May 7, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
Weddings are awesome! This past weekend, I celebrated my sister’s wedding. I had the privilege of serving as her matron of honour (can I say maid though? — that just sounds old!) and of organising her bachelorette party, and there were lots of other special moments, where I just rejoiced that God had answered our prayers by bringing an awesome and godly gentleman into her life. I have long long awaited this special moment, and am overjoyed that it has come to pass! Â Praise the Lord! Yay for Dodi and Andy!
The funny thing about a special weekend like this is that afterwards, as life begins to get back to normal, and you begin to remember all the little things on your plate, concerns for your future, perhaps even financial concerns, you can sort of get some post-wedding (or post-anything-you’ve-been-long-waiting-for) blues. Totally common I suppose. So by Tuesday morning, I was still happy to be in North Carolina (even though there were thunderstorms and I really wanted to enjoy some warm weather and sunshine) but at the same time, I was feeling a little “blah” considering what’s ahead for us when we return to Scotland — financial challenges, spiritual challenges, relational challenges, etc. The first thing I should do when I’m in a funk like that? Open my Bible and get out of it. Monday morning I did dwell in Psalm 91 for a bit, but I must admit it was a half-hearted effort that ended in a nap.
Tuesday, instead of Bible time, I opted for shower time. Slack! However, in the shower, I looked up and saw a Scripture I’d put on the wall some time ago — an encouragement about the goodness of God. In that moment, I was so encouraged in being reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God — those who look to Him are radiant, and they are never put to shame. This simple reminder of God’s goodness brought a flood of encouragement, and I felt the Lord simply remind me of the principle of compound interest.
I’ve heard that Albert Einstein once said, “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” If you’ve studied finance at any stage, you’ll find that it is truly an incredible principle. Simple interest is only calculated on the original investment. But with compound interest, a one-time investment of £10,000 with 12% interest, compounded yearly, will amount to £299,599.22 after 30 years. If the interest is compounded quarterly, you’ll have a whopping £347,109.87 in the same amount of time!
What I felt like I was to understand from the Lord regarding that moment was that just as the solid investments we make in the natural world will generally pay off in the long term, the spiritual investments we make will definitely have long term rewards and returns — with great interest. I’d previously invested time and effort into my relationship with the Lord — in studying and thinking about His Word regularly, in prayer and fellowship with Him, and in a moment when I simply needed to be reminded of His goodness, those investments brought a return — the reminder was there, just when I needed it.
The greater picture, I think, is that investments in a relationship with God will bring exponential compound interest over time. The Scripture actually promises blessing for your children’s children if you love God and obey His commands. (Psalm 103:17) And when times are hard, the efforts you make to learn God’s Truth, and put it into your heart will pay off. God’s Word in Your heart will keep you from disobeying Him when temptation rears its ugly head in a tough moment — I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Ps. 119:11) If you make room for God (see this post for more thoughts about that) and for His Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart, He will help you find joy in times of sorrow. If you deeply endeavour to believe God is good in every circumstance, when you’re not in the middle of a battle, then it will be easier to hold on to the Truth when the battle rages all around you. If you don’t have that Truth firmly implanted in your heart, then your faith is likely to be rocked whenever your world is.
Amazing fruits will be present in your life if you allow the Holy Spirit to be present and at work in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you walk by the Spirit, you won’t carry out the desires of the flesh. Even if the investment is as simple as deciding to begin reading a chapter or two of Scripture a day, and then committing to obey what the Word says, you can expect exponential returns on your investments with God. You’ll never out-give Him, out-bless Him, or out-do Him. His Peace, His Truth, and His Presence will mark your life in ways you never expected — and you might just think to yourself, “Wow, that investment of ten minutes a day has brought a return I never expected! I’m gonna bump it up to twenty!”
The Sermon in a Nutshell: Spend more time thinking about the investments you’re making towards eternity. It’ll put the cares in this life into perspective. Whether the economy you’re living under booms or busts in this lifetime, your investments in God’s eternal economy will always bring incredible return — in this life, and the next.
Apr 30, 2009 | The Good Word, Top Ten Lists
Being from the American South, I’m intimately acquainted with cultural Christianity — the kind of Christianity that makes people feel sure they are Christians because they’ve been going to church all their lives and they don’t drink much. Â One particularly interesting thing about the development of this type of ‘cultural Christianity’ is the development, along with it, of a number of ‘sayings’ and even ‘cherished proverbs’ that are most certainly God-breathed Scripture…ahem, not. Â Upon responding to one of these statements with a “whereabouts in the Bible is that?” you might get a “I don’t know, but it’s in there” or a “Well my grandma said it was in there” or even a “somewhere in the middle part.” Be ye warned, friend — and put not your faith in the colloquialisms of the people! Â They’ll nae hold their ground when times are tough!
