Stewardship Weekly

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:26 — 18.9MB)

This past Saturday evening, I had the great privilege of being the guest speaker at a College & Careers group hosted by friends of ours – Peter & Beth Bolton. Each weekend, they open up their house and welcome an eager group of young Christians into their living room, kitchen and lives. This week, by the time the main meal was done and the dessert was being devoured, a head count was taken and the quick tally was 42 people.

After some brief introductions, I started the evening by sharing a personal story;

When I was in high school, a friend of mine and I had applied for our very first credit cards. We were both approved and, day after day, we anxiously awaited our new plastic credit cards to arrive in the mail. We were all packed up and ready to head out on a road trip to New York City but we hadn’t saved any money for the adventure and desperately needed those cards!

Not wanting to forfeit our exciting journey, we got up early on the day we were to leave and headed on over to the postal station to sit on the loading dock. When the morning shift showed up, we pleaded our pathetic case and a search was made to find the precious envelopes and retrieve them from the bundles earmarked for each of our respective neighbourhoods. When they were handed to us, we tore into them and grinned with excitement. Look out NYC – here we come!

Our story goes on to explain how we foolishly charged absolutely everything we could to Mastercard. The credit cards were our new best friends although they suffered some heavy abuse that first weekend we used them. Gas for the car, fast food, souvenir T-shirts & more fast food. We charged everything.

That 5 day adventure actually lasted about 4 months because – as best as I can recall – that’s how long it took to finally pay off the outstanding balance. My first experience with a credit card taught me some valuable lessons;

Even though you might regret making unnecessary purchases with your Visa or Mastercard, the statement WILL show up each month in the mail. The financial institution WILL add interest to the charges. And, they WILL demand another payment.

My thoughts for this episode of the Stewardship Weekly podcast are what I shared with the young adults who heard that NYC story.

Galations 3:23-26; But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

That passage says that the law was our ‘tutor‘. Some translations use the word ‘schoolmaster‘ instead. The law acts as a mirror to reveal to us our sinful nature and our need of a Saviour. If you’re going to try to obey every law ever laid down by God – good luck! It can’t be done!

1 Timothy 2:5 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

Even though Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men, to the unbeliever, a system of good vs. bad is what they believe will be used as the final judgement. When asked what standard God uses to determine good & bad, the typical response is the 10 commandments.

I sincerely believe that Satan is doing everything he can to downplay each of the 10 commandments. If he can dilute the effect that each point has on the mind and conscience of the unbeliever who is lost in their sins, the need for a Saviour is eliminated.

It’s pretty easy to see how the world has turned murder, lying, adultery and theft into entertainment. Just watch almost any TV show, movie or reality series. For the purpose of this episode, I focused on commandment #10.

Exodus 20:17 - You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

It’s likely been awhile since you looked over the fence at your neighbours place and exclaimed “That’s a nice donkey! I wish it was mine!“. That doesn’t happen but we do have the tendency to covet other people’s stuff. “I want it“.

I am proposing that Satan’s tool to manipulate that verse is quick and easy credit. More specifically – the credit card.

We can’t covet something if we just raced out and bought it. Credit cards give us instant gratification. Credit cards enable us to quench the impulse urges within us. They also give us a false sense of contentment.

Philippians 4:11,12; Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

The bottom line is that Jesus Christ wants us to be content in Him! He wants us to be content with what He has already graciously given us.

Credit cards are not evil. They are morally neutral – but they can easily become a substitute for faith and trusting in Christ if we use them to sedate our coveting hearts.

 

Credit Cards can easily become a substitute for trusting in Christ if we use them to sedate our coveting hearts! stewardshipweekly.com/thou-shalt-not…

— Glen Steinson (@StewardshipWeek) April 20, 2012

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:52 — 21.1MB)

I’d like to welcome you to Stewardship Weekly!

If you’ve landed here from either Jon White‘s or Matt & Janelle Wegner‘s podcasts – WELCOME!

Last week I was a guest on JW’$ Financial Coaching podcast.

Jon asked me to explain to his listening audience a Definition of Stewardship. We then discussed whether or not stewardship refers only to money. One of the subjects that came up in our conversation was if there is any perceivable difference in the way Christians handle their money from that of our non-believing counterparts.

Jon then inquired as to how I became so passionate about teaching these stewardship principals, followed by asking what I’ve learned from having guests on my podcast share their stories.

To listen to the interview click - HERE

I’ve also had a recent surge of visitors coming from the Living in Financial Excellence podcast. The host of that show, Matt Wegner, has just announced that he’s accepted a new career offer and will be moving soon. With everything going on in his life, he recorded his final episode and – in that show – made mention of some of his podcasting friends. Matt told his audience about Stewardship Weekly and gave his endorsement. I’ll miss hearing Matt share their life stories and I know God will be with them on this new journey.

What Did Abby Eat?

As the title of this episode tells us, Abby (our 2 year old chocolate lab & Chesapeake Bay retriever mix) ate Tim’s birthday gift. More than just a personal family story, you’ll hear how love, compassion, giving and stewardship all tied together when it mattered most.

Too Good To Be True (article)

Let’s suppose for a moment that I walk up to you and hand you $100 in a combination of small bills.  I also give you some simple instructions; give $10 to the man who picks up the children each week for the kids club so he can buy gas for his van.  As well, give a $5 bus pass to the lady we see standing at the stop each Sunday as we pull into the church parking lot.  Now, keep the rest for yourself to enjoy and use for your family.

Good deal isn’t it?

Two more weeks goes by, and I walk up to you and hand you another $100. Just like last time, I give you some simple instructions as to how I would like the money disbursed.  Once again, a small portion is given away to others and you get to keep the majority of it for yourself.

At this point, you’re probably thinking - keep it up, let’s do it again sometime soon!

If we were to repeat this exercise over and over again – how many times would it work out in your favor?  Every time!  No matter how often I handed you the money, or who the different people were that I asked you to give it to, you would always come out ahead.

I think you know where I’m going with this.

Faithfully, week after week, the Lord provides income for us and simply asks that we disperse some of it back to His work.  Why is it then, that sometimes we hesitate and contemplate using all of it for our own needs instead of generously giving it away as we should?

1st John 3:17 - But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

I’ll do my giving later…

It’s much easier to follow the instructions and make the disbursements immediately upon receiving the money, than to hold it and try to give it away at a later date.  Why is that?  When you first receive the money, you realize that it was a gift to you and subsequently, you have no problem following the instructions.  When you hold it in your wallet for a while, it starts to feel like it’s yours and it’s not so easy to give away.  The same is true with our paycheques.  If we diligently allocate the firstfruits to the Lord each week, and immediately give it to Him instead of incorporating all of our income into our budget, it’s much easier to follow through.

Just like so many other things in our financial lives, it all comes back to recognizing proper ownership. When we have the attitude that it all belongs to us – we hold on tightly. But when we recognize that it comes from our Father above and that we are called to be Money Managers for Our Master, it is with joyful hearts that we give it away. There truly is a joy to be had in seeing the Lord’s work carried out knowing that you were a part of the disbursement of the funds.

 

2 Things: What did Abby eat? What’s ‘Too Good To Be True’? Find out in this podcast episode stewardshipweekly.com/30

— Glen Steinson (@StewardshipWeek) April 1, 2012