5 Ideas for Using Accountability

The idea of accountability has always been prominent with Christians. Many have been for it and some against it. Those against it claim that accountability is pointless because people can still, and will, lie about their actions. While this can be true, it does not mean that accountability is unsuccessful in helping people walk according to the Scriptures. Those for accountability argue that is both biblical and necessary for healthy Christian growth. 

Accountability is all about growing with others. Discipleship is best lived out with others. It is in close community that we take the largest strides of growth in our faith. When accountability is working properly, it deters sin, keeps us disciplined, promotes humility, and concerns us about the growth of other believers. Having accountability through one-on-one, two-to-three, or small group relationships are more valuable to your growth in grace than you can comprehend. So here are ways you can use accountability to become a well-rounded Christian. 

5 Ideas for Using Accountability

 1. Quite time accountability. Accountability partners can help you be faithful to spend time with God. It is vital that we spend daily time in the Word and prayer. This is not for the super-spiritual alone, it should be the goal of every Christian. We need the wisdom of God's Word to guide us. We need the daily dose of humility that prayer provides. The act of prayer is an act of recognizing your own insufficiency. Prayer humbles us before God to recognize our need for Him and His ability above all others to provide for us. I have written about how I spend time with God if you would like more instruction on this area.

Accountability Ideas:

** Find 1 or 2 people who serve as accountability for this area of your life.
** Check on each other daily using tools like a phone call, a text, twitter, Facebook, or email.
** Share with each other what time of the day you are setting as your quite time with God, and commit to texting (or any another method) each other prior to those committed times to encourage them to follow through with their appointment with God.


2. Battling Sin. There may not be a greater need for accountability than in the area of battling sin. The ancients would call this practice the mortification of sin. If we do not commit to killing sin, sin will be killing us. James 5:16 exhorts us to "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another..." This is not a suggestion, but a command from God's Word. Why do we need this kind of accountability? Because sin that remains in the dark gains power, dominion, and strength. Sin grows stronger and more dominant in our lives when it is covered up and hidden. However, when sin is exposed, and we talk about our struggles by letting others in to our battles, sin loses both its power and appeal. 

This is why we desperately need others to help us battle sin. Practically speaking, accountability in this area gives others a chance to speak truth into our lives, pray for us, and encourage us as we fight the good fight. Instead of wallowing in our sinful failures, challenge each other to confess and repent of sin, turn to Scripture to find tools to combat particular sins, and pray for each other. 

Accountability Ideas: 

** Have a person (you can have more than one, but not too many) you can meet weekly to share your sin struggles with.
** Meet for coffee or lunch with your accountability partner. Another option is a phone call on the way to work or during a lunch break during the week. You could even do a Skype or FaceTime conversation during a time you are both available. 
** In instances where a persistent sin continues to remain in a person's life, commit to reading a book together on the subject, memorize Scripture on the issue, or go together to meet with a pastor/elder for further counsel. 


3. Faithfulness to our home responsibilities. If you are married, then you have home responsibilities. Every man and woman has God-given roles they are called to fulfill. These home responsibilities include being a parent. So if you are a man who is married and has any children, you have many responsibilities. You are called to lead your family. This includes leading your wife spiritually. You must ensure she is growing in her relationship with Christ. You must also lead your children. This involves one-on-one discipleship with your kids, as well as family worship. I know so many families who want to have family worship, but do not. These responsibilities are where good accountability partners can come in handy. 

Accountability Ideas:

** Have an accountability partner check with you weekly to ask if you are leading family worship. Set a day that you plan to lead family worship and have your accountability parter check to ensure you have prepared for it.

** Ask your accountability partner to check regularly if you are: 1. praying with your spouse, 2. praying for your spouse, and 3. talking to them about what they are currently learning in their walk with God, and 4. what they are currently struggling with. 
4. Faithfulness to our church responsibilities. If you are a believer, you should be committed to a local church. There is no such concept as a churchless Christian in the New Testament. Christians are saved from our sins and saved into a community. Inside this community every person has a role. We are all given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up and edifying the church. As a committed church member you should be giving financially, in some type of group outside of Sunday mornings, serving with your gifts, and attending Sunday worship gatherings weekly.