Do note, there has also been a special development of a world-wide phenomena called Christianese. It probably finds its roots in the American South. This important and related topic deserves its own post on another day. In the meantime, I think we should take a moment to enjoy a few of these ‘cherised proverbs’ together.
Top Ten “Bible Quotes” Not Actually in the Bible:
10. Cleanliness is next to godliness!
9. Seriously. Black people and white people aren’t supposed to get married. [I don’t know if you’ve heard this one, but I heard it all the time growing up.]
8. This too shall pass.
7. To thine own self be true.
6. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
5. Money is the root of all evil. [Misquotation of 1 Timothy 6:10]
4. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
3. God’ll never give you more than you can handle!
2. Spare the rod, spoil the child. [This is a misquotation of Proverbs 13:24]
1. (A Personal Favourite)Â The Lord helps them who helps themselves.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: If you want to stand on the promises of God, make sure you know what they are!
Mar 27, 2009 | Scotland, Stories, The Good Word
Challenging Fact: I’ve heard that America spent roughly 20 billion dollars on ice cream in 2007 — enough to provide everyone in the world with clean water and food.
Through a variety of different means, I’ve been reminded again over the past few months about some of the basics of godly financial stewardship. Some things I’ve heard before — like the fact that the Bible talks more about money than any other subject, or the helpful reminder that you can tell where a person’s heart is if you look at their bank statements. But somewhere, I feel like a spiritual corner has been turned, and I am thinking about God’s money (the bit of it that’s in the Collie family hands) on a whole new level. I am challenged to the core to see a change in the way we live. Here’s my best attempt at describing what’s been going on in my heart.
One piece of the puzzle of what’s happening, I think, has to do with our sponsorship of a child through Compassion. I’m not sharing this to say “yay for the Collies, aren’t they great!?” but seriously, this is part of the story. For £18 each month (that’s currently about $26) we’re helping Compassion provide regular medical check-ups, hygiene training, dental care, supplemental nutrition and educational opportunities to a child in Burkina Faso. This little country in Western Africa, north of Ghana has a population of about 15 million, a life expectancy of 52 years, (some estimates are closer to 44) and a literacy level around 21%. Most adults are unemployed, but some work as seasonal labourers and earn the equivalent of £10 (yes, TEN POUNDS – less than fifteen dollars) per month.
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So, £18 – $26 used to not seem like a whole lot of money to me. It probably won’t pay for a meal at a restaurant in Scotland. I might be able to find a pair of jeans for that in America, but probably not here in Edinburgh. My food budget for a month here for our family is about twelve times that. But now, it suddenly seems like a whackload of cash. I’ve spent more than £18 on a single item of makeup before, and I’m pretty darn ashamed of that now.
The question that’s now ringing in my head at the till (cash register) was posed to me in a sermon recently — will this matter in eternity? And now I’m thinking about how I can spend LESS money on myself, because we could potentially sponsor another child. And another. Or maybe save up enough to sponsor the building of a well in an area without clean water! If we keep driving our old car, could we provide clean water for a village somewhere? Worth it!
Two weeks ago, a gentleman knocked on my door to share with me about a charity that is working for the protection of certain species of wild birds in Britain. Don’t get me wrong guys — I’m an avid recycler, I bring my own (IKEA) bags to the grocery store and don’t use plastic ones, I turn out the lights when I leave the room, and I care about the environmental impact of us crazy-consumer-humans. But I had to tell the guy, I cannot with a clear conscience pay for the stranded dogs and endangered birds of Britain when there are kids in other countries, like Burkina Faso, dying of malnutrition, malaria, meningitis, and diarrhoea. Seriously, dying of such easily treatable disease. While these kids and their families are being raised up with instruction about health, nutrition, opportunities to earn income, and so on, most important, people are sharing with them about the God who created them, loves them, and wants to spend eternity with them. Jesus cared about the poor, rejected and brokenhearted, and He instructed us to feed His sheep. Food for the body, and food for the soul — both are given in Jesus’ name.
To sum the matter up for the moment — I am thinking about things eternal. The Lord knows exactly how much money I’ve spent (or convinced my Mom to spend) on clothing, on food, on superfluous stuff, and on stuff that I actually needed. I’m afraid I would be ashamed to know some of those figures. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and feel like Oskar Schindler at the end of the Holocaust, looking at a ball point pen and thinking, I could’ve sold this to save the life of another Jew. It’s amazing that his incredible efforts have an amazing legacy — perhaps 6,000 descendants of Schindler Jews are alive today — and yet, he thought, “I could’ve done more.”
I do want to have Schindler’s attitude, for Jesus — “What more can I do?” “What else can I sell?” “How else can I serve or give to see your Kingdom come?” There are people that are hungry, there are people that are hurting, and there are people dying every day who don’t know anything about the God who loves them. How can they hear, unless someone tells them?
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