Thursday, March 28, 2019
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and
stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! Psalm 32:1-11
This past
Sunday’s sermon was one that got my attention.
I know that sounds odd, in the sense that the preacher ought to know
what he’s going to say, and the sermon ought not be something of a surprise to
him. But, frankly, sometimes what comes
out of my mouth on Sunday morning can sound (to me) a little surprising. In the middle of preaching a sermon on
stewardship I experienced an overwhelming sense of joy. And it wasn’t just about filling the bank
account.
I thought
it was worth re-visiting for a moment.
The main
points of this sermon on the topic of stewardship, or giving, were that we must
make decisions about money and its use in these ways:
1.
Whether we’re going to be a control freak, or trust
God
2.
If we’re going to live life stingy, or generously.
In the middle
of talking about those concepts I was gripped by a sense of security and lifted
in a way that can only be described as joy.
For me, it was not a matter of giddy, happy, or superiority…just that
sense of well-being that you’re in the middle of the bullseye. I was experiencing that happy marriage of
talking about something that is not a theory, but a lifetime principle that
never gets old or shaky in its truth…that giving is Godly. That’s a joyful level that (if you’ll forgive
the pun) money can’t buy!
The first
step in the journey is always the hardest, and that is never truer than opening
a sermon about money, and how it can control our lives, becoming our master,
rather than serve good purposes. It’s hard
because some people don’t want you to talk about giving money away. And that’s because it’s difficult to give
away that for which you worked.
Believe
me, I know that. As one who has spent
most of his adult life serving smaller-membership churches where the finances
and preacher salaries were on the meager side, yet still having to feed and
clothe three kids and keep the wolves from the door…well, you don’t let the
income become the out-go easily. But, on
the plus-side, when you’re married to a person steeped in the joy of giving to
others, and, as a pastor you’re in a position to know more about people’s needs
than the average bear, well, you see over and over just how God blesses and
uses giving hearts.
It becomes
great
joy!
For You Today
Whether
you qualify to buy a whole floor of Trump Tower, or if you’re homeless, there
are ways you can access that same joy of giving; it just requires paying a
little attention to the opportunities God places in your way.
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