Angels are one of those supernatural beings that many people are fascinated with. If asked to describe an angel many would start to describe a halo, wings, white robe, and a harp in their hand while they sit on a big white fluffy cloud.
Angels pop up all throughout the Bible. Over 350 times angels are mentioned. In fact, angels are often referred to as “holy ones” watchers,” or collectively they are known as “the assembly,” “host” or “hosts.” But what are angels? Angels are spiritual beings. God created angels just like he created everything else. We don’t know when he created them, all we know is that he commanded that they exist, and now they do. In the book of Psalms and other places they serve in heaven and on earth. Angels are personal beings. Angels are not robots, they have personalities. They have intelligence and will. If they didn’t have a will, they wouldn’t have chosen to follow Lucifer or Satan. When they made that choice God sent them out of his presence. When I first became a Christian I thought that all angels did was attend a perpetual church service. Yea, it might be fun for a few hours, but to spend eternity on a hard pew didn’t appeal to me. Scripture shows us that angels have five primary functions. Angels worship God. He is the creator and sustainer of all things and the angels continually bring God glory. Angels praise God every time someone begins a relationship with Jesus. Most of the time they praise God in his presence, but on at least one occasion they did it on earth. It was at the birth of Christ. When Jesus was born an angel came to tell a group of shepherds that their savior had come. Angels are God’s messengers. Throughout the Old Testament angels revealed and communicated God’s message to humans. Theologian Millard Erickson writes: “Whenever angles are mentioned in the bible it is always to inform us further about God, what he does, and how he does it.” The word “angel” in Hebrew and Greek means “messenger.” The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that his wife was going to have a son and they would name him John. Then Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was going to give birth to the Savior Jesus. Angels minister to believers. They take great interest in the spiritual well-being of God’s followers. Hebrews 1:14 tells us that they serve believers. “Are they not all ministering spirits sent for to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” Hebrews 1:14 Sometimes God sends out his angels to bring justice upon those who oppose him. Jesus himself said: “41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” Matthew 13:41 Angels will be involved in the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus says: “When the Son of Man [Jesus] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” Matthew 25:23 Angels are not deities to be worshipped, they are powerful spiritual beings. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idol notions.” Colossians 2:18 I believe in angels because the Bible tells us who created them, what they do, and why they do it. God even says that sometimes we entertain angels without even knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 says: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” We may never know how many times we interacted with angels until we get to heaven. Angels exist for a reason. They are God’s messengers, they rejoiced at the birth of Christ, they celebrated when you gave your life to Christ, God will send them to protect you if He wills, and they will be there upon your death.
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I watched the Netflix series Stranger Things and it captured my attention and imagination. If you have not seen the series, I am not endorsing it because it’s not Christian in any way, but it did make me think about the fact that there is more to life than what we can see.
The first season of Stranger Things focused on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town. I think the series resonates because we intuitively know that there is more to life than what we can see, and that ordinary people can be used to reveal an extraordinary event. There isn’t a stranger thing in history than Easter. Easter is about a man who claimed to be the Son of God. He heals people supernaturally, is crucified by jealous people, his followers all scatter, three days later he rises from the dead, preaches for another 40 days, and then ascends to be with God the Father. And if that’s not strange enough, his ragtag group of disciples get re-energized after seeing him resurrected. The movement that started in Jerusalem spreads and today there are more than 2.3 billion people who claim to follow Christ, some under intense persecution. That is roughly 31% of the world’s population. This whole story is a stranger thing, but it’s the real thing, and because of Easter, it can also be your thing. I want you to consider believing in Jesus based on three stranger things. The first stranger thing is that women were the first witnesses to his resurrection. Culture 2,000 years ago was very different than it is now. Men dominated society and a woman’s life was confined almost entirely within the private family sphere. Yet God revealed the resurrection to an average woman first. How cool is that! The second stranger thing was that outcasts became outspoken. Peter, James, and Mark were all the equivalent of high school drop outs. They were fishermen, not noblemen. And after Jesus died they went back to work completely defeated. Their teacher had died