Accountability Ideas: 

** Have your accountability partner ask you about: church attendance, serving, being in a group, participation in the life of the church, giving, etc. 

** Join with your accountability partner for regular prayer for the church, its leaders, its members, and its mission.

5. Gauging our Affections. This may be one of the most neglected areas of for Christian accountability. It is no problem to have someone ask us about what we are doing. But this area of accountability, gauging our affections, gets to the heart of how we are feeling. Are we growing in our love for Jesus? Are we finding our prayer times fervent and alive? When we sing praises do our hearts leap? When we read the Scriptures are we hungry for more? The affections can go through seasons of great fire and intensity, then go through seasons of cold and staleness. This is an area of our walks with God that would be well served to have accountability.

Accountability Ideas:

** Invite your accountability partner to ask regularly the following questions: how is your life for Jesus? What is your eagerness to read the Word and pray? How do you feel as you are reading the Word and praying? Do you anticipate gathering to worship with the church? Do you enjoy your time with God? If you were to evaluate your hearts affections right now, would you rank them as: hot, cold, or lukewarm?

Concluding Thoughts & Challenge

If you are attempting to live the Christian life in isolation from others, you are doomed to fail. If you believe you can get by without accountability, you are attempting a futile feat. You need others. You were made to walk with others. Accountability is a gift from God. Without it we are prone to wander and stray from God. With it we can fulfill our God-given callings and responsibilities. 

Question: Who are the first people that came to your mind as potential accountability partners while you read this post? My challenge to you is to send this article to them, ask them to read it, and then invite them to join you in an accountability relationship. 

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How I Spend Time With God

On occasion I am asked by others how I spend time with God. Usually the question is asked from someone looking to find ideas for their own walk with God. They are curious to know what works for me, perhaps finding something helpful for themselves. I do the exact thing around other leaders. It is good to learn from others.

Since I get asked about this regularly, I decided to write about it. I'm going to outline my approach for spending time with God, then I'm going to give a few additional ideas and resources that can also be helpful.

My Approach

I like having routines. I do not always follow them perfectly, but they serve as guardrails to keep my life on the road. The following is my typical pattern and routine for spending time with God. 

1. I wake up before my wife and kids.

If you want to spend quite, uninterrupted time, you should wake up and start your day before the hustle and bustle begins. I am not against spending time with God during the middle of the day or in the evening, but I found personally I am more alert, rested, at peace, and ready to spend time with God in the morning time. If I wait until later, I either never get to it or it is always rushed and/or interrupted. Phone calls, texts, emails, and other things will snuff out quite time with God if I do not schedule it first thing.

Some people do not feel like they can afford to miss 30 to 45 minutes of additional sleep. My philosophy: I can't afford not to miss that sleep. I need to start my day with God. My family needs me to start my day with God. Something that may help you is to approach your time with God as a standing appointment. You wouldn't skip an appointment with your boss because you were sleepy. So you shouldn't skip time with God either.

2. Coffee, prayer, & self-gospeling. 

Once I am awake, I get my coffee brewing and I collect my Bible, highlighter, and pen. Once I have everything in place, I begin with a time of prayer. This prayer time is usually quick. I thank God for the gift of a new day. I praise Him for His greatness and glory. I ask Him to give me grace to read the Word and hear from Him. I pray for God to incline my heart toward His Word, so that I do more than read words on a page. It is also during this time that I rehearse the gospel message to myself. I remind myself that approaching God is all of grace. I thank God for His holiness and might. I reflect on my sinfulness and need of a Savior. I exalt in Jesus, my Substitute and Redeemer. And I place my faith once again in the risen Christ for my right standing with God. 

3. Intentional Bible Reading.

After I finish praying, I open my Bible reading plan to where I left off previously, locate the passages I am scheduled to study, and begin reading. I read carefully and thoughtfully. I highlight passages that really resonate with me or leap out. I jot down notes with my pen in my Bible's margins. When I finish my scheduled reading, but desire to read more, I'll go to the psalms or a Gospel or a letter from Paul.

