Dubious and Convinced

Judges 6; Psalms 95 & 96; Proverbs 14:5-6

 

Sometimes God doesn’t make Himself obvious. Which really stinks, at least for those of us trying to believe in Him. Sometimes God works in the background, and sometimes He even lets us ignore Him until the whole world spirals out of control. And when we ignore Him and the world spirals out of control, we forget to take the spirals as evidence that God is at work. After all, He promises not only to bless those who obey Him, but to curse those who disobey Him.

 

Regardless, when circumstances are painful and we’re discouraged, it’s easy to ask the same question Gideon asked when told that God was with him: But sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders…? – Judges 6:13

 

Fortunately, we have a God who is able to restore our faith. He patiently restored Gideon’s. First, he accepted Gideon’s offering by consuming it with fire from a rock (Judges 6:21)! Later, he fulfilled two tests for Gideon. One night He filled a fleece with dew and left the ground around it dry, the next night He did just the opposite (Judges 6:36-40)! God has always been the God of wonders. But His people have not always trusted Him or obeyed Him.

 

Father, give us eyes to see You even in life’s confusion and struggle. Give us faithfulness to return to Your words day in and day out. Give us courage to obey them and trust You. And encourage our faith along the way. We don’t care about seeing You perform tricks, but we are weak. In Your mercy, confirm to us that You are alive and well, and that You are still at work in our lives.

 

Where Is Your Loyalty?

Judges 4-5; Psalm 94; Proverbs 14:3-4

 

In times of trouble you can really find out who your friends are… and aren’t. I don’t mean the kind of friends who are easy to talk to. I mean the kind of friends who will be there for you, no matter what—who will offer a hand, a couple bucks, a bed for the night—the kind of friends who will stand up for you.

 

In Judges 4:11 we are introduced to a family that seems to have divided loyalties: Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. So far what we know is that this family is probably loyal to the Israelites. Why? Because they are the descendants of Moses’ brother-in-law.

 

But the Israelites were currently being oppressed by Jabin king of Hazor. And as Deborah and Barak led Israelites in fighting against this oppressive king’s commander Sisera and his armies, we read this in Judges 4:17: Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. So was this family loyal to Israel? Or to their oppressors? Would they stand up for either side?

 

Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, ended up being faithful to Israel. She allowed Sisera to enter her tent, and she acted as though she would protect him. But as he rested and slept in the tent, she killed him. It was not long before Israel had completely defeated Jabin, the Canaanite king who was oppressing them (Judges 4:23-24).

 

Father, every day my loyalties are tested—everyone’s loyalties are tested. Will we stand for You and Your kingdom, or will we stay on friendly terms with Your enemies? I choose You. My family will follow You. Strengthen all of us who say that Jesus is our King. Strengthen our hearts to be faithful to You. May our loyalties be undivided. And if there is any hint of division in the way we live, may we have the strength and wisdom to be loyal to You in the end. Thank You that Jael was loyal. May my family and I be no less faithful. And may all our friends and relatives give You their loyalty, too.

 

Have it Your Way!

Judges 1:1-2:9; Psalms 90 and 91; Proverbs 13:24-25

 

It’s been said that one of the worst things God could ever say to us is, “Have it your way!” Why? Because He is good and we are not. He is strong and we are weak. He is sinless and we are sinful. He is heavenly and we are hellish at heart.

 

Can you imagine being the Israelites and hearing God say something like this? Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you. – Judges 2:2b-3

 

The Israelites had not obeyed God and completely eradicated the people of Canaan. They had made covenants that allowed the Canaanites to live, albeit as slaves. So God was going to let the Israelites have it their way: the Canaanites would survive.

 

So what? So the Canaanites would lead the Israelites away from the one true God. “Their gods will be a snare to you.” With God is life. Apart from God only death and destruction remain. The Israelites had chosen death. And God would let them have it their way.

 

Father, be merciful to us. Be patient with us. Provide a way out of the ways we have chosen. Provide a path to life!... Thank You for providing a Way to life through Jesus Christ’s willing and loving death in our place, and then also through His resurrection to life. I am excited to join Him in that resurrection of new life! Please, Father, bring the whole world from their way of death to Your Way of Life!

 

Sermon: He's Not a Tame Jesus

We don't usually think of Jesus as rough or vengeful. But in Mark 11, Jesus curses a fig tree just because it has no fruit. What can we learn?


