Money is Power

While the world will tell you money makes the world go ‘round, we as Christians know the truth as to what’s really important. When you leave, all you’ve worked for here on Earth won’t amount to anything in heaven. UNLESS… you do what’s right with what you work for.

I’m sure we’ve all been pasted in front of the TV, drooling over other’s wealth and riches from the nicest houses to the sweetest rides, and other crazy luxuries, and to be honest, it’d be nice to have all of that. Time and time again, I have to ask myself is it wrong to have all that and still be a Christian. And while I’m still searching for an answer I know in my heart that it’s not God’s will for Christians to be poor.

While I don’t believe that money makes the world go ‘round, I do truly believe that “money is power”. Money is a means to get things accomplished at a faster rate and I can assure you that if all Christians were rich, this would be a better world. (Ya’ll know me, If I spent the time to get into the possibilities, this would be another devotional in need of a part two.) I believe that when you put money in the right persons hand they can do amazing things, and although one person can’t change the world, one step towards change is progress.

I believe money is beautiful as power because it’s a heavenly lasso, so to say. I believe that with doing the right thing, blessings will come. But when take something you work hard for or “earn” and lift it to God, even more blessings will come. And I’ll take a blessing over working hard for money any day! But this is why it’s very important to participate in tithes and offering.

In my… “earlier” youth, I use to think giving tithes and offering were the same thing. They are two completely different things and at my Church, presented at two different times to further drive the principle. We receive the tithes first, because that’s 10% of what you’ve earn offered to God as a sign of your faithfulness to him, as well as an indicator that you trust him in your finances. You’d have to be really dumb not to want God’s hand in your pocket. All he’s pulling out is 10% and in return your hand gets to be in his. I like the thought of God’s pockets! Shoot!

Offering on the other hand is like a gift that shows God how much more you love him and believe in his blessings. My pastor refers to offering time as preparing your harvest or seeding your blessings. I love how we save the offering for the end of the service as well because nothing compares to sewing a seed in a positive atmosphere where you just know a harvest will grow. It’s like planting a seed in the most fertile and healthiest of soils and watering it with… Fiji water! (That’s “God’s Water” if you didn’t know. If you’ve tasted it, you know what I’m talking about) But getting back to the principal, offering is so much more than “spending money at church”. You tithe because it’s what God’s entitled to. You offer because that’s truly your chance thank God, be it for something he’s already done, or something he’s about to do.

So next time, you’re sitting in your pew or on your row of chairs and you see that bucket coming your way. Don’t be selfish and think about what you need the money for or what you have to buy, or how much more of your money the church is taking from you. We all have felt this way one time or another. But have the power within yourself to bind those thoughts from your mind. Look at your tithes and offering as “God’s money”, not yours, and be thankful your Church has given you an opportunity to send your blessing to God. And if that’s not good enough for you, think about the air conditioned room you sit in, or the lights you sit under, and any other luxuries you have or may even need in your church and make an investment towards them or help keep them going.

That’s all for this month! Just keep these things in mind. Remember the difference between tithes and offering and you WILL be blessed. Let’s get rich together Christians! We can easily do this by putting God’ first!



- C.j.

make money money make money Money MONEY....

This round's topic will be about MONEY! I know you have probably heard a lot of stuff on the news and TV about the financial crisis in America. I am not going to mention the crisis very much because the media has done a good job of doing that. They have done a good job of putting fear in the hearts of people in America to the point where people are scared to make moves concerning their finances. I know first hand because I help people with house mortgages and some don't want to make a move simply because of what they hear on the news even though they should be making a move. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the crisis in America. I want to give you some good news. What if I told you that you don't have to be hurt by the financial crisis not only in America but in the world? What if I told you that there was another economy that is not the least bit hurt by what is going on in the world? And what if I told you that this economy is not getting hurt by the financial crisis in the world but it is actually doing very good in spite of all the stuff that is going on in our economy? Would you want to get in on it? I mean think about it. You wouldn't be hurt by rising gas prices, food prices, and all the other stuff that is going on. Do you want to know where to find this economy? I thought you would never ask. I must warn you, this economy is under a different kind of government than what you grew up in. It's different but better. Trust me. I have lived under both governments and I would not want to live under any kind of government than the one I am about to share with you. I guess I should tell you now, right? God's government and it's economy is not suffering right now. The money in God's economy is not short. The real citizens of this economy have so much that it is not funny. But I must tell you, in order to benefit from this economy you must live by and obey it's rules. And one of the rules of this government concerning your money is to partner with the President of the government , by doing what He tells you to do with your money, with the hope of getting much more than you gave in return. Can you imagine? Let me show you something. Say you have a credit card, right? What would happen if you were not making your payments on the credit card and you were always late and then you decided to call the company to see if they would give you more credit on your card? Would they give you the credit that you asked for or would they deny you? They would deny you, right? Why? Because you did not live up to their standards, which was to make your payments and make them on time. Now, what if you always made your payments and you always made them on time and you decided to give them a call so that they could give you more credit? Would they give it to you? I think they would. Why? Because you always made the payments and they were always on time, which were the guidelines that they set for you. Can you imagine if you had good credit with God? One of His guidelines is to give 10% of what you make. He says "bring your tithes (10% of what you make) and offerings (extra) into my storehouse (your local church?) that I may have meat (money) in my house, and prove me (test me) and see if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that you would not have room enough to receive" I encourage you to live by God's rules when it comes to your money. When you live by his rules that means you get the benefits of His economy which are not hurt by our economies and by our mistakes. When you live by His rules concerning your money you have good credit with Him. And when ever you need more credit all you have to do is call Him.

WOW!
-Mick