Separation of church and...

Separation of church and State is an important “hot” topic which I am not going to address right now!  Why?  Because I think that there is an even more critical “separation” that needs to be discussed.  And that is, the separation of Church and Self. 

Today, I had an interesting conversation about Halloween with a co-worker.  She was talking about what kind of candy she should give out at Halloween this year.  After a few minutes of discussion, she eventually proclaimed, “Well, whatever it is at least I won’t be like one of those people who wraps literature around the candy they give out.”  I asked her to explain and she replied, “You know, they wrap religious literature around the candy bars.”  I countered, “Well, Halloween is not a day universally celebrated by Christians, so it makes sense they would try to inform people.”  She then said, “Yeah but…the kids just want candy and this isn’t the right time to be doing that.” An interesting comment she made,”not the right time.”  This implies there is a right and a wrong time to express your faith.  This is what I mean by the “Separation of Church and Self.”  Keeping your church, faith separated from the rest of your life. 

Unfortunately, due to work responsibilities we weren’t able to continue our conversation.  I’m guessing that if we had, she would have expanded that she believes that religious topics should be discussed only in church and perhaps only on a Sunday.  And based on how offended some people respond lately when someone mentions a religious belief during any other time of the week than Sunday morning, I think that she's expressing a fairly popular opinion.  “Keep your religion at church” or perhaps you’ve heard “keep your religion out of government”, or even “keep your religion out of schools.”  I can understand the concern.  I mean, I wouldn’t want our government, one that tends to fail at most things to get their hands around trying to manage a Federal religion!  But does this mean that we can only be faithful during church hours?   

I don't think practicing your religion means practicing it during specific times of the week.  A genuine Christ follower doesn’t have an on/off switch when it comes to living out their faith.  “Oh, it’s Christmas morning, better head to church to get my religious fix to cover me for the next year.”  No, that’s not it at all!  I just can’t picture God being happy to see His people ignoring Him all week long and then heading to church on Sunday “just to put their time in”.  He wants an ongoing relationship with each and every person on Earth through Christ Jesus.  Scripture is clear on this.  He doesn’t want you (or others) to put limits on your relationship with Him.  Scripture is clear on this too!  He wants to part the center of every aspect of your life.

Luke 10:27 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”

Luke 10:27 doesn’t say, Love the Lord your God on Sunday morning and with a portion of your soul and with a little strength and part of your mind.

I’ll admit that there was a time in my life that I didn’t understand why my religious beliefs needed to be part of my life other than the occasional Sunday morning.  I thought you just needed to believe that there is a God and that Jesus was a man who was God’s son and then I was all set on my pathway to heaven.  But there’s a difference between believing that there IS a God and believing IN God.  Check out James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” 

A person can believe in the existence of God, but it takes a heart full of faith, love, submission and worship to live a life where you believe IN God and His plan of salvation and grace.  Once you get there, that will be the point where you can no longer understand the Separation of Church and Self.  It no longer makes sense.  How can your heart be so filled with love for the Lord, that at any point during your day or night that you can separate this out?  Just turn it off.  It’s not possible.  In fact, if you remove any portion of your love for God love out of your heart, you end up making room for something else.  Likely, it will be something that is the opposite of love, as in hate, fear, desire, and sin.  

Personally, I believe that there is no way you can discuss the Separation of Church and State until you no longer have Separation of Church and Self.   When you are no longer separating yourself from your faith, when you are truly living it 24/7 and when your entire heart belongs to God, to His glory…then everything else will fall in line.  Answers to those “hot topics” become crystal clear.  All you need to do is stop separating God out of your everyday life.  He has the answers.  He doesn’t want to just know you and guide you and have you love Him on Sunday.  He desires that each and every day!

1 John 3:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  and that is what we are! 

Roses, stop and smell them

Under pressure!

