Nothing to prove...

I had the privilege of being with a group of pastors earlier this week in a meeting with Larry Osborne-Teaching Pastor at North Coast Church. He shared a statement that had been passed on to him.

"You have NOTHING to prove and NO ONE to Impress."

This is something that I know but often forget. As a pastor and a person, I often struggle with living this out. I can get caught up in the following...

• Trying to prove my value and worth by what I do.
• Believing that the bigger the numbers we have the better pastor I am
• Trying to impress people with my speaking skills
• Wanting everyone to be okay with every decision we make
• Letting some criticism wreck me

This truth is something that I need to be remember all of the time. My value comes from who I am a God's child. He loves me and I don't have to try to prove anything to Him or impress Him with my great abilities. I belong to Him and that is something that no one or nothing can ever take away.

So. today I can relax because "I have nothing to prove and no one to impress." By the way neither do you...

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)

Money, Money , Money... Whose Is It?

I began a new series yesterday called "Money Matters". I am trying to address some of the basic issues about money that we all face and the truth is that Money Matters to all of us. Money plays such a huge role in our lives and we need to figure out how to handle this issue well.

The most basic issue that we need to answer is the ownership issue. Whose money is it? Who owns it? I work hard for it, I sacrifice a lot of time energy and effort for it. It's mine and I should be able to do with it what I want to. Isn't that the way we normally? I know it is for me. I have struggled a lot with this issue in my life and I've made some bad financial decisions because of it.

King David understood who owned it:

O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. (1 Chronicles 29:16)

Two things to remember:

1. It all comes from God.

2. It all belongs to God.

One of the things that helps me remember this is to constantly ask God how I am to use the resources that He has given to me. I also seek to constantly focus on what I DO have and not on what I DON'T have. So, this week I will take a few moments each day to write down the things that I have that I get to use and enjoy and THANK God for His amazing provision in my life.

What will you do to remember that it is His? I would love to hear from you.