I love using a Bible reading plan. I have not always done it, but I find it gives me consistency. In the past, when not using a plan, I would jump around to random texts, with no real purpose or intentionality. Using a plan that goes through all the Bible in a year keeps me neglecting major portions of Scripture I may otherwise never read. But all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for our learning (2 Timothy 3:16).

4. Closing Prayer.

After spending time in the Word, I close with prayer. This time of prayer is longer than the first, focused on repenting of sin, praying for strength, interceding for my family, and pleading for the Holy Spirit to help me apply the truths from the morning's study. While this is my closing prayer of my study time, I seek to pray throughout the day.

Additional Ideas and Resources

There are other practices that I incorporate into my time with God that are not always daily, but are regular. One of those practices is journaling. I will journal several times a week. I recount the events and conversations of the past few days that were meaningful or significant. I have done this for years, and find it enjoyable. Occasionally I'll go back and read prior entries to see how life has progressed. 

Another practice I enjoy is reading/singing/praying hymns. I love hymns. I do not always like their musical arrangement, but I cherish their lyrics. These songs are saturated with the gospel and feed the soul. I keep a hymnal on my desk. Similar to this is a handbook called Valley of Vision. It is a collection of short prayers on numerous topics. I often read one to close my morning study. 

Lastly, I like to sing. I'm not a great singer, but I enjoy doing it. I play music in the background as I pray and read. I also will pick a song or two to sing or sit in silent reflection. Music and singing flow from the heart's affections. It is difficult to enjoy music or sing if your affections are cold. I know it has been a good time with God when I'm bursting with gratitude while I sing. 

Resources: There are two books, in my opinion, that go unrivaled on the subject of spiritual disciplines and drawing closer to God. My first recommendation is Donald Whitney's Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life. This is a great book on all the different spiritual disciplines that can be incorporated into your walk with God. The second book is Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. Like the previous book, it outlines the different means of grace God has given to foster growth in our relationship with Him.

A Promise and a Challenge

James 4:8 promises that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. That is an incredible promise. If we will step toward God, make the time for Him, He will step toward and make time for us. How incredible! Take Him up on that. 

Remember Mary and Martha from Luke 10. Martha was busy, busy, busy. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha wanted Jesus to make Mary get up. Jesus' response to her is that, "one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:42). Jesus said only one thing was necessary, and Mary was doing it. She was sitting at Jesus' feet. We should resolve to never begin a day without first sitting like Mary at the feet of Jesus. George Muller, the 19th century evangelist, believed it was man's first priority, each and every day, to get his soul happy in God. Let's heed that thought and spend time with God. 

Questions: what practices do you regularly incorporate into your walk with God? What new practices have you considered trying? Leave your thoughts and comments below.


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Spiritual Slumps

Sports fans are accustomed to hearing about slumps. Basketball players have shooting slumps. Baseball players have hitting slumps. A slump for them is a season of time in which they have a difficult time making a shot or getting a hit. 

Slumps are common in sports. It is unrealistic to think you can constantly make shots or get hits. So when players go through this, we often here the antidote prescribed, "they need to shoot their way out of the slump" or "they need to keep swinging the bat until they hit their way out of the slump." 

The idea is that they need to keep going through the habits and routines of their craft, be it shooting a basketball or hitting a baseball, until they get out of the slump. 

In the Christian life, we also experience slumps. It is not uncommon for us to go through spiritual slumps. During these times our relationship with God feels stagnant, stifled, and unproductive. These seasons can make it difficult to pray, read the Bible, or gather with the church in corporate worship.

So how do we get out of these slumps? Is there an antidote for overcoming these times?

The same advice given to sports players would be my advice for getting out of a spiritual slump. You need to "hit" your way out of it. You need to "shoot" yourself out of these slumps. What do I mean? You need to keep going through the habits and routines of our spiritual disciplines, until we get out of the slump. 