He's Not a Tame Jesus from Matt Harner on Vimeo.

Sermon: The Vision That Drives Us

You want vision? Nobody gives a fuller, healthier, brighter picture of our potential future than Jesus Himself, through the apostle John's vision in the book of Revelation. What are we aiming for?


The Vision That Drives Us from Matt Harner on Vimeo.

Sermon: Witness Like Paul... From Home

In the last couple years covered by Luke in the book of Acts, we find Paul in a situation very much like our own in some ways. He's staying put, living out of a rented home. And he's still witnessing. What does witnessing from home look like?


Witness Like Paul... From Home from Matt Harner on Vimeo.

Sermon: Pursuing Wisdom

This lesson on wisdom came straight from Wisdom's mouth in Proverbs. My second sermon of the semester.


Pursuing Wisdom from Matt Harner on Vimeo.

Sermon: No God Like Ours

This semester, one of my classes involved preaching. I initially said that this post would be a place for the five sermons I preached. Instead, I'm going to put one sermon to a post. That way, if there are any comments, they'll all relate to the same sermon and the conversation will be easier to follow.

My first sermon covered Exodus 15:1-18, the song of Moses and the Israelites. It ended up being a little less than 15 minutes long, which is what I was supposed to aim for.


No God Like Ours from Matt Harner on Vimeo.

I intend to add the rest of the videos as soon as they have been converted into a small enough file format like I did with this one.

Check out this new book's video trailer!

Christy's book is nearing completion. She's put together a video trailer for it, and everyone can check it out.

YES!!!

Joshua 15; Psalm 86; Proverbs 13:9-10

 

How much does a car mean to an American sixteen year old? How much does a new job mean to an American husband and father who has been without work? How much does a sparkly diamond ring mean to an American girlfriend, or even more, a wedding day to an American fiancée?  How much does an apartment mean to a refugee?

 

Joshua 15 doesn’t sound all that exciting to us. It’s not the “good stuff” to us. We like the battles, the wars, the stories of heroic courage.

 

But the Israelites who went through those battles and wars probably enjoyed them a lot less. Sure, they liked making it through the battles unscathed. But that didn’t always happen. Fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins still died sometimes. What is “good stuff” to us was pain and hardship to them.

 

And what we consider pain and hardship—trying to read through Joshua 15-21—was “good stuff” for them. After being slaves, after watching parents and grandparents die in the desert for forty years, after fighting battle after battle, each tribe finally got to rest, and the first tribe we read about is Judah: These are the boundaries around the people of Judah by their clans. – Joshua 15:12b

 

These chapters—these seemingly endless, descriptive, boring chapters—are where the real excitement is! God had fulfilled His promises! He had brought His people home! And now they could live in their own land, in their own homes.

 

Father, as I walk day by day through this life, uncertain where my next step will bring me, life is uncertain. It is certainly interesting. I never know what to expect. But that’s not always a good thing. The reserves of my faith are taxed over and over, and all I really want is to be at home, resting with You. THAT will be good times. THAT will be exciting. THAT will be meaningful. And there’s not a thing I can do to make that happen any faster. So give me faith to be faithful and to follow wholeheartedly wherever You lead me while I wait for this rest and this home that You have promised me. Give me joy in knowing that life will not end in battles and sorrow so that I can walk through the battles and sorrows I face for now. Thank You that You are leading me home!

 

Follow the Feisty Veteran!

Joshua 13-14; Psalm 85; Proverbs 13:7-8

 

At age 40, he was a spy. He had now outlived all of his brothers-in-arms. But… he had finally made it through the battles he anticipated fighting 45 years earlier. And at age 85, Caleb wanted at least one more fight:

 

“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” – Joshua 14:10-12

 

Wow.

 

Here I am, almost 28 years old, and even the thought of opening up my mouth to tell people about Jesus can be intimidating. But the LORD was Caleb’s battle cry! He was willing not only to proclaim that the LORD is the only God, but to fight for Him and trust Him for the physical victory!

 

Christians! Let’s follow Caleb in faith! We have a battle to fight, and our enemy is not flesh and blood, but the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12)! But we have a victory ahead that is even more certain than Caleb’s, because Jesus Christ already won the victory when He triumphed over these powers and authorities on the cross (Colossians 2:15)!

