Sunday Night Reflections (AND My Really Cute Daughter!)

Whew…what an awesome day at NewSpring. I taught on putting God first in the area of our finances…which normally is really tense; however, I really felt that today’s message was very well received. Saying that–here are some thoughts from today/this weekend.

• I got up this morning and walked outside and it FELT LIKE FALL. I just stood outside on my deck, watching the sun come up and was overwhelmed by how awesome and creative God is!!!
• One of THE main reasons I love teaching on putting God first in the area of finances is because I received Christ in 1990…but didn’t surrender my money until 1999…and since doing so I have seen Him do AMAZING things…I have never had everything I want…but I’ve never gone without!
• Like I said today–there just are NOT many people who have made as many financial mistakes as I have…and I didn’t come out of the storm UNTIL I began to apply God’s Word to the way I handled money.
• NO, we did not ask people to purchase prayer cloths…we simply presented what Scripture says on the subject! :-)
• It amazes me that some Christians will trust God with their eternity…but not with their money. Why? Because it’s easy to raise your hands and carry a big Bible with your name on it…it is MUCH harder to take a step of faith and put God first.
• Some people get mad when you teach on money…notice I said SOME…and there is a reason. Let’s just say it this way…the ONLY people that get angry when a pastor teaches against adultery is because, well, uh, they are committing adultery. SO…the same with money…the only people who get angry when teaching on $$$ are those who do not have God first in that area.
• I was told when I first started NewSpring to NEVER teach on money, that it drove people away. THEN I discovered that money is one of THE most talked about subjects in Scripture, that JESUS talked about it in around 25% of His teachings…and that THE REASON people are the most screwed up in the area of their finances is because God’s Word was not obeyed. (Once again, talking from personal experience here!)
• There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for a Christian to be stressed when it comes to finances, put God first…and DO NOT WORRY…for further explanation on this please check out the word of Jesus (I love HIS stuff) in Matthew 6:19-34
• No matter how hard a Christian tries to justify not putting God first…what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 is just difficult to argue with! I know it was for me!
• OK…let me say this again…if you have NOT signed up for Joe’s class then GO HERE and DO IT NOW! Folks, there isn’t a better teacher on finances ANYWHERE in the country. And he has a blog–here is that link! (Check out his five part series on paying off debt–IT’S AWESOME!!!)
• Oh yeah…Joe is a walking example of WHEN you put God first in your finances then you can do WHATEVER He asks of you…WHENEVER He asks it. Some people cannot respond to God’s call on their life because they are in bondage. Joe, on the other hand, took a 50% pay cut to come on staff at NewSpring…and his family IS NOT STARVING!!!
• I announced service time changes here last week…and on September 30th we will rock and roll!!! Oh yeah, we also are changing the time for Ignite, our middle school ministry, to 5:00 on Sundays.
• Speaking of last week…I had no idea that this post from last week about “nice” Christian boys and girls would be so popular!!! DANG!
• That’s about it for now…except for…about two weeks ago Lucretia took the picture below with her camera phone…it makes me smile every time I see it. I would do just about anything to see my little girl smile…and after seeing the picture you will know why! I LOVE BEING A DAD!