Why Does God Want Me to Give?`

                                                                                              

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve heard and read about how we are supposed to be giving people. While we may accept and agree with that, many of us have an inner dialogue that occurs when God asks us to give something. We wonder why God is asking us to give, especially if we don’t have much to begin with. Can’t God ask someone who has more money? Can’t he find another way to come up with this money or other need? After all, he is God!

Giving -sacrificial giving to be more specific- can be a hard pill to swallow, especially when we find ourselves in tough financial times. Why does God want us to give when it seems like we are fighting to cover our expenses at every turn? Or when we finally have a little extra after going through some lean times? Why does God seem to value our giving more when we have less to give (Mark 12:41-44)?

While we may question God’s specific ways at times, we can ultimately rest in the fact that he knows what is best for us. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Even though God’s thoughts are beyond our understanding, thankfully he often does give us a glimpse of why he does things a certain way.

When it comes to giving, God doesn’t need our money or our things. What he needs is us, and the process of giving blesses us and changes us, as well as brings him glory. Sometimes I love how God is multifaceted and synergistic, using situations in our lives for more than just one purpose. To illustrate, let’s look at some of the purposes God establishes when we obey and give.

Our Giving Changes Us

When we give, we are obeying God and doing what is uncomfortable, which helps us grow and be who God has called us to be. Abraham was willing to give his only son after God asked him to, and I believe that experience helped prepare him to be the man of faith that he was. God can do so much more through a wise, giving, mature person than a person who is overly concerned with possessions of this world.

Our money and belongings can disappear or get destroyed at any time and if we place too much value on them, we will be devastated when they are gone. God wants our treasure and worth to be with those things that can never be destroyed or taken from us, namely himself and the people he has put in our lives. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21).


As God changes our hearts to be more like him and or eyes to see things his way, we learn to focus on what is eternally important instead of on the temporal things of this world. Paul reminded the Corinthians to do this:

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2nd Corinthians 4:18). By opening our eyes to what God may be doing behind the scenes, we can step out in faith, obey when he asks us to give, and rest in his plan in the midst of unknowns and seemingly scary circumstances.

How Will the Church Survive?

Question: How can a church survive amid the rapidly changing world around us?
Answer: Do what surviving churches have always done.

I can just imagine that anyone reading this will have their eyebrows “high-fiving” at this point. What do you mean do what surviving churches have always done? Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing but expecting different results? 

The church needs to do what the church is supposed to do. It is what we should always be doing. In simple terms it is the making and training of disciples who make and train disciples. These disciples are followers of Jesus who seek to see others become followers of Jesus. The basis for this comes from many places in the Bible, not the least of which Matthew 28:18-20.

“…go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In the face of increased secularization, decreasing biblical literacy, and declining church attendance I am arguing for not trying to reinvent the church. Instead, we are to trust the owner of the church. Jesus is all-knowing and all-powerful. I trust he can navigate the church through the choppy waters of the 21st century.

We are still here and this is not the first generation that has presented a challenge to biblical Christianity.
But many have struggled in the last several decades. Instead of looking at the Bible to see what we are to do and how we are to faithfully do it in our current context, we have tended to try to come up with new, creative plans to make the church more suitable for people around us.

Churches have wrestled with their declining attendance by trying to be innovative. Churches have evaluated their music, should we be contemporary vs. traditional?  They have looked at trying to be more sensitive to the seeker through certain intentional actions to make the non-churched comfortable.

They have adopted popular business techniques to promote “church growth.” They have built ministry silos for every age group and demographic so that there would be “something for everyone.” They have catered to the young, the cultured, the influential, and the powerful in effort to impact culture. On and on the list could go.

Some of these things aren’t bad in and of themselves, but they overlook the fact that Jesus provided the way for the church to stay relevant, engaged, and active in an ever-changing world. Jesus wants his church to make and train disciples who make and train disciples.

1.     Reorient the Church around the Great Priority.

Jesus gave the command that ought to characterize everything the church does. This is her mission. Everything the church does is to promote people coming to know Christ and grow in him. As a result, the church must be intentionally involved in evangelism. This involves the church at large and the individuals within the church. The mood of the church needs to be evangelistic.

The church also must be a training church. People need to grow in their understanding and application of biblical truth. This comes in many shapes and sizes from preaching to classes to community (fellowship); but it must be there.


The church must be a praying church. Specifically I am speaking of prayer for gospel advancement. Consider Paul in prison praying for help with prayer for missions (Col. 4:2-4) You can check your church’s Great Commission priority by asking a couple of questions: 1) Do we have prayer meetings or do our people pray? 2) Do we pray for gospel advancement?

Money Talk for Women

Ongeza kichwa

Ok ladies, let’s talk. Money is often a taboo subject, and while many of us quietly worry about our families’ financial future or struggle with making ends meet, we tend to keep our fears and struggles quiet.

It may be that many of us “good Christian women" think that talking about financial issues or working towards certain financial goals is unspiritual and shows our lack of trust and dependence on God.

It may be that some have become slaves to unhealthy or destructive money habits, and the thought of exposing those or giving those up is just unbearable.

