Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
-Malachi 3:10-12 (New International Version)
8 Steps to Financial Breakthrough:
1. Make life decisions that are led by God, not by money.
2. Give: Tithe First (Make this the 1st check you write. Before taxes and anything else.)
3. Live with integrity in all that you do. (If you get extra change at the store, give it back!)
4. Adjust your Life to make room to honor God (Sell stuff, get out of debt, educate yourself, speak to a financial advisor)
5. Speak like God (Speak God’s word over you, your family, and your finances.)
6. Get God’s words in you (Let the reality of the Word become your reality)
7. Journal your dreams and things that God has promised you (Dreams for your family, dreams for your ministry, dreams for your future)
8. Worship like you have won. (Surrender everything before you get anything. Do it today)
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
- 1 Cor. 3:11-15
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
-2 Cor. 5:10
“…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…”
-Hebrews 9:27
Every one of us has a death sentence. One day our life will come to an end.
Though we all know this, we often live as though we don’t.
And because we don’t keep our death sentence in view, we put a strain on our life sentence.
Though this earthly life will end, followers of Christ are promised a eternal life with Jesus. But before entering into eternal life, we will be judged.
Not judged whether we are going to heaven or not, but evaluated on how we lived our lives on earth.
Were we faithful? Were we loving? Were we about the Father’s business? Were we good managers with what we have been given? Were we servants? How did we spend our money? How did we invest our time? How did we use our talents?
Did we honor God?
One Day we will give a throrough account to King Jesus for the life that He gave us on loan.
Creative excuses won’t be enough.
Only what is founded in Jesus will stand the test of fire.
With this knowledge, it would be wise to prepare for the fire.
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
-Exodus 4:2-3
What do ya got?
That was essentially the question that God asked Moses after sharing a glimpse of the destiny that he had created him for:
To free a nation from slavery and bring them into God’s promise.
And as is the custom of unbelieving human beings, Moses questions his qualifications, skills, and resources to accomplish the task.
Rather than get into a lengthy debate, God asks “What is in your hand?”
Moses answers, “A staff.”
After the Lord tells him to throw it down, his eyes are opened to the power of God.
Taking Moses’ common staff, God performed uncommon miracles, signs, and wonders.
As a result, a nation bound in slavery for 400 years was freed.
A magic stick wasn’t neccessary. Bulging muscles weren’t needed. A million bags of gold couldn’t help.
A yielded staff in the hands of God was more than enough.
So what has God called YOU to do?
What edict of greatness did He create YOU for?
Yeah I know, I know….
You aren’t smart enough. You aren’t networked enough. You aren’t wealthy enough. You come from the wrong family. You went to the wrong school (or didn’t go to school at all!). You live in the wrong neighborhood. Your skin is the wrong color. You are too old. You are too young. Too much of this. Not enough of that.
Excuses, excuses, excuses…..
When exposed to God’s vision we are all tempted to do exactly what Moses did:
Make excuses why we aren’t the one that God is looking for. And the root of our excuse can be summed up in one sentence:
We don’t believe we have what it takes to accomplish the task.
But if God’s destiny relied on our resources, then we’re all in a ton of trouble.
God is not asking for extraordinary things to do extraordinary stuff.
He is just asking for extraordinary willingness. Extraordinary obedience. Extraordinary abandonment. Extraordinary surrender. Extraordinary worship.
He is simply asking for what is in our hands and our heart.
If we will zealously commit ourselves to His task and the little we have to Him, He will bless and empower us beyond our wildest dreams.
God has created you for greatness.
God has destined you for an amazing calling.
Stop making excuses.
He already knows what you DON’T have.
He wants to see what you DO have.
He is asking, “What do Ya Got?”
Now take what you’ve got and give it to Him.
When you give God what you’ve got, you get to see what He’s got.
And He’s got ALOT.
Just wait and see.
He used a dude with a stick and transformed a nation.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
-Hebrews 11:6 (New International Version)
Pastors, your faith must be rooted in God. Rooted in His word. His truth. His ideas. In His leadership.
