Value the eternal!
This week’s devotions are based on “The Key” Week 5: “Let Grace Lead Your Finances!” (WATCH HERE)
Death is a sobering reminder of one reality. We will leave everything in this world behind. There is no need for a U-haul behind a hearse at your funeral. People like the ancient Egyptians have tried it as they would bury material wealth with the rulers so it could be used in the afterlife. Unfortunately it was just the fortune of grave robbers. You can’t take it with you.
Yet, we often don’t live that way. Or let me just speak for myself, “I often don’t live that way.” It is easy to focus on stuff, find security in stuff, want to have stuff around, and find our value in stuff. We can look at it, use it, and hold on to it. But we can’t take it with us.
Paul told Timothy: For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1 Timothy 6:7).
So if we can’t take it with us, what are we to do with the material blessings we have been given? Paul gives Timothy this encouragement to pass on:
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Enjoy material wealth as a blessing from God, but don’t let material wealth supplant your hope in God.
Use material wealth to do good and be generous to others. Let what God has given to you flow freely back to Him and to others.
Use material wealth to invest in Gospel ministry that has eternal blessings, not just temporal pleasure.
Our world has created a challenge for us to keep our hearts valuing the eternal over the temporal. It has promoted financial wealth and all it can buy as what it means to truly live. However, Paul points out to Timothy that if you want to take hold of life that is TRULY life, value the eternal over the temporal.
For when grace leads us to value the eternal over the temporal…
- Our hearts are content.
- Our hope is in God.
- Our wealth is a tool.
- Our joy is in giving
- Our impact is in sharing.
- Our treasure is heaven.
So then it doesn’t matter if we can’t take it with us because what is most valuable, the grace of God, we can.
So let grace lead your finances. Allow the Spirit of God to direct your heart and attitude toward wealth, not the world around us. Grace will lead us to see wealth as a tool, not an idol. It will enable us to be godly, not greedy and value the eternal, not the temporal.
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Apply: Take time today to reflect: Am I more focused on the temporal or the eternal? What changes when your focus shifts more to the eternal from the temporal?
Prayer: Lord thank you for providing all the material things I have for my enjoyment. Let the blessing of wealth never become the curse of idolatry. Keep my heart focused on the eternal even as I live in the temporal world. AMEN.
Greed or Godliness?
This week’s devotions are based on “The Key” Week 5: “Let Grace Lead Your Finances!” (WATCH HERE)
Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Jesus’ parable is a poignant reminder of the temporary nature of material things. It is also a stern warning of how easily our heart can be captivated and driven by the accumulation of things.
The request seemed innocent and a matter of fairness.
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Seems like a reasonable request. Seems like any of you with siblings would do if your brother or sister wasn’t sharing something that was meant to be shared.
But is it really a question of equity between siblings or a matter of greed in my heart.
Jesus deflects the “fairness” question and directs his response to greed that lurked in the man’s heart.
Jesus knew that the question wasn’t about fairness, but about the accumulation of wealth. He knew that the heart of this individual was set on material things more than anything else. The parable that follows strengthens his point. When we focus and invest life in material things, death will be our demise. When we focus on building value in our hearts that focuses on love of God over things, our wealth will be realized in eternity.
This is a good reminder of how dangerous the sin of greed can be. Our 21st century American culture feeds our sinful nature’s desire for more stuff. It is easy to defer spiritual matters for the sake of a job or career that is moving us up on the pay scale. Jesus says, “Watch out!”
A lesson like this leads us to pause and reflect, “Am I the fool whose heart is set on accumulating wealth? Or am I the wise person whose heart is set on developing a relationship with the Lord?” Remember our heart can only serve one master.
There is nothing sinful with being wealthy. God may choose to bless you in that way. The danger from which we must flee is that wealth captivating the love of our heart. If and when it does, we must be willing to let go of all worldly wealth to allow only God to take the first love of our heart and lives.
Apply: Look past the questions you ask about money and wealth and evaluate, “Is this coming from a heart of greed or a heart of godliness?”
