Take Steps

Our spending habits tell a story. We would like to think that everything we purchase with our finances is necessary, but in a comparison of the nations of the world, that would be far from the truth. In part two of our series of “Beyond,” we discovered how generosity can combat the struggle of consumerism and materialism. From a Christian standpoint, consumerism is relying on yourself to get what ...

The consideration of how the Macedonians desired to give for the sake of the gospel to impact someone else is a genuine display of being motivated by the gospel. There is a similar story recorded in Mark 12:41-44, concerning Jesus' remarks of observing many people giving “out of their abundance” and a widow giving “all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44). Commentators call this passage a closure to t...

“Healthy organisms grow”1 that is what is expected from ever organism that God has created. Many people go through not knowing what to expect, but the Scriptures give us direction for the work of our lives. Before the Fall of humanity God instructed Adam and Eve to have dominion over all of creation… and to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:26-28). For the most part, we understand the gist of hav...

King Uzziah was a typical king of Israel. He experienced great success due to his leadership qualities being rooted in fearing God. 2 Chronicles 26:2-5 explains how he was sixteen years old when he came to power and had a mentor, Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of the Lord.  He defeated the Philistines and other fortified cities and then continued to fortify Jerusalem with watchtowers al...

Giving glory and sacrifices to the Lord are actions that are quickly noticed by others. The writer of Psalm 96 gives multiple prompts of action for a believer to worship God. Many times sacrifices our noticed much more than peoples words. We can all notice when someone gives up something for us, but we will miss the most subtle and consistent efforts.  In the middle of Psalm 96 we see the worthy ...