Category Archives: Money & Wealth

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July 25, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Knowing Him, Miracles, Money & Wealth, Nature, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

AFTER THE STORM

compass plantThe terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. [Acts 27:20 (NLT)]

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! [Psalm 107:28-30 (NLT)]

While walking this morning, I could see the toll last night’s hail storm took on the wildflowers. Many that yesterday stood tall and proud over the prairie were now bent and broken. These defeated looking plants made me think of a friend and the storm that overwhelmed and nearly defeated him.

Raised in a Christian home and once a believer, he lost his faith in a loving God years ago when a series of medical errors left his child with severe brain damage. Angry at God and then disillusioned by the hypocrisy he saw in his church, he decided to worship the god of achievement and wealth. All went well for him until one day it didn’t. The storm hit when the multi-national corporation for which he worked closed its doors. In spite of his stellar resume, nearly two years passed without employment. When the economy tanked, so did his investments and his savings dwindled to nothing. Upside down with his mortgage, his god of success and prosperity was nowhere to be found. It was at that point that this once proud man literally fell to his knees and humbly admitted his defeat and nothingness to God. He wanted to believe but needed to know that God really was there. He didn’t ask for relief; he asked for reassurance of God’s presence. “Show me that you exist, that you care, that you are good!” was his simple prayer.

Most of those drooping wildflowers along the trail will again stand tall when the sun shines. Like those flowers, my friend was raised up when he turned to God and allowed the Son back into his life. Within a day of his prayer, he received a call from a struggling Christian-based non-profit and, within a week, he’d started working there as the CEO. Several years have passed and he is happier and more content than he was in his previous life. Because of his business acumen, the organization he serves is now thriving and people’s lives are being changed in incredible ways. His child is still disabled and his standard of living is not what it was before the storm, but he lives joyfully in the knowledge of a loving and good God—a God who can still storms and lift a drowning man out of the sea.

A hail storm can knock down flowers and, sometimes, God knocks us to our knees with a storm of troubles. It’s when we’re on our knees, however, that the only place to look is up! When we ask God to reveal Himself to us, we shouldn’t expect Him to do it with a job or financial support. After all, God only promises relief from all of our troubles in the next world. In this life, we will be relieved only from some of them; other troubles He will enable us to endure. Nevertheless, when we humbly and sincerely ask God to reveal himself to us, He will.

If God seems far away, who moved? [AA slogan]

But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him. [2 Chronicles 15:4 (NLT)]

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June 15, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Promises, Money & Wealth, Nature, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

A FIRM FOUNDATION

Santa Rose de Lima - Abiqui NM
You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. [Ephesians 2:19b-20 (NLT)]

Four years ago, a Seffner, Florida, man went to bed and disappeared. As he screamed for help, he, his bed and then his entire bedroom vanished into the earth, never to be seen again. A sinkhole some twenty-feet across had formed beneath the house and the house simply collapsed into it. The house was demolished and the hole filled with four truckloads of gravel. Two year later, the hole reappeared, measuring 17-feet across and 20-feet deep and the area now is deemed uninhabitable.

Apparently, sinkholes are a natural component of Florida landscape and pose a geological hazard throughout the state. My “Sunshine State” lies on bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock which is dissolved by naturally acidic rainwater. As the rock dissolves, underground cavities or caves form. Eventually, the ceiling of the cavity can no longer support the overlying weight of what’s above it. Since our Florida home is made of poured concrete, I thought our foundation was firm until I learned about sinkholes. Florida is not alone; about 20% of our nation’s land is susceptible to sinkholes.

How firm is your foundation? If you live in the San Francisco area, not very! One of the most dangerous seismological zones in our country is the Hayward Fault in California, running between Richmond, south through Berkeley, Oakland, and Hayward to San Jose. Every year it spreads or creeps about 4.6 millimeters a year. That’s only about an ant’s length, which doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. In a hundred years, that’s about a foot and a half. That little bit of creep every year moves curbs, creates gaps in roads, and cracks foundations and walls.

When Hayward’s paving crews repave and fill in cracks, they are only treating the symptoms, not the cause, and the pavement continues to crack. Steel bracing rods are inserted into buildings but they, too, are only short term solutions. Hayward’s first City Hall was built in 1931 directly on top of the fault line. Gradually splitting in two, no amount of plaster, cement or steel rods can hold it together; it is now unusable and abandoned. All along the fault line, the ground continually moves and pulls apart sidewalks, pipelines and any structures sitting on it. It’s not just the Hayward fault that endangers structures and people—we have the San Andreas (California), Cascadian (Pacific Northwest), New Madrid (Midwest), Ramapo (East Coast), Wasatch (Utah), Denali (Alaska) faults and numerous others. As the man who sank to his death in Florida learned too late, sometimes we think our foundation is much firmer than it actually is.

