We want to be a church known for generosity.  Yesterday we saw two principles that a relationship with God teaches us about generosity, and we’ll see two more today.

What we have is not as important as what we keep

The third principle of stewardship has to do with attitude.  This is a far more important consideration than how much money we happen to have.  Stewardship has far more to do with faith than it does with money.  How we look at what we have is far more important that how much we have.

Peter Marshall, who was chaplain of the United States Senate for many years, shared this true story:
There was a man who struggled to give even though he had a large income. He had long been taught to give 10% of his income away, which is called a tithe.  The man said to Marshall, “I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but…but now…I am earning hundreds of thousands a year, and there is no way I can afford to give ten percent to the church.”

The chaplain said they should pray about it and led off, “Heavenly Father, I pray that you would reduce this man’s income back to the place that he can afford to tithe.“

Like the senator, one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we will begin to give more generously when we have a little bit more.  This is simply not true, the day never comes.  Jesus said that those who are faithful when they have a little will be faithful when they have a lot.

The time to learn giving is when we have a little.  It becomes increasingly difficult as our prosperity increases…remember those cords around our hearts.

How much we give is not as important as how much we keep

One day as Jesus sat in the temple with his disciples people came by with their offerings for the temple. Some of the people were quite rich, and they made sizeable donations.  Among them was a poor widow who dropped in her gift of only a few pennies.  Perhaps someone laughed…Jesus pointed out that this widow had actually given more than all the others.

Seeing their surprise at his remark he explained that all the others given from their wealth.  They still had lots left. But this woman had given out of her poverty.  She had nothing left.  In the eyes of God her gift amounted to more than theirs.  God evaluates things differently from the way we do.  In this matter of financial stewardship it is important for growing Christians to remember how much we hold back is far more important than how much we give.    Once again the issue comes back to whether or not we will allow Jesus to free us from the power of money and are we willing to trust God.

These same questions apply to how we use our time and how much of our time we are using to further God’s work around the world.    How much time do we keep for ourselves and how much time do we give to God and those he loves?

Think of a child’s allowance.  The parents don’t really give a child money because he needs it.  They provide everything he needs.  And they don’t ask him to give to charity, buy gifts for others, etc. because he has too much.  They do it to teach him something, to shape and guide him for the future.

Question: Based on these two stories, what do you think God is training people for?  What’s the end goal?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - November 21, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Grace - in Lifestyle

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I introduced the idea of grace with a diagram. We will build on that now, so if you missed it, go back and watch Tuesday and Wednesday’s content. You may be familiar with the Ten Commandments. They are an important part of the tracks that God has created for our lives, the guidelines that keep us from self-destructing. Where did they come from? They are over 3400 years old. God led the Israelites out of danger and slavery, then gave the laws by which this newly freed people were to organize their life together. Of all these laws, the Ten Commandments come first and take most important place. In a few minutes, please watch the attached video to hear the commandments in detail. But first we need to know purpose first, to understand the commandments in their proper place…lest you come away from this thinking that Christianity is all about following a bunch of rules. A common misconception is to make “Obey God’s laws” #1 as if it could qualify you for a life of knowing God. Sometimes Christians communicate the rules like they are number one, having forgotten how they came to know the God who helps them keep those commandments. Knowing God qualifies you to try and follow these commandments…God is working in and through his followers to help transform their lives from the inside out. This was certainly true for Israelites. God, in his love for the Israelites, saved them from slavery in Egypt by parting the red sea. Only once they were safely on the other side of the sea from the Egyptians did he give them the commandments, and call them to live by those commandments in thanks for the gift he’d given them. The 10 commandments answer the question: “How can I live to thank the God who has loved me so much?” Not how can I behave to earn God’s love, or avoid his hate. Not how can I get others to live by my rules? Take a quick run through these commandments. The Commandments deal with two things: Relationship with God Relationship with One Another. The last commandment is unique, since it talks about contentment. This one may seem a bit different from the others, and it is. The others focus on our outward actions, what to do and not do, while this one focuses on our hearts, what to want and desire, and what not to. God is in the transformation business. He not only wanted to see the Israelites as a transformed society, but also to see the minds of all his created human beings transformed in this way. The Bible contains many other guidelines, principles and laws. We don’t have time to go through them all here. Life is complex, and there is not a specific rule for everything. But these principles, the 10 commandments, or even just the 2 commandments to love god and neighbour, or the principle of grace behind them all, can apply to any area of life. I am happy to help you interpret and apply if you have a specific question. Watch the 10 Commandments in the extra video. Challenge: Show grace to someone today. Give them a gift they don’t deserve. Reminder: Last week we talked about worship, and asked you to complete our online survey about worship here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8TS7K93 Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

From Series: "Becoming Like Family"

This series looks at becoming “like family” with others learning to follow Jesus. We're exploring how the church is not a building, institution or event, but a community of people. It's important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.

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