 

Is your spiritual armor ready? Let’s go!

 

Father, fill me full of Your words and the confidence that You will accomplish every last thing You have promised so that I walk through this world, shrouded in darkness, on a path that is illuminated more brightly than the brightest noonday beams. With my trust completely in You, may my whole body jump to the alert, ready to charge into battle. May my eyes see clearly, my mouth be bold, my hands be steady, my heart be courageous, and my feet be poised for action in the spiritual battle You have set before me and my brothers. May I walk through battle with Caleb’s confidence, no matter how old I grow. You are my inheritance, so every battle clash is worthwhile!

 

Catch 22

Joshua 9:3-10:43; Psalm 83; Proverbs 13:4

 

Have you ever been in a Catch 22 situation, making a tough choice, and neither alternative seemed good? Sometimes it feels like we have to choose the “lesser of two evils.” But we never want to choose evil, even lesser evil! We’re God’s children! So what do we do?

 

Joshua and the Israelites faced something like this. The Israelites had been commanded by God to destroy all the nations who lived in Canaan, not letting anyone live. But the Gibeonites who lived there had deceived them, and because the Israelites believed that the Gibeonites lived far away, they had made a promise to let them live. And then they found out that the Gibeonites were Canaanites. These were some of the people God had commanded them to annihilate! So now what? Disobey God and leave the Gibeonites alive? Or disobey God and break an oath, a promise made in His name?

 

I would have been tempted to go back on my promise to the Gibeonites. I would have been tempted to say that since I made a promise in response to a lie, the terms of the promise had been violated and so the promise was void. Apparently a number of the Israelites were pressuring the leaders to think this way. But the leaders went the other direction:

 

The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the LORD, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." They continued, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." So the leaders' promise to them was kept. – Joshua 9:18b-21

 

To the leaders, it was better to admit one mistake and not make another. They would admit they had been duped; they were not deliberately disobeying God by leaving the Gibeonites alive, and God knew their hearts. But they could not—would not—deliberately disobey God by breaking a promise they had made in His name. That would dishonor Him.

 

Sometimes the reason we end up in these Catch 22s is simply that we are unwilling to admit that our past decisions were mistakes. We want to cover over our stupidity, our foolishness, or lack of discernment. For the Israelites leaders, humility allowed them to move forward in obedience to God. By confessing that they had already messed up, they advanced in wisdom and righteousness. And God honored the leaders’ decision to keep their promise. When the Israelites went to battle to defend the Gibeonites against five other Canaanite kings, God helped them gain the victory by pouring down hail on their enemies and stopping the sun in its very course (Josh. 10:11-14)!

 

Father, give me the humility you gave the Israelite leaders, along with their confidence in Your grace. Help me to admit my sins and my mistakes rather than trying to cover them up. Help me to trust You to forgive my past so that I don’t sin worse in the present and future. I want to honor You!

 

Isn't She Too Young for That?

Joshua 7:16-9:2; Psalm 82; Proverbs 13:2-3

 

Who do we expect to know what God says? Scholars? Pastors? Youth pastors? Husbands? Wives? Surely not teenagers! Definitely not children! Right?

 

Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses--just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them. – Joshua 8:34-35

 

God’s Word – God’s commands – are for everyone in God’s community. No one is too foreign to hear them. No one is too young to hear them. No one is too female to hear them. No one is too uneducated to hear them. God’s Word is for everyone. We all need to hear the whole truth—God’s blessings and curses—so that we can follow God and help each other to walk with Jesus.

 

Father, may Your people know You through Your words. May we listen to You, and may we teach our children to listen to You. May we believe what You say and walk in obedient trust. We want life through Jesus! So help us to listen to Your words.

 

Experiencing Passover

Joshua 5:1-7:15; Psalm 81; Proverbs 13:1

 

Everyone must personally experience the Passover, and not just as a symbolic meal. The symbolic meal of the Passover ought to point to something real in our lives. The Passover is not just something that happened once, long ago. It happens every year and is more fully realized through some events than through others. Have you experienced it? Even the Israelites’ descendants experienced it for themselves, in some ways:

 

The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan. – Joshua 5:11-12

 

The actual Passover event, when God went through Egypt and killed the firstborn of all men and animals in homes that had no blood on their doors, had happened forty years earlier. The Israelites children had been passed over by the destroying angel.