While sinkholes and earthquakes are a fact of life and reason for concern, we should be more concerned about the base upon which we build our lives. We may think we’ve got a disaster-proof life built on a firm foundation of money, job, health, family, education, skills, talent, friends, status, or even looks. If Jesus isn’t the cornerstone, watch those bricks start to collapse when even one of those things is removed. When we choose to build our lives on God’s bedrock, even if we live over a sinkhole or the Hayward fault, when disaster hits (and it will), we will neither cave in nor fall down!

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. [Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)]

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand. [“How Firm a Foundation” (attributed to Kirkham or John Keene)]

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May 9, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Joy, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Nature, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You, Spiritual Gifts, Today: Make it Count

NURSERY LOGS

nursery log - corkscrew swamp
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. [Psalm 112:1-3 (ESV)]

When walking in the swamp, I often see what are known as “nursery logs.” After a tree dies, its roots eventually decay and it falls to the ground, leaving an opening in the forest’s canopy for sunlight to reach down to the forest floor. The dead tree’s raised trunk becomes a nursery for new plant life as seeds fall on it and take root. Its bark holds moisture, providing young plants with water, and the decaying wood provides them with decades of rich organic nutrients. Starting with moss and ferns, vegetation grows and flourishes in the patch of light left by the tree’s demise. These nursery logs become gardens of new life and can contain five times more living matter than they did when alive! Eventually, a new tree will take root in the remains of the old one and the cycle of life continues for another generation. Supposedly, it will take about the same number of years for a tree to decompose as it took to live. Considering that trees can live several hundred years, one dead tree can leave quite a legacy.

I thought of those nursery logs today while reading an obituary in our local paper. Like the trees, this man may be dead but, most definitely, he is neither gone or forgotten. Here are just a few of the loving words written about him:

He touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with…after talking to him for two minutes he would immediately become your friend…would do anything to help someone in need…always had a positive attitude and was ready to listen if you needed to talk…a great man who was loved by all his family and friends and will be missed dearly…he would say love unconditionally, don’t hold grudges, and never walk away mad… tomorrow isn’t promised so make the best of today so you have no regrets…know you are right with God…remember [him] as the man who always made the most of life and always had a smile on his face.

I never met this man and consider it my loss that I didn’t. I have no idea the size of his financial holdings but, based on his career as a fishing guide, I suspect he was not a wealthy man. He was, however, an incredibly rich one! Whether or not he left his family with any money, his bequest of love, faith and joy, as seen in a life well lived, makes them more than rich.

While it is our belief in Jesus that gives us eternal life in our heavenly home, like the nursery logs in the forest, even dead, we can still persist. Once we’ve fallen to the forest floor, we continue to nourish life if the lives we touched while living were touched with faith, love, generosity, compassion and joy. Unlike the cypress trees, we may only be blessed with seventy to eighty years but, if wisely lived, think how that legacy can grow as each life we touched touches another. As did this man, we can leave a patch of sunlight when we fall, our example can provide a base for young seedlings, and the memory of us can bring nourishment to hungry souls.

Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life. [Albert Einstein]

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. [1 Peter:12-15 (ESV)]

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April 28, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Plan, God's Promises, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Spiritual Gifts, Today: Make it Count

SEND IT ON AHEAD

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)]

For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. [Matthew 16:27 [(ESV)]

orchid“A Christian doesn’t die,” declared the pastor, which may have been news to some of those attending the Celebration of Life. “He just moves!” the minister added as an explanation. Indeed, we are just temporary residents here on earth. Death for a Christian is simply a relocation and, unlike most moves we’ve made, it doesn’t require a purging of the items in the attic, garage sales, packing up boxes, or wrangling friends into helping us carry the heavy stuff! This is one transfer that neither requires moving vans nor mail forwarding.

Although we can’t take anything with us, our pastor often reminds us that we can send things on ahead! That doesn’t mean we gather our favorite possessions and take them to FedEx but it does mean we can store treasures in heaven. Unlike treasure here on earth, however, heavenly treasure has no monetary value. It’s made of up things like earnest prayers for others (including our enemies), sharing the gospel message, loving unconditionally, using our wealth for God’s good works, being generous with our time and talents, obedience, patience, taking a stand against evil and wrongs, and fulfilling God’s purpose for us. These are the treasures laid up in heaven and no good deed will be overlooked.

At first, that sounds a lot like salvation through works but it isn’t. All the good works in the world won’t get us into heaven without belief in Jesus. We are saved through God’s grace—it is His gift to us. Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the price for our ticket to eternal life. There is, however, some fine print on that ticket—once we get there, God will hold us accountable for His gifts to us in this life. Were we good stewards who used them wisely or did we squander His blessings? Did we invest God’s gifts in His kingdom or bury them in the ground? Did our activities transform the world in some way? Did we change anyone’s life for the better?