and they had left in shame. According to John 21:4-7 Peter, James, and Mark are back working as fishermen when they hear Jesus call out to them. Once they realize it is Jesus they rush to greet him and even share dinner. These men became the first leaders of the early church. The New Testament records at least 12 separate appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection. These are eyewitness accounts. Why is this so strange? Because Jesus appeared to average people first and other people eagerly joined them. Shepherds, tax collectors, women of the night, a prominent Jewish leader, outcasts of all types. These were the people who God used to start His church and it just doesn’t make sense. The third strange things is that Jesus followers would rather die than deny him. On the day Jesus was crucified, Jesus disciples were frightened, confused, dazed, fearful, disoriented, and disheartened. They truly believed that Jesus was dead and that they would never see him again. Peter had denied him and the other disciples wouldn’t go close the crucifixion scene. Only John would come near the cross. After Jesus died, many of his disciples locked themselves in a room because they feared for their lives. Fast forward a few short weeks and these same disciples who were hiding in shame are now standing in the temple courts preaching to anyone and everyone. What changed? There is only one credible explanation for such a radical change. They had seen the risen Christ and that sight had changed them forever. There is nothing stranger than the resurrection and nothing more powerful. Jesus proves once and for all that there is more to life than what we can see, the kingdom of God is real and you can experience it yourself here and now and for all eternity if you put your faith and trust in Him. You can place your faith and trust in him by asking him to forgive your sins and come into your life. The Apostle Paul writes: “8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:8-9. Take a moment and invite Jesus into your life today. Everything was supposed to turn out great! Kathi and I were married for five years when we decided to have kids. First came Josh, our beautiful little bundle of joy. He was a feisty little fart whose smile was captivating. Then came Sara. She practically jumped out of the doctors hands and has been on the go ever since. Eighteen months later Katie was born. She had a smile that captured my heart.
Every night before bed I would rock them individually before lying them down to sleep. During these precious moments I would pray for them and dream about what life would be like. What would they look like as a teenager? As an adult? What would they do for a career? Would they serve God or run from Him? Would they become teachers, go into business, who would they hang out with? I loved dreaming of the future that they would eventually walk into. They had a bright future ahead of them. Josh had been perpetually sick for six months when I brought him to the doctor at the tender age of three and a half. He kept getting diagnosed with weird viruses that never really seemed to go away. Then things got even worse. He developed bruises up and down his body and his knees were swelling by the hour. Kathi and I were worried so we took him in as soon as we could get an appointment. The doctor poked and prodded then took a blood test. A half hour later she came back in the room and had a very concerned look on her face as she told me that she still didn’t know for sure what he was sick from but she was calling Children’s hospital. When I left her office, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. Twenty four hours later our fears became a reality when the doctors at Children’s hospital informed us that Josh had leukemia. My hopes and dreams fell apart in one phone call, one turn of events. Everything was supposed to work out great and instead everything had gone terribly wrong. I wonder if the disciples had that same feeling when the soldiers came and took Jesus away. I wonder if they had the look of fear in their eyes. I wonder if they experienced pain and bewilderment when their teacher was led away like a criminal. I wonder how they felt when everything went wrong, terribly and horribly wrong. A week earlier they had marched into Jerusalem walking next to Jesus who was riding on the back of a colt. Their heads were held high as they paraded past the people who came out by the thousands to support him. These men had left their families, they careers, they friends, and everything else to follow Jesus. He was a master teacher and had chosen them to learn from him. They had seen him turn water into wine, cure the sick, and give sight to the blind. But now everything had changed. Everything was different. Everything had fallen apart. Jesus was an innocent man yet he was sentenced to die the most horrible of deaths under the most terrible circumstances. Many of the disciples watched the Roman guards beat their teacher and friend to the point that he was no longer recognizable. Then they dragged him through the streets to the place where he would be crucified, the same place that already smelled of death from all the animals that had been sacrificed and discarded by the Jews. Jesus was to be the last sacrifice, the atoning sacrifice for all the sins of the world. Jesus was hung on a simple cross, an instrument of Roman torture, and six hours later gave his last breath. Everything had gone wrong, terribly wrong. It wasn’t supposed to end like this! When Jesus died so did the hopes and dreams of his disciples. Their future was hanging limp on a cross reserved for sinners. But they didn’t know about Easter yet. There was more to the story. “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” Matthew 28:1-6 NLT Although Jesus died a horrible death on the cross he didn’t stay dead. God had a plan. Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected according to God’s marvelous plan. He wanted to prove once and for all that he has power over life and death. Do you believe in the hope of Easter? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead? Do you believe that the tomb was empty and that hope had been restored? The day Josh was diagnosed with Leukemia he began his treatments. If we wouldn’t have begun treatments he would have died within days. The first two months were the worst. We had very little hope and both wished that we could take our sons place. We couldn’t run from the pain or make it go away. The pain was real and persistent. After three of the darkest personal years I have ever faced, Josh went in for his final chemo treatment on June 9th of 2005. Today he is nineteen years old and attending a local college preparing to become a pastor. Easter Faith can only be ignited by the memory of Good Friday. The thrill of victory originated in the agony of defeat. Hope rose from the dead. Jesus is the ultimate underdog who won the impossible and defeated the inevitable. The Easter story is meaningless without the memory of Good Friday. If you cannot find hope in an empty tomb and the resurrected savior who is pointing to eternal life, then where will you find hope? This Easter, find your hope in Jesus. A few years ago I took our family to visit a cave south of Rapid city South Dakota while we were on vacation. Caves are fascinating places to visit and explore, but I wouldn’t want to live in one. I can’t imagine being chased deep into a cave like the one I was in, hiding for my life for hours or days without any light or direction. But that’s exactly what happened to King David.
Psalm 142 was written by King David when he was stuck in a cold, dark, spooky cave being chased by people who wanted him dead. It was a terrible time in David’s life that forced him to cry out to God like never before. Are you alone, cornered in a cave right now fighting addiction, fighting for your marriage, fighting for your kids, fighting for your mental health, or something else? The enemy has pressed in on you hard and right now it’s just you and the darkness of the cave. Caves are effective classrooms when it comes to teaching lessons on faith and prayer. The darkness of a cave presses in and reveals what’s in our heart and tests our faith. As a young man fighting for his life David had to learn how to pray and depend on God for a great outcome. While he was there he prayed like he had never prayed. He prayed with authenticity, transparency, and urgency. Psalm 142 teaches us three lessons about how to pray when we feel trapped and alone in a proverbial cave. “1 I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. 2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.” Caves force us to get real with God. The Greek word here implies that David had troubled thoughts that he felt compelled to express to God. Desperate times demand transparency and authenticity. Don’t try to hide what’s in your heart from God. Let him see your fear, your insecurity, your fragility. Prayer is not just telling God about our troubles, it’s about trusting God to get you through them. Caves can either alienate us from God or force us to get real and cry out to Him. Whatever your circumstances, if you have made the commitment to follow Christ as Lord, you’ve probably felt as David felt here: no escape, lonely, and no one who cares for you. What should you do when you’re there? Caves will either push our closer to God or close you off from Him. Caves force us to seek real solutions. “6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.” Psalm 142:6 One of the main reasons why we don’t cry out to God asking for real solutions with an authentic heart is because we think we can handle everything on our own. We don’t realize our own insufficiency. So God lets us get into situations where we are overwhelmed, trapped in the proverbial cave, so that we learn to depend on him alone. We need to pray with humility. God wants us to cry out to him in submission to Him. Caves push pouting but God prefers praise. “7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.” Psalm 142:7 Sitting all alone in a dark damp cave fearing for your life gives one plenty of time to reflect. David must have reflected on how God had promised him that he would be king. God wasn’t finished with David yet and David knew it. This must have led to powerful momentum shift. David moves from despair to victory. He knows that he is weak, but his God is stronger than any enemies. So by faith he looks ahead to the time when he will give thanks to God for rescuing him, surrounded by God’s people. David’s focus is not personal happiness, but the pursuit of God. He wants to praise His name. He longs to give God the credit. David wants to be delivered so that he can give all the glory to God. Invite the presence of God into your cave, pray and praise. Trust him in the darkness, trust Him with the pain, hold tightly to your faith. He is with you. What do you talk to God about when you don’t feel like talking to God? When a tragedy is so raw and the pain so powerful, which Bible verse do you turn to for comfort? I turn to Psalm 23.
