MONEY- the ultimate fertilizer

In a recent sermon at my church, my pastor was talking about being faithful with what you have. You might have heard the verse in Luke that says : "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."(Luke 16:10)

Money is an annoying thing. You have to have it to live, but you dont want to live for it. Regardless if you want to or not, you have to think about money at some point in everyday of your life (minus the early days of course). I think too often we categorize money as a non-spiritual thing, as a worldly thing. Sure we tithe some of it and use it for something spiritual, but in and of itself it is such a worldly thing. This just isnt true. We have to learn to see everything in our life as spiritual, because we have a God that is omni-present. He is everywhere and He can shine through everything. God doesnt hate money. Jesus would not have taught us so much about something he hated. God wants us to understand that money is His, just as our every breathe is His. We own nothing. NOTHING.

"If you have not been faithful with money, God will not trust you with true spiritual riches- the care of souls, missions, evangelism, the oversight of the church. " R.Kent Hughes

I dont know about you, but I want to be trusted with the true spiritual riches! Did you know that being disciplined in giving grows your faith? Most of us automatically think of reading the bible, praying or bible study as ways to grow our faith. But doing those things without also growing in stewardship and worship is lopsided. You will hit a plateau. But committing to spend some of your money on something for the Lord versus something for your needs or pleasures transforms your heart bit by bit. It grows your trust in the Lord to provide for you and to meet your needs.

Do you know one way you can be faithful with your money while investing in the true spiritual riches of the Kingdom? GIVE! Give to missionaries, missions organizations, local organizations that are aiding the poor etc. So today I am challenging you to look at those budgets and find that extra $10 bucks (or $20 or $50, whatever) and COMMIT to give to something faithfully. Watch your relationship with the Lord flourish through this discipline.

Need some ideas of what to give to??
1. Your local church. Commit first to give to the ministry of your local church, this should be a priority.
2. Missionaries. These people are giving up their comforts, families and friends to go and share the gospel. They aren't any more holy than those of us that live here and work, but they do have a financial need that those of us with jobs can meet. (Side note: We need to all see our jobs as a mission field. You are a missionary. Please embrace this!)

Dont know any missionaries that are trying to raise support? My friend Mandy has sacrificed alot to go share the gospel in Sweden, and she needs people to come alongside and help her answer God's call on her life. Do you have $10 to give a month? $100? All of it helps. Let me know if you are interested in meeting with her about this.

3. Specific ministries. Do you know a ministry that could really use some financial help? Partner in their work! One suggestion I have is to give to the WKU BCM (the ministry I worked with for 4 years), which is a ministry that seeks to impact the campus for Christ. Let me know if this interests you.

Lord, Let me hold onto nothing tightly and everything lightly.