 

But forty years later, the first generation of Israelites had died in the desert. For their disobedience, they had not been passed over. And a new generation of Israelites had just crossed the river to take the promised land. When they celebrated the Passover, they were remembering what God had done for their parents. But their parents were not with them. This new generation must have realized that they themselves had personally been passed over. They had not been destroyed in the desert. God had preserved them for life. Life in the promised land. And they were beginning to get a taste of that life. After celebrating the Passover, the manna stopped coming and they ate some of the produce of Canaan, the place where God had brought them to live.

 

But even they have not yet fully experienced the Passover. They eventually died. The full experience of the Passover comes only through Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on the cross for all who call Him Lord and King. His blood protects us all from death. And yet we all die. So the full experience of Passover still awaits the day when Jesus comes again and it becomes evident to the whole world that God’s people have been freed from death. On that day, we will be raised to eternal life while others are raised to experience a second death, far worse than the physical death we face now. And the whole world will know that the Passover is forever effective. God’s people will live forever in His new promised land, tasting the fruit of that land and enjoying abundant life! Have you begun to experience the Passover? Do you expect to experience its fullness?

 

Father, thank You for applying Christ’s blood to me so that I am being passed over by your destroying angel. I am so excited to see what life looks like when You fulfill the Passover completely, never allowing decay and death to touch Your children again!

 

A Matter of Life and Death

Deut. 29-30; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20

 

When people finally get to the point where they’re willing to ask for help—when their electric bills scare them, when their pantries are practically bare—they often act as though their needs are a matter of life and death. Because they can see that they will soon be without electricity or without stores of food, people ask for help with urgency. And these situations are painful. They are difficult. But rarely are they so serious that the people experiencing them will die without immediate help. Still, they feel the urgency of their difficulties. Praise God! We are usually able to help quickly at Sojourn.

 

But there is a life and death matter people often do not see. All around us, people do not know God. They do not know Jesus Christ. They do not admit that He is Lord. They do not trust Him. They do not obey Him. And this life and death reality is all the more dangerous because usually the people on the path to death don’t realize it. They don’t realize that their relationships with God are bankrupt, that their spiritual electricity is already cut off, that their store of spiritual food is completely empty. They are not desperate for life, so they do not beg for help.

 

Moses told the Israelites:

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life,… - Deut. 30:19-20a

 

Jesus Christ, our God, is our life. Yet so often we see people around us choose to pursue other relationships, other leaders, other things instead of Jesus. We face those same temptations. God has set life and death before us, and we have responded as though it’s not that urgent.

 

Father, I choose life. Thank You for graciously speaking to me when I was so spiritually blind that I didn’t realize my situation was desperate, for letting me know that my cupboards are bare, my electricity’s off, and no one but You can help me. Thank You for offering to help me, for wanting to help me, for getting into my life and telling me about my need and urging me to come to You. You’re right. My situation’s grave, and I didn’t even know it. Be my life. And may many others hear Your warnings and choose life with You, too.

 

God Is So Good

Deut. 28; Psalm 77; Proverbs 12:18

 

When you’re trying to motivate yourself to be good, what motivates you? Is your main motivation fear or hope? Do you make good choices because you’re afraid of what will happen to you if you don’t, or because you see all the benefits of doing what is right?

 

Too often we’re motivated by the downside and forget about the upside. But God does not want us thinking only about all the pain we’ll experience if we disobey. That tends to set up a false contrast between obeying and disobeying, where things go really badly if we disobey, but they’re bland and normal if we obey. The reality is that things go really badly if we disobey, but the blessings we’ll experience as we obey are tremendous, even if we have to endure hardship along the way!

 

All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. – Deut. 28:2. Following this verse is a tremendous list of blessings—earthly blessings.

 

When Jesus came, he also encouraged his disciples to follow Him because of the blessings: "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. – Mark 10:29-30. You can see that he didn’t overlook the reality of pain. Disciples might need to leave some things and some important people who aren’t following Jesus behind for Jesus’ sake, and even endure persecution. But Jesus still pointed to the blessings, both in this life and in the life to come!

