Category Archives: Faithful Steward

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

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 .

Leading Abundantly with our People

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19 “I never seem to have enough time in a day to do everything I need to get done in my ministry.” “I just don’t have enough willing and skilled people to get the work done.” “We are always short of funds to carry out our mission.” This is the second of three blogs discussing what it .

Closing Thoughts on the 100 Day Journey to Freedom

I would like to share with you two closing thoughts. The end of this one-hundred day trek brings you to a new vantage point from which you can look back over the trail you have traversed and ahead to the path that lies in front of you. Both looking back and looking ahead are important at this specific point in time in your life. Start by looking back.  Consider the image we have been .

A One-Hundred Day Journey to Freedom: Meditation #49

  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  Matthew 10:39 Meditation The journey of the faithful, obedient steward is fraught with the same paradoxes as the journey ofthe disciple of Jesus. They are, in fact, the exact same journey. In both we find life by losing it, receive by giving, lead by serving, become first by being last, and are exalted by being .

A One-Hundred Day Journey to Freedom: Meditation #48

  Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created, and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that .

A One-Hundred Day Journey to Freedom: Meditation #47

  Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when .

A One-Hundred Day Journey to Freedom: Meditation #46

  A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11 Meditation You may not know the name Monseigneur Myriel, the Bishop of Digne, but you very likely know his story. In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables he is the humble bishop who changes the course of history through one act of amazing grace. Jean Valjean comes to him as a broken man, carrying the heavy chains of his criminal .