Give, It Will Be Given
There are many important principles to learn in life and from the Word, another one is that of sowing and reaping. This is explained in detail in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.
Let me break it down for you:
If you sow little – you’ll reap little
If you sow generously – you’ll reap generously
God loves cheerful givers
God provides the seed you need
You are blessed to be a blessing
In the book of Luke the 6th chapter and 38th verse (NLT) we read, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” While we do not give to get, the principle is still the same that we sow what we reap whether it be good things or things not so good. If we are generous towards the work of the Lord, we will receive generosity in return.
In a few days the leadership of Central Christian will be sending out pledge cards for members and attenders to participate in this years stewardship campaign. During this time of examining the finances and stewardship of this ministry here in Huntington and surrounding areas, I would ask that we examine our own hearts as to what God would ask of us individually in response to the call to stewardship surrounding our participation in the work of the Lord.
The past two Sundays we launched a stewardship campaign (Back in Black) and we talked about giving principles. The last thing we need to do is become legalistic about our obligations to the ministry of God, however let me sum up this past weeks message. God wants us to give to honor him and to provide for the ministry (Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:10). However, just as important is that do so cheerfully, sacrificially, and regularly.
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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What Happened To My 2009-2010 Colts?
My Colts! What Happened?
Well, I have to confess, in January of 2010, I was more than a bit disappointed in the result of that year’s Super Bowl. After the Colts went up by ten points I thought we were on our way to another championship. The newspaper’s headlines stated “Super Letdown.” Maybe so, however, we know that disappointments will come. Not everything always goes our way. The Super Letdown is actually a very minor inconvenience compared to the struggles many go through each and every day with the loss of gainful employment, a home that can no longer be afforded or loss of a loved one.
In the book of Hebrews 2:8, God lets us know that, at present, not all things are under our control. We will experience disappointment, some very minor like our favorite team losing, and some very severe such as the earthquake disaster that hit the island nation of Haiti a few years ago. Hebrews goes on to tell us that, even though these things are true, we can still look to Jesus who went through the same types of struggles and disappointments so that He can be a faithful minister. When difficulties arise remember the words of our Lord regarding tribulation in this life, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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Wisdom From God
In the first chapter and first and second verse of the book of Psalms, the writer gives some very sound instruction. It reads, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord…” Verse three goes on to tell us that if we will keep this simple rule, “Whatever He does will prosper.”
Who you listen to is crucial in the decisions you make which leads to the outcomes you experience. With that in mind, you better be careful where you get your advice. The Bible is full of illustrations of this, for example: 2 Chronicles 18 tells the story of Jehoshaphat (King of Judah) aligning himself with Ahab (King of Israel) for battle. Jehoshaphat wisely suggests that before they march into battle to “first seek the counsel of the Lord.” However, Ahab invites 400 prophets to come who only tell the king what he wants to hear. So, they all give the thumbs up!
Instead of being satisfied with this, Jehoshaphat suggests hearing from a “prophet of the LORD” for a second opinion. Ahab reluctantly calls for a prophet that he despises because he never prophesies “anything good” about him. Sure enough, this prophet tells that calamity awaits and sure defeat, and Ahab says “I told you he never prophesies good about me.”
Rather than listen to this one godly prophet, they take their advice from the crowd and go into battle only to suffer great defeat. The same thing will happen to us when we take our advice from a crowd. I would rather listen to one wise person than a crowd of fools!
Just because a number of people are saying the same thing doesn’t make it right. We will only bring trouble into our lives if we surround ourselves with advisers whose only thought is to tell us what we want to hear.
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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