Or, it may be that some of us have come to a conclusion that money matters are not for us to worry about, and we have abdicated all financial issues (except for grocery shopping and paying the bills) to our spouses.
Wherever you find yourself today, I hope you’ll keep reading.

The reason why I wanted to have this conversation with you is because there are troubling trends emerging for women, especially in the area of finances, that if ignored for too long, may cause our families (and ourselves) unnecessary pain.

If you’re worried about finances not being “heavenly” enough of a topic, let me assure you, God’s word has plenty to say about money management and mismanagement, and it references that subject more than 2,000 times! So if it was important enough for our Heavenly Father to shed so much light on the issue, we should pay attention!

Unprepared for a Longer Lifespan

Data shows that women outlive their male counterparts by quite a few years. Average age expectancy for women is 81 while the average age expectancy for men is 73. This is both good and bad news. While we can enjoy a longer lifespan, we are financially unprepared for the years to come. Accord to statisticbrain, 52% of women will have to work past their retirement age in order to make ends meet. Did you know that 87% of impoverished elderly are actually women? These stats are disturbing, but they are not hopeless.

The good news is that more and more women are starting to realize how important their financial awareness and financial education is, and they are seeking financial wisdom and knowledge at increased rates.
So what practical steps can you take to become better prepared for the years to come?

• Follow the example of the ant! Proverbs 6 tells us to be like the ant that “stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Storing financial resources doesn’t demonstrate lack of faith in God. On the contrary, it’s a sign of wisdom and obedience! The reason why the ant is storing in the summer is because it knows that the winter season is coming! Most of us will face the “winter” season of life, and it’s our responsibility to be prudent and prepared!
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• If you’re married, talk to your spouse about preparing for the future and become informed and intimately involved in your family’s long-term savings plan. Set common goals and work on meeting those goals together.

10 Things A Children’s Pastor Must Do For Church Families

1. Make it simple for families at home by offering resources for them to buy

Compile a list of recommended parenting books, kids devotionals, and workbooks for kids to equip them at home where most faith learning takes place. Even have some on hand that you can sell to them right at church.

2. Busyness does not equal effective ministry. Make events meaningful and less often. 

Do not create too many programs that only further pull families away from their already busy schedules. You are not a social club, but a support for faith learning. Make any programs you do offer meaningful; don’t give in to the pressure to fill a calendar with busyness. Don’t feel the pressure to do what another church is doing; consider the unique make up of your church and prayerfully plan what suits the needs of your specific congregation. What is suitable for one congregation might miss the mark for another.

3. Spend money and resources on making your rooms kid-friendly

Your kids classrooms and nursery should be the cleanest, most organized, and the best decorated parts of your church. It’s an outward display of an inward commitment to excellence for the most vulnerable of our church. Cut down the clutter, and go through areas regularly to see them with eyes of a newcomer.

4. Please do not make a desperate request for teachers
  
Do not allow just anybody to serve. Keep high standards for who works with the most vulnerable of our congregation. Ask people you want directly. Go for the best. Parents will notice. It shows priority to those who we should be taking the best care of. I love having youth helpers and think it is vital for them to learn to serve. However, they are not to be relied upon. Adults are. Adults who typically are parents, involved in teaching, and who have a solid faith.

5. Set high standards, not low, for volunteers if you want to keep them.


Set a standard of commitment for those who volunteer. The least I allow for volunteer teachers is 4 weeks on 4 weeks off. Less than that and the person does not take ownership for their ministry. More than half of my teachers have asked if they can teach every Sunday because then it gives them full control over the run of the class. They take personal ownership and invest themselves in those kids' lives. If volunteers only teach occasionally, there is no ownership taken and the kids suffer. The volunteers burn out because they have no attachment to the kids or ministry.

6. You are not the source of the children's spiritual formation

Do not give parents the idea that the church does everything for their child’s spiritual development. Stress that you are only a support for what they are doing at home. A good portion of your time should be giving them resources and equipping them to lead their own children at home. Bring the ministry to homes, not just within your church.

7.  Stop creating an environment where parents feel like the church needs them to be perfect

Provide a way that they can submit prayer requests to the church staff so they can be prayed for and problems can be dealt with together. They need to know they are not judged, but welcomed and loved in the mess of life.

8. Kids need God’s Word taught simply, and to be loved by an adult who listens

Stop thinking that the next best thing is always happening. It’ll be exhausting if you're always looking to order the new curriculum based on that season's new hit TV show. God’s word is life changing and captivating as it is.

What kids need to know about God and the Bible has not changed. Don’t sacrifice this for trying to stay current. If it works, great, but stop searching and searching for what just came out. Kids need what they have always needed: to know his Word, taught straight up. This is what changes their hearts. They also need to know that they have a space to be listened to and loved by a real person who takes the time to be in their classroom every week.

9.  Give kids a family atmosphere at church; your goal isn’t entertainment atmosphere.  

We are a body of believers. Brothers and sisters in Christ. Our ties together have to do with him alone. With encouraging one another and building one another up in our faith. Kids need this too. God’s Word changes lives. The love of his people showing his love to others is what lonely hearts need. It’s what your heart needs. It’s what our kids' hearts need.