Grow in the Grace of Giving

We continue in our capital campaign. Last night we announced that $404,000 has already been pledged by 15 people. That's great news. But many others are still praying and asking God what to do. Our 20 Day devotional is meant to help us with the decision. This is an excerpt from today's message...

"Now as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you - see that you abound in this gracious work of giving also. I am not speaking this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love." (2 Corinthians 8:7-8)

...giving is a test of the heart in action, a test of the genuineness of love. 

Giving is where what we believe gets real.

Now is the time to ask another question: "OK Lord, what have You equipped me and blessed me to do?" What resources do I have to give? How can I think creatively about giving - beyond the narrow box of my income and expenses - in order to give of myself fully? Are there assets beyond my monthly income that I can give? Can I create new resources to give with my talents, gifts, and time? Does my faith commitment lead me to change other priorities in my life, reducing spending and thus freeing resources for giving?

Read the full devotional here.

Doing God's Good Will...

Excerpt from Day 11 of the 20 Day Devotional - 


We are asking God to show us how he can use us to help support his vision through Cedarbrook. 


The devotional says...


A stewardship decision is a prayerful commitment. A stewardship decision invites God to the dialogue and involves God in the discussion. A stewardship decision becomes much more than just my sense of goodwill... it means discovering and acting within a sense of God's goodwill.


Pray...Lord, I want to honor Your name. Speak to me! Let Your will be done ... in me and through me. Let Your kingdom come ... here in my life. 


Read the full devotion here.

A Meaningful Sacrifice

From Day 7 of the 20 Day Devotional...


Jesus watched people giving their financial gifts at the temple. Many men dropped in large gifts. But one woman dropped in only two coins. Jesus said that the largest gift was from the woman because she gave everything she had. The devotional conncludes...


Commitments are not about equal gifts, but about an equal sense of sacrifice. Not everyone has the ability (the resources) to make a multi-million dollar gift; but every person does have the ability and the opportunity to meaningfully invest themselves in what God is doing in their church. In terms of the commitment, rather than the amount,...ask yourself this question... would God be honored if every person in this church made a sacrifice equal to my own?


Read the full devotional here.

Blessing the Small Gift

From Friday's devotional...


Every miracle begins with a person - with a person making a gift of the best they can offer and asking Jesus to bless and to use that gift.  Expect a miracle.  The need may seem overwhelming.  Your gift may appear to be inadequate to cover all of the need.  But all Jesus asks is the best that you can offer.  When you give the best that you can to Jesus, then expect a miracle. 


There is no gift too small in God's eyes. God blesses every gift for his glory. We may not be able to give equal amounts but in God's kingdom the small gift receives the same blessing as the big gift if they are both motivated by love and sacrifice. God dignifies the poor in this way. 


Don't dismiss your opportunity to give just because it doesn't seem like much. That's a human view. From God's perspective he sees your heart and he will bless you for giving. You are like God when you give sacrificially. The amount doesn't matter. Giving isn't just for the rich. God is an equal opportunity blesser!

Free to Reach More

Cedarbrook launched a six week adventure last Sunday. We are asking God to raise up a million dollars to pay off our debt. We want to be free of our debt so we can reach more people with new kinds of ministry. We also want to build three outdoor projects; a playground/picnic area, an amphitheater and a prayer trail.  If possible, we'd like to hire another staff person (to learn more go to freetoreachmore.org).


We are starting the campaign with a 20 day devotional. I've been briefly commenting on our facebook page each day and decided to post here as well. You can sign up for the email devotionals here.


From Thursday's devotional entry...
...recognizing God's claim over your life,...wake up and listen for God's own voice.  There is a word from the Lord for you in this campaign.  There is a God-given vision for your church in this campaign.  "Speak to me Lord.  I am your servant.  I am listening to hear from You."


I'm convinced that this campaign is not so much about raising money as it is about hearing from God a fresh call about a new kind of paradigm for ministry. I'm committed to listen. Are you? 

Sabbath Means to Stop

On Sunday I started a new series on The Sabbath. It's not a topic we hear a lot about. But I believe the message of Sabbath is needed now more than ever. Sabbath is God's antidote to stress.

I quoted Dr. Richard Swenson's assessment of stress. He said that stress comes because progress always leads to profusion. Progress leads to a profusion of options and most of us aren't very good at saying "no" so we try to do it all. But God calls us in Sabbath to cease. To stop. And to redirect ourselves to what really matters.

I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review that touches on a few tips to help us free up time. You can  click the link below to read the full article but here are the five things it suggest to stop doing...

Five Things to You Should Stop in 2012

1. Checking your email all the time. Set up timeframes in the day rather than continully stopping to check it.

2. Mindless Traditions. Don't keep doing traditions (Christmas cards?) if you are doing them merely out of obligation.

3. Reading annoying things. Just because someone sent you an email or a newsletter or magazine comes your way it's not something you have to read. Hit delete or toss it in the garbage without guilt.

4. Work that's not worth it. It's okay to turn down jobs that have no return or simply drain  you.

5. Making things more complicated than they should be. Sometimes people want to experiment on you. Rather than take the time to perfect and idea they let you be the guinea pig. Don't fall for it. Tell them to come back when the bugs are worked out.

The point is...we live in a busy culture. If you don't control the flow of input into your life it will control you. If you have any hope of finding Sabbath you need to start saying "no" and saying it regularly. Read article here.

Top Ten Reasons to Put Jesus First

I had SO MUCH more to share yesterday at Cedarbrook. If you were there you saw that I only covered two points on a list of ten.  My topic was The Top Ten Reasons You Should Put Jesus First. Download it now...especially if you've ever been caught by a rushing river. (You'll understand if you listen to it).

Paul made reference to a "dominion of darkness" in Colossians one. That's not something we know a lot about. The Bible never goes in depth about it...only makes passing references here and there so we have to piece things together. I wanted to say more but had to cut the following...

In chapter two (Colossians) Paul makes another reference to evil powers and he uses an interesting military metaphor that requires a little explaining. Speaking of Jesus’ death he said....

 

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15

 

Paul is  describing a military victory parade. You know what teams do after they win the Super Bowl? They have a big parade through town.  Green Bay is probably going to have another one of these this year.  In ancient times when an army came home they had a parade but they made the captives trail behind making a public show of them.  Humiliating the enemy was part of the celebration.  Imagine the Packers having a parade and then at the end of the parade was the  losing team with their heads dropped in shame. That’s the idea.

 

Paul says that’s what Jesus did in the spirit world.  After he died on the cross and rose from the dead there was a parade through heaven with all the evil powers.  I don’t know if this literally happened or if Paul is just using the metaphor to make his point but the point is that Jesus saved us from a dark world that is out to take us down and we should be thankful. We should put him first in our lives because everything that once had control over us has been defeated!

I hope this week is a time of reflecting on all that Jesus has done for you and thanking him for it.