Weekly Update from the Senior Pastor
November 1, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
Seek the heart of God.
Trust the heart of God.
Obey the heart of God.
That’s what following GOD’Sheart to our future means. That is our challenge now, and till Jesus comes.
This past Sunday was a convergence of many things into a drink from the end of a fire hose! This Sunday will be equally sincere, but simpler and shorter. J We’ll look into the hearts of three guys facing a furnace who found Jesus in their midst (ever been there?) We’ll explore what it takes to go beyond the grind, and to enjoy life from the middle of a miracle.
Last Sunday our Prayer Leaders, Ned and Debbie Ellington, gave us a huge gift as a congregation: a labor of love. It is a clear, first-things-first, daily Prayer Guide for our November Month of Prayer. Use it to begin and to end your day focused on the size of your God rather than the size of your problems. I started reading it as soon as I got home Sunday. Here’s my guarantee: read the first page prayerfully, a letter from Debbie and Ned about finding God in the rush of life and you will be hooked. If you didn’t get a Guide, be sure to get one this Sunday.
The FIRESIDE CHATS are a great opportunity for close-in time together. Please join us tonight at Matt and Tori Tomlinson ’s ( 27800 Ridge Road , a lovely stone home just north of Damascus on 27N) at 7:00 p.m. for dessert and discussion, or at one of the other locations listed on our website
Great minds often think alike, or ask the same questions! Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about our Stewardship Campaign for the new facility. Let me clarify in my own words about home equity my last Update.
First, apart from a home or car, I do not believe in buying things before you have the money. Not ever. Period. Debt is bondage, and far too many are in it. Instead we should continually simplify our lifestyles to free up our time and resources for Kingdom purposes and meaningful relationships—giving our first and best to God and to building family and community, not bigger piles of perishable goods. Too many folks live life possessed by their possessions. Recently Tony Dibiase told me of a man who literally built barns to store all his toys, but lost his family and ended his own life. Check out 1 Timothy 6:6-19 for a very succinct summary of God’s take on resource allocation and financial attitudes.
Second, honestly, in our congregation there are two groups of people financially: some who have financial assets they could contribute and those who do not, who, like the widow in Luke 21:1-4, when they give sacrificially, can do it only from income. Real sacrifice looks very different for these two groups, but God wants us all involved. Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice. Sallie and I do have assets in retirement savings and equity in our home. We are going to sacrificially tap into both those sources to give more than the equivalent of Sallie’s total annual salary to help build a Light on a Hill for God’s glory. In thirty three years of tithing and participating in sacrificial seasons we’ve never out-given God.
I believe there are three times when it very biblical to tap into assets, even in the form of a home equity loan:
- Investing in a home as your residence.
- Investing in your children’s education.
- Investing in a residence for the Body of Christ, a home base for the true “temple” of God (us) to extend our ministry.
If you want God’s perspective on that third reason, read the shortest book in the Old Testament: Haggai, which speaks directly to sorting out priorities in terms of our assets and honoring God (it’ll take you about 6 minutes).
Here’s the truth. God wants to lead you to a place of genuine sacrifice and blessing. For some that can only mean income, like the widow [Luke 21]). For others, that involves assets, like Zaccheus [Luke 19]. So I’ll end where I began: your personal challenge is this: to seek, trust and obey the heart of God.
Love ya,
Richard
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