PRAYER: Lord, help me to see how much I have been blessed in my life. Help me to see how giving of myself and my things to Your kingdom may allow Your work to grow.
DAY 15 - READ LUKE 19:29-35
Our prayer during this spiritual journey and capital campaign is that God would call people to the ministry of His church. We are asking our congregation to pray and consider being a part of the biblical model of gathering together as a church in order to worship, grow, and serve while we scatter to share the good news of Jesus. This requires us to first commit our lives to Christ and then serve others. Like Jesus, we become poor so that others become rich. You may be thinking, “I already serve in the church. I already give to the church. How can I find ways to serve or give more?”
Proverbs 3:9 encourages the faithful to “honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.” Your time, talents, or treasure (your produce) may not be the only resource in your life to make a gift from. People often have valuable assets (your substance) beyond their income stream. By looking at all of your resources, not simply your income stream, you may discover assets or substance in your life which, if untied, can help you to give a far more substantial gift than you thought possible. In our expansion project, we have had members make significant contributions by finding equipment at auctions. Others have made a significant contribution by giving of their time and labor for the remodel. We have seen others donate their gifts of decorating or organizing. Some have donated other assets. Others have given up activities or amenities in order to redirect their resources to this project. Some have had garage sales and turned unused belongings into a gift for the project. Why did these people give of their time, talents, and treasures that had real value to them? It is simple—the Lord called them to do it. What they were giving to meant far more to them than what they were giving up.
These people freed up resources that were tied up in the substance and activities of their lives. Untied, the substance which they had been blessed with could now be an even greater blessing as a gift. The owners in Luke’s gospel provided Jesus with a way into the city of Jerusalem. They had a donkey, and the Lord had need of it. Maybe it is time to untie your donkey; to free some of your substance for His kingdom purposes.
ACTION ITEM
Do an inventory of your time, talents, and substance. Are there assets in your life that you could untie in order to broaden your giving?