Serve God or Serve money…but you can’t do both!
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).
Giving and generosity can be a touchy topic in the church. When one starts to give direction to bank accounts and budgeting, it gets pretty personal. Yet of all the topics which Jesus teaches on there are over 2000 passages in the Bible that talk about money. A large number of parables that Jesus teaches speak to money topics and three of the 10 commandments speak directly to my interaction with material things.
So why so much time spent on money?
Perhaps the generic charge, “All the church talks about is money” or “All the church wants is my money” is shallow at best, very wrong at worst.
However, if the topic of giving and generosity is made in the context of dollars and sense and the appeal and ask is always about more money, one can understand the frustration of parishoners.
But here’s the truth. Giving is not a dollar and sense issue. Giving is a heart issue.
Because it’s a heart issue, that’s why Jesus deems it so important to guard our heart against the love of money and free it by the love of God.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
We often think about “having” money. Jesus points out the reality that our hearts can be convinced to “serve” money. That means that our heart and our lives become slaves to money (or to God). Money has the potential to be our master.
How so?
It controls what we do. Money can quickly become the priority of our lives. Our focus can become making as much money as possible. Our focus can be spending the countless hours at work to gain a higher paying position or earning a substantial year-end bonus. Money can give us options that take our time and energy. Recreation and travel can take us away from time with Jesus. Having a lot of stuff can mean a lot of time taking care of that stuff. Money can easily call our name, command our attention, and control our daily actions.
In this verse Jesus doesn’t tell us which one to follow, he just challenges by saying “You can’t do both.” As Christians we’d love to have all the wealth and what it offers AND love God. This is possible, but we can’t allow a mixed loyalty. It is one or the other…God or money.
When a Christian leader from an African country was asked about what he noticed was the “hidden sin” of American Christianity, he quipped, “You have buildings built just to store stuff.” His point? Materialism has crept into the norm of American lifestyle and every Christian, but perhaps American Christians a bit more, is tempted to love money, things, stuff more than God and as a result life becomes about serving them more than serving God.
So let’s start off the week on giving and generosity by repenting of our love of money and our willingness to let it be our master. Our heart can have only one loyalty. By God’s grace and forgiveness, I pray that in my heart and yours any serving of money is quickly replaced by serving God…for he is the one who gave us that which is most valuable, his Son Jesus.
Apply: Where in your life does the love of money creep in…or take full control? Ask the Lord to forgive and realign your heart to first and only serving God.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for my heart that is easily deceived into thinking money and material wealth are what is most important. Change my heart and my focus to only love and serve you! AMEN.
Use your gifts!
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).
Why use our gifts?
Every gift that we receive has an intention from the giver that the gift be used. I get that sometimes we receive gifts and are not sure how to use them. Other gifts we let sit on a shelf and never get used. Spiritual gifts are given to us to be used. Like a superhero who doesn’t use his superpowers, is a Christian who doesn’t use the gifts the Spirit has given. A superhero uses the powers he has to right a wrong in the community in which they live. So it is for God’s people. The Spirit of God gives us gifts to use for the needs of the community in which we live.
Jesus saw the need and prayed for people to use their gifts to reach these communities.
Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
If Jesus is praying for something it is a need.
What Jesus sees is people who need him, need his love and grace.
What Jesus sees is people who are wandering through life with out any spiritual guidance, protection or peace. He wants the people to experience what he has to give, but he cannot get to them all.
So he prays for more workers.
The very next verse indicates the answer to his prayer:
Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
The disciples closest to him were the answer to his prayers. To these disciples he gave special gifts that they would need to carry out the ministry trip on which he was sending them.
Do you suppose the prayer and the answer are similar today?
Do you see what Jesus sees? Do you see people around you without any spiritual guidance, protection or peace? Do you see people in need of Jesus’ love and grace?
Do you hear Jesus pray, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Do we ask the Father to “send out workers into his harvest field”?
We do.
But do we expect to be the answer to Jesus prayer?
Not always.
But we should.
Just like Jesus calls his followers to be the answer to his prayer, so he calls us to be the answer to his prayer. He has called us to follow him in faith and his Spirit has given us gifts to use to bring people to Jesus.
Our family needs us because they need Jesus.
Our community needs us because they need Jesus.
Our country needs us because they need Jesus.
So out of love for Jesus and out of love for the people he came to save, we serve to the best of our ability with the gifts God’s Spirit has given us to bring Jesus to the hearts of people who desperately need him.
Apply: What opportunities has God given you to use your gifts to serve him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus thank you for calling me off the comfort of my couch to be active in serving you. Thank you for equipping me for what you have called me to do and the privilege to be part of your kingdom work.
