Category Archives: Devotional

Take the Trek toward freedom with Dr. Rodin in devotional series.

The Seventh of Seven Victories of the Generous Spirit

sevenvicgtoriesembedA few years ago a friend introduced me to a revolutionary idea. In our battle against the enemy, one of our greatest weapons is generosity. You may have never considered generosity as a weapon against the enemy. Neither had I. Here is the final one of the seven victories that we win every time we perform an act of giving that flows from a generous, Christ-centered spirit.

Victory #7 – I worship a God of abundance and I can never out give him

Finally, we have the opportunity through our generosity to affirm this wonderful truth that we worship a God of absolute abundance. It is so easy to slide into a scarcity mentality, always focused on what we don’t have. We look at the affluence of others with envy and become reticent when friends and peers advance ahead of us. These are signs of a scarcity outlook. In such a mindset we will never have enough, and therein lies the true deception. When we can be discontent in the midst of all that God has provided for us, we have allowed a spirit of scarcity to take over. This, too, is a grand lie.

We worship a God of abundance who wants only to provide for us if we will yield our lives to him. By our acts of generosity we acknowledge God’s unfailing abundance. And with it comes the second truth, we can never out-give God. He challenges Malachi, “test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven.” (Malachi 3:10) Throughout human history everything we know about God as revealed to us through Scripture and in the life of Jesus Christ tells us that at his very heart he is a giver; an abundant, gracious, lavishly providing, sovereign God. If we believe that, we can live in this world with the freedom to reflect that image in all of our acts of generosity. And when we do so, we will know daily victory in this ongoing battle.

What kind of life do you want for yourself? Do you recognize the chains that keep you in bondage, that rob you of the life God created you to live, that stress you out and wear you down? Are you listening to the lies of the enemy regarding money, possessions, power, pride and praise? Most importantly, do you want to be free?

The loving God who created you has an amazing vision for your life, and it includes a heart of a faithful steward that is opened up to the world through Christ-centered generosity. I pray that you will embrace that life today. It begins with a simple but profound affirmation, “It’s All His.” To God be the glory

The Sixth of Seven Victories of the Generous Spirit

sevenvicgtoriesembedA few years ago a friend introduced me to a revolutionary idea. In our battle against the enemy, one of our greatest weapons is generosity. You may have never considered generosity as a weapon against the enemy. Neither had I. Here is the sixth of the seven victories that we win every time we perform an act of giving that flows from a generous, Christ-centered spirit.

Victory #6 – Money has no hold on me!

We must acknowledge the power that Jesus ascribes to money. There is no greater way to rob money of this power than to simply give it away. The world around us is telling us that money is the solution to our problems. With more money we can live in our dream house, travel the world, be admired by our friends, control our circumstances, satisfy all of our pleasures and desires, and be happy. Of course, it’s all a lie, a grand deception. We’ve seen how the love of money brings nothing but bondage, fear, anxiety, stress and despair. Our acts of generosity, our free and joyful giving is a public declaration that we renounce and reject this whole distorted notion about money in our world. We say directly to the enemy, “money has no hold on me. The Lord provides it and the Lord guides me in giving it away lavishly and generously. The Lord will take care of my every need, and therefore money has no place in my heart.” That is real freedom. That is true victory!

What kind of life do you want for yourself? Do you recognize the chains that keep you in bondage, that rob you of the life God created you to live, that stress you out and wear you down? Are you listening to the lies of the enemy regarding money, possessions, power, pride and praise? Most importantly, do you want to be free?

The loving God who created you has an amazing vision for your life, and it includes a heart of a faithful steward that is opened up to the world through Christ-centered generosity. I pray that you will embrace that life today. It begins with a simple but profound affirmation, “It’s All His.” To God be the glory

The Fifth of Seven Victories of the Generous Spirit

sevenvicgtoriesembedA few years ago a friend introduced me to a revolutionary idea. In our battle against the enemy, one of our greatest weapons is generosity. You may have never considered generosity as a weapon against the enemy. Neither had I. Here is the fifth of the seven victories that we win every time we perform an act of giving that flows from a generous, Christ-centered spirit.

Victory #5 – I want to worship God with all I have, and this is part of what I have – no withholding.

There is a powerful and disturbing lesson that comes from the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. The entire church in Jerusalem was experiencing an amazing overflow of generosity. Everyone was selling land and possessions and bringing all they had to put at the feet of the apostles. They did it with joy, understanding that God was their provider, that they had been set free and that this money was going to be used to bless others and further the kingdom of God. Their giving was a supreme act of worship. In the midst of this outpouring of generosity, Ananias and Sapphira decided to withhold for themselves part of what they received from the sale of some land. While this may not seem unreasonable at first read, the problem was with the disposition of their heart. So many of the temptations we’ve talked about can be found in this story. Their sin was giving into their sense of ownership, withholding from God was rightly his, and reducing their worship to a financial transaction. If we believe everything belongs to God, then giving is a sacred act

We cannot separate our giving from our intimate life of worship to the Father in the name of the Son by the power the Holy Spirit. God wants all of us – heart, soul, mind and pocketbook. It’s all his, and he desires that we lay it all before his feet with great joy, anticipating what he will do with it for our good and the advancement of his kingdom. Are you giving joyfully and freely, holding nothing back but responding obediently as God leads you? If so, you’ve won a great victory in this battle.

