In 2017, our kids blessed us with a trip to Israel for our 25th anniversary. This trip impacted our lives in so many ways. My faith grew to new depths; there is hardly a time when I open the word of God that I can not see the location in my mind. The parable of the sower is forever etched in my brain. The fact that Jesus is the good shepherd and we know His voice became so real the morning I tried to get sheep in a pen to come to me, and they would not even glance in my direction.
Another part of this trip was how God stitched our lives together with a family from Lake County. We were on tour together, and our lives startlingly mirrored each other. Our kids were similar in age; we ran Awana for 13 years, and they have been running their program for 40+ years. I operated a small cleaning and restoration company, and they own a large restoration company. Of all the similarities, our deep love of Jesus was the most significant connection.
As someone who has lived in our community for 55 years, I have generational relationships and new friendships take time to nurture. But this was as if we had known each other all our lives. Carah and Krishelle have a connection that would take most people 40 years to develop.
When we got back from Israel, Doug shared with me that he would drive around asking God how he could get his company out of debt so the company could operate with the goal of serving the Kingdom. Not long after that, one of our many wildfires in California hit, and the Lord blessed them immensely. Within a few months, their company was debt-free.
See, the Lord knows our hearts, and He knew that Doug and Krishelle were Kingdom-focused. They were trustworthy with little things like running Awana for 40 years and training all four of their kids, who all know Jesus and serve Him. God trusted them because they never lived up to their means and always looked out for ways to bless others. Not long ago, their company provided the Kingdom with about 100k per month.
They bless kids with tuition to the Christian school in their community and college students with help to Masters University and missions in Haiti. They even blessed a single mom in this community. They are wealth builders for the Kingdom and Glory of God.
Jesus says in Luke 16, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Real wealth comes with incredible responsibility because it is so dangerous. Money is intoxicating and deceitful, and nothing can pull us away from Jesus faster than money. God tests us daily to see if he can trust us with bigger things. This week, we look at tithing, and I want you to know that it is just one more test from the Lord to see if we can trust Him when things do not make sense from a worldly sense.
See you on Sunday, as we can expect God to move in and through us!
In Him,
Pastor Chris