There are four promises for believers found in Psalm 23. The first promise is found in verse one when David says: “1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” David loved the metaphor of seeing the LORD as a shepherd. A shepherd’s job consisted of leading the sheep to fertile areas to graze, protect them from predators and other hazards, and keep them together so they don’t stray from the group and get lost. This is the promise: God provides. God is your shepherd. He makes us his own and delights in taking care of us. One of the names of God is “Jehovah-Jireh” which means the Lord Provides. God always promises to provide for us. This doesn’t mean that God always provides whatever we ask him for. God is not a vending machine. But he does provide his presence and the provision to get you from where you are to where he wants you to be. The second promise is found in verses 2 and 3. “2. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” God promises to guide us. This is a picture of trust. The shepherd would never walk away from his sheep, he would never abandon them and his sheep would follow him. The sheep trust the shepherd to lead them where they need to be and in the same way we must trust our heavenly shepherd Jesus to lead us where we need to be. Then we get to verse four. “4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Why would a good shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep lead a lamb into a valley filled with danger? There’s only one possible answer, to get to a better place. Every valley is pathway to new pasture. The valley isn’t good, but the Shepherd is. He knows the way. Sometimes the right path and the hard path are the same path. Even though we walk through the valley, God promises comfort. Your valley could be cancer, a divorce, a wayward child, whatever. When your finances are tight, and you are taking on yet another job to make ends meet, remember this: God promises to comfort. Cry out to God and he will comfort you. We know that if we start heading in the wrong direction God will hook us back in. And if we stray, he will nudge us back on course. It may be for your protection and to keep you on your path. The rod and the staff in fact are there to comfort you and know that you are cared for and loved. When David writes “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” it implies that we will have enemies in our life, yet God still promises to bless us. To anoint someone with oil was a practice in biblical times to honor and dignify a person. It was also used in prayer to set someone apart for God to do a work in their life. So not only does God set the table for us in the presence of our enemies, he sets us apart with dignity and blesses us. My cup overflows because I am cared for and loved in abundance. Then David ends with “6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Today I encourage you to take the time to read Psalm 23 again. May it comfort you and encourage you whether you are resting in the green pasture or struggling through the valley. Trust the Good Shepherd to provide for you, guide you, comfort you, and bless you. When you were young did you dream about doing something great? Did you want to be a pilot or a fireman or astronaut or start your own business? Did you plan on getting married, buying a house, having children and taking that dream vacation to Hawaii or Europe?
