Kingdom Giving = Kingdom Living

2 of.... many??

As I continue to study the topic of Kingdom Giving, I am taken back time and time again to the opposite if giving.... getting! How can I expect to give to those in need when I am constantly concerned with getting for myself?

I have attempted to understand the relationship between Matthew 6:1-4 and Matthew 6:19-34. Christ tells his listeners to not be worried about today or tomorrow - not to be worried with food or clothes - not to be worried about money. I was thinking Christ had giving in mind and that the reason they were not to worry was because others would meet their needs through Kingdom giving. Well, upon further study it seems I was right about Christ having giving in mind, but not in the way I was thinking. Piper helped give me some direction out of Luke 12:13-34. The story is of the man who stores up for himself barns of plenty. His attitude is one of self and gaining what he can to live comfortably (clearly he was an American). Christ tells his disciples that they are to not follow this model, but live for the Kingdom. He tells them not be worried about today or tomorrow - not to be worried with food or clothes - not to be worried about money, but seek the Kingdom. What is the aspect of the Kingdom that is so opposite of gaining, gaining, and gaining for one's self? "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." To sum up the message...Give, give, and give to others. What are they not to be afraid of? Loosing everything through giving. The fear is that they might give too much and not have food, clothes, money, or security.

Do I give enough to the Kingdom that I fear not having enough for myself when I am done. Do you give that much? Christ is making the connection to giving in Matthew 6:19-34. You are not to fear because you have given so much. Christ takes care of the birds, that grass and creation...He will take care of you! Final thought: The American dream is to get - The Kingdom life is to give!

Read this message from Piper: http://www.desiringgod.org - Loved Flock, Do not be affraid to give it away.

Kingdom Friends

I want to say thank you to a group of men at BBC that assisted me this past week. My car's battery decided that it was time to pass from this life into the next. We attempted to resuscitate it by shocking it with thousands of volts, but instead of coming back to life, it decided to catch on fire (or just start filling the car with smoke). A group of men (Tom, Dave, James, Scott, and Jeremy) helped in the cold rain, take the old battery out and replace it with a new. I am so thankful for Kingdom men that served their King by helping me out that night. I love each of you and thank God for you and your ministry to my wife and I. (Also a special thanks to the two friends who bought us the battery. Thank you so much!)

Holiday Books

Just a thought for all of you book buyers...

My wife came to me a while ago with a proposition. (It seemed she was either a bit overwhelmed with the amount of books I had been buying at the time or just wanting me to secure more books in a more organized and systematic way.) This proposition was for me to buy one book, every holiday. I was not to buy any other books except for a specific Bible study or other pertinent situation. So you ask, how far is she willing to take this thing? What holidays are counted? Well, the specifics are still being worked through, but let's just say that I have a very creative mind!

If you are the type of book buyer that buys many more books in a year than there are holidays, this is not for you. Keep this to yourself and do not share with your wife. Keep things the way they are! If you are like me, this works out pretty good!

(One more thought... To help pay for holiday books, I keep a change jar that helps pay for the books. You'd be surprised to see where I find change and dollar bills. If you’re wondering where, it's probably your house!)

Piper Gets The Big Picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2xyaUnkkZg

Kingdom Giving = Kingdom Living

1 of ...many?
Christ, preaching about what Kingdom living would look like, enters into the discussion of giving. In Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Christ knew that there many in the crowd fulfilling their Kingdom responsibility of giving, but doing it for the wrong reason. Many were giving to be seen; giving so that others would believe they were spiritual people.
It is interesting that Christ begins his discussion on the heart of giving, not giving itself. It is assumed that Kingdom people will give to their brother or sister in Christ, but it is not assumed that the heart behind the gift will be right. In this particular case the heart of those giving was wrong. They were giving for themselves. When giving so that others will see, you are really giving a gift to yourself. (We will look at another case study of this "giving with the wrong heart again in Acts 4 soon.)
As I am studying through this truth of Kingdom giving, I am vexed over my own life. I give to my brothers and sisters in Christ all the time. I give to my brothers and sisters in Christ with the wrong heart all the time. (Those sentences were different!) I give little gifts to myself by giving so that others can see my gift. I may hide that part of the gift way down deep inside and no one else may know about, but it is still there. It is also interesting that when I give, I find a way to bring it up somehow. If I may cut myself some slack that I have love for my brothers and sister in Christ and I give out of that love, but the truth be told I also love myself and I give to me as well.
Dear friends, will you join me on this journey of Kingdom living? Will you joing me on this journey of Kingdom giving? I will be writing much more to come on this subject, but I felt it necessary to deal with the heart of the matter before tackling anything else. (It seemed Christ had the same idea!)
Final Thought: Give to your brothers and sisters in need. Give to them and not to yourself!