Priorities, priorities, priorities...are a huge topic of discussion lately. I sometimes hear people older than myself telling me about how when they were my age, things weren't quite as hectic.  I suppose they are right.  Look at how we are constantly trying to fit in as many activities in our already over-scheduled lives: family, work, school, kids, sports, meetings, social gatherings, business trips, etc. Last time I looked there were still only 24 hours in each day and we like to maximize each one of those hours.  I mean seriously, I'm writing this at 11:32pm!  But with all these distractions, just where does God fit?  Does He get shoved onto the back burner in your day-to-day priorities?  If I asked you to write down your life's priority list, what would it look like?

Maybe your priority list looks something like this;            Or perhaps like this one;

Family                                                                                       God

Career                                                                                       Family

Health                                                                                       Career

God                                                                                            Health

Money                                                                                       Money

Recreation                                                                              Education

Education                                                                                Recreation

Politics                                                                                      Politics

Charity                                                                                      Charity

One of my favorite sermons my Pastor preached about was Prioritizing God.  The main point of the sermon was that we shouldn't put God at the top of our priority list.  He should “BE” our list.  Everything on that list needs to be centered around God.  Everything.  The risk of “prioritizing” God (even if you put him at the top of the list) is that if something really important came up, God stands the risk of being bumped down the list.  Perhaps it would be a family illness, a loss of a job or severe financial stress.  We then tend to lose focus on Him, spend our time and energy on the circumstances of the situation and therefore bumping God down our priority list.  But by keeping Him at the center of everything on our list, the order can fluctuate, and He remains our source fo strength and firmly at the center.

                                                                                      family

                                                                    career                   charity

                                                                health          God             politics

                                                                   money                   education

                                                                                 recreation

Priorities = distractions

When a person has too many priorities, each is getting only a fraction of that person's attention.  Again, we still only are given 24 hours in a day.  Each priority acts as a distraction from the other priorities.  These multiple priorities and distractions are causing people to be too overscheduled and busy day and night.  The distractions are the things that take you away from what's really important, your personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Think about it, if you lived on a deserted island with nothing more than a loin-cloth and banana leaves for shoes, you'd get to know God real quick.  With all of our modern distractions having been vanished away, you'd be able to focus completely on Him.

There isn't an App for that

So now we've established that priorities will yield distractions which can then weaken our relationships with God.  But what enables these distractions?  The great enabler for managing our busy lives (priorities) these days is our devices and the technology surrounding these devices: Smartphones, iPads, iPods, Playstations, Xbox 360s, wifi, 4G, streaming video, Netflix, Google, Facebook, GPS and apps.  You name it.  So where does God fit into all of this stuff?  Maybe God needs an App.  How can we find Him amidst the chaos of technology and our busy overscheduled lives?  Since everything else in our lives is taking up our attention, we can easily lose focus on God.  There is a good scripture about this very situation. Let me paraphrase, Matthew 14:22-32.  Peter was in a boat with the other disciples when they saw Jesus walking on the water.  Jesus told Peter to come to him.  Peter got out of the boat and started to walk towards Jesus.  But then he saw the wind he became afraid and began to sink.  Jesus then reached out his hand and grabbed Peter.  When Peter looked away from Jesus, he got scared and lost his way. He saw the wind, looked away from Jesus and sank.  Perhaps wind could equal anything that is taking your focus away from Jesus (aka a distraction)

A real turn off

This past summer I went camping, my wife and our two boys (5 & 8).  First time ever, we loaded up our little truck and set out for a tenting adventure.  TV, iThings, phones, computer, internet, cable, housework, laundry, yard work, job stress everything was left at home.  We went mid-week when almost no one else was there.  We set up our tent and our site, and then spent time enjoying the park.  We went hiking, fishing, walking in the creek, finding crayfish, bugs and fossils.  Later we roasted hot dogs over the open campfire.  Of course we had s’mores for dessert.  After telling silly stories around the fire (versus telling scary stories) we all climbed into the tent.  With little light, we improvised our normal bedtime book reading time with telling Bible stories to our boys. Everyone shared their favorite Bible story.  When we were finished, I saw that it was only 9:45pm...which is certainly not my regular bedtime!  Let's just say that it I had a rough time falling asleep!

