What Kind of Believer are You?

Three Kinds of Believers

Are you spending completely on things that pass away like a vapor–or are you investing significantly in the things of God, which do not?

I’m something of a student of human behavior, and I’ve come to some conclusions about how most people in the world relate to God and his gifts. With regard to those who do make some kind of attempt to serve God, I’ve observed that there are basically three kinds of believers in this world.

Earthly-minded Believers

The first category of people I’ve identified is a large one, perhaps because it requires the least thought.

They’ve compartmentalized the sphere of all their resources, whether time, talent, or treasure, and haven’t brought these under the Lordship of Christ.

These believers accept what God has given them and use their resources for their own comfort, pleasure, and personal gratification.

The Earthly-minded Believer sees money the way nearly everyone else does. He wants to keep as much of it as possible, and use it for his own personal enjoyment of life.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the financial fruits of our labor. God wants us to do so. The important question is this: Are you spending completely on things that pass away like a vapor—or are you investing significantly in the things of God, which do not?

Christian Philanthropists

The next category of believers is one that gives more attention to giving.

These are believers who have come to the conviction that God has blessed them, and they should give back a portion of what they’ve received to help support ministry and missions. For them, this is somewhat of a duty, an obligation to fulfill, like paying taxes. There’s an “oughtness” that guides them. They write a check or volunteer in some way, but there is no joy or purpose in it.

Perhaps it’s the way they were taught by their parents. Perhaps it is motivated by the sense of duty so that the church can fund some project overseas, or pay its budget, or provide some program. Perhaps it’s giving out of guilt. The important distinction is that it is “doing what I have to.” As a result, it’s not something particularly pleasant or enjoyable.

Kingdom Investors

There is one other kind of Christian giver and, as you might predict, this one is harder to find among us. The Kingdom Investors are people who grow in Christ, who dig deeply into his Word, and who come to see their resources in a brand new way.

Kingdom investors are motivated by the rewards that the Bible promises.

Kingdom Investors see all that they have and all that they own as their sacred trust, theirs to use strategically for the advancement of Christ and his eternal purposes.

Their time, talent and treasure are no longer an end in itself, but a medium, a palette to be used in the beautiful art of serving God. Who are these people? You’ll find them across the spectrum. The Kingdom Investors deploy whatever time, talent, and treasure they have available, and it’s a pleasing truth that while not everyone can invest great sums of financial wealth, everyone can give their time and their personal talents. These are all things that God has given so that we might find the unique joy of giving them back.

I would like to ask a question “Do you merely see your giving as an obligation or duty, or does it give you joy?”

See more at: http://kingdomnomics.com/three-kinds-of-believers/#.VcHu0xFRGP8

Let God Guide You in your Decision-Making

“He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Psalm 23:3b (NIV)

Sometime we are afraid of making the wrong decision and that creates stress.

God says there is an antidote to our indecision. Psalm 23:3 tells us, “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The way we handle the stress of decision-making is by letting God guide us. 

You may be thinking, ‘But I have tried this!’ You asked God to guide you but then you became more confused than before. You still could not figure it out. You wonder, ‘Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?’ 

Does God play games with us? Of course not! God wants to guide us. He wants us to know His will more than we want to know it. Our problem is we often look for the wrong thing when we are trying to find God’s will.  

Some of us look for a feeling. Some of us want a formulaic approach to God’s will, some recipe to apply when we are making decisions. Some of us take a magical approach and hope God will give us some fantastic sign or wonder to follow.  

All of these lead to frustration and can cause us to miss God’s will. 

God does not want you confused and he does not want you stressed over making a decision. God wants you to know that he is there, guiding you every step of the way.

This is his promise, so you can believe this to be true: “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3 NIV).  

In our quest to know God’s will for our lives, you can also read this post to see how God protects us. 

This devotional entitle "God's Antidote to Indecision" is written by Rick Warren and I hope it has helped you to look up to God in every decision you make. God Bless You.

How to do great things motivated by God’s Vision

Today, we are looking at how God’s Vision motivates us to do great things for Him. Dear one, keep on reading and apply to your life and situation.  

God's Vision Motivates Us to Do Great Things by Jon Walker

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV)

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of vision is that it changes your way of thinking, which in turn changes the way you live.

An Olympic swimmer endures the long hours of staring at the bottom of a pool, day after day, because he is motivated by the vision of the gold to come. 

A mother endures the painful labor of childbirth because the vision of her newborn baby sustains her. 

And a four-year-old endures the struggle to be a very, very good boy for another two weeks because he is motivated by a vision of gifts under a Christmas tree. 

Vision is a power that motivates us to do great things, give great things, and love at all times. Vision keeps us going when there doesn’t appear to be any other reason to keep pushing forward toward the goal. 

Jesus endured the cross because of his vision — “the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).

Oswald Chambers says the thing that keeps us going for God, even when everything or everyone around us is tumbling and stumbling, is our vision of God, not our devotion to principles or our devotion to duty. 

It is the vision of God before us, where we set our “minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2 NIV).

Ask God to give you a vision of himself. Ask him to show you how your purpose is an extension of his heart and mind. Then “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [you] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV). 

Don’t forget to download your digital Bible here and keep it on your phone or laptop for easy reference. God bless you.