Blogs & Devotionals

By Pastor Kevin

Historically, trust has been a challenge for those who are called to follow God. It was difficult for the nation of Israel when they escaped slavery in Egypt and began the journey to follow God into a new land filled with promise. They believed God could lead them out of Egypt, but they struggled to trust Him for food. The psalmist writes, “They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved. They even spoke against God himself, saying, ‘God can’t give us food in the wilderness’” (Psalm 78:19).

The Israelites then reinforced their unbelief by saying, “Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat” (Psalms 78:20). How can they think that way after all they saw God do?! It was all due to a trust issue. The psalmist concludes, “for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them” (Psalm 78:22).

Maybe you remember the crazy story about how years ago I went tandem sky diving (against my better judgment). What if after I got done sky diving from 10,000 feet, I was then invited to drive back to the airbase, and I responded, “No way! It’s not safe to get in the van!” You’d think I was a lunatic. If the sky diving instructor was capable of keeping me safe in the air, why wouldn’t I trust him to keep me safe on the ground? Likewise, it would be crazy to say, “Lord, I trust You with my eternal soul, but I don’t know if I can trust You with my stuff.”

Many times, our money problems have nothing to do with our financial situation, but everything to do with our heart condition. Determine in your heart that you will take God at His word in every area of your life and watch how the Lord’s blessing follows. Continue to trust Him with tithes and offerings. God is faithful. He has promised to take care of you as you put your trust in Him.

“This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the One he has sent.” – Jesus Christ (John 6:29)

By Pastor Kevin

Tests are all around us. In school, we test in order to go to the next grade level. When we turn 16, we have to take a test to get a driver’s license. There are certain jobs that we can’t do without first passing a test. Did you know that our God is a God who gives tests?

There are many examples of God testing people in the area of their character in order to qualify them for great influence and wealth. For example, Joseph was promoted to governor of Egypt. However, his life was filled with challenges before he saw his promise come true. Psalm 105:19 says, “Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”

God tested Abraham with Isaac. King Hezekiah was tested, the prophet Daniel was tested, Esther was tested, even Jesus Christ was tested in the wilderness after His baptism! God is a God who tests character to verify faithfulness. Then, after the test comes promotion, blessing, power, etc.

Did you know that sometimes the Lord gives us things, stuff, and a little money just to see what we will do with it? He is looking throughout the earth for hearts that are loyal towards Him—God is evaluating what we do with a little, so He can trust us with much!

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” -Jesus Christ (Luke 16:10-11)

The Lord is essentially saying, if we can’t be obedient and generous with a little money, then we’ve proven we can’t handle increase from Heaven.

If you’ve been tempted to say, “I will tithe when I have more money” or “I will be more generous once I get promoted,” the Lord challenges those thoughts. He reveals that giving is a matter of godly character and not a matter of having enough. It comes down to what you believe. Will you believe that God will honor His Word and bless your obedience? That is where the rubber meets the road and momentum is gained. God wants you to trust Him and have faith in Him as your supply. Money is the testing ground that He uses to teach you that He is more than sufficient to meet all your needs!

So today, determine in your heart that you will pass the money test! Trust God by tithing faithfully and managing money justly. Support missionaries when you have opportunity, and learn the joy of sharing generously with those around you.

By Pastor Kevin

Your attitude toward the stuff that God has given you is central to the spiritual momentum in your life. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 3, John the Baptist encounters three types of people who were all stuck spiritually and wanted to know what to do. In every case, John talked to them about their stuff and what they ought to do with their money.

John warns the Jewish people that being “children of Abraham” doesn’t mean you automatically inherit the blessing their great-grandfather walked in—you have to “prove it by the way you live!” (Luke 3:8). The crowd goes on to ask, “What do we do!?” To summarize, John explains that they ought to give to the poor, stop over-charging people financially, and be content with your pay. Can you imagine how our city would change financially if everyone did those three simple things?

One of the characteristics that marked the early church was they weren’t too attached to their stuff.  We often talk about the supernatural signs and wonders recorded in the Book of Acts, but we can’t ignore the fact that the same believers were constantly giving. They were so generous that no one among them had any needs. That’s because when they found someone who was in true need, someone would step up to share and provide for their neighbor.

Every time we “put our money where our mouth is” and obey the Lord, it displays the very character and nature of God in our life. Obeying God in tithing displays faith in the area of our finances. Being honest in business and thankful for our pay brings Him glory. Lastly, caring for others’ needs by sharing and being generous illustrates how God treats us.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:22)

By Pastor Kevin

Every small act of obedience along the way will make for big momentum in our life. For example, when Abram got stuck, the Lord reminded him, “Leave your native country, and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation.  I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others… so Abram departed as the Lord had instructed…”  (Genesis 12:1-2, 4)

One small act of obeying God dramatically accelerated Abram’s life! Abram went on to be a close friend of God, blessed, favored, influential, and eventually the father of the ancestry that gave the world the Messiah, Jesus Christ!

So what does obedience look like in the area of our finances? Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 that you ought to tithe without neglecting the weightier issues of showing mercy, justice, and faith.

For example, it is hypocritical to tithe faithfully and then oppress employees and dabble in unjust business practices. On the other hand, it is also hypocritical to excel in making money yet ignore tithing to your local church because you struggle to have faith in God.