Prayer:
Take the world, but give me Jesus! All its joys are but a name.
But his love abides forever, Through eternal years the same. AMEN.
Grace Teaches Contentment!
This week’s devotions are based on “The Key” Week 5: “Let Grace Lead Your Finances!” (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
I will be the first to admit. I struggle at times with contentment.
We are bombarded in our world with messages to make us discontent with our current circumstances. Watch any advertisement that comes up on TV, YouTube, Facebook or anywhere else and the goal of that advertisement is to make you discontent with your current circumstances and desire to have a need filled with their product. As you scroll Facebook or Instagram, are there not times when you desire the life or vacation you see your friends or random people have? Would you not agree that no matter what your present station in life is, there is a subtle unrest in your heart yearning for something different? If you’re at work this morning, you may be longing for retirement. If you are in retirement, you may be wishing you had something meaningful to do. If you have plenty of resources, you may be longing for the next level of social status.
Discontent is not an amount of money or material things. Discontent is a matter of the heart.
Really, the heart has been discontent from the beginning because we are all born with a sinful nature. Our sinful nature thinks first of ourselves. Ask any mom who has had to wake up to an infant crying for food. Our first reactions in life are caused by discontent, even though we are way too young to label it as such. To be clear, I’m not saying a person shouldn’t express their needs when they have them, but again, discontent is a matter of the heart, not a situation or station in life.
Paul wrote to the Philippians in 4:11-3 two times, “I have LEARNED to be content…” Contentment has to be learned. It is not natural to us. He had to LEARN the secret to being content.
What is the secret to contentment?
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
This popular passage is on may plaques and wall hangings and often applied to every situation in life. Yes, it is true we can get through any situation in life with the strength the LORD provides, however, Paul writes this as the answer to discontentment. I can be CONTENT because the LORD gives me strength.
Discontent comes when my trust and hope are in material things. Contentment comes when my trust and hope are in the LORD.
So how does that work? If I have plenty. I am content because I trust that the LORD has provided. If I am in want, I am content because I know the LORD will provide all my needs. When the Lord is the strength of our heart, our heart can always be content in the LORD, no matter what our external circumstances, our internal circumstance rests in the strength of the LORD.
Here’s the truth: When God’s grace leads our finances, we can always be content.
Apply: Evaluate your heart today. List the things in your life right now that are leading you to be discontent. What truth of God’s Word can replace the messaging of discontent and lead you to be content in today’s circumstances?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for providing every day for my needs. Forgive my heart of discontent and replace it with contentment that only comes from your presence and strength. AMEN.
Careful for the money trap!
This week’s devotions are based on “The Key” Week 5: “Let Grace Lead Your Finances!” (WATCH HERE)
1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
On Sunday, I told the story of a couple of raccoons that have found the treats that my wife has set out for the delivery drivers. One night they enjoyed trail mix, cheetos, doritos, and even got some of a bottle of gatorade. Of course they found an easy opportunity and things that taseted good, but we don’t want the raccoons around the house. So, I borrowed a trap. The challenge is to put something in the trap that would entice the raccoons, but not the neighborhood feral cats that my wife likes to feed…another story for another time :). So, I put a bag of doritos in the trap. The next morning the doritos were out of the trap and the empty bag was in the front grass. They got the chips, but didn’t get caught.
Paul tells Timothy that riches can be like a bag of doritos in a trap. They are enticing and we go after them. Sometimes, we get away with it and so it emboldens us to chase after riches more. Perhaps to the extent that we completely ignore the trap that the love of money can set.
Eventually we will get caught when our hearts are loving money above all else.
Jesus put it this way: Matthew 6:24 “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.”
Money is a blessing. The love of money is an idol.
The love of money has sent many people into ruin. When the love of money leads our heart, it leads us to be dishonest. It leads us to make gaining wealth our top priority above anything and anyone else. It leads us into a trap we think we can get out of, but ultimately when our hearts love money, we step away from the love of God and focus our life on the accumulation of wealth.
