One of the most freeing and relaxing teachings of Scripture is; God owns everything. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” (PS 24:1). We are not owners. We are merely stewards, temporary trustees. Realizing nothing belongs to us can help break our addiction and emotional attachment to stuff. This should make it easier for us to give to God. Since God owns everything anyway, there is a way in which we can say we never give Him anything. After David and the people gave … [Read more...]

The Christ-followers at Corinth had countless problems and squabbles. My guess is, they were Baptists. The Apostle Paul, in his two letters to the Corinthians, had to deal with several difficult, controversial topics. One delicate topic Paul was brave enough to broach with them was the issue of fundraising. A key event in Paul’s fruitful ministry was the offering he collected from poor Gentiles in Asia to be given to even poorer Jewish saints in Jerusalem. Paul prayed this offering would … [Read more...]

As we make our way through this pandemic shutdown, many churches are lagging behind financially. Sadly, large numbers of our people who see giving to their church as unimportant usually give, when they do give, it is only if they are present in church. Since everything our churches do is in one way or another directly connected to the one-dollar bill, reduced offerings mean reduced missions and ministry. Missionaries around the world and in our nation may soon face cutbacks. I fear some … [Read more...]

John Thornton was the wealthiest businessman in England. He also loved Jesus. A friend said of Thornton, “I never knew a person that lived so near to God.” Thornton had a preacher/friend who wrote hymns. Many of these songs moved Thornton so deeply that he decided to pay to have a hymnal published. The most known song in the book, Hymn #41, was “Amazing Grace”, which became the most famous hymn in world history. Just think, we would have never known of Rev. John Newton’s wonderful song had … [Read more...]

For some people, the scariest verse in the Bible is Mark 12:41b: Jesus “watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury” (NIV). The thought of Jesus watching how little some of us put in the offering plate at church can be frightening. The Bible is not the only place where we are reminded that God is watching us in the realm of money. The USA one-dollar bill itself can sober us into considering the fact God is interested in our money. Look closely at the reverse side of a … [Read more...]

Randy Travis, the country music star, celebrated his becoming a Christ-follower by singing a song about his baptism. He claimed his sins “were washed away and gone, along with a buffalo nickel I forgot to leave at home.” I can relate to the memory of a lost “spiritual” nickel. When I was a boy in Illmo, Missouri, my mom and dad taught me to tithe. Their method was very effective. My allowance was fifty cents a week. In those days, fifty cents bought a ticket to a Saturday cowboy movie. … [Read more...]