Building Faith Families with Steve Demme

There is unmistakable teaching in scripture that God sometimes blesses his people with material things. For those that do have wealth and have been blessed with material possessions, it is wise to remember Deuteronomy 8:18, “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.”

But never mistake a lack of material “blessings” as some kind of indication that God is not blessing you or doesn’t care for you. That is clearly not taught in scripture.

The word heart, as used in scripture, does not represent the organ responsible for distributing blood throughout the body. Neither is it to be interpreted as a passion or emotion. Rather, it is the very essence of who we are. It is the inner man.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)

I believe the best defense is a good offense and if we focus on the positives we can ward off the negatives. Instead of examining ourselves regularly to see if we are coveting, I suggest we take the opposite tack and pray to be content. The character trait of a Christian who is free from coveting, is contentment.

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)

Notice, money is not evil, the love of money is. So why is the love of money such a stumbling block? As Christians, our primary calling is to love God with everything in us. Anything which takes away or diminishes our devotion to Christ has to be examined. Jesus is our wonderful Lord and compassionate master. We cannot love or serve two masters, nor do we want to.

God is King over all the earth. He appoints His children to be faithful stewards of all that rightfully belongs to Him. We are not owners but careful managers of His possessions. “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)

This weekend I had the privilege to speak at the state homeschool convention in Portland, Oregon. On Friday I had a few men’s workshops and offered The Christian Home and Family Worship for free to those who would commit to reading it within thirty days of the the conference.

Saturday morning one of the dads informed me he had read the entire book on Friday evening. And before he left for the second day of the convention he spent some time with his eight year old daughter. He asked her if there was anything she would like to share with him so he could pray for her.