I can’t pretend to know what our heavenly rewards will be but I seriously doubt they’ll be anything like gold faucets and marble floors for the truly generous and just stainless and linoleum for those who didn’t tithe. I think the rewards will have something to do both with joy and responsibility. Here on earth, responsibility sounds suspiciously like work and work is hardly what we consider a reward, especially in heaven! Yet, in the parable of the talents, Jesus told the servants who had invested wisely that they would be given even more opportunities to serve their master. The difference between earthly work and heavenly work is that it won’t be a burden; work in God’s kingdom will be a joy! Perhaps the greatest reward, however, will be hearing His voice say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, “Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” [Matthew 25:20-21 (ESV)]

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March 22, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

DOING FOR OTHERS

Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! [Luke 6:31 (MSG)]

Great Blue HeronYears ago I took a short class in genealogy research. One of the first things told to us was that we were obligated to share any information we discovered with the rest of the genealogy community. Genealogy research depends on the results of other people’s searches of sources like birth and death records, cemeteries, census results and newspapers. We simply owe it to those who led us to our findings to share our knowledge with those who follow in our footsteps. I thought of that class as I wrote yesterday’s devotion about offering thanks.

A few years ago I wouldn’t have been any use at all to those people we helped at the swamp. I knew next to nothing about any of the birds in southwest Florida or where to find them. I’m still a rookie birder and most of my avian knowledge is limited to the shore and wading birds. Nevertheless, thanks to the people who generously shared their knowledge with me—who so willingly pointed out birds, identified species, answered my questions, and explained their behavior—I can now help others who are even less knowledgeable than am I. As for that off-the beaten-track conservation area, the only reason we knew about it is that someone kindly shared his knowledge of it with us.

Both the genealogy information and bird lore I’ve received were given to me gratis. There was no quid pro quo—I gave nothing (but my thanks) in exchange for what was given me. It was shared out of kindness with no expectation of repayment—a little like God’s grace. We can never pay the deeper debt we owe to God for all of His goodness. Any attempt to repay Him is a contradiction of grace because grace wouldn’t be grace if it could be repaid. Just because it can’t be repaid, however, doesn’t mean it can’t be spread around. The Golden Rule tells us to do to others as we would have done to us and then I think of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. He humbled himself to serve them and told the disciples that they must do for others what He had done for them. We must do for others that which has been freely done for us. Whether it is the giving of knowledge, service, skill, assistance, forgiveness or love, the good things that have been done for us are not ours to keep—they are ours to share. When doors are opened for us (both literally and figuratively), we are obligated to open doors for others.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. … In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. [Matthew 5:14,48 (MSG)]

Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do.”  [John 13:12-14 (MSG)]

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March 15, 2017

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SERVANTS

But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant. [Philippians 2:7 (NCV)]

There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. [1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NCV)]

Steamboat ski areaI emailed a friend to ask about her winter and got one of those bad news/good news answers! Her husband suffered a compression fracture in his back, had a heart attack, and underwent surgery. A blizzard then deposited ten-inches of snow in their driveway! The good news was that my friend was blessed by a young man who volunteered to shovel their snow all winter as his “outreach to the elderly.” While I was struck by the man’s kindness, what really disconcerted me was that my friends and I have apparently moved into what is considered the realm of the elderly!

As much as I hate to admit it, I have chores I can no longer do easily and that list grows a little longer every day. Nevertheless, regardless of our ages, we all are called to serve. Fortunately, servanthood doesn’t require exceptional skill, special talents, or even youth.

Today, I saw a large ad for a service that provides professional readers. For a fee, a person will come and read to your loved one. I’m not begrudging people an opportunity to earn a living but I thought it sad that anyone would have to hire someone to read to children, the visually impaired, retirement home residents, or hospital patients. Is there no one who would do it out of kindness? That’s something even the “elderly” can do! We seniors may no longer be able to shovel snow but we can read to people, provide casseroles to shut-ins, and volunteer in charity resale shops. We may not be able to do the heavy lifting or install sheetrock for Habitat but we can assist in their offices or help raise funds. We may not be able to set up chairs and tables at church but we can offer respite for caregivers, become a reading partner with a child, stock shelves in a food pantry, or drive people to chemo-therapy.

While servanthood has no age constraints, it does have a few other requirements. It’s a ministry rather than an obligation and requires the heart of a servant—a heart that helps out of love rather than duty. Servanthood requires observant eyes—eyes that focus on the needs of others and look for tasks that need to be done. As servants, we must think like stewards rather than owners and understand that our time, talent and wealth are not ours to keep but God’s to use. Finally, if we’re real servants, we’re not afraid to do the work of a servant or to be treated as one. Jesus washed the filthy feet of His disciples and, as his servants, we must be willing to get our hands dirty as well!

We may get too old to shovel the walk but we’re never too old to be servants and do God’s work!

 Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. [Dalai Lama]

My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love.  The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” [Galatians 5:13-14 (NCV)]

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