Give 10%

#1 · September 10, 2003, 8:33 am

Quote from Forum Archives on September 10, 2003, 8:33 am
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

<><> Give 10% <><>

Due to a lack of sufficient income
to cover church expenses, a local
grain elevator owner volunteered
to take his church's treasurer
position if for one year the
church would require no report
from him. The Board was puzzled,
but knowing him to be an honest
man who processed most of their
grain, they granted it.

At the end of the year, the new
treasurer gave a glowing report.
The church's indebtedness on the
building had been paid, there were
no outstanding bills, saleries were
increased and there was a balance
of $7000!

When asked how such a miraculous
financial turn-a-round was
accomplished, the new treasure
explained, "Most of you bring your
grain to me, and when I paid you,
I simply withheld !0% and gave it
to the church in your name. You
never missed it! See what we can
do for the benefit of all if we
each were only willing to give10%?"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

<><>Treasure In The Trash <><>

(Matthew 13:44)

My Mom didn't know it -- but, man, did she make a mistake! I know that now because of my son's long-time interest in baseball card collecting... actually, baseball card investing. He knows what those cards are worth -- especially the rare ones. One card can be worth many hundreds -- even thousands -- of dollars. I think I had some of those valuable cards when I was a kid with players like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams among them. Cards like that are worth big bucks today! Of course, I don't have them anymore. Sometime when she was moving, my mother threw them away!

My mother had no idea of the value of what she was throwing away. A lot of people make that same mistake -- because they don't know how much they're worth. When you've been put down, left out, mistreated, or abandoned -- you can battle feelings of worthlessness your whole life -- no matter how successful you may become. Maybe it's a feeling you may know all too well. And, tragically, those of us who don't know what we're worth have a tendency to throw ourselves away -- on bad relationships, low goals and self-destructive choices.

But this very day, the person who created you wants to remind you how much you're worth. In Matthew 13:44, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is telling one of His parables. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable right before this indicates that the field is this world we live in and the man in the field is Jesus. And the buried treasure? That's you and me.

It's very possible you've been such a buried treasure that you don't even know you're a treasure! But Jesus thinks so! I love one thought George W. Bush expressed in his Inaugural Address. He said, "No insignificant person was ever born". God would agree with that! He says in Ephesians 2:10 that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." So all those people who have treated you like you're worthless didn't know who you really are -- God's workmanship!

And here's the ultimate proof of how much Jesus values you. In the words of His parable, "He went out and sold all He had" so you could belong to Him. The reason we feel like we're worth so little is ultimately because we're away from the One who gave us our worth. The Bible describes us being "without God" (Ephesians 2:12) because we've taken over the running of our own lives. Notice -- the middle letter of sin is "I". All of our sinning has put a wall between us and the God who made us for himself.

But when Jesus died on the cross, He was giving "all He had" to pay the price for all the wrong things you've ever done. In your heart, for just a moment, would you walk up that hill the Bible calls Skull Hill and stand quietly at the foot of that cross where the Son of God is pouring out His life for you. Look at Him dying for you! You are not worthless!

But you'll never know how valuable you are until you give yourself to the One who died to buy you back. Which you could do right now, right where you are. Tell Jesus you want to belong to Him, that the rest of your life is His. Find out more about how a relationship with God can be Yours for Life! If you're not sure you belong to Jesus Christ, and you'd like to make sure, check out YOURS FOR LIFE!

Jesus doesn't want to lose you -- that's why He paid for you with His life. This could be the day you finally belong to the One who loves you like you've never been loved before.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Dave and Barbara

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Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

<><> Give 10% <><>

Due to a lack of sufficient income
to cover church expenses, a local
grain elevator owner volunteered
to take his church's treasurer
position if for one year the
church would require no report
from him. The Board was puzzled,
but knowing him to be an honest
man who processed most of their
grain, they granted it.

At the end of the year, the new
treasurer gave a glowing report.
The church's indebtedness on the
building had been paid, there were
no outstanding bills, saleries were
increased and there was a balance
of $7000!

When asked how such a miraculous
financial turn-a-round was
accomplished, the new treasure
explained, "Most of you bring your
grain to me, and when I paid you,
I simply withheld !0% and gave it
to the church in your name. You
never missed it! See what we can
do for the benefit of all if we
each were only willing to give10%?"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

<><>Treasure In The Trash <><>

(Matthew 13:44)

My Mom didn't know it -- but, man, did she make a mistake! I know that now because of my son's long-time interest in baseball card collecting... actually, baseball card investing. He knows what those cards are worth -- especially the rare ones. One card can be worth many hundreds -- even thousands -- of dollars. I think I had some of those valuable cards when I was a kid with players like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams among them. Cards like that are worth big bucks today! Of course, I don't have them anymore. Sometime when she was moving, my mother threw them away!

My mother had no idea of the value of what she was throwing away. A lot of people make that same mistake -- because they don't know how much they're worth. When you've been put down, left out, mistreated, or abandoned -- you can battle feelings of worthlessness your whole life -- no matter how successful you may become. Maybe it's a feeling you may know all too well. And, tragically, those of us who don't know what we're worth have a tendency to throw ourselves away -- on bad relationships, low goals and self-destructive choices.

But this very day, the person who created you wants to remind you how much you're worth. In Matthew 13:44, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is telling one of His parables. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable right before this indicates that the field is this world we live in and the man in the field is Jesus. And the buried treasure? That's you and me.

It's very possible you've been such a buried treasure that you don't even know you're a treasure! But Jesus thinks so! I love one thought George W. Bush expressed in his Inaugural Address. He said, "No insignificant person was ever born". God would agree with that! He says in Ephesians 2:10 that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." So all those people who have treated you like you're worthless didn't know who you really are -- God's workmanship!

And here's the ultimate proof of how much Jesus values you. In the words of His parable, "He went out and sold all He had" so you could belong to Him. The reason we feel like we're worth so little is ultimately because we're away from the One who gave us our worth. The Bible describes us being "without God" (Ephesians 2:12) because we've taken over the running of our own lives. Notice -- the middle letter of sin is "I". All of our sinning has put a wall between us and the God who made us for himself.

But when Jesus died on the cross, He was giving "all He had" to pay the price for all the wrong things you've ever done. In your heart, for just a moment, would you walk up that hill the Bible calls Skull Hill and stand quietly at the foot of that cross where the Son of God is pouring out His life for you. Look at Him dying for you! You are not worthless!

But you'll never know how valuable you are until you give yourself to the One who died to buy you back. Which you could do right now, right where you are. Tell Jesus you want to belong to Him, that the rest of your life is His. Find out more about how a relationship with God can be Yours for Life! If you're not sure you belong to Jesus Christ, and you'd like to make sure, check out YOURS FOR LIFE!

Jesus doesn't want to lose you -- that's why He paid for you with His life. This could be the day you finally belong to the One who loves you like you've never been loved before.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Dave and Barbara

Necessary Legal Information

I do not mail idea-central unsolicited. If you are receiving this newsletter from me it's because you have subscribed to this mailing list. If you receive this newsletter and are not a subscriber then someone, other than me, has forwarded it to you.

Normal Subscribe:	idea-central-subscribe@welovegod.org
Normal Unsubscribe:	idea-central-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

Web Subscribe:	idea-central-allow-subscribe@welovegod.org
Web Unsubscribe:	idea-central-allow-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

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