You are where God wants you to be!
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).
1 Corinthians 12: 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
These few verses of Scripture pack a lot of truth to reflect on as it comes to realizing how important we are to God first and foremost and then to the rest of the body of Christ.
The amazing design of the human body is a wonder that no architect other than God could create. Scientists study it. Engineers try to replicate it. God created it. Not only is everything so fearfully and wonderfully made, everything is precisely and wonderfully positioned. Every part…the feet…the knee…the bone marrow…the lungs…the heart…and every part is just where it needs to be to carry out its function for the benefit of the body.
Do you see yourself in the same way as a member of the body of Christ and perhaps more specifically as a member a local church, a subset of the larger body of Christ?
God has given you the gifts you have and placed you in the place you are to be part of his body ministry in that place.
Too often we look at church as a consumer. We look for a church that “meets our needs”…that “serves our family.” While one of the blessings of being part of a local church is that through His Word, God does meet our spiritual needs, another blessing to realize is that God puts us in a community, in a place, in a church because he needs and wants your gifts to be contributed to that body of Christ.
As a small church at Crosspoint, perhaps we see and notice this more often. Visitors come and go and the right programs are not their for their kids or for themselves. But could it be possible that God is leading you to a church to BE the part of the body that is missing there? Could it be your young family is being guided to be part of building the ministry to children at that church? Could it be that your administration gift is needed to organize an area of ministry that needs attention? Could it be that your heart of generosity is needed to give that church a bit of financial breathing room? Could it be that God is moving you to a place in his body ministry that he wants YOU to contribute to the effort of his body in that location?
I believe God does that when we see that we are not just a consumer of his blessings, but that he positions us in his body ministry JUST AS HE determined.
As Paul said, “There are many parts, but one body.” Begin to realize that when the Spirit of God brought you to faith, he also is placing you in a group of believers because HE wants your set of gifts and abilities to be part of THAT part of the body ministry.
Imagine what happens when we shift from seeing ourselves as a consumer of the ministry of the body of Christ and much more as a contributor. I begin to marvel, that just like the parts of my human body are positioned so well, that God has put me in just the right place where HE wants ME to function with the gifts that HE has given to me.
If you are attending Crosspoint, we have the confidence and the vision that God has brought each of you to our fellowship to be part of the work that God has given us to do. Let us help you discover God’s place for you through our Gifts in Action program. Email pastorgeiger@gmail.com to have that conversation. If you are reading this outside of Georgetown, TX I bet your pastor or leader in your church would love to discover another “body part” that God has placed to be a blessing to them.
Remember, God has you “just where he wants you to be.”
Apply: Make a commitment today to renew or initiate your gifts in your local church to add your Spirit given gifts to the ministry effort there!
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for placing me in life where I am. Forgive me for being a bystander to your work. Lead me to see that you have put me in my location to be part of YOUR work for the growth of your kingdom! AMEN.
We all have different gifts!
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).
Every human being has different abilities.
People are great leaders. People are great teachers. People are great helpers. The list goes on.
So what makes Spiritual Gifts different from those talents and attributes that other people have?
Simply put, the purpose is different.
Every talent a person has can be used for self-gain and self-promotion or the benefit of other people. Every talent enables a person to do somethings differently or better than another person. However, Spiritual Gifts are abilities that God gives out of his love and grace that are specifically given and focused on the building up and growing of God’s kingdom. They are gifts that God is giving or repurposing for his glory.
For example, an individual can be a gifted leader and move a company from a start up to a multi-billion dollar world-wide company. However, a leader with the Spiritual Gift of leadership would refocus on leading to the glory of God and make leadership less about the success of the company and more about the spread of the Gospel.
So what are some of those gifts God’s Spirit gives? Before we get to specific ones, here’s a few general truths.
- God’s Spirit is wise and gives the gifts to people that the Church needs at that point and season in life in history.
- There is no exhaustive list of Spiritual Gifts. (Four good areas are 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, 1 Peter 4, and Ephesians 4.
Now for a few specifics. Here’s the list Paul records in Romans 12:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Do you think you have any of these gifts?
Prophesy: Often this is received as the ability to apply God’s truth in a future context or setting. Not to be confused with the sinful art of “fortune telling,” prophesy takes the concrete truth of God’s Word and applies it in advance of a future event or situation.
Serving: Serving is the willingness to use my gifts to be a blessing to someone else. Service is often the yielding of my time and priorities to the needs and priorities of others. I see other’s needs as greater than my own.