The greatest thing we can do during our spiritual slumps is start pouring ourselves into the Word of God. We need to read and reflect and rejoice at God in His Word. We need to pray. Pray without ceasing and with a fervency that God would awaken our cold hearts to Him. We need to gather with the church for worship. We need to be singing the praises of God and hearing sermons from the Bible. 

James 4:8 tells us "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you..."

The promise of this verse is that if we will make a move toward God, He will make a move toward us. If we are in a spiritual slump, the antidote is to run hard after God. God is not elusive, He is not hiding from us. 

So if you are currently in a spiritual slump, or soon find you are, shoot your way out through prayer and Scripture reading until you are out. 

Question: how often do you find yourself in spiritual slumps? What things have you found helpful for getting out of them?

Put On Christ

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Rom. 13:14)

The book of Romans is one of the greatest books in all of the Bible. It is a well of great gospel-rich truths of what God has done for sinners through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is also practical for instructing us in our daily living as believers. One of those practical instructions is found in the verse mentioned above, a verse that Augustine, perhaps the greatest western theologian ever, read in 386 A.D. and was born-again on the spot. 

Paul writes for believers to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ." This is a powerful metaphor for us to consider. Every day before we leave our homes we "put on" clothes, coats, jewelry, hats, and different items. Paul says we are to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to put on Jesus like a garment. We are to consciously wear him as we go. We should consider ourselves naked until we have robed ourselves with him. But what does it mean to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ?"

First, it is to remind ourselves that it is his righteousness that clothes us with acceptance before God. In Christ alone, and his righteousness, are we pardoned before God and looked upon as holy. It is not our holiness or by our works, but totally his, that reconciles us before the Father. Reminding yourself that you belong to God, and are loved by Him, not because of your works, but because the works of Jesus for you, is a great way to begin each and every day. It is also a good hourly reminder as your day unfolds.

Second, it to remind ourselves that we must abide in him daily for power to overcome Satan, our flesh, and the temptations of this world. Jesus says in John 15 if we abide in him, and his word abides in us, we will bear much fruit. Apart from him we can do nothing. We put on Christ to remind ourselves that if we are ever detached from him, the Vine of God, we will wither and die. 

But Paul is not finished. After instructing us to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ," he adds, "and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." This is vital to catch. We begin by robing ourselves in Christ and his righteousness. Then we choke out the flesh, which naturally breeds and gives birth to sin. We war against the desires of the flesh, not by gratifying what it wants, but starving it out. By not making provisions for our flesh, we are choking out the fountain and source from which sin flows. What does it mean to "make no provisions for the flesh?" 

First, it is to minimize your exposure to things that would provoke or breed sinful desires. If you have struggles with lust, do not put yourself in situations where temptation to lust will be prominent. If the computer tempts you to engage in inappropriate material, then put filters on your computer. If you struggle with gossip, commit yourself to lead conversations wandering down the road of gossip toward other topics.

Second, it is to immediately confess and repent of sin when we recognize its existence in our lives. One of the ways that we quit making provisions for the flesh is when we recognize sin in our lives, we confess it before God, and we quit doing it. We repent. We stop engaging in it, and we turn to Christ for strength. 

This verse is a command, but it is written in as a metaphor for powerful effect. Paul wants us to see how to live our daily life in Christ. He instructs us to "put on Christ," remind yourself of the righteousness that is yours in the Son of God. He warns us to "make no provisions for the flesh, to gratify its sinful desires." This command instructs us to turn from those things which would lead us astray. Left to ourselves, we will wander into sin. We wear garments of flesh, and these garments want and crave sin. To suppress these garments, we must wear something over them. We put on Christ. We are to robe ourselves in the majesty of the King from Nazareth.

This is how a Christian daily prepares themselves to start the day. Resolve to never leave your house naked; put on Christ. 

Memorizing Scripture (Part II)

"Rather train yourself for godliness."(1 Timothy 4:7)

In yesterday's post, I explored the idea of Scripture memorization being one of the most neglected spiritual disciplines by Christians today. I outlined a handful of reasons why this is the case. Today, I want to state why I believe we should commit ourselves to storing the Word of God in our hearts, as well as how we can begin this profitable habit. 