“Of course”, you say (and so do I!).
But saying the right things isn’t nearly enough. Living the life of faith is where preaching becomes real.
As a Pastor this principle is vitally important.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people show up during Sunday services.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people showed up on time for Sunday services.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how much money people gave in the offering.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many “amens” we got during the morning message.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in whether the sound system squealed or not.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people responded to the altar call.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people think we are cool.
Our faith must to rooted, grounded, and based in God.
And God alone.
When we walk this way, we can properly lead our people in the path of faith.
We have forgotten how to play because we have lost our passion.
Love and joy don’t motivate us anymore. We now make decisons based on profit (how much money can I make?) or product (what is this going to do to get me ahead?).
This is the language of survival, but not the language of play.
When we are in survival mode we can’t play. We can’t live according to God’s purpose when surviving is our primary aim.
God’s purpose for our lives is found in the godly passions He created us with.
Part of our purpose to inspire wonder and beauty in the world in which we live.
This both honors God and points others to Him.
Walking in our strengths and serving in the place of our passion is awesome. It makes God smile and brings joy to His happy heart.
And it makes our heart happy too.
For this week’s message on creativity and passion, click here for ‘Finding Neverland’.
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
- Zechariah 4:6
I have a problem.
You might have it too.
This problem is so subtle it’s easy to miss.
My problem is that I have a tendency to pray and believe only to the degree that I have the resources to meet (or come close to meeting) the prayer request myself.
I ask of God according to my own pocket.
Instead of thinking about His pocket, I limit things to my pocket.
And I have a very small pocket.
This week I have felt challenged by God to pray differently.
To pray BIG prayers.
To ask for supernatural encounters, divine appointments, and other things far beyond human ability.
Because God has a BIG pocket, and He wants to come through for His children in a BIG way.
“But now bring me a harpist.”
While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha”
- 2 Kings 3:15
I love this verse.
It finds itself in a story where the prophet Elisha uses music from a harp to precede one of his many prophetic utterances. While it is an extremely obscure text, I believe it reveals an ancient secret often overlooked. Here the explosive combination of art and God’s word is vividly illustrated.
When God’s words are fused with God’s art, something powerful happens. It is in this space where hearts are opened, and bodies are inspired to move.
For too long we have left creativity to places like Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
But we serve a creative God.
And He made us a creative people.
The time has come for us to live the way God created us to be.
“The poorest little woodcutter or peasant on the heath or miner can have moments of emotion and inspiraton which give him a feeling of an eternal home to which he is near.”
set⋅tler [set-ler, -l-er]
–noun
1. a person or thing that settles.
2. a person who settles in a new country or area.
pil⋅grim [pil-grim, -gruhm]
–noun
1. a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
2. a traveler or wanderer, esp. in a foreign place.
We all know that this life on earth is temporary.
We know it, but we don’t live like it. We live like we are going to be here forever. It isn’t almost as if we expect to somehow be the exception to this little thing called death. Like Settlers, we have become overly concerned with how to fortify ourselves so we can stay put, rather than be Pilgrims positioning ourselves to move out and move on.
A Settler thinks, “this is my home!”.
A Pilgrim thinks “I am on my way home!”.
When God speaks a Settler says:
How is this going to affect ME?
How much time will it take ME?
How much will it cost ME?
When I can I do what God wants ME to do so I can get back to my normal routine?
When God speaks a Pilgrim says:
God what is it that YOU want?
Please God, give me YOUR strength!
God give me YOUR help!
God give me YOUR perspective!
God, I am not sure I get it or understand it, but I am here to serve YOU.
Settlers focus on themselves. Pilgrims focus on God. Settlers are enamored with earth. Pilgrims are looking to heaven. Settlers build their own homes. Pilgrims are waiting for the home God is building for them.
So…are you a Settler or a Pilgrim?
