RevWrites- June 21

Somebody once told me that Jesus said more about money than he did about faith. I’m not sure how you measure that kind of comparison. Does the word money occur more times in the gospels than the word faith? Are there more words about money than words about faith in the Gospels? I don’t know.

But Jesus still said a lot about money and a lot about faith and the two are clearly connected. There’s a lot of discussion and anxiety about money around the world at the present moment. Even the Archbishop, Peter Jensen, has written to all ministers-in-charge about the diocesan money.

So I thought I’d add my 2 cents worth. (Joke! Mildly funny.)

The wardens have informed you that our parish is on budget for this year. Interestingly, in spite of the GFC, this is the first time in some years they’ve been able to say that. And we took on a new staff member (Tania) this year!

But more than that, in spite of the anxiety about finances, members of NAC are being generous. So many NACers (including WHACers) are investing in gospel opportunities. George and Jeff have been to Africa. They had some support from us but also paid a lot themselves. Team India are off soon. It’s costing each of them a considerable amount. But our parish has also given a large amount of money to enable Indian pastor to attend the conferences.

And these are just some big ticket items. There’s generosity behind the scenes in many ways. Some of it we’ll never know about. Unless our Heavenly Father reveals it on the last day.

One thing Jesus said about money was: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Many NACers are investing in gospel enterprises. They are putting their treasure where they want their hearts to be. And their hearts are following their treasure more and more. We must thank our Father for the miraculous ways he continues to work among us.

Many of us are regular and consistent in our financial support of our church. Robyn and I “tithe”. We do this electronically so we never miss a week. We give more than $250 a week to the work of NAC. We think what God does here and what he enables NAC to do for Christ’s kingdom is worth investing in. But we also think it’s what the Bible requires of us as members of this church.

Interestingly, our children follow in our footsteps. They give electronically too so they don’t miss a week.

If you struggle to be consistent and regular in your “tithing”, then consider direct giving to help you live more biblically. But, most of all, remember to thank our Heavenly Father for all his goodness to us in so many ways.

Neil