3:14am is an actual time

I really dislike tent camping.  My theory is that I don't work all year just so that I can spend my vacation sleeping on the dirt.  But, as a parent, you have to make sacrifices sometimes!  I finally fell asleep somewhere around 11:00 - 11:30pm.  At some point in the night/morning a cold, clammy finger tip was poking my forehead..."Daaaad" I heard my oldest whisper to me, "I have to go to the bathroom."  My clock indicated the time was 3:14am.  Yes, a.m.  I fumbled around for the flashlight, then took him for a short walk to the bathroom area.  After he was finished, we headed back towards the tent.  That's when I noticed the night sky.  It was amazing!  It was completely full of stars and a magnificent full moon over head.  The air was warm and humid and the sounds of crickets and cicadas overwhelmed me.  We walked slowly back towards the camp on that stone park road.  I stopped and pointed to the moon and said to him, "look at that moon tonight, it's gorgeous...aren't those stars incredible?!"  My son looked up and said, "Wow!...it's so bright out but it's nighttime!"  We were both enjoying the fact that we could see our shadows on the road from the moon's light.  The fishing pond was like a sheet of glass and the meadow was covered in dew and fog.  We spent the next few minutes in awe of creation.  We were in awe of all of it all.  We stood in awe of God.  We talked about God and how he made all this beauty.  What a humbling experience for the both of us.  All of life's distractions were gone for those few moments.  It was just me and my son in complete amazement of the Father's creation.  It was unforgettable.

Sidebar

Kids get this.  They get God.  Their lives haven't been muddled up with distractions, skepticism, negativity, sarcasm, and doubt.  If you ever get a chance to talk to a child about God, I recommend it.  They have a faith that is so pure that you'll be amazed at it's simplicity and their unfaltering devotion.  Jesus knows this...

“...Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” -  Mark 10:14-16

Pump the brakes!

That camping experience was something I will never forget.  In fact, it's changed the way I look at things too.  I try to make more effort to stop and smell the roses or to stop and see the moon-shadow.  God wants us to worship him day and night.  Don't get me wrong, I like devices and things of the world too.  In fact, I just finished playing my electric guitar and am typing this blog on my laptop while listening to iTunes.  Once I am done, I might even go and watch a show on Netflix through my Xbox.  All I am saying is that maybe we need to pump the brakes, slow down, shut things off and spend time appreciating and acknowledging and giving thanks to God for His creation.

In case you’re wondering where the inspiration for this blog post came from, it came from God’s word…

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Love.

This story is too good not to share.  This is what happens when Jesus' love works through others for others...


The Gay Protest That Encountered The Love of God
From Charismanews.com
by Michael Brown

Last week, Scott Volk, one of the pastoral leaders at FIRE Church, my home congregation, received a call from the local police informing him that there would be a gay protest outside our building on Sunday morning.
The leader of the protest announced on Facebook, “We will meet just before service begins, and protest as they gather, we will have a silent protest as service is going and let them have it as they leave for the day. Remember we will be peaceful and respectful, something they don’t understand. We are going to STAND TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY to show that our love is stronger than their hate.”

In response, I wrote on my blog: “On behalf of FIRE Church, I want to extend to you the warmest welcome and let you know that we are thrilled that you are here with us on Sunday. We have been praying for you for a long time!
“As always, you will only meet with love, kindness, and respect from the FIRE leadership and congregants, and we proclaim to you once again the amazing grace of God. Jesus died to save us from our sins, heterosexual and homosexual alike, and only in Him can we find forgiveness, redemption, and transformation. Jesus alone is the Healer, Savior, Deliverer, and Transformer.”
On my radio show, I also encouraged them to come in good numbers so we could greet them, and Scott posted a note on Q-Notes, a local gay website that had announced the protest, saying, “As the pastor of FIRE Church, I just want you to know that you’ll be greeted with the same love and compassion as we always endeavor to show anyone--you are more-than-welcome! You make mention of the ‘hate’ that we show. Yet, in all our years here we’ve only desired to reach out with love to everyone in the local community here whether they are labeled as gay or straight. Hopefully, you’ll see that love demonstrated on Sunday as you protest.”