 

And in Revelation, God gives us a vision of the New Heaven and New Earth through John, and He describes His wonderful New Creation as a place where He will live among His people and take away every pain, every sorrow, every experience of death. These wonderful blessings are in store for those who pursue righteousness with Jesus to the end: He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. – Rev. 21:7. God has good things in store for us! Obedience does not just keep us out of trouble. Faithful obedience receives the blessings of God.

 

Father, help me to endure whatever cross I must bear for the joy You have set before me. Thank you that the pursuit of righteousness through Jesus Christ is worthwhile!

 

Why can we be so gracious with neighbors and co-workers and so short with our families?

James 3:9-10   With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

 

Father, help us all to be full of grace and praise toward both you and those you lovingly made, those you’ve given us to appreciate, build up, and enjoy.

 

Responsive. Or Dead

Deut. 26-27; Psalm 76; Proverbs 12:15-17

 

One of the easiest ways to tell whether someone’s alive or not is by their responsiveness. If a person moves or speaks, or even moans, you can tell he’s alive. If not, and if the circumstances really make you wonder whether a person might be dead, then you have to pay more careful to subtle signs of life – an almost inaudible breath, a barely perceptible pulse.

 

In Deuteronomy the Israelites said this:

You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. – Deut. 26:17

 

As Christian, some of us don’t feel like we’ve made any such commitment. “Keep God’s decrees, commands and laws? That’s impossible!” And so we praise God for His grace and walk through life without pursuing His holiness.

 

But the verse right before this said:

The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. – Deut. 26:16

 

With God commanding the Israelites to obey Him, did they dare to refuse? We sometimes make a false distinction between ourselves and the Israelites. We pretend as though they lived in a time without grace while we live in a time characterized by grace. And we misunderstand. We think that God intended them to obey His laws, but that He doesn’t expect our obedience… and that we therefore don’t need to strive toward obedience.

 

The truth is that God has always been gracious toward sinners, and He has never expected sinners to be able to obey Him perfectly. He has always had to offer forgiveness and provide salvation and life. He extended life to Adam and Eve after they sinned, not killing them immediately. He preserved Noah and his family through the flood. He kept Abraham safe despite his deceptions, overlooked Sarah’s laughter, brought life through the treachery of Joseph’s brothers, and extended grace to the nation of Israel when Moses interceded for them. God provided the sacrificial system to remind people to seek His forgiveness. So there has always been grace. Which means that grace is not intended to be an excuse for lazy attempts at righteousness.

 

When the Israelites said they would obey God, they were responding to God’s command to obey. They were showing that God had given them life. They were saying, “Yes, Lord.” Today, we have received grace through Jesus Christ. It is by confessing that Jesus is Lord that we are saved (Romans 10:10). God’s grace should do for us what it did for the Israelites: It should give us the boldness to show our life by responding to God’s commands with the words, “Yes, Lord.” If we aren’t responsive, can we really claim to be alive?

 

Top Ten Reasons to Tithe on Your Gross Income, not Your Net Income

10. You won’t have nagging doubts about whether you really tithed or not.

9. You’ll be taking steps to point your heart heavenward (Matt. 6:21).

8. Every hour of your work will do more for the kingdom of God.

7. When you get a tax reimbursement, you’ll know you’ve already tithed on it and it’s yours to spend (!!!).

6. Your heavenly Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matt. 6:4).

5. Your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Cor. 9:11).

4. You’ll be able to see God’s faithfulness to you more clearly (Malachi 3:10).

3. Having a little less discretionary money will force you to use more discretion in what you buy (and discretion’s a good thing – Proverbs 2:11).

2. That much more of your money will go towards the things that matter most—announcing the good news that Jesus is Lord in your neighborhood, caring for the poor, sending missionaries to the ends of the earth with the hope that comes only through Jesus.

1. God loves a cheerful giver—you (2 Cor. 9:7)!

 

Loans and Love

Deut. 23-25; Psalm 75; Proverbs 12:12-14

 

When we are dealing with money, we tend to take a hard line. One of our most frequent phrases in business dealings that go sour is, “It’s nothing personal.”

 

But God’s people are supposed to make everything personal. Even in the toughest situations, we should be obeying both the first and second greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,” and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So what does love look like in business?

 

Here’s just one snapshot from Deuteronomy (there are many) of God’s ideals for business – in this case, loans:

 

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God. – Deut. 23:10-13

 

So what can we learn about loans and love from this snapshot?

