Devotionals for February 27, 2023
Last chance to register for "On Target" Women's Event this Saturday, March 4 at 9:30am at Stumpy's Tarpon Springs.
READ
(Luke 16:11-13)
11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
REFLECT
Do you hate money? Weird question, I know, but stay with me. It is likely that whoever is reading (and writing) this feels a certain level of "attached anxiety" to money. I would venture to guess that waking up to a healthy balance, a well-stocked savings account, and higher prospective earnings rarely breeds intense anxiety about surviving. If you're like me, then God is only Jehovah Jireh when the balance is low, bills are mounting, and jobs fall through. If our confidence is attached to money, then the money is our god, Luke's dichotomous claim makes that clear. So then, how do we move confidently through life unattached to money for our security? How are we supposed to be generous when we cannot afford to pay rent? How can we tithe if we have a car payment processing the same week? If money is our god, the answer will be rooted in survival. We will weigh the cost and benefit to us, and make a decision accordingly. But if our confidence and stability are in God, namely, that even in poverty we can know Him, then we will live confusing, but profound lives of generosity in lack, and investment in uncertainty, and peace in poverty. To hate money, in the biblical sense, is to make it a tool for worship, instead of the target of worship.
APPLY
Q: How have you "served" money in your life? What does the Luke passage tell you?
Q: What would it look like to live your life believing that God is all you need?
Q: How can your confidence in God over money rub off on your family, friends, and social network?
SING
“Jireh” by Elevation Worship and Maverick City
PRAY
"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."
Father, you are the very source of life itself. In you, and through you, are all things made. Help us never to turn good things into gods, making them devils. Help us to trust in your provision, even if money is tight. Help us to be obedient to your commands, even if it looks like we will lose something in the process. Help us to gain you, even if we lose the world. We thank you for your provision, and your worthiness of worship, Amen.
READ
(Luke 16:11-13)
11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
REFLECT
Do you hate money? Weird question, I know, but stay with me. It is likely that whoever is reading (and writing) this feels a certain level of "attached anxiety" to money. I would venture to guess that waking up to a healthy balance, a well-stocked savings account, and higher prospective earnings rarely breeds intense anxiety about surviving. If you're like me, then God is only Jehovah Jireh when the balance is low, bills are mounting, and jobs fall through. If our confidence is attached to money, then the money is our god, Luke's dichotomous claim makes that clear. So then, how do we move confidently through life unattached to money for our security? How are we supposed to be generous when we cannot afford to pay rent? How can we tithe if we have a car payment processing the same week? If money is our god, the answer will be rooted in survival. We will weigh the cost and benefit to us, and make a decision accordingly. But if our confidence and stability are in God, namely, that even in poverty we can know Him, then we will live confusing, but profound lives of generosity in lack, and investment in uncertainty, and peace in poverty. To hate money, in the biblical sense, is to make it a tool for worship, instead of the target of worship.
APPLY
Q: How have you "served" money in your life? What does the Luke passage tell you?
Q: What would it look like to live your life believing that God is all you need?
Q: How can your confidence in God over money rub off on your family, friends, and social network?
SING
“Jireh” by Elevation Worship and Maverick City
PRAY
"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."
Father, you are the very source of life itself. In you, and through you, are all things made. Help us never to turn good things into gods, making them devils. Help us to trust in your provision, even if money is tight. Help us to be obedient to your commands, even if it looks like we will lose something in the process. Help us to gain you, even if we lose the world. We thank you for your provision, and your worthiness of worship, Amen.