Tithing postures our heart to trust God as our Source, rather than the works of our own hands. Furthermore, godly character aligns our behavior with God’s behavior, so His blessing can easily flow through us!

In the coming weeks, we will explore other momentum makers in your life. For today, remember to be diligent and obey the Lord’s teachings as proof that you love Him. Obey Him in the tithe, and obey Him by showing mercy, justice, and faith in how you manage your personal finances.

“If you love Me, you will do what I say.” – Jesus Christ (John 14:15)

By: John DePasquale

“I can’t go get my husband, because I don’t have one,” she quickly responded to Jesus. Without missing a beat, Jesus responded back to her, “You are right when you say that you don’t have a husband. You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.” John 4:17-18

If we are going to talk about the true heart of worship, this (John 4:17-18) is where we must begin. This moment in Jesus’ ministry is crucial to our understanding of what God is looking for when it comes to worship. It is in this interaction between Jesus and the woman at the well where we learn what God desires when it comes to our worship.

This whole conversation starts when Jesus, tired after a long journey, asks a Samaritan woman at a nearby well for a drink of water. Surprised that Jesus would even talk to her (Jews refused to associate with Samaritans), she shoots Him down. Never missing a chance to meet the needs of others, Jesus starts sifting through the cultural prejudices and misconceptions, pressing into the depths of who this woman was.

He says, “If you only knew the generosity of God and WHO I AM, you’d be the one asking me for water.” She scoffs. He explains that He offers living water that never runs dry, permanently satisfying our thirsts. She essentially says, “Prove it! Give me this ‘living water’ you’re talking about.” Then, all of a sudden, Jesus gets strangely personal, bringing up her failed relationships.

Deeper Relationship

There’s something powerful about how Jesus will cut right through the pleasantries (or not-so-pleasantries), getting right to the heart of a matter, revealing how well He knows the real us. Much like this woman, we are all wired with a desire to be known. This is a trait we get from our Creator who also desires to be known. I imagine that’s one of the reasons this woman had gone from lover to lover. She was thirsty for deeper relationship.

He had her attention now. She recognized Him as a prophet who had answers, and she had questions. “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews insist the only place to worship is in Jerusalem. So which is it?” she asks. Jesus answers telling her that a time is coming when it won’t matter where you worship. “You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know. But a time is coming, and is even here now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is seeking these worshippers.”

This answer is perfect. The heart of God for us is revealed so beautifully in this statement. Yes, Jesus points out the kind of worship that God desires, but did you catch what He said that was even bigger? He didn’t say the Father’s searching for worship. He said that God’s searching for worshippers! His heart burns for you, not just your worship. It’s less about knowing where or what or how to worship—it’s about knowing Who. Just like that woman at the well, Jesus is interested in who you are and wants you to know who He is. True worship takes place within true relationship.

Why The Cross?

I hope you will hear this loud and clear: Jesus didn’t go to the cross so He could revel in your worship for all eternity. He went to the cross so He could revel in you for all eternity. God’s desire for worshippers is stronger than God’s desire for worship. You are His greatest desire! He wants to know you and to be known by you.

We see this all the way back in Genesis 4 when Abel brought his offering before the Lord, “God accepted Abel.” In fact, the Hebrew word used to describe God’s acceptance and pleasure means “to behold or gaze upon in high regard.” God was literally gazing upon Abel, not Abel’s offering, because of Abel’s heart toward God. It wasn’t about the kind of lamb being offered, it was about the heart condition of the person surrendering that lamb on the altar.

The same goes for Abraham in Genesis 22. It wasn’t about Isaac or the blessing or the sacrifice on the altar, it was about the posture of Abraham’s heart of worship. God was more concerned about Abraham’s heart toward Him than Abraham’s heart toward anything or anyone else.

Now, we know that God didn’t accept Cain, or Cain’s offering, so it’s not just any kind of worshipper that God accepts. This is why Jesus said the Father is looking for “true worshippers” who would worship “in spirit and in truth.”

What Kind of Worship Does God Want?

Your spirit is deeper than your skin, your emotions, or your mental makeup. It is the essence of who you are. God desires worshippers whose offerings amount to more than just physical and emotional expressions. God wants worship that rises from the deepest place of who we are! When you are born again, you become a new creation as the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside you. It is from this source deep within that our praise and worship flows forth! This is what David meant when he said, “You do not delight in sacrifices, otherwise that’s what I would offer… You’re looking for a broken spirit, a contrite heart.” (Psalm 51:17).

The other qualifier is that we worship “in truth.” In the Greek, this translates to say “not merely verbal, intensely sincere.” We must offer more than just empty words. We have to back it up by the way we live. Paul says it best in Romans 12:1, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

Worship with Your Life

There is no offering more meaningful than my life, who I am! That’s the kind of intense sincerity Jesus showed when He offered up His life, leaving Heaven, dying, and rising again for you and me, loudly declaring for all time the worth of the Father and the worth of you and me.

How do we respond to that? We take our cue from Jesus. With all sincerity, and from the deepest part of our being, we can offer up who we are, not just what is in our hands, to our God.

When we gather together on Sunday mornings to worship and when we come together at the Wednesday Prayer Gatherings, let’s worry less about where and how, and let’s focus all our attention on Who.