LEARNINGS TO SHARE…

Understand –  riches can deceive you. 

Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:

Revelation 3:17 “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t
need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched
and miserable and poor and blind and naked. TLB
Mark 8:36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world,
yet forfeit his soul?
Mark 4:18-19 Others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires
for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Luke 12:15 (Jesus said) “Watch out! Be on your guard against all
kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions.”
Proverbs 23:4-5 Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste
your time? Riches can disappear as though they had the wings of
a bird! TLB
Ecclesiastes 5:11 The more you have, the more you spend, right up to
the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth– except
perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers! TLB
1 Timothy 6:10 The love of money is the first step toward all kinds of
sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love
for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows. TLB
Galatians 6:8 If (a person) sows to please his own wrong desires,
he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of
spiritual decay and death. TLB
The poorest man in the world is the man who has nothing but money.

from Brian Kluth’s 40 day devotional – a spiritual journey to a more generous life

Don’t trust in your riches, but trust in God.

Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous
will thrive like a green leaf.
1 Timothy 6:17 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.
John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.
Job 31:24-28 (Job said) “If I have put my trust in gold or said
to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great
wealth, the fortune my hands had gained…so that my heart was
secretly enticed…then these also would be sins to be judged, for
I would have been unfaithful to God on high.”
Psalm 49:6-12 (Sinners) trust in their wealth and boast of great
riches. Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a
ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can
ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave. Those who
are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving
all their wealth behind. The grave is their eternal home, where they
will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but
they leave their wealth to others. They will not last long despite their
riches—they will die like the animals. NLT

Are you rich?

Did you realize that if you personally make more than $1500 per year you are richer than 75% of the world’s 6+ billion people! 

To find out how your income compares to everyone else in the world go to: http://www.globalrichlist.com

From Brian Kluth’s 40 day devotional and spiritual journey to a more generous life

Set up a plan to faithfully give 10% OR MORE of your financial resources to the Lord’s work.
Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
Luke 11:42 (Jesus said) “Though you are careful to tithe even the
smallest part of your income, you completely forget about justice and
the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave these
other things undone.” TLB
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your
fields produce…The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put
God first in your lives.” TLB
Exodus 22:29 “You must be prompt in giving Me the tithe…” TLB
Genesis 14:20 “Abram gave…a tenth of everything.”
Malachi 3:8-11 “Will a man rob God? Surely not! And yet you
have robbed me. ‘What do you mean? When did we ever rob you?’
‘You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due to me. And so
the awesome curse of God is cursing you…Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do,
I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing
so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove
it to you! Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects
and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,’ says
the Lord Almighty.” TLB
2 Chronicles 31:5,12 “The people responded immediately and
generously with the first of their crops and grain, new wine, olive oil,
money, and everything else…a tithe of all they owned. They faithfully
brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts.” TLB

Giving 10% isn’t the ceiling of giving; it’s the floor. It’s not the finish line of giving; it’s just the starting blocks.

From Brian Kluth’s 40 day spiritual journey to generosity devotional

Day 6

Even the poor are to give to God from what they have.

Deuteronomy 16:16 “No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”
1 Kings 17:10-15 (Elijah asked a widow)“Would you please bring me acup of water?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that `last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterward there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days. For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.” NLT

Genesis 28:20-22 (While a single young man with no job or income)
“Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over
me… then the LORD will be my God…and of all that you (O God)
give me I will give you a tenth.’”
2 Corinthians 8:2-4 “Though (the Macedonian Christians) have
been going through much trouble and hard times, they have mixed
their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been
an overflow of giving to others. They gave not only what they could
afford but far more; and I can testify that they did it because they
wanted to…They begged us to take the money so they could share
in the joy of helping the Christians in Jerusalem.” TLB

If a pauper gives to God, he’ll feel like a prince.  If a prince doesn’t give to God, he’ll feel like a pauper.

from Brian Kluth’s 40 day spiritual journey to a more generous life devotional 

Day 5
Don’t become prideful about anything God has entrusted to you.

Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 “You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength
of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD
your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
Psalm 62:10 “If your riches increase, don’t be proud.” TLB
Deuteronomy 8:11-14 “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your
God… Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine
houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and
your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your
heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “The Lord says, “Let not the…rich man boast of his
riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and
knows me.”
Psalm 39:5-6 “Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy
rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend.” TLB
Mark 8:36 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit
his soul?”
Proverbs 16:19 “Better to be poor and humble than proud and rich.” TLB
Obadiah 1:3-7 “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who…
make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring
me down to the ground? Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest
among the stars, from there I will bring you down,’ declares the LORD…
‘Oh, what a disaster awaits you…Your friends will deceive and overpower
you.’”

When a man becomes rich, either God gains a partner or the man loses his soul.

Day 4
The LORD watches your giving.
Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
Mark 12:41-44 “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the
offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into
the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But
a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only
a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you
the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the
others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty,
put in everything– all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1 “Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple
treasury.”
2 Corinthians 8:12 “For if the willingness is there, the gift is
acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he
does not have.”
Exodus 35:22,27,29 “All who were willing, men and women alike,
came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings
and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to
the LORD…The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems…All
the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD
freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had
commanded them to do.”
2 Chronicles 24:10 “All the officials and all the people brought their
contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full.”
Your bank and credit card statements are theological documents. They tell who and what you worship.
With the price of everything else going up these days, aren’t you glad the Lord hasn’t increased the tithe to 15%?

from Brian Kluth’s 40 day devotional to a more Generous Life

Day 3
Your role is to be the trustee, manager and steward of 100% of what God entrusts to you during your lifetime.
Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
Colossians 3:17, 23-24 “Whatever you do or say, let it be as a
representative of the Lord Jesus….Work hard and cheerfully at whatever
you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward,
and the Master you are serving is Christ.” NLT
Romans 14:7-8 “None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies
to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die
to the Lord.”
Matthew 25:19-21, 24-26 “After a long time their master returned
from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used
his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of gold
said, `Sir, you gave me five bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the
amount.’ The master was full of praise. `Well done, my good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now
I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’…
“Then the servant with the one bag of gold came and said, `Sir, I know you
are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you
didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth
and here it is.’ “But the master replied, `You wicked and lazy servant!” NLT
1 Corinthians 4:2 “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” KJV
Martin Luther said,

“People go through 3 conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart and their pocketbook.  Unfortunately, not all at the same time.”

Have you gone through all 3 conversions yet?

from Brian Kluth’s 40 day journey to a more Generous Life

Day 2
God is the provider of every good thing in your life
Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”
Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ.”
Matthew 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him!”
2 Chronicles 1:11-12 “Since you [Solomon] have not asked for a long
life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I
have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given
you. And I [the LORD] will also give you wealth, riches and honor.”
Proverbs 8:18-21 (God says) “Unending riches, honor, justice, and
righteousness are mine to distribute. My gifts are better than
the purest gold or sterling silver! Those who love and follow me
are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries.” TLB
Isaiah 26:12 “All that we have accomplished you [Oh LORD] have
done for us.”
As thunder follows lightning, giving follows grace.  When God’s grace touches you, you can’t help but respond with generous giving. Randy Alcorn

Give to God what’s right–not what’s left

from Brian Kluth’s devotional booklet “40 day journey to a more GENEROUS life

Thanks for checking out these devotional thoughts and scriptures.  My prayer is that we all will grow to another level, not only in our generosity and stewardship, but mostly our relationships with the Lord during these next 40 days.

Just for the record, I am sharing these devotionals with you from a resource that I have been going through on my own.  It is a daily devotional book written by Brian Kluth about giving, stewardship, finances and generosity.  you can find all his resources here.  Enjoy this first day and enjoy God’s favor upon your life today!!

Day 1
God is the Owner of everything
(including all that you currently have or ever will have)

Think about, discuss or pray about the verse that relates most to your life:
Psalm 50:10-12 (God says) “Every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills…and the creatures of the field are
mine…the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
Haggai 2:8 “ The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the
LORD Almighty.”
1 Chronicles 29:11-12 “Everything in heaven and earth is yours
(O Lord)…Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all
things.”
Leviticus 25:23 (God says) “The land is mine and you are but aliens
and my tenants.”
1 Chronicles 29:14-16 (David’s prayer after people gave generously
to a building project) “But who am I, and who are my people, that we
should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from
you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are
aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days
on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O LORD our God, as for all
this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for
your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world,
and all who live in it.”

If we belong to Christ, it’s logical that everything we have truly belongs to Him.
When we give to God, we are just taking our hands off what already belongs to Him.