Santa's Workshop

As a child, I remember buying cheap Christmas gifts for my family at Santa’s Workshop, when I was in elementary school. (1970’s)

I wrapped every gift & had a warm feeling in my heart to see my family open them up on Christmas morning.

I still have that warm feeling of giving gifts to my family & friends...especially at Christmas.

Over the years, Beverly & I have had seasons where we had much to give as well as seasons where we had little to give. But we always gave something...even if it was a handwritten note or a homemade card that expressed our love to those dear to us. I guess that’s where the phrase, “It’s the thought that counts” matters most.

This Christmas, whether you have a lot or a little, give yourself completely to your family & friends. A smile, a warm hug, a conversation, laughter, something homemade or store bought...your presence is what matters most.

When we are intentional with our giving, we reflect our Heavenly Father, Who was intentional in giving us His only begotten Son. Salvation is FREE to us but rest assured it cost Jesus His life. He gave His best.

The warm feeling of gift giving may feel different, from year to year, but it helps to remember The One Who gave first.

Christmas, to me, is more than presents under a tree, name brands or trends, it’s about JESUS coming to restore what was lost...to redeem mankind & ultimately reconcile us through His death, burial & resurrection.

I love this time of year. The memories, traditions, food, travel, family, togetherness...it still gives me that warm feeling. I pray you are surrounded by family & friends this week & that your heart is filled with peace.

Merry Christmas! Be someone’s gift!

#Room

Serving From Devotion or Obligation

Leadership 101 - Eleven Nuggets

Sow Into Your Future

At age 17, I was working at Baskin Robbins Ice Cream at Rolling Acres Mall.  I made minimum wage, which at that time was $3.35 an hour.  The only real expenses I had, as a Junior in High School, was car insurance for my 1981 Chevy Malibu.

My parents taught me to TITHE and pay my bills!  So that's what I did.

Once a month, we would attend a Youth Rally, in Northeast Ohio for our church fellowship, where I would always prepare an offering to give towards my leader, Rev. Jack Gipson. I brought my TITHES to my local church (which is where your tithes/offerings belong) but I would give a generous offering above my tithes/offering to my leader because I COULD and I WANTED to!

I SOWED into the ministry of my leader because I knew in my spirit it was what God wanted me to do.  There were times that I would write a check for everything I had left in my checking account...because The Lord impressed upon me to trust Him and GIVE.

I SOWED into my LEADER and therefore was SOWING into my FUTURE!  I didn't realize then what God was instilling in me.  He was having me SOW into my FUTURE even when I didn't understand this principle.  

Do you know that that's why it's important to 

be under good teaching and an environment 

that understands Kingdom principles?

God used my leader, to impart unto me WISDOM, GUIDANCE, COVERING, DIRECTION, TRAINING, ANOINTING and so much more!  Today, I'm extremely thankful for the impact that my leader has had on my life.  

Giving COST me!  

Giving was a SACRIFICE!

Giving was an INVESTMENT!

But GIVING gained me what money couldn't buy!  

God used that man to bless me!  I can't begin to tell you all the prayers he prayed over me, while gathered at the altar!  He would lay his hands on my head and speak LIFE!  He spoke into my future!  He spoke into my ministry! 

Friend, if you have a leader that God is using to speak into your future...SOW INTO THEM...because your obedience will put a DEMAND on their anointing and a double portion will overshadow you!

If you don't believe me...just ask the Shunamite woman!  She placed a demand on Elisha's anointing, when she built a prophet's chamber for him.  She didn't even realize that he would be compelled to do something in return for her generosity.  (2 Kings 4)

She did it for the right REASON and in the right SEASON...and look what God did...He gave her...her FUTURE (OFFSPRING)!

I'm not saying you can buy the anointing.  No you cannot.  However, you can position yourself to receive something tangible from God by being willing to SOW your time, talent & treasure into the people whom God is using to prepare the fertile soil of your heart!  

Are you SOWING today?

How's your attitude about it?

If we're not careful, we'll end up having a horrible attitude about SOWING into others, because we think others should be sowing into us, and we'll miss the MIRACLE God wants to release over us.

Don't miss the power of SOWING into your FUTURE!

