Read Stay Tender, Stay Ready | Introduction, the first post in a series of four, here.

As I seek to keep my heart tender and ready to the instruction of the Lord in my life, the fact of the matter is, I don’t know what His instruction is unless I learn it. I came preloaded with software that does not lead me in His ways, but quite the contrary, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 16:25). My natural inclination is toward these ways that lead to death, but I want to avoid them. As I do, what will replace these ways that lead to death? This is the first obstacle in overcoming a hard heart – replacing natural inclinations with the ways of the Lord. This is a content issue. I simply do not know what I need to know.  Thankfully, God left me printed instructions to teach me all that I need to know to follow Him.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 
2 Timothy 3:16-17

If we are careful not to gloss over it, we are met with a pretty profound statement. Through the study of God’s word I can be competent and equipped for every good work.  Within the pages of God’s word I can find all the content I need to live the Christian life. God’s word will address all my areas of ignorance and teach my mind what it is I need to know.  So where do you start?

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“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.  As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’” 
Hebrews 3:12-15

For as many questions that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart brings, the one resounding point of application scripture makes is, do not harden your own heart  Rather than explain to us what appears as an affront to man’s freedom, the Bible uses it as an illustration and stark warning for those who would fail to submit themselves to God’s direction for their lives.  For the follower of Jesus, the point is made with terrifying clarity and the responses are often similar, “I do not want to have a hard heart!  How can I make sure I never do?”

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If I give 10%, I will be stretched really really thin.  Does God want that?

Ultimately, the question should not be “Do I have to give 10%?” but instead “Why do I want to give less than 10%?” God accused the Israelites of “robbing” him (Malachi 3) when they failed to bring in a full tithe and this is not an accusation we want levied against us.  However, if you are not in the habit of tithing already, it can seem like a huge jump to commit to giving 10% of everything to your local church. That kind of commitment is liable to create some feelings of anxiety and worry. Why would God want me to go through that? Simple answer: to grow your faith. He wants you to learn to trust Him, Malachi 3:10, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

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Do I have to give all 10% to my church or can I spread it around?

Invariably, as one commits to following after Jesus and is around others that also follow Jesus, there will come a time when one is asked to financially support another ministry endeavor be it locally or abroad. This “ask” occurs because the local church has not performed all that is expected of her and a need remains. The question is, “What do I do when presented with such a need and yet only have limited resources to give? Should I give 7% to my church and 3% to the missionary or should I give it all all to the church?” This is a weighty question and one that each of you will need to answer personally.

 Second Corinthians 9:7 instructs, “Each one must give as he has made up his mind.”  Assuming that you are eager to give and genuinely interested in supporting the Lord’s work, know that the Lord will see the intention of your heart. You cannot go wrong when looking to support what He is doing. Having said that (and presuming you are constrained in the amount you give), the question becomes, “How can I best steward what has been entrusted to me?”  The answer to that is found in Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” 

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Do I give based on net or gross salary?

I think this question comes from a smart little guy with a calculator.  His reasoning is as follows: I make $50k a year and the big-bad-government-that-protects-me-and-affords-me-this-awesome-place-to-live deducts 15% in taxes leaving me with $42,500. If I tithe on that, I am giving $4,250 to the church. If I tithe on my gross salary, I am giving $5,000 to the church. Move a couple of beads around the ol’abacus and if I give on the gross, I will be giving more.  So the question goes, “May I please give on the net?”

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For some, it doesn’t matter what a church actually does, all they hear is “We want your money.”  Sad but true; many view the church as one big money grab. I don’t know if it was a few mega-rich-pastors or some ostentatious church campus that gave people that impression, but wallets are no closer guarded than in a church on Sunday morning. Consequently, there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there as to why and what exactly we are expected to give?

To my embarrassment, giving of my finances took me a few years to get my head (or more truthfully – my heart) around.  I thought (like many others maybe?), that my “giving” was not simply of my financial gifts. Which is true, it is not.  However, that did not mean I could shirk my responsibility to give of my finances. There is no “service only” option.  The widow in Mark 12 did not elect to only serve God because she had little, but to sacrificially give to him and Jesus noticed. It should come as no surprise, that as Kimberley and I purposed to trust him with our giving, He has never let us down. Have you committed to financially supporting your local church and kingdom missionaries in a biblical way?

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In the following post, Bill Ketner reflects on what the Lord is teaching him as a parent. Bill serves as an elder at Salem Chapel. He and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters. 

Recently I was walking on the beach and realized that in exactly two weeks my wife and I would be in Chicago getting our daughter settled for college. Chicago. That really big city. Hundreds of miles away. And not only would we be getting her settled in Chicago, we would be leaving her there!  As my anxiety increased, so did my walking pace. Then God began to remind me of the truths He has been teaching me over the last few years.

I love our children dearly and I have loved being a Dad to our daughters. They have brought me great joy.  I’ve enjoyed all — well almost all — of their life stages these past 18 years. I’ve made more than a few mistakes as a Dad and will continue to make more,  but I have taken my responsibilities as a parent seriously.  I can’t imagine life without being a Dad;  however, I know that God loves my girls more than I can or ever will be able to. He created and formed them. He knew them and had a plan for them before they were even in the womb.  He sent His only son to die so that they could have a relationship with Him. Jesus suffered and died so that they can have the abundant life. He sent the Holy Spirit to lead, comfort and guide them. God paid a price and did a work that I can never do because He loves them even more than I do. His love for them didn’t end on the cross.  He loves them in the here and now.

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