Economic Reality

On May 26, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 4: 19


And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
This verse is just two verses after yesterday’s verse about the gifts of the Philippians accruing to their own account. Here Paul delivers the punch line. Because they, the Philippians, met the needs of the ministry, God was obligated to meet all of their needs. We really need to learn that God moves resources all over the world according to this principle. He multiplies seed sown. This is the principle we all need to adopt in our finances. This is the way God set up the earth to work. We have turned it on its head and operated our economy according to all we can get. That is just the opposite of the economic principles God established in the earth in the beginning. One can see the righteousness in God’s way and the greed in the other way. It is no wonder our economy has collapsed around our ears. It was never meant to work that way. God is your source and your provider and he wants to see you well cared for. He does that by multiplying your seed so for goodness sake, sow some good seed today.
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The Gift that Gives Back

On May 25, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 4: 17

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

The Apostle Paul, in this passage and its accompanying scriptures, taught the Philippians about giving into the Lord’s work. But he was not only teaching them to give into the support of the ministry. He also taught them the principle of sowing and reaping. He told them in this excerpt that their gifts accrue to their own account. You see, God works according to multiplication. He takes what you have to sow and from that creates a harvest. So the Philippians’ gifts to Paul not only supported his ministry but they were also the means God had to get more substance into their hands. I heard Minister Jesse Duplantis say one time, “God isn’t trying to get something from you. He is trying to get something to you.” I think that is Paul’s message in this scripture. As God continues to multiply the harvest back to the sowers, they have their needs met and more besides to support more ministries, to send ministers into every need.

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Rejoice

On May 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Chronicles 29: 9

Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

What a beautiful passage of scripture. These people experienced much joy because their hearts were in their giving to the Lord. Did you know that giving offerings to the Lord could fill you with joy? Really, most of us enjoy giving. We just do not like to feel obligated or coerced to give. When we give freely to the Lord with our whole heart, it does make the heart glad. It is a personal giving between the person and the Lord and that sort of giving lifts the heart and countenance. I think some of us are grumpy because we hold on so tightly to our money or gifts. When we let them go freely, we elevate our own spirits. And I know that the Lord is overjoyed when we give to him out of the abundance of our hearts. It doesn’t have to be a big gift, just a joyful one.

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Good Measure

On May 13, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 6: 38

Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap.
For years I didn’t really understand what this scripture was trying to get over to us. I understand give and it will be given to you. That is a clear direction from God concerning being generous in our giving to others. What is all of that other language for though? We do not have represented here a simple one to one ratio vis-a- vis giving and receiving. Rather, God is telling us that when we give, he gives back a vastly multiplied amount. It was one day when I was filling a container with a dry ingredient that this verse’s meaning became evident to me. As I poured my dry product into the container it began to fill while I still had more to fit into the container. So, I started tapping the container on the counter causing the substance to pack more compactly. Doing this allowed me to put much more substance into the container. Then I realized that is what “pressed down” and “shaken together” is all about. Maybe you could also press the dry material down with some sort of tamping tool so that you can fit more into the vessel. 

You see, God does not just give back to you in equal measure. He gives back an ample supply. He presses down and shakes down the substance so that he can get more into the container. And even then, he still runs the container over from his generous giving. He causes all things to come to you in abundance so that you cannot even contain it all. Well, good! Then you can take the overflow and give it away. But have plenty of pots and canisters available when you do because he is going to give back to you again, good measure!

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No Need

On March 30, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 4: 19                   Index Card 12

And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

This is a familiar passage of scripture and you likely hear it quoted frequently. It was written by the Apostle Paul. There is a caveat to this scripture before you begin using it freely though. Paul wrote it to the Philippians saying to them that God would meet their needs because they had met Paul’s needs. So, this powerful promise is specifically for those who are meeting the needs of the clergy. Don’t be discouraged. Be a sower. Avail yourself of the might of this passage. And, if you already are a consistent giver to the church, then celebrate. Paul speaks blessing over you.