Giving Should Be Our Style of Living

How do you see INCREASE in your life?  The key to increase is INVESTING.  

There's a verse in the Bible that I love, because it speaks VOLUMES about the POTENTIAL of PROSPERITY in our lives through our GENEROSITY!

"A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed!"
(Proverbs 11:25 NIV)

It's not the SEED you KEEP that multiplies...it's the SEED you SOW.  That seed NEVER leaves your life, and it moves from your PRESENT into your FUTURE.  It goes ahead of you, to rearrange tomorrow in your FAVOR!

I don't expect people in the world to understand this principle and, sadly, not everyone in the church understands it either.  NOT KNOWING how this principle works places us on the opposite side of God's blessings.

When you can GIVE with no strings attached, you've learned how to CONQUER a GREEDY spirit.  It's also proof that you've conquered your FEAR of lack.  When you GIVE, your gift tells God that He is first in your life.  It says you're totally confident that He is going to meet your needs and BLESS you!

Can I cheat myself out of a blessing?  Yes!  If you're not SOWING, you're ROBBING yourself of the harvest.  

"One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."
(Proverbs 11:24 NIV)

See, it's possible to GIVE away and become RICHER!  It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything!

GIVING should be our style of LIVING!

Trust me, God will give us plenty of opportunities to WATER others - - and when we do, blessings will begin to pour back upon us!

The Penny March

As a child, I couldn't wait for our pastor to call for all the kids to come forward for the "PENNY MARCH."  By the time the invitation came, the change I had been clenching in my fist was clammy with sweat.  I wanted to be first in line.  Somehow, the sound of my change passing through the glass neck of that old fashioned water bottle and clanking around made me feel like I had really done something big!

My pastor was teaching me that I wasn't just giving an offering...I was INVESTING in the Kingdom of God.  I guess you could say, I was given a lesson on finance at an early age.  As I grew up, I carried this lesson with me and learned how to tithe consistently.  Today, it continues to be one of the wisest lessons on investing that I've ever learned.

When we put God FIRST in our GIVING

...God blesses our LIVING.

Bringing our TITHE (10%) to God acknowledges His ownership of everything BEFORE we enjoy any of it for ourselves.  God is so generous...He only asks for the 10%, in faith, while allowing us to live on the 90%.

Remember the PRINCIPLE Malachi taught us concerning stewardship? "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, 'says the Lord Almighty'" (Malachi 3:10 NIV)

Lessons Learned:

1. When you tithe, you get DIRECT ACCESS to the CAPITAL of Heaven!  God promises to open the "floodgates of heaven" to those who tithe! (v.10)  The Bible says that the "earth is the Lords."  He is the CFO of the universe!  And He has continually made heaven's RESOURCES and RESERVES available to me, as I have obeyed Him in my giving.
2. INTEREST EARNED!  God's returns are compounded.  He said, He would "pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it!" (v.10).  In other words, you can't out give God...you'll find out in the end that He's outgiven you!

All you have to do is read the next verse to understand how serious God is about BLESSING you and INSURING you through your giving! "I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit." (Malachi 3:11 NIV).

Friends, everything you INVEST into the Kingdom of God will be returned to you in Heaven!  

I Want To See You Blessed!

I believe everyone who is reading this wants to be BLESSED!  I refuse to believe that ANYONE should remain in the dark when it comes to STEWARDSHIP.  Part of my job as a pastor is to PERFECT the saints and EQUIP them for the work of the ministry.  Part of that equipping process is to put TOOLS (resources) in place to help families.

One of my assignments as a Pastor is to create an atmosphere of GENEROSITY that models Corporate and Individual stewardship.  In truth, our level of STEWARDSHIP is a reflection of our SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

I can TRAIN our people on immersing themselves in Scripture, but I have no idea whether or not they really are.  I can EXHORT prayer until I'm blue in the face but I really have no way to measure the health of someone's prayer life.  I probably will never know how often, or how effectively our members are SHARING their faith with their friends.

However… STEWARDSHIP is a unique opportunity to gauge the pulse of someone's SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.  When someone is growing in their giving it also implies a step of SPIRITUAL GROWTH.  If someone who has given sporadically at best begins tithing faithfully, we know God is working in their life.  This gauge also works the other way.  If someone who used to give faithfully has stopped giving, we can be sure something is wrong.

