News from Potter's Wheel Ministries

It is probably here the reason why I have usually distance myself from establishing my ministry around messages on finances; now whether you agree or not on this is your prerogative I'm just being honest here. I am not saying that those who teach along these lines are by any means wrong for doing so. They are accountable to the Lord for their personal ministries just like I am for mine. Therefore, it is not my place to judge any other work but my own. Well, as you can obviously tell by the way I am starting this devotional out in such apologetic wording that it was a rather hard subject for me as I considered the many who are struggling financially within my congregation and possibly the many readers of our weekly devotional. I'm the kind a pastor that often forgets to take up an offering which is why I have someone else do it generally. My thoughts always seem to be more focused on ministering to the people rather than making sure my needs are taken care of. I can't begin to tell you the times that I have been out ministering at another church and the offering taken up for me seemed much more needed in that work that I sowed it right back to them. Why am I divulging all of this? I guess it's because I want to make sure that you realize I have no desire of teaching God's Word for my personal benefit, but rather yours.

I have not known the luxury or the privilege of having doctors, lawyers, and wealthy business people attending my church on a regular basis that could support us handsomely that we could do most anything we felt God wanted us to do. Therefore, I am more accustomed to trusting God for my needs without ever hinting to others about them. At the same time I am also more aware of the struggles of those around me who are feeling the harshness of these difficult economic times and it moves me with passion to pray for them and believe for their breakthrough. Which is why the Lord evidently spoke to me to teach my congregation this past week on how to prosper during difficult times. God wants us to know without question that He desires to meet our needs no matter what the shape of the economy may be in. I realize money is a vital part of our lives, but it should never have a higher priority in our lives than God intended. When you get right down to it everything belongs to God anyway. With that said, our goal is not to become wealthy but to be faithful with what He entrusts to us. Therefore, in God's great wisdom, the Lord has prescribed a remedy for our tendency to overvalue money or earthly treasures. Giving it away breaks the grip of greed, which essentially teaches us to trust and obey God for the necessities of life. Go with me to the book of Malachi and let's read a portion of this; and then let me share what I believe God is wanting us to know about this particular passage.

Malachi 3:8-11 (KJV)
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

I understand that most of my readers will notice this as an obvious Old Testament Scripture written under the Old Covenant. Therefore, it becomes easily dismissed by many from being an important Scripture that must be adhered to for those who are now under grace. Especially when we consider that ninth verse, because everyone under grace knows that Jesus destroyed every generational curse. Whereas for those who believe in such a way, that ought to settle once and for all that this Scripture is no longer a valid command for the New Testament Christian; or is that really the truth? Consider this, Jesus also healed our sicknesses, therefore, why are people still getting sick? Jesus also became poor that we may become rich. Why then are so many poor? I guarantee you it is not because of God's inability to make good on His Word. By examining this ninth verse I therefore, want to explain a few things regarding curses before I proceed further in this devotional on prospering in difficult times. Many of you know that I came from an alcohol and drug addiction background. My wife's side of the family was also steeped within their own bad vices as well. None of these habits on either side of our families were exactly what you would want for your children to grow up around. Kim and I decided just before we married that we would break the generational cycles of drinking, smoking, carousing, and raising hell that we had known most of our lives. Therefore, we made a vow to each other and to God that we would change our lifestyle with His help.

We had both surrendered our lives to the Lord and then applied ourselves to learn God's Word, and we remained faithful to attending church on a regular basis. For every habit, characteristic, attitude, and lifestyle that was discovered to be out of balance to what the Word said we should have as a Christian, we made the adjustment to change it. I hope you can appreciate the point that I am trying to convey here: just because Jesus did something for you or me, and just because it is written as a promise and recorded in the Bible does not mean that it is an automatic addition to your life. You will have to conform to that promise and resist all other tendencies that try to separate you from it. There are many today that have generational curses still intact due to the disobedience to follow the truths from God's Word, and many of these folks are born again Christians. I believe with all my heart that Jesus shattered the mind set of continuation of the generational curses to remain in our lives. But it will only come through your obedience to follow and live by those Words for it to become a reality.

Let me point out another example regarding curses: There are those who rely completely on government assistance or welfare, and the tradition goes back with that family several generations. Why? Because somebody refused to walk in the principles of God's Word and would rather receive ongoing handouts than work for a days wage. Therefore, these folks never did anything to alter the outcome of what they wanted to breakaway from. They generally will give you a hundred excuses why they need the help and sometimes it is a valid reason indeed. Now before you think I am a insensitive to the poor, let me stress that I am not opposed to people being helped occasionally and everyone does need it at some point; but not for their whole life. The tragic results of those who never take responsibility for their life is that they become two and three generations within the same house watching and living under the older generation who chooses to remain stuck in poverty, and therefore, it sadly becomes a family tradition past on for generations. We are more likely to remain like those we live and hang out with. What we learn and settle on can be life long limitation.

Curses have not disappeared from people's lives just because of what Jesus accomplished for them when He died on Calvary. I challenge you [please don't] to rebel against God's Word and see if you get the right kind of results. It won't happen! You will get the opposite. Commit adultery and lives are destroyed and even diseases are contracted and it makes no difference whether you are a Christian or a non-believer. The outcome will clearly be a present day curse within this New Testament dispensation we are living in. Murder someone or steal from your neighbor and the consequences will not exempt you from prosecution just because you are a Christian. The outcome is still a curse because the behavior goes against the Word of God. Get drunk every night squandering all your money and come home and hit on your spouse and children and see what happens. You shall awaken in poverty, all alone, your family hating you and possibly locked up in jail.

