Read: Proverbs 12:18

“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18

Jesus ransomed us so we could be his ambassadors to a lost and broken world, but so often our relationships fall far short of the “good works” God has prepared for us. We too easily interpret peace with one another as the absence of conflict, rather than the presence of Christ.

One of the keys to upgrading our Christian experience in this area is recognizing that our words are literally meant to be life-giving. As God preached the world into existence, we, his image bearers, are able to create new life by using our words as an extension of Christ’s mission to bring reconciliation.

Jesus says “blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9) Let us be watchful for opportunities to bring healing to our own relationships or those among our family members and friends. Something as simple as voicing consistent love and encouragement to another—even our enemies. Or perhaps applying the balm of grace and gospel truth to those who hurting around us.

Many remain daily captives to anger, bitterness and resentment and other relational bondage. Jesus gave us the power to set people free with our words of God’s grace. Let’s use them!

Read: Matthew 6:12

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12

The Lord’s prayer.  Jesus used it to teach us how to pray and in so doing how we should also live our lives.  Many people know the words to the Lord’s prayer but fail to take the time to look at what the words mean for our lives.  Jesus tells us we should always ask for forgiveness when we pray.  I think most everyone does that.  It is the second part of the verse that creates the problem.  Jesus is telling us we will be forgiven only if we are first willing to forgive.

So many of us have been hurt by the actions of others.  The message remains the same, forgive.  It doesn’t matter what others have done to us, it pales in comparison to what our sin did to Jesus.  If you are unwilling to forgive then perhaps you should avoid saying the Lord’s prayer.  For the person unwilling to forgive the verse would read, Since I am unwilling to forgive, please do not forgive me.  Our unwillingness to forgive turns the blessing into a curse.  Will you choose to forgive?

Read: Leviticus 27:30 & Psalm 24:1

You have dedicated your life to Christ. You sense His presence in your life, you credit Him for real heart-change and you are committed in this journey with Him. You may practice forgiveness, love your neighbors, go to church regularly and volunteer. But one of the greatest confirmations of God’s work in your life is your attitude toward tithing. Is your worship echoed in your giving or does it fall flat?

Leviticus 27:30 says, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.” Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Tithing is the tangible practice of being thankful for God’s provision. Everything we have comes from the Lord and ultimately belongs to Him. When we steward our wealth as He instructed, it adds a new layer to our worship. As you invest in the church, you’ll find yourself waiting in expectation for what the Lord has in store for the church and for you.

Read: Malachi 3:10 & Numbers 23:19

There’s one passage in Scripture where God specifically requests us to test Him. Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”

The one area where God wants us to test Him is with our finances. Culture teaches us that money is our security, but our financial state can change in an instant. In 1929, economist Irving Fisher proclaimed, “Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” Days later, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began.

God doesn’t tell us to store up for ourselves and to save, save, save. Instead, God calls us to tithe and to give our money away, promising to bless us abundantly. We know we can trust God’s promises. Numbers 23:19 says,“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”

We can freely give to the church and to those in need, because God promises to bless us so abundantly that we will not have enough room for it! Step out in confidence today, and do what God commands. Does He promise and not fulfill?

Read: Luke 14:28-30

When my husband and I first married ten years ago, every single penny was counted. We were on our own for the first time, newly out of college and truly independent from our parents. Our checkbook was always balanced. Every purchase was debated and every buying decision was weighed, be it a package of meat at the grocery store or even an ironing board, something I once saw as a frivolous expenditure. (“I can just iron on the kitchen counters…it’s worked so far!”)

What leaves many of us as we grow more financially successful and secure is that sensitivity, that caution. We let purchases sneak in and our financial record keeping slide. We begin to morph what we see as a “want” versus a “need.” Many of us become careless. Whether or not it harms us or leads us into debt or bankruptcy is beside the point. We take things for granted and sometimes become blind to the needs of others.

Financial planning needs sensitivity. Money and its place in our lives is not something to be taken lightly, to be given just a fleeting thought. How and where we spend our money shows where our affections lie. Let’s not become so insensitive that we make a huge financial blunder like the guy Jesus described in Luke 14:28-30:

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

Read: Luke 16:9-11 & 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

Making friends was always hard for me in high school. I wasn’t enough of a jock to run with the jocks. I wasn’t enough of a nerd to study with the geeks. I wasn’t weird enough to mope with the goths. School lunch times were terrible until I realized the power of pizza. When I offered my extra lunch slice to someone, I had their attention and over time their affection.

People always respond to generosity. No one expects it. In Luke 16:9-11, Jesus warns us to see that worldly wealth matters only as a means to win friends and influence people. Wealth is “unrighteous” because it has no virtue in itself. It becomes righteous only when we use it to invest in relationships that draw others to Christ. People are the only part of life in this world with eternal value and significance.

An upgraded attitude toward money must have this faith-filled, heavenly focus. When we know our heavenly father is ready, willing and able to provide for us in every way, we are free to make giving grace our life’s mission.