The interesting thing about DISCIPLESHIP is that people can be very mature in one area and still immature in another.  We've all run into people who are extremely mature in biblical knowledge, but have not given a dime in twenty years.  Or we may find people who are mature in the area of finances but they are immature when it comes to RELATIONSHIP practices in Scripture.

The Scriptures teach us, "Where your heart is, there your treasure will be." (Luke 12:34; Matthew 6:21)  In essence,  If your HEART is toward God so will your FINANCES.   

Are You an EXTRAVAGANT Giver?

As we become good stewards we are able to experience HEALTH in our finances and in our church.  We are called to be Godly managers of our households, but many times our focus is spent on being good spouses and good parents.  Somehow, the truths such as "the borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7) is ignored.

One of the things the Lord spoke to Beverly and I was that we needed to ELIMINATE as much DEBT from our life that we possibly could.  Honestly, we can't lead our church with effective zeal if we are enslaved to creditors.  We remained faithful in our tithes and offerings and organized a plan to eliminate debt.  With a focused effort, we were able to streamline our debt and use simple strategies to get things paid off early.

Friends, until we have our own finances under control, we won't be able to lead others into biblical stewardship with any conviction or integrity.

A few weeks ago, Beverly and I sowed a financial seed above our tithes into the ministry.  We felt an urgent prompting of the Lord to be obedient in a particular area.  Within a week, Beverly received a letter from a company she used to work for.  They stated that they had been trying to find her for years and her address recently popped up on their grid.  They sent her a check that was double than the seed we sowed!  

When you make a decision to be GENEROUS with your resources you release yourself into the best opportunity to grow!  Your children will be a direct recipient of the seeds you are sowing right now.  If you are GENEROUS…your children will be GENEROUS.

God spares nothing for our sakes, as is evidenced by Jesus' death on the cross (John 3:16; Philippians 2:8).  And he also PROMISES that he will provide for us ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10).  

We give away Bibles to new believers because we are looking for an opportunity to till the soil of people's hearts by ministering freely to them.  If we are known as the church that "charges" for everything then we miss our chance to SHINE generously.

Remember what Jesus taught in Luke 6:38? "Give, and you will receive.  Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.  The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

Many churches are viewed in their community as the church that TAKES rather than GIVES.  We have the opportunity to CHANGE THAT MENTALITY when we give with unexpected generosity…which is really a reflection of God's love.

As a church, we have kept an open hand intentionally.  My hope has always been that BFWC would focus on exemplifying God's provision through generosity.  This decision has not always been easy…and we've been stretched.  BUT THE REWARDS of GENEROSITY are well worth the EFFORT and EXPENSE.

We've grown, our people have grown, our church has grown and the CULTURE OF GENEROSITY has been seeded, watered and harvested over and over again.

• We give each first-time guest a gift.
• We deliver a fresh loaf of bread to each first-time guests' home.
• We give away free CD's to our volunteers.
• We put free resources and materials online.
• We provide free classes for all of our spiritual growth classes.
• We put ads in the newspaper.
• We do mailings to the community.
• We reach out to hundreds of thousands of people annually through servant evangelism, which involves blanketing the community with free bottles of water, detergent, light bulbs, etc.

I've had people ask me, "How do you pay for all that?"  The answer is short and simple:  THE FRUIT IS IN THE HARVEST.  WE CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO DO IT!  

If BFWC refused to foster an atmosphere of generosity, we would be cutting off God's blessing and closing down people's hearts.  We would also be lessening the likelihood that people would visit our church for the first time and then go on to become fully engaged followers of Christ.

I take my responsibility serious…and that is to GIVE PEOPLE THE BEST POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET JESUS!  Part of that process requires being GENEROUS with the RESOURCES God gives us to do His work.  GOD IS NOT A GOD OF SCARCITY.  If you and I are called to represent Jesus on the earth, we certainly can't be a Christian of SCARCITY.  

Time and time again, God honors the generous seeds we scatter, and BFWC – not to mention the overall kingdom – reaps tremendous fruit.

May your heart continue to be open to the Holy Spirit and may you be EXPANDED in your generosity as you reap the BENEFITS of God's blessings in your family and your church.