With all the Bibles available today, why should we memorize portions of Scripture? We already have a Bible everywhere we go considering they are downloaded on our phones, iPads, Desktops, and other devises. So are there any reasons why we should commit Holy Scripture to memory? I believe there are; here are two big ones:

1. Memorizing Scripture causes you to Meditate & Reflect on Scripture. It is impossible to memorize passages without reflecting on the texts. This is one of the most fruitful effects of Scripture memorization. Meditating on His testimonies puts them in your head and your heart. Maturity in Christ comes as we know the Word in our hearts. 

2. Memorizing Scripture Arms & Equips you in Moments of Need. There are times in life when you need an immediate word of wisdom or a comforting word of encouragement. Other times it may be a word of strength to overcome a moment of temptation, sadness, or fear. Having Scripture memorized prepares you for those moments. (see Jesus' encounter w/ Satan in Matthew 4)

Those are a couple reasons why we should memorize Scripture, so how do we begin? I want to offer a few suggestions in the form of both strategies and resources. Here's how to begin:

1. Make Scripture Memorization a Matter of Prayer. Before you jump into some self-willed, flesh-driven effort, go before the Lord and declare to Him your desire to feast more richly on His Word through memorization. Ask Him to give you direction in what to memorize and ask Him to give you power to prevail in both memorization and perseverance. 

2. Start with Manageable Goals. Do not begin with memorizing the book of Romans. Instead, begin with Romans 3:23 or Romans 8:1. The point is to begin with some individual verses before moving into paragraphs, chapters, and books. This does not mean you neglect memorizing bigger portions of Scripture, just not when starting off. 

3. Memorize Practically Helpful Passages. All of Scripture is God's Word, but some passages speak more to the practical needs in our lives. Memorize Scriptures across different categories: God's holiness, God's sovereignty, man's sinfulness, the glory of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the call to faith and repentance, assurances of help from God, prayer, calls to holiness, etc. Find passages that help you with struggles with sins such as lust, worry, anger, or greed. 

4. Get a Memory Partner. Find someone to take the challenge with you and spur one another along. Set deadlines, rehearse passages to each other, give impromptu quizzes, etc. We grow faster in community.

5. Tap into the Overwhelming Number of Available Resources. There are so many apps and different helps to the person who wants to get serious about this. Here are some to check out: A.) Fighter Verses, B.) Partnering to Remember, C.) 32 Ways to Remember Scripture.

Oh that we would be a people that gave our greatest efforts, our most intense training, toward godly things! May God use these posts on Memorizing Scripture call us all to be people who store the Word of God in our hearts so they are available for use in our lives, whenever we need them...which is every moment of every day. 

Give your feedback about the post in the comments section. What things have been helpful to you? 

Memorizing Scripture (Part I)

"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might no sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

I recently spoke at a men's event on the pursuit of holiness. One of the practical applications I made to the men was to memorize Scripture. I then took an impromptu survey by a raise of hands of how many of these men were currently engaged in the discipline of Scripture memorization. Not one person raised their hand.

The psalmist in Psalm 119 is writing about his love, the worth, and the truth of the Word of God. The entire psalm, the longest of all the psalms, and the longest chapter in the Bible, is all about the Scriptures. They are called different things: testimonies, the law, word, commandments, counsel, righteous rules, promises, and precepts. Regardless of what name he gives them, the subject is the same, Holy Scripture.

In Psalm 119:11 the psalmist says that he stores up God's word in his heart. The idea here is memorization. To store is to stock or reserve something so it is available for use. The psalmist says he stores God's word. He stocks it in his heart so that it is available for use. And the context of the entire psalm makes clear that this was not done begrudgingly; he loved and treasured the Scriptures.

Why do we not take time to memorize Scripture? I believe there are many reasons, here are some:

1. We are lazy with our minds. We get bored and distracted very easily. If we have to exercise our mental faculties, many give up and quit fairly quickly.

