Skim through your checkbook. Seek God’s guidance about your giving/spending habits. How can we honor him with our resources?

“Giving” isn’t just about money. We can also donate our time & expertise. Pray today about how God wants to use your skills for his work.

I recall plenty of sermons on stewardship over the years, but I couldn’t tell you of a lightbulb moment when it dawned on me that my personal giving mattered. Giving—and tithing, in particular—is just something that I grew up doing. If I earned money babysitting, and later on when I got a “real” job, I was expected to give some to the church. When I grew up and paid more attention to developing a personal budget, all of the expenses were based on 90% of the earnings, because the first 10% went to the church. It never seemed odd to me; it was just what you did. Right?

I didn’t realize how weird I was. After all, it’s *my* money that *I* earned with *my* time and effort, so *I* should get to do with it as *I* please. Right? Or is it really mine, after all?

The Bible focuses a lot (more than we’d probably like to admit) on finances and giving. In 1 Chronicles 29, King David announced to the assembly of Israelites that he had committed an extraordinary sum to building the Lord’s temple. Following his example, the leaders and community members gave generously (and joyfully!), as well. David offered a prayer of thanks and told God, “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v. 14). He went on to ask the Lord to bless the givers and “keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you” (v. 18).

Don’t get me wrong; Americans tend to be pretty generous. Young adults in “Generation Y” give an average of $341/year, according to a 2010 survey by Convio. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers give incrementally more, while The Great Generation gives the most, on average, at $1,066/year. The numbers vary from source to source, but a common estimate is that Americans give about 3% of their earnings to charity, on average. That certainly isn’t chump change, and it adds up to billions of philanthropic dollars each year. Yet, do we give from the same attitude of selfless abandon that King David did, when he offered “personal treasures of gold and silver … over and above everything [that David had already] provided” (v. 3)? Do we give because there is joy in it, or because we feel obligated … or do we not bother to give at all? God calls us to be weird for him in many ways, and one of those ways should be our generosity.

In adoption circles, they use the term “forever family.” Are you adopted into God’s forever family? He welcomes you today.

Thank you, Lord, that you don’t accept us as mere citizens, but you embrace us as family—as heirs with Christ! Romans 8:17, Ephesians 3:6

Lord, I know that raising our kids in church is important, but faith isn’t hereditary. I pray that they will come to know you personally.

I pray that we are never forced to choose between our lives or our faith, but sober our hearts today, Lord, and remind us of your sacrifice.

Pray for believers around the world who are being persecuted and wrongfully criminalized for their faith.

Paul was an early church leader, but he didn’t fly solo. He had a vast support network. If you aren’t in a Life group, pray about why not.

We talked last week about Paul’s peculiar testimony. In Acts 22, he shared the outrageous story of his conversion with the religious leaders who brought him in for questioning. The folks in charge were not too happy with Paul’s comment that God had sent him to minister to the Gentiles (i.e., non-Jews), and they ordered him to be flogged.

Paul cooperated and let them stretch him out and chain him up to prepare for his flogging, then he turned to the guy strapping him down and casually asked if it was legal to flog a Roman citizen who had not been proven guilty. The stunned guards were terrified. They could have gotten into big trouble for beating a Roman citizen!

They tattled to the commander who came and questioned Paul about his citizenship (verses 27-29). The commander made the smart-aleck retort: “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship,” as if flaunting his wealth would trick Paul into admitting that he was lying about being a Roman citizen. Paul answered him simply, “But I was born a citizen.” Back in those days, being a Roman citizen carried with it special privileges, and the commander was rightfully frightened about the possible repercussions for having put Paul in chains.

As for us, I would venture a guess that most of us were born on American soil and gained our citizenship by birth. Others waited, studied, waited some more and then took a test to earn citizenship by naturalization. The latter way is expensive and takes a lot of time and effort. The naturalization process carries most of the perks of citizenship, but birth citizens still have more privileges—like the ability to run for President.

I am proud of and thankful for my American citizenship, but what about our heavenly citizenship? What is it worth? Is it worth the time, effort and potential backlash to let the world know that we’re followers of Christ? This story in Acts 22 was just the tip of the iceberg for Paul; he spent much time in prison and getting beaten up for the sake of the gospel. What is heavenly citizenship worth to you? It was worth more than life to Paul.