Not surprisingly, given the suspicion, and misunderstanding that exists, Scott’s gracious invitation drew some hostile responses:
David: “Love is the most disfigured mask that hate wears.”
Sue: “If what you think is reaching out in love is perceived as hateful attack, perhaps you should reconsider your actions.”
David: “You can fool yourself, Mr. Volk. You can fool your parishioners. But you can’t fool God. He knows what’s in your heart, and it isn’t love. It’s hate.”
Tom: “What these fire church people probably don’t understand is that spending an eternity ANYWHERE with them is what I would consider a true HELL. They should concern themselves with their own pathetic lives and leave other alone to theirs ...”

Scott responded by inviting them to his home for dinner to spend a night with him and his family. And he explained that, “to call someone hateful without ever meeting them, seeing them, or hearing them speak, is an indication of a heart that needs love. I make myself available.”
On Sunday morning, Aug. 26th, about 10 protesters showed up (we were disappointed there were so few) and some of our FIRE leaders met with them, offering them water and snacks, sharing God’s love and truth with them, and then inviting them to join us in the service. After a few minutes they left, explaining that we were too nice and loving to deserve a protest!
Bear in mind that these protesters know the stands we have taken for biblical values and some of them have listened to my radio broadcasts or read my writings, so they recognize how strongly we differ with them on many key issues. Yet they also recognized our genuine love for them and saw that we were not full of hate. The love of Jesus, flowing out of Spirit-filled, godly hearts, makes an impact that cannot be denied.

Scott shared this good news on the Q-Notes website, along with the invitation to those calling us hateful to join him for dinner at his house. In response Spydre wrote, “I want to hear more about this Jesus,” and Jaybea commented, “Even I would be welcome there? It would be an honor to meet Scott Volk and Dr. Brown. I’m beginning to see light as very attractive.” How amazing!
The next day, Monday, Aug. 27th, the leader of the protest called into my radio show to apologize publicly for the protest, explaining that their “anger ... was aimed [in] the wrong direction.” And then he said these words: “Once we got there Sunday morning we were greeted with absolutely perfect love. I mean, it was fantastic.” Praise God!

After the broadcast, we exchanged contact information and are looking forward to sharing a meal together and, more importantly, candidly sharing our hearts. This is genuinely good news.
When the Lord called me to get involved with homosexual issues eight years ago, He said to me, “Reach out and resist,” meaning, “reach out” to the people with compassion and “resist” the activist agenda with courage.
Is it possible to do both? By God’s grace, the answer is yes, and in the end, love never fails.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

Get real!

Sticks and stones
It makes me sad to see how Christians are being portrayed in the world these days.  Why do Christians get these distorted and hurtful labels placed on them?  I've seen the words bigot, discriminatory, anti-gay, close-minded, hateful, judgemental, out-of-touch and irrelevant all tied with Christianity in recent news articles, reports, blogs, social media and videos.  I wonder what Jesus himself would say if someone called him those names?  He'd probably give that person a big hug because, well, he's Jesus and he loves everyone including sinners!  Wait!  We're all sinners, so he must love us all! 

Who's to blame?  I blame us!
I blame part of this bad perception on some Christians themselves.  See, there is an expectation of Christian behavior as it's clearly outlined in the Bible.  When non-Believers (or sometimes-Believers) see people calling themselves Christian acting in a way that doesn't align with the Biblical teachings of Christianity, then labels are put on people as a whole.  Yes, a messed up stereo-type.

