A friend of mine sent me this little story. Although I think that our nights could be spent more wisely than sipping wine (perhaps Holy Spirit new wine), I think the story has an interesting truth to it. How much of our striving to succeed is a waste of precious time? Of course we should "with quietness […] work, and eat [our] own bread" but are we reverting back to being under the curse when we strive to "get ahead" (2 Thes 3:12)?

"In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground" (Gen 3:19)

Are we biblically balanced in the area of finance?

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about a biblically balanced life in the area of finances. God seems to be exposing many of the fancy “ministries” which thrive on excess, and survive by promoting the love of money. Conversely, there are millions of brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide who live way below any poverty line. Sure, we in the West may say, “these third world countries are heavily paganised and given to idols”… as if every Western country, even “Christian countries”, aren’t largely given to our own forms of idolatry and paganism. It is clear that a biblically balanced form of prosperity exists for those who are dead to self and alive in Christ. But why does the Lord prosper us and how much is enough for us before we should be sharing the wealth around? Did God not say that “it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant” (Deut 8:18)? So then, if the main reason that God wishes to prosper us with wealth is so that He can “establish His covenant” how can we justify lascivious living and selfish hording? Here are some sobering words penned by Paul the apostle which I would like to hear your thoughts on:

This post, called Talking Tithes and Other Money Issues, is in three parts. The first is a small article form Heaven’s Underground Blueprint concerning money amongst true New Testament communities. The next part is a lengthy dialogue/disputation between myself and my now friend Tom Sparks which was in response to my article some time ago. The third part is a link to an article of Tom’s called Provisioning the Minister of God which he has recently posted on his sight. (In my opinion, his article is insightful, balanced, clear, and biblically anchored).

Chat 1. Testimonies from the journey

The ‘Discussions along the way’ posts are to provoke dialogue between those who are walking a similar path: one that embraces a fuller reformation of heart and structure. Please post your thoughts and interact with others via the comments option at the bottom. All comments must be presented in a loving manner or they will be deleted.

For the first post of ‘Discussions along the way’ I thought we should keep it both simple and encouraging. This is why I’ve called it ‘Testimonies from the Journey’. I will usually post a brief article on a certain topic which will simply be enough of a thought to provoke further dialogue on the matter. This time though, I would like to hear some uplifting testimonies from people who have been moving with God on a reformational journey from crumbling Christendom further into the heavenly Kingdom of Christ. So please leave a response, even if it’s only brief. Perhaps you could tell us how God has bent, stretched, fixed, reformed, revived, matured you, or something along those lines.