Did you plan on getting fired, losing your house to foreclosure? Did you plan on moving two or three or four or five times? No. We all plan for the best but life always has failure and loss. So how does a person of God respond to loss, failure, and disappointment? How does a godly person deal with all the loss and sorrow that life brings? Moses teaches us four valuable lessons in Psalm 90 about how to make the most out of every day. Moses was a wanderer and didn’t have a home, yet he starts the Psalm by proclaiming that He alone is our dwelling place because everything else changes. “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” Moses places his hope in what he knew to be true about God. He knew that God was his only safe and secure place of rest. Moses knew that no matter what life threw at him, ultimately his dwelling place was in the presence of the eternal God. After Moses focuses on God’s eternal greatness he confesses human weakness describing the frailty and brokenness of life that originated from sin. “3You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.” After reading a series of depressing verses we get to verse 12 where Moses petitions God for something very specific. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Give your best, for the best, every day you can. Tomorrow might not be better than today, so make today count. Focus on living every day for maximum impact. Paul said the same thing in Ephesians 5:15-16. God calls us to use every moment of every day to honor Him because we don’t know how many days we have. When I look at the days I have spent and the days that may or not be in front of me I am challenged to make the most of the days I am given. I want to tithe the money I have been given for the glory of God to make disciples. I want to invest my time in building up other people. What are you going to do with the rest of the time that you have been given? Are you going to spend it chasing unicorns and rainbows or invest it wisely doing your best to fulfill the purposes that God has graciously given you? Finally, Moses cries out to God for compassion, love, and favor. “13…Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. … 17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.” While this life may be characterized by limitations and frustrations, we are not only able to pray that God will change us, but that He will change our life. We are to pray that God will use us for His glory and even accomplish eternal results. People will come and go, seasons will come and go, good times and bad times will come, but God still sits on His throne. He was and is and forever shall be. God is still God so we can trust him even when we are wandering in the wilderness like Moses. If you are not dead, God is not done with you. God still wants you to serve others like Jesus. He still wants you to pray for others. Seek God and when you see an opportunity, go for it. God may have prepared that opportunity just for you. May God bless the work of your hands because you don’t know how many days you have left. So let’s make the most out of every day. Do you long to know God? I long to know God, I long to get just a little closer to his heart each and every day. I need God’s love, grace, and forgiveness. I want to live my life with intentionality and I don’t want to waste the time I have been given. I want my relationship with God to be fresh, new, authentic, and real, every day, don’t you?
Why are we internally driven to connect with our creator? Why are we driven to pursue God? We want to know the depths of who God is. Falling in love with God is very similar to falling in love with another person. We just want to be around Him, learn as much as we can about him, spend time just doing life with him. God wired us as spiritual beings, but not everyone finds the one true God. Some worship idols, millions of God’s, or create their own god out of something they make or their imagination. If you want to know the true God, you need to examine Him in the scriptures and admire His creation that is evident all around us every day. We are also compelled to pursue God because we long to understand God’s ways. How do we get to know God's ways? The same way you get to know a person, you spend time with them. The more time you spend in God’s Word the better you will understand God’s ways. David sought God to understand his ways and he sought him to understand His will. This is the third reason why we are compelled to pursue God, we long to know His will for our life. Deep down inside we want ask: Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? When it comes to following God’s will God rarely reveals every detail. He says trust me and then we take it step by step. God wants you and I to trust him too even when all the details have not been revealed yet. If you know God’s ways, it makes His will a lot easier to find. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and trust God every day. He will lead you. In addition, we pursue God because God pursues us. God pursues us tirelessly, personally, relentlessly, and gently. In 1 John 4:19 we are told that we love God because He loved us first. God doesn’t give up on us. God pursues us for the duration of our life. No matter how many times I read the Psalms they never get old or stale because they are written from the heart. More than anything else, David longed for God. He wanted to stand before Him and worship. His Psalms give voice to the full range of human emotion. In Psalm 42, David vacillates between doubt and faith, despair and hope, pessimism and optimism, looking and his circumstances and looking to God for deliverance. “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5 David knew hard answers are never easy to come by. David refused to settle for shallow answers in deep struggles. This is what it looks like to pursue God. We pursue God to know the depths of who God is, to understand His ways, His will, and because He is pursuing a love relationship with you that is personal. So what are we supposed to do with this? Stop settling for empty rituals and shallow faith. Develop a holy dissatisfaction. Get to know him. Seek God. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul. God wants you to draw near and your heart longs to respond. Don’t let your past keep you from pursuing God in the present. Don’t keep looking back. Satan loves to point out our past to keep us from stepping into God’s preferred future. Rebuke the Devil and he will flee from you. Strive for what’s ahead. Press closer to Christ. If you long to know God more, start pursuing Him today. Read His word, get to know Him. Worship Him in song, cry out to Him in prayer. Admire his handiwork in creation. Bask in His grace. Open your heart to His love. When I started this series three weeks ago I said that if you got one insight out of this series this should be it: God owns it all. It’s all His and it’s my job to manage that which God has given to me. God wants us to use whatever we have been entrusted with to glorify Him. This is so essential because how we handle our finances is a spiritual matter.