Who's to blame?  I blame them!
I blame part on the media for picking and exploiting stories about Christians that show those who are not behaving in a Christ-like manner perpetuating a misguided idea about what Chritianity is really all about.  Lets face it, there are some crazies out there who don't do the rest of us any favors.  But instead of over-looking these stories, the media will often put them front and center.  When was the last time you saw a major media story that showed a Christian living out his faith in a positive way?

Who's to blame?  I blame us some more!
I blame social-media for it's fast paced, sarcastic humor and incorrect message spreading as well.  How many times have you seen cynical cartoon, images, web-videos and the like, that reduce Christians down to a point where a reader just laughs and mocks them.  This denigrates Christianity and removes all the loving wonderful aspects of all of Christ's teachings.  It is making a mockery of what Jesus' purpose and what real Christ-followers believe.

Check yourself, before you wreck yourself
So what's a Jesus loving Christ-follower to do?  I think those poking fun of and mislabeling Christians don't truly comprehend what it means to be Christian.  No one is perfect (only Jesus was), but all of us are forgiven when we give our lives over to Christ.  In doing so, we're held to a different standard.  We can't hate, like the world does.  We can't be bigoted.  We can't discriminate.   We have to be as my Pastor says,  "Jesus with skin on."  If we are to change the misperception of what a Christian is all about, we need to match our actions and words with scripture.  Does what you do or say align with God's word?

Separation anxiety
Often times it feels like we are under attack.  And rightly so, because well...we are.  Whether you believe that evil does exist (Satan) or not, you must agree that the best way to keep people from having a personal relationship with God through Christ is to separate His people from Him.  Worldly activities and government policies will often subtly work to separate people from God.  We need to remain faithful.  We need to remain in God's grace by following His word (scripture) and acting and behaving in ways that please God and build up His Kingdom.  This is tough to do.  But Jesus made it easy for us.  Pray and live in faith and God will strengthen you.  When asked what is the most important Commandment, Jesus answered:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:30-31). 

24/7
If you love the Lord your God then in turn you will love His people, His creation.  But also, if you love your neighbor as yourself, you will also love the Lord God!  Kind of neat how those two most important commandments go hand-in-hand.  But what the world needs to understand is that in living out "Love the Lord your God...", a Christian is filled with God's love through Jesus 24/7.  It's not a Sunday-thing.  It's not just on Christmas and Easter.  It's day and night.  In doing so, a person is humble and submissive before God and does whatever he can to please God through worship, prayer and every aspect of life.  God is the center of all, He is not somewhere on your priority list.  Your thoughts, opionions, actions, activities and words should serve to glorify God to best you know how.  It is done through a continual personal relationship with Jesus.

A Christian cannot do this and turn his back to God when there is a hot-topic or issue facing our culture today.  A Christian needs to keep his focus on God while walking in the world.  A Christian must not waver from obedience to God just because it's easier to go with the flow of popular opinion.  Loving your neighbor as yourself does not mean that its ok to turn away from God or his word in order to do so.  It also doesn't mean your neighbor is always right.  God is always right and just.  As a Christian we can't pick the parts of scripture that we like and ignore the rest.  Yes, love your neighbor, but first and foremost love the Lord your God.  You can't love the Lord your God and be intentionally disobedient at the same time.
Pride and truth
Personally, I think what our culture today struggles the most with is pride and truth. 
Pride.  We are a culture of prideful people who can take care of ourselves and don't need God in our lives.  People reject Him, or turn away from Him because they are living a happy, comfortable life and are good people.  I don't have a way to convince anyone they need God's grace, that's something a person has to accept for themselves.  I pray for those people to accept God's free gift of salvation without having some life altering tragedy in order for them to realize they need Him. 

