Making the Most of My Money

Money, Money, Money, everywhere you turn these days that seems to be the central issue in life. Either we don't have enough of it, we can't get enough in return for it, it takes too much effort to get it, etc. I am convinced though, that as important as all those issues are, the single greatest issue with us and our money comes down to our refusal to submit how we use our money to the Lordship of Christ. We will give Christ all of our life, except that part - we want to hold on to that (of course if that dominates so much of our lives then our refusal there, really constitutes complete refusal does it not?).

We are much like the character/creature Golum in the last book of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, clinging desperately to the 'gold ring' even as the flames of the fire, which the ring took him to, engulf is body and end his sad existence. Yes, for many of us - no matter how much or how little we make - money controls and manages us rather than us controlling and managing money. I am reminded of the words of Christ when he said, "For where your treasure is (read money) there your heart will be also." In other words our commitmnets, our priorities, our life, our passions our HEART - always follow our treasure. So where is your treasure today? and is there a cure out there to help our heart sickness? Think of our impact in our culture if we could live our lives fully submitted to Christ in this area alone - if Christ were our true treasuer then where would our heart be at this moment right now!?!?!

So, if your struggling with money - if you are concerned about your heart - then this weekend is for you. I am going to lift up several key principles for money management right out of Scripture and then point out how we apply those principles in our own budget at Westside. The principles are Giving with Gratitude, Prioritizing Payouts, Investing in Eternity and Saving Room For God.

As I apply these principles I will highlight our budget proposal for 2010 to help better equip our 'voting' eligible members to vote in our short business meeting following the morning services. I will lift up the parts of our budget that fit the biblical criteria I listed above as we seek to move forward into God's preferble future for Westside Community Church and the lives He is calling us to reach! Our business meeting will be in the portable immediately following the service.

Making the Most of God's Money!

Pastor Biz