Teaching: Teaching is the ability to make the confusing understandable. A good teacher breaks down content into understandable and meaningful bites so that the individual learns it and is able to apply it.
Encouraging: We all get discouraged. We can get stuck on the present and have diminishing hope or enthusiasm for the future. One with the gift of encouragement isn’t empty in their words, but loves to put God’s promises of truth plainly on the heart of one who is discouraged to change their perspective and give them hope.
Contributing: This gift is an open hand to give materially to a material need. Individuals with this gift manage the wealth God has given them in a minimal way to take care of their own personal needs, but in a generous way to ensure they always have resources to give.
Leadership. One with the gift of leadership is able to move people toward a vision and goal. Their influence is one that is just and positive. They can see the big picture, make clear decisions, and find joy in bringing people along on the journey. They love to create greater impact and influence for the Gospel.
Showing mercy: These are people the Spirit has given a big heart. They are empathetic and able to assist those that many others wouldn’t. Their patient and gentle spirit is humble in interactions, yet powerful in touching the lives of people with the compassionate love of Jesus.
So did one or two of these stand out to you? Perhaps it’s time to start experimenting and see if the gifts you are noticing are confirmed. God is generous and has not overlooked anyone in giving gifts to you. They flow from his grace to you to use for the spread of his grace.
Apply: What are one or two ideas you have to use the gifts God has given to you?
Prayer: Lord thank you for the generosity and variety of your grace to give gifts to me and many others. Help us to embrace their purpose and use them for your glory and the advancement of your kingdom. AMEN.
You are part of a Super Team!
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).
Not every superhero has every super power.
The Justice League on Saturday morning cartoons back in the late 70’s was a combination of many of the popular superheroes of the day (Superman, Superwoman, Flash, Wonder Twins, and more). They came together in the Justice League for the purpose of overcoming evil and injustices perpetuated by the villans of the world. The goal was to utilize the strength of each superhero in combination with the strengths of other superheroes to overcome whatever challenge they were facing.
In amazing fashion in 30 minutes they would all come together and whatever threat the world was facing was overcome by the super team of superheroes.
Have you ever considered the Church to be a superteam of superheros?
When we realize that every person the Spirit brings to faith in Jesus is also one to whom the Spirit gives Spirit powers…Spiritual gifts. Yet the Spirit doesn’t give every person the same gifts or doesn’t give one person every gift. So he brings people together in his Church to combine our gifts together to do the work that God has given to us to do. Here’s how the Apostle Paul describes it:
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
The human body is an amazing machine designed and created by the Almighty God. There are parts of our body that we don’t even know we have until it hurts or fails. Most of our parts function millions of times a day without even having to think about it. Millions of cells have hundreds of parts and even each of those parts function together. Yet, each part has a unique “superpower” upon which all the other parts of the body depend on. If they are absent or fail to function the body suffers. When they all function together, the body does amazing things.
This is the picture of the Church which the Spirit of God uses to describe the body of Christ, the Church. Many parts…unique gifts…working together for the common good and the glory of God.
This is one of the reasons that we can’t do the Christian faith in isolation. We need the other parts of the body and the other parts of the body need us. Sure, one can have faith in Jesus and just have them and God as part of that relationship. However, God himself designed his Church to be made up of many individuals with many different gifts serving one common purpose.
So what does that mean for you?
The Spirit of God gave you gifts to be part of the team of the Church.
The Team of the Church has been given gifts to combine with yours to do the work of the Church.
So let this devotion be an encouragement, wherever you are.
If you are not part of a Christ-centered, Bible believing Christian church, let this be an encouragement that you are missing out on the blessing of other members of the body of Christ and they are missing out on the gifts God has given to you.
If you are part of a Christian church and have been more a consumer of the content and program of that church and being blessed by other active members of the body of Christ, let this devotion be an encouragement to become a contributor and be willing to use your gifts in service to the Lord and your church by getting involved.
If you are an attender at Crosspoint, we handed out a flier with opportunities to use your gifts in the ministry in Georgetown. Thank you to all who filled it out. Here is the link to that form that you can print out and email or take a picture and text/email back to us.
It isn’t about “getting people busy.” It is about using the gifts the Spirit has given to you and using them together with the rest of the team…your church…God’s church.
Apply: Prayerfully consider how to use your gifts more fully in the work of the Lord at your local church.
Prayer: Spirit of God, thank you for giving me gifts to use in the work of the Church. Forgive me for sitting on the sidelines. Empower me and guide me to the place in the Body you would have me use my gifts. AMEN.