Good Monday Morning MABC family!

Yesterday was a “fun” message right?  Somedays it seems like people would rather hear a sermon on how bad their favorite sin is than to have a message on stewardship and tithing.  However, as I said, Jesus spent a great amount of time talking about money and material possessions.  He knew the lure of riches and possessions and how it could affect his people.

I shared with you a passage from Deuteronomy (10:14 NLT) yesterday that I want to touch on once more:

“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God.”

It’s not tithing on everything we have because everything we have belongs to God.  All of it!  But often we make a slight adjustment in our attitude.  Take a look at this passage from 1 Chronicles…

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty.

Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom.

We adore you as the one who is over all things.  1 Chron. 29:11 NLT

How often in our life do we drop the “Y” in “yours” and make it “OURS?” It’s human nature because human nature is inherently sinful and selfish.  Sherry will jokingly say “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours in mine.” Remember, you don’t even own you if you are his!  He bought you with a price.  God doesn’t just want a part of you, he wants all of you – heart, soul, mind and strength.  If he can’t have all of you, he doesn’t want your money.  Your love is far more important.  Your obedience is far more important than your money because if we love him we will obey him.  And we will obey because scripture says his commands are not burdensome.

Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:3 NLT

If it seems burdensome to tithe (10%) let me share an idea with you because God doesn’t want your giving to be a struggle.  Pick a percent you feel comfortable with…say 3% or 4%.  Then for a couple of months be faithful to give that percent. Then go to 5% for a couple of months.  Then over time strive for 6%…7%….8%…9%…and then 10%.  See what God will do over the long haul if you are faithful in your giving.  Will there be bumps in the road?  Yes! As you become more faithful, Satan will try to discourage you. If for some reason, you experience a setback, get back on track with your giving as soon as possible.  Trust that God has this.  That is the nature of faith in the fact this Kingdom is God’s Kingdom and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Have a great week!
Pastor Rick

2 Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Last week I wrote of a 2007 trip to Nicaragua with a mission team from Park Avenue Baptist Church, El Dorado, KS.  As is Park Avenue’s custom, they had prepared and presented a one day Vacation Bible School that was held at a small church in Managua.

A good number of young people had gathered to participate and also some parents and grandparents came and sat quietly while enjoying the events going on around them.  The people of Park Avenue were well prepared for the VBS and had brought a couple of suitcases that were full of crayons and photocopied paper to be colored.  As the crayons and paper were distributed people of all ages were invited to participate.

I moved around the church and was taking photos of those who had gathered.  I happened to come upon a couple of grandmother aged women who were busy coloring their own artwork.  I attempted to get their attention before I took their photo but they never once looked up.  They were fully focused on their crayon work.

The captured photo of that moment is evidence of how, even as we become older, there is still a part of us that remains young.  That given a chance we are once again fresh and youthful.

I marvel at how the word of God becomes fresh over and over.  It is amazing how an often read passage of scripture can suddenly burst forward with new understanding.

Each of us experiences God in some way that is personal to us and he does this over and over again.