1. Love means respecting the other person. It means allowing a person who’s asking for a loan to determine what he can offer as collateral. Stand back and give people a chance to determine whether the loan is worth the risk.
2. Love means caring more about the other person than about getting all your money back. If we loan money to someone who doesn’t have many resources, we should do it because we’re trying to help them and want their lives to be better. So we should do everything we can to make sure their basic needs are met, even if it means giving up the collateral they’ve offered us. Loans should not leave our neighbors worse off than they were before the loan.
3. God watches the way we do loans to see whether we are being righteous or not. Ultimately, business must be personal, even between relative strangers, because it impacts our personal relationships with God.

 

Father, forgive my greed. Help me to treat people that I know only through business dealings with respect, honor, love and consideration. Help me to care more about them than about money, and to do all my business with Your pleasure as my goal. Help me to remember that everything is personal, because everything affects persons – people You have made and people You care for. I want to join You in Your concern and in providing generously for those You’ve made. May I reflect that in the way I do business.

 

What the Jung Test I just took said about me...What do you think?

ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 8.7% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

E=Extroverted 57.14% (Introverted 42.86%)
S=Sensing 53.33% (Intuitive 46.67%)
T=Thinking 55.88% (Feeling 44.12%)
J=Judging 63.89% (Perceiving 36.11%)

Further notes on this analysis from the same website:

ESTJ

organized, group oriented, focused, conventional, leader, emotionally stable, anal, attention seeking, planner, realistic, fearless, responsible, finisher, decisive, norm following, respects authority, punctual, hard working, stiff, self confident, thinks rules and regulations are important, follows the rules, clean, outgoing, social, content, does not like being alone, normal, regular, does not like weird or strange people / things - intolerant of differences, strict, disciplined, aggressive, assertive, content, happy, proper, formal, strict with self, meticulous, strong sense of purpose

favored careers:

executive, ceo, supervisor, business consultant, manager, strategist, financial planner, business person, office manager, public relations manager, international business specialist, business analyst, management consultant, operations manager, loan officer, lawyer, marketing, sports management, government employee, investment banker

disfavored careers:

poet, artist, songwriter, musician, novelist, art therapist, theatre teacher, art curator, film editor, video game designer, photo journalist, travel writer, actor, record store owner, camera operator, art historian, music teacher

Ok, your thoughts now.

Proportionally Speaking.

Deut. 16-17; Psalm 72; Proverbs 12:8-9

 

We tend to spend proportionally to our income (though many spend beyond their income – still proportionally, though). If I earn very little, I spend very little. If I earn quite a bit, I spend much more freely to buy all the luxuries my heart desires. Right? I mean, sure we set a bit of money aside for the future, but if we’re being honest, we use most of the money we earn to increase our pleasures: more and better food, bigger and better houses, faster and better cars, trendier and better computers, costlier and better clothes… and of course, an iPhone.

 

But if we spend only on ourselves, we are only telling everyone how much we think we matter. God tells us that we, with our spending, should express how faithful He has been to us:

 

No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. – Deut. 16:16b-17

 

A gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. Are we justified in bringing so little (or even nothing) to the LORD? Has He really done so little for us?

 

Father, help my giving to reflect Your giving. Help me to trust You to keep providing for me so that I can unclasp my hands from around the things You’ve already given me and send those funds out to sustain Your kingdom work in my church and around the world. And help my attitude to proclaim Your generosity. Help me to give saying, “Of course I can give. My God is constantly giving to me.” May people come to know Your generosity through mine.

 

Where'd the Money Go?

Deut. 13-15; Psalm 71; Proverbs 12:5-7

 

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. – Deut. 14:28-29

 

I’m guessing that in most of our churches A) we don’t actually tithe and B) a third of the funds we do give is not actually making it to the “Levites, aliens, fatherless and widows” who live among us. Either that, or it’s missing the aliens, fatherless and widows and going entirely to the “Levites.”

 

We should at least consider whether our tithes are going where they ought to be going.

 

Father, help me to pay attention to Your Word’s guidance for the way I spend money that You have given me. And help Your church to pay attention, too.

 

Please help retain conscience rights for medical providers!

Although I'm not a Catholic, I would encourage you to join them in writing the Department of Health and Human Services!"