It makes no difference if you are a Christian or not, you cannot escape the consequence of your actions when you defy God's principles in your relationships. The outcome is sure to always resemble what we would call a real curse. So get this deep in your spirit my friends, the grace of God does not exempt you from consequences when you deliberately go against the Word of God. It was God Himself that inspired the writer to record that He would not be mocked, whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap. My dear friends in Christ, this is written in the New Testament under the New Covenant which was written to the believer. My point here is that remaining in Christ, abiding in Him, resting in Him, walking in Him, will always take you into life and life more abundantly. Refuse to be obedient to God's Word and you will experience the fruit of that path. A cursed road filled with hardship and possibly even death! We do many things ignorantly assuming that it is a good thing only to have it place our hands and feet in shackles, even to those of us who believe in God. For instance:

Acts 23:12 (KJV)
12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

We need to get the understanding of just how our tongue disperses death and life when it is in operation. Be careful what you vow yourself to through your associations and the choice of expressed words that you use. Now learning a bit about the existence of curses can help us understand the importance of the passage in Malachi that we just read above and how it remains relevant in our day concerning finances. God did not mean for tithing and giving offerings to be a Law. Something that you had to do because someone said you had to, even if some made it sound like that person was God. Oh no, God said He loves a cheerful giver. Giving therefore, comes from the heart of an individual spontaneously, not through someone suggesting what we should give. Real giving comes from a heart of gratitude and thankfulness and love for others. It is having the very same nature of God who gives graciously to those in need because He loves them and wants to help them. Therefore, in God's wisdom He knew it was crucial for humanity that we become givers and ready to distribute to others in need so as to loose the grip of greed from off our lives. When this happens then we will be free to trust God for all of our needs and will no longer be a self-made people that will do anything [even if its evil] for their own interest.

God showed me that there are many who suffer even during times of great prosperity within the land because they do not obey His Word; and how much more is the suffering for these who are disobedient during bad economic times as well? The reason is because they do not give faithfully from what they have received of God. They fail to recognize that God is the very same God of the Old Testament that He is in the New Testament. Withhold in your hands for you're own use what belongs to God for His work to go forward and you curse yourself with a curse. Why? Because you remove God out of the equation of who it is that takes care of you. You eliminate all supernatural intervention by God because you are trusting your methods of survival. When you don't esteem God's commands as important enough to follow than you don't believe in His involvement within your life. We become self-preservationist which is why so many hold on to all they have rather than give what belongs to God.

People don't really believe a percentage of what they accumulate through a weeks pay belongs to God because they assume it all belongs to them. I mean who worked for it anyway, right? Why should God want part of my hard earned income when He does not need it? It's called trusting God enough to obey Him at His Word, my friend. It's the proving that you believe in something that you're willing to act to pursue it. I give what belongs to God because it belongs to Him, period. That's my respect of Him as being who He says He is. That's me honoring His Word enough that I would do what it says. Talk's cheep, and more people want to give that, rather than something that cost them personally. But God is a God that requires obedience rather than sacrifice. Therefore, I never look at it as something that cost me, but rather I want to be obedient to the love of my life. My obedience is a way of saying how much I appreciate all that He does for me. Besides how can it really cost you something when He promises to meet all your needs. You can never out give God!

Sadly, those who spend their life protecting their own interest, will give on special occasions some small portion should they have a little extra left over. My friends this is not faith in God's provision, this is faith in your own self-preservation. Therefore, when hard times come, there will be nothing stored up spiritually to meet your needs because you have always trusted yourself. In addition, when you cry out in desperation over the famine that has now come to your life; you will resort to being a beggar because you will have weakened your faith that God would not help you since you had been such an unfaithful steward. The devil will jump on you with guilt and shame so he can keep you in poverty rather than reaching out to God with confidence. Doing what God commands invokes confidence to approach Him for what He declared is ours. The lure of wealth promises pleasures and security which boasts that you don't need God. Have you observed like I have the many popular TV shows about Vacation Homes, Dream Homes, Celebrity Cribs, and the many other items that give an average person a moment of dreaming what it would be like to have those things in their life. In other words, the life you have now is miserable in comparison. But ask the guy on Wall Street whose riches went from 1.5 million in holdings when times were good, to less than 15k over the past few months. There are no guarantees in this world that promises to leave or pass you over when it comes to hardship. The real deceit is when we think having a lot makes for greater happiness in life.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 (KJV)
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

I obviously need to close todays devotional as it has become lengthy in its content and I know its hard for many to devote to reading lengthy columns. However, before I do I want to remind you that God promised to open up the heavens and pour out a blessing that you would not have room to receive it all. How does this happen? The challenge was to prove Him and see if He would not do what His Word said. What was the challenge? Give what belongs to God and keep it sacred in your heart to always obey. Place your trust in God and do what His Word says and you will experience protection, provision, and security no matter what the times may bring. Self-preservation has caused many to turn from the faith, ignore its truths, thus piercing themselves with many sorrows within this life. Therefore, place your life in God's hands today and withhold nothing from Him, and you will prosper even when the world says its impossible to do so!

Mark 4:19 (KJV)
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

For those who find their every thought is on how to buy this, or get that over there: There will be a failure in the performance of God's Word on their behalf as they have not put their trust in it, but only in themselves. God honors His Word, and those who abide continually in it shall have anything they ask. This is how to prosper in difficult times. Cast your cares on Him who loves you. Live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Worrying about finances is a warning sign of misplaced priorities which translates to a lack of trust in God. Whenever financial concerns have a top priority in our thoughts they will dictate to our goals and desires.

John 15:3-8 (KJV)
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

God desires for you and me to be fruitful, and the current economy will make no difference if you have planted in God's economic system. Jesus became poor that you may become rich. Amen!