are considered celebrations.  So, it begins 7 Wednesdays before Easter.  Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles. (See The Apostolic Constitutions, Book V, Section III.)

Just a few weeks ago someone in our congregation listened to the voice of the Lord to respond to the challenge that Dr. Anne Marie Zadjlik gave us.  As she showed us the beautiful corn that was growing, the need that was addressed was for a tractor and an irrigation system.  John gave the challenge to speak to Anne Marie if God was moving in your heart and she went with the flow of the Spirit.  She gathered her friends to pray and they prayed fervently and sacrificed and along with an anonymous donation more than ½ of the required $17500 has already come in and it hasn’t even been announced but stay tuned! 

My challenge is that during this 40 day period, I’m not asking you to consider this.  I’m asking that we would all ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what it is that we would fast from in order to allow the spirit of giving flow through us like it never has before.  For some of you, it might mean a sacrifice of time in order to serve others, for others; maybe it is to fast from facebook…It may mean a sacrifice of some forms of entertainment in order to make a sacrificial offering at Easter.  HoweverThe beauty of lent is that it can be a powerful reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for us.  He shed his blood so that we could experience his life giving presence flow through us.

The Takeaway

If you are a child of God, it is IN YOU to give!!