Saturday, July 5, 2008

Day 35 - Your giving in this life will have an impact on your experiences in eternity

Hundreds of years ago when people mainly lived near the oceans, the word opportunity was coined.

It came from when ships needed to wait until the tide was in before heading out to sea, otherwise the ship would run aground. In the Latin language, the word “ob portu” described the perfect moment when time and tide converged for a ship to get underway.

Into every person’s life come some God-ordained opportunities.

You’ll know it’s the right time when an urgent, life changing need – something that has eternal and significant value - - converges with your ability. At just the right moment, urgency and ability come together. And at that exact moment, you have the opportunity to fulfill a divine purpose God intended for you.

Is it time for you and your congregation to move forward in some special way?

As you reflect back on this 40 day journey you’ve been on, how is God working in your heart and the lives of others to move out into new waters of faith and service for His glory?

Adapted from material by Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, IL

Phil 4:17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.

Luke 14:13-14 When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Matt 6:19-21 (Jesus said) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Lu 12:33-34 (Jesus said) “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Lu 16:9 (Jesus said) “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

If you ask people what they can “afford to give” to the Lord’s work or a special project, they will usually come up with a small amount the they feel they can handle. But if you ask people to determine what God is prompting their heart to give, there is no telling what God will lead them and provide for them to do.

God will often speak a financial amount into a person’s heart that is far bigger than their mind can at first grasp. It often takes the mind time to catch up to the amount that God has spoken into a person’s heart to give.

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY

Hundreds of years ago when people mainly lived near the oceans, the word opportunity was coined.

It came from when ships needed to wait until the tide was in before heading out to sea, otherwise the ship would run aground. In the Latin language, the word “ob portu” described the perfect moment when time and tide converged for a ship to get underway.

Into every person’s life come some God-ordained opportunities.

You’ll know it’s the right time when an urgent, life changing need – something that has eternal and significant value - - converges with your ability. At just the right moment, urgency and ability come together. And at that exact moment, you have the opportunity to fulfill a divine purpose God intended for you.

Is it time for you and your congregation to move forward in some special way?

As you reflect back on this 40 day journey you’ve been on, how is God working in your heart and the lives of others to move out into new waters of faith and service for His glory?

Adapted from material by Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, IL

5th WEEK PROJECT
FOCUSING ON YOUR RESPONSE
(Now what?)


Identify: “What do you feel God is calling you to do in order to be more generous to His work?”

Please review your weekly projects and determine:

WEEK #5
MAKING $ENSE:
Possible questions to think
about or discuss…


1. When you started this 40-day journey, were you excited, skeptical, or dreading it? How do you feel now?

2. What is one of the biggest things you’ve learned about wealth and generosity while going through this journey?

3. When you filled out the worksheet for this week’s project, “Focusing on Your Response”, what surprised you or caught your attention in doing this exercise?

4. How do you think this journey will influence your giving to your church? To other ministries? To special needs?

5. What truth or Bible verse from the past 7 days of reading stood out to you the most?

6. Have you begun to see God work in your life in fresh ways because of any changes you’ve begun to make in your finances and giving?

7. Have you experienced any unusual or unexpected financial provisions or blessings in your life since you started this journey? If yes, what have they been?

8. What do you feel God is calling you to do with the opportunity that was introduced in the beginning of this workbook?

9. Can you think of anyone else you know who might benefit from going through this workbook?

Friday, July 4, 2008

Day 34 forth of July. Pay it forward for God's Glory

click on picture for day 34 and forth of july video

Prov 13:22 A sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Eccl 2:26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.


Isa 45:3 (God says) “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD…who summons you by name.”

Job 27:13, 16, 17 Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty: …Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.

Prov 28:8 Income from exploiting the poor will end up in the hands of someone who pities them.


Isa 23:18 Her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the LORD; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the LORD.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Day 33 Be honest

video above!

Job 20:17-24 (The wicked man) shall not enjoy the goods he stole…His labors shall not be rewarded; wealth will give him no joy. For he has oppressed the poor and foreclosed their homes; he will never recover. Though he was always greedy, now he has nothing; of all the things he dreamed of-- none remain. Because he stole at every opportunity, his prosperity shall not continue. Heshall run into trouble at the peak of his powers; all the wicked shalldestroy him…God will rain down wrath upon him. He will be chased andstruck down.


Prov 11:1-5 The Lord hates cheating and delights in honesty. Proud men end in shame…the evil man is destroyed by his dishonesty. Riches won't help you on Judgment Day…the wicked shall fall beneath their load of sins.


Job 27:20 (The wicked) goes to bed rich but wakes up to find that all his wealth is gone. Terror overwhelms him, and he is blown away in the storms of the night.

Prov 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away.


Jer 17:11 Likea bird that fills her nest with young she has not hatched and whichwill soon desert her and fly away, so is the man who gets his wealth byunjust means. Sooner or later he will lose his riches and at the end ofhis life become a poor old fool.

Hosea 12:8 Ephraim boasts, "I am so rich! I have gotten it all by myself!" But riches can't make up for sin.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Day 32 - Realize that God will bring specific people into your life that you can truly help.

tap on picture above!

James 2:15-16 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?


Prov 14:31 Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.


Luke 14:13-14 When you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.


Deut. 15:7-11 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs…Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.


You've heard of prayer warriors.
What about giving warriors? God has entrusted us
with so much. Perhaps He is raising up a great army of givers, and He's calling us to enlist. Randy Alcorn

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Day 31 - Your pursuit of God and a generous life will give you a fuller and richer life

Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:

1 Tim 6:18-19 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.


Philem 6-7 You are generous because of your faith. And I am praying that you will really put your generosity to work, for in so doing you will come to an understanding of all the good things we can do for Christ. I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God's people.


John 10:10 (Jesus said) “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

3 John 2-3 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Matt 6:33 (God) will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.


First things belong to God.
The first day of the week belongs to God.
The first hour of the day belongs to God.
The first portion of your income belongs to God.
When you make God first, He can help you.James MacDonald

Monday, June 30, 2008

Day 30 - Your giving will be a great help and encouragement to others

2 Cor 9:12-14 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.


Acts 4:34-37 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph…whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.


Pr 19:4,6 Everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts. Wealth brings many friends.


Mt 5:14-16 You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.


There is no advantage in being the richest person in the cemetery.

A wealthy Christian man who lost everything in a financial downturn was asked if he ever regretted all the giving he had done to the Lord’s work. He replied, “What I gave, I still have. What I kept, I lost.”

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Day 29-The giver and the front-line worker are equal partners in God’s work

1 Cor 3:7-9 Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers.



Phil 4:17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.



Matt 10:41-42 (Jesus said) “Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.”


John Wesley said, "I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity."



Missionary C. T Studd said, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."