What kind of life do you want for yourself? Do you recognize the chains that keep you in bondage, that rob you of the life God created you to live, that stress you out and wear you down? Are you listening to the lies of the enemy regarding money, possessions, power, pride and praise? Most importantly, do you want to be free?

The loving God who created you has an amazing vision for your life, and it includes a heart of a faithful steward that is opened up to the world through Christ-centered generosity. I pray that you will embrace that life today. It begins with a simple but profound affirmation, “It’s All His.” To God be the glory

The Fourth of Seven Victories of the Generous Spirit

sevenvicgtoriesembedA few years ago a friend introduced me to a revolutionary idea. In our battle against the enemy, one of our greatest weapons is generosity. You may have never considered generosity as a weapon against the enemy. Neither had I. Here is the fourth of the seven victories that we win every time we perform an act of giving that flows from a generous, Christ-centered spirit.

Victory #4 – I’ve been Set Free to Give with Joy

There are a great number of Christians who give regularly, and some who even give sacrificially, but precious few who do so with great joy. Some have been trained to believe that it is their duty and obligation to give. Others give out of a misconception of the Old Testament concept of the tithe and give mostly out of guilt as a result. Some give out of a sense of gratitude, which can just be the other side of the coin from guilt, “God has given you so much, shouldn’t you be grateful and give something back?”

There are a lot of motivations in the church for people to give, but Jesus lifted up one for special attention – joy. Imagine if taking the offering was a highly anticipated, joyful and meaningful moment in every worship service. That would require the transformation of people’s hearts and the cultivation of a generous spirit. When that happens, when we give with absolute joy, we render the enemy impotent in so many ways regarding money, pride, power and praise. Pray for that spirit that you may be filled with the joy of the Lord in every expression of obedient generosity.

What kind of life do you want for yourself? Do you recognize the chains that keep you in bondage, that rob you of the life God created you to live, that stress you out and wear you down? Are you listening to the lies of the enemy regarding money, possessions, power, pride and praise? Most importantly, do you want to be free?

The loving God who created you has an amazing vision for your life, and it includes a heart of a faithful steward that is opened up to the world through Christ-centered generosity. I pray that you will embrace that life today. It begins with a simple but profound affirmation, “It’s All His.” To God be the glory

The Third of Seven Victories of the Generous Spirit

A few years ago a friend introduced me to a revolutionary idea. In our battle against the enemy, one of our greatest weapons is generosity. You may have never considered generosity as a weapon against the enemy. Neither had I. Here is the third of the seven victories that we win every time we perform an act of giving that flows from a generous, Christ-centered spirit. Victory #3 – It’s all His, I will .
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Trees are Trees – Thoughts on the Goodness of Creation

I am taking a break in my series on Global Voices to share two short articles I wrote for the Evangelical Environmental Network.  An intersection in north Spokane was once surrounded by tall Ponderosa pines. I always loved arriving at this intersection. It gave me the feel of being on a forest service road deep in the woods. One day several large, yellow pieces of earth moving equipment arrived and over the following weeks .
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When Giving Can Become an Excuse for Neglecting Real Generosity: A Reflection from the UK

By Dr. Sas Conradie, Coordinator Global Generosity Network The front page of the monthly newsletter from my church in a small town in England says it all: ‘A double spread on the launch of Foodbank is an ideal example of the church being the instrument of blessing in its local setting.’ Yes, one of the latest crazes in UK churches has come to town – giving out food. Surely this is one of the best .
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Stewardship of Our Time

By P.K.D. Lee, former Executive Director, Haggai Institute now living in Hyderabad, India and serving as a Bible Teacher Plautus in 200BC makes the following statement, “The gods confound the man who first found out how to distinguish hours! Confound him, too, who in this place first set up a sun dial, to cut and hack my days so wretchedly into small portions.” Today we are in an era when we are in bondage to time. Our .
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Do you Love Yourself? Stewardship in Emerging Economies

By: Barbara Shantz, TWR’s Global Development Liaison: bshantz@twr.org Texts: Matthew 22:35-40; Luke 18: 18-27 When speaking about stewardship in emerging nations, I’m often puzzled to observe local believers who trust that believers from the West have correct biblical answers for most things, including money. Worse yet is the observation that some from the West believe it, too! These situations remind me of Matthew 22, in which we read a string of theocratic legal questions .
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The Global Voice of Generosity

This year I have had the opportunity to travel to India, China and Hong Kong (OK, Hong Kong is technically China, but it sure doesn’t feel like it). I have been with Latin American leaders from Central and South America through TWR, Nigerian seminary students and faculty through West Africa Theological Seminary and Asian church and ministry leaders in Bangalore and Beijing. I have met with wonderful new colleagues from Egypt, the Philippines, Europe…and .
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