Therefore, every Christian can improve their finances by following three really hard but really good life-long principles that will keep you moving toward financial health. First, always seek the kingdom of God first. In Luke 12, Jesus tells the parable of a man who was never satisfied with more. He wanted more and more and more, that’s why he kept building bigger barns. Jesus then says that the man died a fool because he spent his entire life storing up earthly wealth but didn’t have a rich relationship toward God. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says: “33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 This takes us to the second life-long principle that will keep us moving in the right direction. Seek first the kingdom of God and second, believe that God will meet all your needs. Immediately after telling the parable of the rich fool he turns to his disciples who weren’t worried about building bigger barns to store their booty, they were worried about where they were going to get their next meal since they had given us everything to follow Jesus. They wanted a little bit of security and can you really blame them? But Jesus doesn’t offer them any worldly security, he offers them truth that God will provide for their needs if they put him first. Jesus tells us that if we seek first the kingdom of God then he will meet all of our needs. Don’t get wants and needs confused. A lot of us bring about our own stress by worrying how we will pay for junk we don’t need to impress people we don’t like. We don’t need to go deep in debt to have our needs met. “19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 The only place in the Bible that God ever tells us to test him is in the area of finances. God says put me first and watch me work with the rest. Tithing is a tangible way for us to demonstrate that we seek the kingdom of God first. If you want God to bless your finances, tithing is a must. Plus, when we do it God’s way we can enjoy the remaining 90% because we know we have not robbed God, we trusted Him. The third life-long principle that will keep us moving toward financial health is learning to live below you means so you can live above the stress. When your finances are out of control it feels like you are living in a snowstorm with bald tires and all that is going to send you into a tailspin is one unexpected expense. I’m convinced that most people can live within their means if they are willing to adjust their standard of living to their income. If we could just learn to be content with what we already have life would be simpler. In conclusion, when our financial priorities reflect biblical realities, we will experience a new level of contentment that may have been eluding us for years. Ultimately, when we understand that everything belongs to God, we become more generous and less covetous. When we tithe and give 10% back to God, it blesses us because we get to be a part of what God is doing. When we trust God with our finances, it actually simplifies our life because it builds our trust in God. When we lower our debt many of our problems and pressures we feel become a lot smaller. And when we learn to live within our means we are able to feel more content because we are not always wanting more. God wants you to live better and to live with his blessing and he will bless you if you seek Him first and follow His financial principles. According to statistics, 71% of people in our community struggle with finances. To struggle financially can be a source of shame and nobody wants to talk about it. As a church we want to help people grow closer to God and that involves stepping into the mess with love. We need to be honest and tackle it. Spiritually mature people base their financial priorities on God’s principles.
A typical household has $15,000 in credit card debt. How did we get into that? Nobody just woke up one morning with a stack of bills. There are four factors that lead to debt. First, lack of knowledge: Most people have not been trained to handle money God’s Way. We have done what was modeled to us or what we thought was best based on what we were told. Second, lack of discipline: Many people spend impulsively because they have no written plan or budget to ensure that spending does not exceed income. They live from check to check without really knowing where all their money goes. Third, lack of planning: We can get into debt quick simply because we don’t plan ahead. Credit cards allow us to skip the planning process and just pay as we go. The problem is that it can easily spiral out of control. Fourth, circumstances: Sometimes we use debt when we experience unexpected emergencies, such as an illness or loss of a job. Sometimes circumstances dictate that we either go without or buy on credit. Credit cards can be awesome in times of emergency. The problem is most of us don’t just use credit cards in emergencies, we use them all the time. Now that we know how we have gotten into debt, let’s talk about how to get out of it. How to get out of debt. Step 1: Pray. I believe that God loves you and wants you to work towards becoming debt free and is willing to help you do it if you take a step of faith. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 a widow was deep in debt and her creditor was threatening to take her two sons as slaves to cover her debt so she cried out to Elijah for help. God miraculously provided for her. The same God can supernaturally provide for you if you trust Him and surrender your situation to Him. Step 2: Know what you make. Most people don’t know exactly what they make. You need to know what you make every month as a baseline. For those in sales or small business owners this can be a little tricky to figure out but you can look back over the years and get a really good estimate based on the past. Step 3: Know what you owe. How much money do you really owe? List out all your bills on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet. Have you ever tracked what you spend your money on for a week or a month? You will be blown away at where is all goes. Step 4: Create a budget. A budget is an itemized list of where the money is supposed to go and knowing where all your money is spent. Step five: Stick to your budget. This takes discipline. Tell your friends about your budget, tell your family. You need support if you are going to shed the debt. Don’t binge spend. Change your habits to fit your new lifestyle. You cannot lose all your excess debt overnight but you have to start someplace. If you want to get involved in a small group to help you start the debt diet process we are launching one. The focus of this small group is to help you come up with a plan and stick to it. This week I challenge you to go online and find a budget worksheet and fill it out. You can write this web site down if you want a great place to start. https://www.daveramsey.com/budgeting/how-to-budget/ How you handle money is a reflection of your faith. Whether you are just starting this process today or are years into it, you can master your money, lower your stress, and increase your joy if you are willing to stick with God’s financial plan. How much better would your life be if you had half the debt you do now? How much more money would you have to spend on the things you want rather than on interest? How much less stressed would you be about retirement or being able to pay for health insurance? Less debt translates into a better quality of life, less emotional stress, less worry, and more joy.
Do you know that how we handle my money reveals a lot about our relationship with God? Money in and of itself is neutral. In fact, I believe that God wants some people to be wealthy so that they can use their wealth to help other people. But the vast majority of people struggle with their finances primarily because we don’t live according to God’s financial principles. If we are even willing to consider starting a debt diet there is one key overarching principle that we need to know because it impacts every financial decision we make. This is the key principle: God owns it all. God is the master of everything and we are managers. The Bible says: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1 God owns all that we have, and He has given us the responsibility to manage that which we have been given faithfully according to the financial principles of Scripture. Once we admit and acknowledge that God owns everything, we stop asking God what he wants us to do with our money, we start asking God what he wants us to do with His money. There are three benefits of faithfully managing the money that God has blessed us with. First, being faithful with finances helps us to grow closer to Christ. You will see God provide for you in tangible ways that will stretch your faith and encourage you to trust Him more. Second, being faithful with finances helps us develop godly character. God uses money to reveal and refine our character. As a follower of Christ you will have to decide whether or not to trust God and give him 10% of your income off the top or buy something new. How we handle money is an indicator of our true spiritual condition. Third, being faithful with finances leads to contentment. As we apply God’s principles to our finances it is possible to achieve financial contentment and financial freedom but it takes work and discipline and commitment. How do we faithfully manage money so that we can honor Christ in this area of our lives? Commit to trusting God with all of your finances. We trust God with our problems we know are out of our control, like illness, but when it comes to our finances we say, “I know how to handle my money.” Really? God promises that He will provide our needs. In Genesis 22:14 one of God’s names is Jehovah-jireh, which in Hebrew means “the Lord will provide.” Commit to applying God’s financial principles to your life. Do you believe that the Bible is a collection of good stories or God’s Word? The truth is that the Bible is full of financial principles that will help you have a better life if you live by them. Commit to taking hard steps now that will produce long term gain. What hard steps? Here are a couple easy ones. First, stop chasing after things and experiences that you can’t afford. If you have the money, enjoy it. But if you don’t have the money, don’t go into debt to get what you want. Second, do more that costs less. Looking back most of the best memories I have with my family don’t include spending a ton of money. The Bible says: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” Proverbs 30:8-9 This is my prayer for us. That God will give us exactly what we need. I want you to be open to examining God’s financial principles and willing to make financial changes. So take an honest look at your finances and do what you need to do to reach your goals.. Start today and trust the Holy Spirit to lead you. He will. |
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