Satan sets this trap for our hearts. We need to turn from it and as enticing as it is and as much as the culture around us promotes us, heed the spiritual warning Paul gives. “Flee from all this!”
Repentance turns our heart away from the love of money back to the love of God. WIth the love of God we find forgiveness and God’s grace. It is God’s grace that turns the trap of money into a blessing that can be a tool to be a blessing. When God’s grace takes the lead in our hearts. So what happens when God’s grace is first in our hearts and money is led by grace?
Money becomes a blessing that we use in ways the Lord gives to support his work, provide for our family, and give to those in need. Money serves the cause of God’s grace rather than being a hindrance to God’s grace. When grace fills our heart, we can go to work not just to gain money, but rather to serve the Lord and serve people…what we get paid becomes a bonus! Our hearts aren’t filled with worry about finances because grace leads us to become good stewards and manage our wealth in a way that honors the Lord, putting him first and living within the means God has given. Grace leads us to live and give with joy and generosity. Money becomes a tool which is used to carry out the good works God has planned for us. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (9:7) Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
So don’t fall for Satan’s trap. I like Doritos too. It’s tempting to pursue after them. But I love God’s grace more and it’s his grace that will lead my finances and bring the greatest blessing from them.
Apply: Evaluate your heart. Has the love of money become an idol? Is your heart set on financial gain or God’s grace? Ask God’s Spirit for power to replace the love of money with the love of grace!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace. Let me notice and avoid every trap Satan sends to get me to love money more than you. AMEN.
A Devotion for Memorial Day 2024
20,000 went. 6,000 returned.
More than 2 out of every 3 did not come home.
Yet even the 6,000 that survived were willing to give up their life and have carried the scars of war throughout their lives.
This was just one division of army soldiers deployed during World War II. One of the 6,000 that came home after fighting on the European front of the War is our member at Crosspoint. At 98 years young, his memories of battle and the heartache of war are very real. With a tear in his eye, he too honors those that fell in battle and sacrificed all to give him and all of us the freedom of the country in which we live.
I will forever be grateful to Ralph, the soldiers he fought with, and all those that sacrificed all in the heat of battle to preserve the freedom in which we live. They have given and done what I never could.
Memorial Day is a sobering reminder of the cost of war. It is not glorious, but brutal. In talking with Ralph just yesterday, he asked, “Why must war take place?”
It’s a good question. The “war that would end all wars” didn’t live up to its billing. The world wars didn’t end all wars…neither did Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. American blood continues to be shed at the costly expense of human lives.
Each individual who gave his or her life in sacrifice for our country is to be honored today. Every individual life is also a reminder of the brokenness of sin in our world and the heart that desires to take vengeance on others. Wars between countries and individuals does not solve the spiritual battle that wages within us and between us.
Others can give their life to protect our country and our freedoms. Unfortunately, no other human being can give their life to settle the spiritual battle sin creates. Psalm 49:7-9 states: No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever and not see decay.
The only one that could enter the battle over Satan and come out victorious is our Savior Jesus. He was willing to give up his life so that we might live with him forever. His heart was one of service. He wasn’t looking for glory or acclaim. He wasn’t looking for power and prestige, but just to serve his fellow man by giving his life as the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus himself put it this way:
Matthew 20:26-28 Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Thank you Jesus for doing for me what I could never do for myself!
Jesus said that until he returns there will be wars and rumors of wars. The list of lives we honor on Memorial Day will, unfortunately, continue to grow. The sinful hearts of mankind will continue to spark wars and physical conflicts. Men and women will give their lives to prevent the freedoms we enjoy from being removed. As we remember these individuals, each one is a small reminder of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave for us so that whether our life ends in war or in time of peace, our freedom in heaven is secured forever!
Apply: Take time today to give thanks to God for those who have preserved the freedoms of our country by offering their lives in the line of duty.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for providing bravery to our military to enter battle at the cost of their lives. Let us never take for granted the freedoms you have allowed us to have and let us leverage them for the sake of your Gospel and proclaiming the One who gave his all for us! AMEN.