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
-Ps. 84:5
“Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
-Ps. 62:2
“The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”
-Heb. 12:27-28
All of our hearts go out for those suffering in Haiti at this very moment. The 7.0 earthquake has left the hemisphere’s poorest nation without basic services such as water and power, much less a functioning government. This is a calamity of the highest order where thousands have died, others have been injured, and many are displaced. Once again, we are reminded of just how fragile this life actually is.
Lately it seems, that everything that can be shaken is being shaken.
The global economy, the illusion of fame, weakness of human government, among many other false shelters have been shaken to the core. The limits of these false shelters & refuges that we have formerly placed our faith in are being exposed for what they are:
False. Fake. Phony. Futile.
As a people we are being shaken.
To our core.
In this shaking we are being forced to ask questions like: “What really matters? What is important? What happens when I leave this life? Where have I placed my faith and hope in?”
The shaking has caused us to recall what we formerly forgotten, to remember that only refuge that lasts is one built on the word of God.
As you read this, chances are there is an important aspect of your life that is being significantly shaken (I know that is true for me!). Rather than despise the shaking, let’s allow what is being shaken to expose what is fake, so we can cling to what is true.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
-Malachi 3:10-12 (New International Version)
8 Steps to Financial Breakthrough:
1. Make life decisions that are led by God, not by money.
2. Give: Tithe First (Make this the 1st check you write. Before taxes and anything else.)
3. Live with integrity in all that you do. (If you get extra change at the store, give it back!)
4. Adjust your Life to make room to honor God (Sell stuff, get out of debt, educate yourself, speak to a financial advisor)
5. Speak like God (Speak God’s word over you, your family, and your finances.)
6. Get God’s words in you (Let the reality of the Word become your reality)
7. Journal your dreams and things that God has promised you (Dreams for your family, dreams for your ministry, dreams for your future)
8. Worship like you have won. (Surrender everything before you get anything. Do it today)
To hear my recent talk on breakthrough called, “We Will Worship”, click here.
Posted in Discipleship, Faith | No Comments »
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
- 1 Cor. 3:11-15
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
-2 Cor. 5:10
“…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…”
-Hebrews 9:27
Every one of us has a death sentence. One day our life will come to an end.
Though we all know this, we often live as though we don’t.
And because we don’t keep our death sentence in view, we put a strain on our life sentence.
Though this earthly life will end, followers of Christ are promised a eternal life with Jesus. But before entering into eternal life, we will be judged.
Not judged whether we are going to heaven or not, but evaluated on how we lived our lives on earth.
Were we faithful? Were we loving? Were we about the Father’s business? Were we good managers with what we have been given? Were we servants? How did we spend our money? How did we invest our time? How did we use our talents?
Did we honor God?
One Day we will give a throrough account to King Jesus for the life that He gave us on loan.
Creative excuses won’t be enough.
Only what is founded in Jesus will stand the test of fire.
With this knowledge, it would be wise to prepare for the fire.
Because the fire is coming.
Whether we are ready or not.
Posted in The Future, Faith | No Comments »
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
-Exodus 4:2-3
What do ya got?
That was essentially the question that God asked Moses after sharing a glimpse of the destiny that he had created him for:
To free a nation from slavery and bring them into God’s promise.
And as is the custom of unbelieving human beings, Moses questions his qualifications, skills, and resources to accomplish the task.
Rather than get into a lengthy debate, God asks “What is in your hand?”
Moses answers, “A staff.”
After the Lord tells him to throw it down, his eyes are opened to the power of God.
Taking Moses’ common staff, God performed uncommon miracles, signs, and wonders.
As a result, a nation bound in slavery for 400 years was freed.
A magic stick wasn’t neccessary. Bulging muscles weren’t needed. A million bags of gold couldn’t help.
A yielded staff in the hands of God was more than enough.
So what has God called YOU to do?
What edict of greatness did He create YOU for?
Yeah I know, I know….
You aren’t smart enough. You aren’t networked enough. You aren’t wealthy enough. You come from the wrong family. You went to the wrong school (or didn’t go to school at all!). You live in the wrong neighborhood. Your skin is the wrong color. You are too old. You are too young. Too much of this. Not enough of that.
Excuses, excuses, excuses…..
When exposed to God’s vision we are all tempted to do exactly what Moses did:
Make excuses why we aren’t the one that God is looking for. And the root of our excuse can be summed up in one sentence:
We don’t believe we have what it takes to accomplish the task.
But if God’s destiny relied on our resources, then we’re all in a ton of trouble.
God is not asking for extraordinary things to do extraordinary stuff.
He is just asking for extraordinary willingness. Extraordinary obedience. Extraordinary abandonment. Extraordinary surrender. Extraordinary worship.
He is simply asking for what is in our hands and our heart.
If we will zealously commit ourselves to His task and the little we have to Him, He will bless and empower us beyond our wildest dreams.
God has created you for greatness.
God has destined you for an amazing calling.
Stop making excuses.
He already knows what you DON’T have.
He wants to see what you DO have.
He is asking, “What do Ya Got?”
Now take what you’ve got and give it to Him.
When you give God what you’ve got, you get to see what He’s got.
And He’s got ALOT.
Just wait and see.
He used a dude with a stick and transformed a nation.
He’ll use what you have to do wonders too.
So…What do Ya Got?
Posted in Leadership, Transformation, World Change, Faith | No Comments »
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
-Hebrews 11:6 (New International Version)
Pastors, your faith must be rooted in God. Rooted in His word. His truth. His ideas. In His leadership.
“Of course”, you say (and so do I!).
But saying the right things isn’t nearly enough. Living the life of faith is where preaching becomes real.
As a Pastor this principle is vitally important.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people show up during Sunday services.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people showed up on time for Sunday services.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how much money people gave in the offering.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many “amens” we got during the morning message.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in whether the sound system squealed or not.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people responded to the altar call.
We can’t allow our faith to be rooted in how many people think we are cool.
Our faith must to rooted, grounded, and based in God.
And God alone.
When we walk this way, we can properly lead our people in the path of faith.
Posted in The Church, Discipleship, Faith | No Comments »
Most of us have forgotten how to play.
We have forgotten how to play because we have lost our passion.
Love and joy don’t motivate us anymore. We now make decisons based on profit (how much money can I make?) or product (what is this going to do to get me ahead?).
This is the language of survival, but not the language of play.
When we are in survival mode we can’t play. We can’t live according to God’s purpose when surviving is our primary aim.
God’s purpose for our lives is found in the godly passions He created us with.
Part of our purpose to inspire wonder and beauty in the world in which we live.
This both honors God and points others to Him.
Walking in our strengths and serving in the place of our passion is awesome. It makes God smile and brings joy to His happy heart.
And it makes our heart happy too.
For this week’s message on creativity and passion, click here for ‘Finding Neverland’.
Posted in Transformation, World Change, Faith | No Comments »
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
- Zechariah 4:6
I have a problem.
You might have it too.
This problem is so subtle it’s easy to miss.
My problem is that I have a tendency to pray and believe only to the degree that I have the resources to meet (or come close to meeting) the prayer request myself.
I ask of God according to my own pocket.
Instead of thinking about His pocket, I limit things to my pocket.
And I have a very small pocket.
This week I have felt challenged by God to pray differently.
To pray BIG prayers.
To ask for supernatural encounters, divine appointments, and other things far beyond human ability.
Because God has a BIG pocket, and He wants to come through for His children in a BIG way.
Posted in Prayer, The Future, Faith | No Comments »
Never underestimate the power of seeds.
What is sown in the name of Jesus, & in obedience to Jesus, always brings an awesome return.
Though the harvest takes time, if we remain faithful we will surely reap the goodness of God.
I was reminded of this reality when someone that I had been fervently praying for, called me out of the blue asking for help.
All of the sudden a life that seemed almost completely closed to the kingdom of God was sincerely seeking Him.
Out of the blue.
No warning.
No indicators.
No signs.
Just a seed breaking out of the ground that had been planted long before.
Never underestimate the power of seeds.
What is sown in the name of Jesus, & in obedience to Jesus, always brings an awesome return.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
-Gal. 6:9
Posted in Relationships, Transformation, Faith | No Comments »
When seeking to obey God, we can’t pray and live according to our resources.
We must live and pray according to His resources.
God will always provide for what He calls us to.
Posted in Faith | 1 Comment »
“But now bring me a harpist.”
While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha”
- 2 Kings 3:15
I love this verse.
It finds itself in a story where the prophet Elisha uses music from a harp to precede one of his many prophetic utterances. While it is an extremely obscure text, I believe it reveals an ancient secret often overlooked. Here the explosive combination of art and God’s word is vividly illustrated.
When God’s words are fused with God’s art, something powerful happens. It is in this space where hearts are opened, and bodies are inspired to move.
For too long we have left creativity to places like Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
But we serve a creative God.
And He made us a creative people.
The time has come for us to live the way God created us to be.
“The poorest little woodcutter or peasant on the heath or miner can have moments of emotion and inspiraton which give him a feeling of an eternal home to which he is near.”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Posted in Creativity/Innovation, Faith | No Comments »
set⋅tler [set-ler, -l-er]
–noun
1. a person or thing that settles.
2. a person who settles in a new country or area.
pil⋅grim [pil-grim, -gruhm]
–noun
1. a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
2. a traveler or wanderer, esp. in a foreign place.
We all know that this life on earth is temporary.
We know it, but we don’t live like it. We live like we are going to be here forever. It isn’t almost as if we expect to somehow be the exception to this little thing called death. Like Settlers, we have become overly concerned with how to fortify ourselves so we can stay put, rather than be Pilgrims positioning ourselves to move out and move on.
A Settler thinks, “this is my home!”.
A Pilgrim thinks “I am on my way home!”.
When God speaks a Settler says:
How is this going to affect ME?
How much time will it take ME?
How much will it cost ME?
When I can I do what God wants ME to do so I can get back to my normal routine?
When God speaks a Pilgrim says:
God what is it that YOU want?
Please God, give me YOUR strength!
God give me YOUR help!
God give me YOUR perspective!
God, I am not sure I get it or understand it, but I am here to serve YOU.
Settlers focus on themselves. Pilgrims focus on God. Settlers are enamored with earth. Pilgrims are looking to heaven. Settlers build their own homes. Pilgrims are waiting for the home God is building for them.
So…are you a Settler or a Pilgrim?
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
-Ps. 84:5
Posted in Discipleship, Faith | 1 Comment »
“Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
-Ps. 62:2
“The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”
-Heb. 12:27-28
All of our hearts go out for those suffering in Haiti at this very moment. The 7.0 earthquake has left the hemisphere’s poorest nation without basic services such as water and power, much less a functioning government. This is a calamity of the highest order where thousands have died, others have been injured, and many are displaced. Once again, we are reminded of just how fragile this life actually is.
Lately it seems, that everything that can be shaken is being shaken.
The global economy, the illusion of fame, weakness of human government, among many other false shelters have been shaken to the core. The limits of these false shelters & refuges that we have formerly placed our faith in are being exposed for what they are:
False. Fake. Phony. Futile.
As a people we are being shaken.
To our core.
In this shaking we are being forced to ask questions like: “What really matters? What is important? What happens when I leave this life? Where have I placed my faith and hope in?”
The shaking has caused us to recall what we formerly forgotten, to remember that only refuge that lasts is one built on the word of God.
As you read this, chances are there is an important aspect of your life that is being significantly shaken (I know that is true for me!). Rather than despise the shaking, let’s allow what is being shaken to expose what is fake, so we can cling to what is true.
Because only what is true will remain.
Please pray for Haiti.
(if you want to give to give financially to aid earthquake relief efforts in Haiti click here)
Posted in Media/Culture, The Future, Faith | No Comments »