There is more and I wish for you to receive the fullness of Paul’s message. Let’s read Philippians 4: 18, “But I have received everything in full, and have an abundance; I am amply supplied.” I really see two sides of this coin. First, Paul declares that his needs are abundantly met. So, the church has clearly done a good job of looking after him. Secondly, I read this passage with the view that when I look to the needs of the church and specifically its ministers then God meets my need so that I receive everything in full, abundantly, and fully supplied.

This is an insight into God’s economics. When you sow, you reap. When you take care of the needs of the church, God takes care of your needs. Paul wanted the church he established in Philippi to be filled. He was thrilled to declare blessing over them. Every minister wants her flock to overflow with blessing and Paul was overjoyed knowing that through the generosity of the Philippians not only were his needs taken care of but the blessing was going to flow back and flood them. Yahoo!

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Fulfilled

On January 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 9: 8         Amplified Bible

And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.

In Luke 6: 38 we see Jesus importuning us to give. We have briefly pondered the question of why Jesus wants us to give.  I gave you a Biblical Principle that you can hang your hat on. Specifically, everything Jesus tells us to do is for our own good (see devotion from Wednesday, January 27, 2016). If you will always begin with this premise, you will arrive at right conclusions. Let me suggest some other reasons why Jesus encourages us to give.  

The first one is so simple and so obvious that it has almost become invisible. Jesus tells us to become habitual givers because he loves us. We have all heard people saying that the preacher on wants to get something from them. I don’t doubt there are preachers who put pressure on us to give for that reason but I innocently believe they are in the minority. Jesus pushes us to teach on giving not because he wants to get something from you. He is trying to bless you. He is trying to give to you but he needs your seed so that he can multiply it. Just look at Jesus’ life on earth. He was always giving away. He continuously blessed the people. He hasn’t changed. He still is trying to bless everyone.

In today’s text, the Apostle Paul provides two additional reasons for why Jesus teaches us to be givers. Those reasons are so that we will always have sufficient resources to meet our needs and so that, from our abundance, we will be able to help meet the needs of others.  

If you look closely, if you peer inside these ideas, you will see the Kingdom of God financial laws at work. Through our giving, we increase. With our increase, we increase others, who then contribute to meeting the needs of others, and on and on. God is in the business of growing. With the obedience of just a few people, He can start a garden growing which truly can spread across the entire earth. Let me just say this plainly – there is power in giving. Do not underestimate this primary tool of the Kingdom. Give and it shall be given unto you, then give again. Your crop will overflow so that you will have an abundance for every good work.

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Logic Defied

On July 23, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 11: 24        Amplified

There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want.

Have you ever heard anything so counter-intuitive in your life? How can you give away and yet have more or hoard and have less? It makes no sense. Look at the NIV translation rendition of this verse: “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” I feel compelled to conclude that things work differently in the Kingdom of God than they do in the world.

We could reverse engineer this verse and get an epiphany. This is how that would look. If I want to increase more, then I would want to generously scatter abroad or as the NIV says, I would need to give freely. Now, here is where we have to make a decision. God is telling us one way to increase but all of our experience and logic tell us the exact opposite. If I need money, for example, my natural first response is not to go give money. One might work overtime, sell something or maybe not give to the church this month. That is how we have been taught by the world economic system. Look around you, though, how well is the world economic system working. Have you been listening to the news broadcasts about Greece’s troubles? Greece is not alone. We are all just a few short days away from being broke, busted. Why then are we so heavily invested in the world system? Does that really make sense? We keep investing in a broken system; we keep taking our advice from those who have run entire economies into the ground. Perhaps it is a time for a change in our thinking. Maybe it would be a good thing to take our financial advice from a guy who paves his driveway and roads with gold.

Honestly, if we want to succeed in this life, we are much better off to listen to our heavenly father than to continue to try to get a harvest from depleted fields. Our father has abundant resources staged and awaiting each and every one of us. We need to start listening to Him and applying His advice. It may not seem to make sense at first blush but how much sense does it make for us to continue to pour our money and other resources down the drain. This world system cannot produce fruit. It is broken. How long are we going to continue to try to ride a dead horse? Take a tip from the master investor. Scatter abroad, give generously. Then you will indeed have a great harvest. It’s true!

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