Truth.  The second thing that our culture doesn't like is truth.  The Bible is full of truth.   If you are calling yourself a Christian, then the Bible is well...your truth.  It's your Bible!  It is truth.  Sometimes it is hard to accept because some biblical truth is contrary to what is acceptable and "right" in our culture today.  Before accepting Christ in my life, I often went back and forth on issues because both sides made sense from time to time.  But what was missing was the knowledge of truth defined by authority.  When I let God rule my life, I found that authority....God himself, the Creator.  I'm pretty sure He knows what's right and wrong.  I now know truth.  I pray for those who do not yet know truth,  and that they come to know it through His grace, and word. 

The major difficulty with pride and truth is that we often have to set aside our pride in order to accept truth.

What to do
I will continue to read God's word and pray so that I can be like Jesus to the best of my ability.  I will continue to to try show people God's love and grace through how He works through me.  I pray my actions and words glorify God and do not serve to separate His people from Him but instead encourage others to seek Him out through Jesus.  This in no way means I am perfect.  I make mistakes.

I am a Christian, not a bigot.  I love my neighbor no matter his race.
I pray for the salvation through Christ for people of all races.

I am a Christian, my aim is not to discriminate but to love my neighbor no matter his religious belief.
I pray for the salvation through Christ for people of all religions and those without any belief system.  I pray their hearts are opened to God through Jesus.

I am a Christian and will demonstrate love for my neighbor no matter his sexual orientation.
I pray for the salvation through Christ for people struggling with sexual addiction, confusion and differing orientations.   I pray for their strength to overcome sin.

I am a Christian. I am not closed-minded or hateful.   I love my neighbor no matter his judgement on me because I identify myself with Christ.  I pray for the salvation through Christ for all people overwhelmed with pride, cynicism and judgement.

I am a Christian.  I am not perfect.  I thank God each day for His loving grace.

If you're wondering where I got this blog idea from, well, it came from God Himself.

"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority."
Colossians 2: 6-10

It's Alive! It's Alive!

I've often heard that the Bible is just a book from 2,000 years ago and doesn't apply to the world today.  I think I probably have said that once or twice before, but now as a Believer I know that this is simply NOT the case.  The Bible is completely relevant to the world today.  The Bible is "God breathed" meaning, it contains His words for His people.  It's been described as a handbook for mankind, a love letter from God.  Since God has no beginning and no end, His words (the Bible) also can not have a beginning or end.  It's as timeless as God Himself.  It is in fact ALIVE!

I'm going to write some blog posts where I will try to show how Scripture has spoken directly to me in my life with regards all sorts of topics I'm dealing with in today's world.  Hopefully,  my experiences will cause you to also seek out God's guidance through Scripture.

Today's topic - Money

There are hundreds of quotes in scripture that can be connected to money and how to manage it.  Obviously dealing with money is important to God.  Below are some of my thoughts regarding money and scripture to support them;

Money and wealth and all those "things" we have all come from God
"Every good and perfect gift is from above" James 1:17

Money is not important, but rather your love of God is the most important
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:19-21

"Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”  The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:21-25

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

It's right to be generous with your money
"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for god loves a cheerful giver" 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

"All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" Acts 2:44-47

Be honest in your dealings with money and finances
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?" Luke 16:10-12

"Dishonest money brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live" Proverbs 15:27

Don't be greedy!
"Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income" Ecclesiastes 5:10

"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater —has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them" Ephesians 5:5-7

God blesses those who give
"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." Malachi 3:10

"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." Proverbs 3:10

^"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Don't be generous with your money just to try to earn favor
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" Matthew 6:1-4

Be sure to tithe at your church
"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always." Deuteronomy 14:22-23

I'm sure many of these comments/thoughts/ideas about money are things you may have learned growing up.  Honesty, generosity, etc are likely not hard concepts to comprehend.  But seeing these ideas as coming from God puts things into a much more important perspective.  If God is the absolute highest authority in your life, the creator of all things living and you accept these words come from Him, it makes it even more important for a person to try to live the best they can by His commands.   

If I had a million dollars

Remember that song by BNL from the 1990's?

