money

3137) Doing God’s Business

Above:ย  The Talents, 1908 by artist Eugรจne Burnand (1850-1921). ————————————- Matthew 25:14-30: ย  ย  ย (Jesus said), โ€œIt will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.ย  To one he gave five bags of gold (‘talents’ in older translations), to another two bags, and to another […]

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3067) God in the Plastics Business

The story of Stanley Tam (1916-2023), compiled from articles by Randy Alcorn at http://www.epm.org (6-16-21) and Todd Harper at http://www.ncfgiving.com (5-16-23). ————————— ย ย ย ย  In 1934, as a young door-to-door salesman, Stanley Tam met a farmerโ€™s wife who told him about Jesus.ย  Six weeks later, while in a church, he placed his faith in Christ. ย ย ย ย 

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3060) Does the Money Really Get There?

ย ย  ย  ย I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say they didnโ€™t like giving money to overseas missions, because, โ€œHow do we know the money gets there?โ€ ย Here’s how I know. ย  ย  ย When I was a child in Sunday School, our mission offerings went to the African nation of

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2913) Feed My Starving Children (a)

ย  ย  ย Several of the last few meditations have been about prayer.ย  Prayer is central in the life of a Christian.ย  Prayer is commanded in the Bible, it is described in the Bible, there are many examples in the Bible of Godโ€™s people at prayer, and Jesus himself was often seen praying. Sometimes, we are

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2898) “Society Should Do Something!”

Joni Eareckson Tada, paralyzed since a diving accident when she was seventeen (she is now 75), was speaking to her husbandโ€™s high school government class about the implications of โ€˜right-to-dieโ€™ laws.ย  She tells this story from the discussion that day in her book When is it Right to Die? (1992, updated 2018). โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” ย  ย 

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2868) Treasures in Heaven

ย  ย  ย When you think about what you will give to the Lordโ€™s work each week, you should consider your offerings from the perspective of eternity.ย  Let me tell you what I mean. ย  ย  ย Several years ago, in the old American Lutheran Church, the Division for Missions had a program by which congregations here

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2730) Feeling Sorry for the Wealthy (b)

ย  ย  ย  Painting:ย  Christ Healing the Blind Man, Eustache Le Sueur, 1652 ———————————————— ย  ย  ย (…continued)ย  Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. ย The manโ€™s name is Bartimaeus, and in that society, being blind also meant being poor and forced to live by begging, as it says in verse 46.

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2729) Feeling Sorry for the Wealthy (a)

ย  ย  ย Manuel is the pastor of several small, very poor congregations in rural Honduras, the second poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. ย Todd is the pastor of a large and wealthy congregation in Baltimore. ย In the 1980โ€™s, Todd and Manuel were roommates in college. ย A while back, Todd went to Honduras to visit Manuel.

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2679) Tithing?

ย  ย  ย The 10% tithe for the Lordโ€™s work is a Biblical concept that is worth emphasizing and striving toward. ย It is also a word at which many folks stop listening. ย I donโ€™t want to lose you, but neither do I want to ignore this important Biblical guideline. ย So I would like to encourage you

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2654) Avoiding Greed

By Johann Gerhard (1582-1637), a German Lutheran pastor and professor of theology. ย He wrote dozens of books,ย includingย Sacred Meditations, a collection of 51 meditations published in 1606 from which this piece was taken.ย  ย  ย  ย The greedy man is the poorest of all men, becauseย what he hasย fails him as much asย what he does not have. ย He

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