2. We are too busy. We have too much going on to set time aside to memorize God's Word. The irony is, we fill our days and lives with things less important than feeding on God's Word, and neglect things that will put the rest of our lives in perspective.

3. We are not lovers of the Bible. Not everyone loves the Word. Not everyone is captivated by God's law. Not everyone treasures the Bible. If we do not esteem the worth of the Scriptures, we will never want to devote ourselves to learning, understanding, and memorizing them.

4. We are blind to the benefit. If you don't believe something will benefit you, you will rarely pursue it. You go to work, not because you love it, but because you know it benefits you. You diet, not because you love it, but because it benefits you. You fail to memorize Scripture because you fail to see the benefits.

5. We are uncertain where to begin. Many people get paralyzed by not knowing where to start. The Bible is a big book. What should I memorize? How do I choose verses? These questions can hinder you from ever beginning.

Reflect on your own commitment to memorizing God's Word. Are you actively in the discipline of memorizing Scripture? Which of the reasons mentioned above deter you from it?

Weigh in your thoughts about this post in the comments section. Tomorrow I will post Part II on this topic and outline "why" (the benefits) we should memorize Scripture and "how" (the method) to do it.

Affection-Driven Devotion

I am hitting the road this morning to preach two more weeks of Fuge Camps in Greenville, S. Carolina. I was called to fill in for a guy who had an emergency situation with his family. I have already preached three weeks and it has been an amazing experience. I blogged about it here recently.

The message I open camp with each week is the difference between the Affection-Driven life vs the Obligation-Driven life. As Christians we are often taught about our need to read the Bible, pray, serve others, attend church, give, love one another, submit to authority, relate to the lost, and the list goes on. These things are not wrong or bad, but they can become stumbling blocks if not taught properly. The motivation behind "why" we do them is equally as important as doing them. 

Many of us have been taught throughout our lives and our Christian experience the do's and don'ts, the right's and wrong's. The issue we need to wrestle over is not "do I do these things" but "why do I do these things?" Is my obedience the fruit of my relationship with Christ or am I attempting to make them the root of my salvation. In other words, do I do a lot of things in an effort to make God happy with me or do I do these things because they are a naturally outpouring of my affections for Christ? We are called to do the right things and live the Christian life in obedience, but these things stem from a heart filled with a love for God that has been created by the grace of God, through the faith provided as a gift by God. 

In Psalm 42:1-2 David speaks about how his soul thirsts for God, the Living God. He talks about how a deer pants for water, and that likewise, his soul pants for God. This is the writing and expressions of a person who's affections for the Lord are stoked white-hot. When is the last time you could say David's prayer and heart expression has been your own? His heart is a great example and model of one that exhibits great affections for the Lord.

When it comes to evangelism, we don't need new strategies, we need new hearts. Hearts driven by affections for the Lord. When it comes to relating to authority, we don't need to try harder to submit to imperfect leaders, we begin by submitting to the Lord who has placed those leaders over us. When it comes to loving others, we don't wait until people are more lovable, we begin by loving the One who fuels our capacity to love. When it comes to forgiving others, we don't wait until people deserve forgiveness, we begin by praising the God who forgave us through the precious blood of His Son. This drives us to forgive others. It all begins with our relationship with God. 

This is what it means to live an affection-driven life as opposed to the obligation-driven life. We cannot and will not live the Christian life with any joy or fulfillment if it is done as a duty or obligation. We must be driven by our affections for Christ Jesus, who is altogether lovely, who is altogether beautiful. Fix your gaze upon him and find your affections stirred and raised to fervent pitch! Hallelujah, what a Savior! How could we not want to live for him and his glory!?!

What are some things you have found that help to stir your affections for the Lord? For me it is reciting the gospel to myself and reflecting on the unique aspects of Christ's roles as Redeemer, Bridegroom, Advocate, and Friend to me. These always serve to fan my devotions for Christ into flame.

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The Motivation for Giving

Here we go, a post a giving. Everyone can now let out your collective sigh (insert sigh here _______ ).

The dreaded post on the subject of giving. For some reason, and I have several ideas, we get a little uneasy when the subject of money is brought up, especially the subject of our giving of it. I am not going to quote the typical passages on giving or get into a massive debate about Old Testament requirements vs New Testament requirements. We all know, regardless of what % you believe the Bible requires of believers, that followers of Jesus are called to be generous with their finances, and that giving/tithing in the local church is rooted in biblical foundations. Instead of debating the nuances of giving, I would rather get into what I believe is the most important thing: motivation.

In order to help discover your motivation, let me create a mock scenario and see how you would respond.

We are going to pretend for a moment that someone in the church struck it big financially. Rather than getting into a lottery debate, we will just say that someone started a business that became the equivalent to Apple or Microsoft. In other words: BIG BUCKS! This person in the church loves the Lord and is a generous person and so they give millions upon millions every year to the church. We can even take it up a notch; they give so much money that the church is wealthy and is searching for ways to give the money away for ministry purposes. Here is the question for you to answer: if this were the case in the church that you attended, would you continue to give faithfully or would you begin to tell yourself that you need the money more than the church does? Would you continue to give like the church needed every penny or would your giving be adjusted because of the perceived lack of difference it is making?

The reason I pose this scenario is because it is one way of getting to the core of your motivation. If you quit giving in the same way that you had previously, then your motivation for giving is driven by the basis of need that you believe exists, "The church needs my money; therefore, I give." Your giving in this scenario has less to do with a conviction about what giving does to you, and has more to do with how you feel your giving is contributing to the cause. I do not want to discount the importance of feeling like our giving is being used for the kingdom, but the primary motivator for giving should not be based on the "return on investment."

The motivation for biblical giving is supposed to be a desire to please the Lord because we love Him and His church. Our motivation for giving should be the fact that we have been given everything, yet we deserve nothing. Giving is supposed to be an overflow of our worship to God. We give cheerfully and with joy because we are serving the King of Glory in this way. Even if the church became independently wealthy, our individual giving should not plummet or disappear, rather it should continue as we always have, driven by a desire to give back to the One who has given us everything. Giving to the local church has less to do with the needs of the church (though that is important), and has more to do with the heart of the individual giving, and how the Lord is transforming them. 

I would love to hear your thoughts or comments. What do you think about the motivation for giving? What other motivators (good or bad) do you see?

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Making Time for What Matters

Life moves at a rapid pace for everyone. We have to quit making excuses for the things we fail to do. "I am just too busy" or "I just can't find the time" is not a valid excuse for failing to do things that are important. There are many things that are important for us to do in our lives that we have managed to carve out daily time for:

1. Sleeping
2. Eating
3. Bathing
4. Brushing Teeth
5. Etc.

We would all agree that these things are important for our daily physical health, and so we do them. We have learned over the years to create a routine and pattern that allows for these things to happen. We rarely have to think about doing these things, we just do them.

But what about habits that are necessary for our spiritual health?

Do you have a built-in routine and schedule in your daily life that allows for:

1. Scripture Reading
2. Prayer
3. Family Worship
4. Fasting
5. Etc.

We will do things in our lives that we have planned to do. You may feel that the spiritual disciplines I listed above are different from the habits we have created for physical necessities, but their not. The spiritual health of our lives are just as vital as our physical health. In addition, our spiritual lives will absolutely effect our physical lives. We must carve the time out and develop routines that make these things as second nature as eating, bathing, brushing our teeth, and sleeping. These things should be non-negotiable. We do them not because we "need" to but because we "must."

The benefits of building these routines into our lives far outweigh the costs. Not only will we be building great habits into our lives, the real benefit gained is that these disciplines are a means of grace that God has given to us to fellowship and grow with Him. They are not an end, they are a means to an end - communion and fellowship with God. We need this more than we need our next breath. It is the most important matter in our lives.

So the question I pose is: are you making time for what matters?

What routines have you created to help you build these disciplines in your lives? What struggles do you have when trying to implement these? Which of the few I mention do you find the easiest to do and which are the hardest?