"If I had a 1,000,000 (If I had a 1,000,000)
I'd but you a house ( I would buy you a house)
If I had a 1,000,000 (If I had a 1,000,000)
I'd buy you furniture for your house ( maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman)
If I had a 1,000,000 (If I had a 1,000,000)
I'd but you a K-car ( a nice reliant automobile)"  

It's fun to imagine what you'd do with a million dollars.  Maybe pay off your mortgage, go on vacation, quit your job or even buy some slick new wheels like a K-car.  A million dollars is a lot of money to an adult, probably at the same magnitude as $20 to a 6 year old.

Last year my 6 year old son was at the local Farmer's market where he found a $20 bill.  He looked around to see if anyone had dropped one, but couldn't find the owner.  When he got home he was very excited about what he was going to buy with the $20.  Maybe some toy spiders (he loves spiders) or a book about spiders (again, the boy likes spiders) or possibly a t-shirt with a spider on it (spiders are a big deal, you get the picture). 

Although we didn't want to burst his spider-bubble, we felt this was a great teaching moment for him.  We explained to him that the money, even though he had found it, wasn't really his.  Someone had lost it and was likely missing it.  We told him that the right thing to do would be to turn it in to the Police Department so in case the owner was looking for it, they could find it again.  He was reluctant to give up the $20 because he was seeing eight legs and spider webs by this point.  Once we asked him how he might feel if HE lost $20 and couldn't find it because someone else took it for their own, he changed his mind.  We were trying to debunk the "finders keepers, losers weepers" theory. 

He hoped that if someone found something of his, they would turn it in so perhaps it could be returned to him.  I loaded up my two boys in the car and we drove to the village Police Department.  We walked into the building and went up to the window where there was a Officer standing there.  He asked how we were doing and if he could help with anything.  My son held up the $20 and said, "I found this."  The Officer smiled, I think because of the insignificant amount of money that $20 is to an adult, and knowing it was a lot of money to a kid.  We filled out a form, handed him the money.  He said that if no one claims it, then the money would be ours.  He then gave both boys "Junior Police Officer" badges that they proceeded to wear nearly everyplace they went over the next 2 days.

My son asked several times over the following days if the Police would call and tell him the money was his now.  Eventually, he forgot all about it as did I.  1 year later, I got a voice message on my phone from a Detective at the Village Police Department asking me to return his call.  When you get a voice message from a Police Detective, you return that call quickly which is what I did.  He was calling to say that no one claimed the $20 and the money was now ours.

How excited my son was when I told him about the $20!  Dreams of spider merchandise began to dance through his head once again.  I packed up both boys again and drove to the Village Police Department.  We met the Detective, signed some papers and he handed my son the $20.  The detective told us about the "Found Property Law" and that we had waited the required length of time after turning in the money, so it was now ours.  We chatted with the Police Officers for a few minutes more and the boys inquired about a jail.  They wanted to know if there was one at this Police Department.  Sure enough, there was and the Officer asked if the boys would like to see it.  Sure enough, they did!  So after a tour of jail, we went home, $20 in hand. 

Once home we divided up the $20 into his 3 money jars, "Give", "Save" and "Spend".  Then my son gave his little brother some of his money because he wanted to show his little brother about doing the right thing.  

Although my 6 year old was "rewarded" for doing the right thing by getting the $20 back.  He learned that very lesson a year earlier just after turning it in.  "I hope the person who lost the money calls the Police and gets it back".  He also said it felt good knowing that the person might be able to get their money back.

Of course we had to go to the store and buy a toy spider with his "Spend" money.   

"Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for who are not holy will not see the Lord.  Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God"

Hebrews 13:14-15

"My Savior my God"

There's nothing quite like a really powerful worship song. 
Below are the lyrics to one of my favorites "My Savior, my God" by Aaron Shust

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands One who is my Savior
I take Him at his word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior


My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God He's always gonna be


Yes, living, dying; let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior