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Money has a way of reaching places in our lives that few other things do. It touches our fears, desires, relationships, priorities, and sense of security.

That may be why Jesus spoke so often about money and possessions. In Matthew 6:21, He says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus understood something we often miss: money issues are often heart issues. Our financial choices can reveal what we trust, what we desire, and ultimately what we treasure.

Years ago, Ron Blue once shared a story from his time in Kenya that profoundly shaped the way I think about stewardship.

Ron was sitting on a hillside with a local pastor, looking out over the village where the man lived. Ron asked him what he thought was a practical question: “What’s the greatest barrier to the spread of the gospel here?”

Ron expected to hear about a lack of money, transportation, or other resources.

The pastor didn’t hesitate. “Materialism.”

Ron was stunned. Surely materialism was primarily a Western problem. But the pastor explained that if a man has a mud hut, he wants a stone hut. If he has a thatched roof, he wants a metal one. If he has one cow, he wants two.

That conversation helped Ron recognize an important truth: Materialism isn’t ultimately about how much you have. It’s about what your heart longs for.

If materialism can thrive in a mud hut as easily as in an American suburb, then possessions aren’t the root problem. The heart is.

Money simply has a remarkable ability to expose what is already there.

Money itself is neither moral nor immoral. It is a tool. But because it touches nearly every area of life, the way we handle it can reveal what is happening inside us.

Overspending may reveal a desire for identity, comfort, or approval. Clinging tightly to savings may reveal where we seek ultimate security. Debt can sometimes expose impatience or a desire to live beyond what God has currently provided. Resistance to generosity may reveal a fear that there will not be enough.

In each case, the dollars are secondary. The heart is primary.

The good news is that God cares deeply about our hearts, and He invites us into something better: freedom from fear, comparison, striving, and the belief that everything depends on us.

Over the years, a few biblical truths have become foundational to the way I think about money and stewardship.

Biblical stewardship begins with ownership.

Everything we possess ultimately belongs to God. Our money, possessions, abilities, opportunities, and even the power to produce wealth are gifts entrusted to us for a season.

Recognizing God's ownership changes the question from, “What do I want to do with my money?” to, “God, what would You have me do with what belongs to You?”

When we understand ourselves as stewards rather than owners, we can begin to hold money with greater gratitude, humility, and freedom.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6 that our heavenly Father feeds the birds and clothes the lilies—and that His children are worth far more.

That doesn’t mean Christians will never face financial difficulty or uncertainty. It does mean our ultimate confidence is not found in a paycheck, investment account, or emergency fund.

Wise planning matters. Saving matters. Working diligently matters. But none of those things were designed to carry the weight of our ultimate security.

God is our provider. 

As that truth moves from something we know intellectually to something we believe deeply, fear begins to loosen its grip.

Money is useful, but it makes a terrible master.

It was never meant to provide our identity, significance, or ultimate security. Instead, money can bec

We like to put our best foot forward. It’s a cultural thing. We keep certain things to ourselves. If we’ve just bounced a check, or we’re in over our head at work, or there’s relationship stress – we stay silent on those subjects. But today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out, when Jesus makes His home in our hearts, we give Him permission to explore the hidden issues we’re keeping to ourselves . . . yeah, including the one you’re thinking about right now. Let’s get some good encouragement.

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In the construction world, a "sole plate" is a small but integral piece of wood that sits on top of a foundation. Without it, you simply couldn’t build the floors or walls above. Guest teacher Aaron Pierce uses this illustration to reveal a vital, foundational step we often miss when sharing our faith. Discover how this principle helps us connect our lost friends to the anchoring hope of the Gospel.

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Guest Speaker Bio

Aaron Pierce is the International Mission Director of Steiger International, a rapidly-growing, worldwide mission organization that is called to reach and disciple the Global Youth Culture for Jesus. Steiger is active in over 100 cities around the world within the regions of Europe, Eurasia, Central Asia, the Middle East, East Asia, South America, Australasia, and North America.

Every child experiences big emotions. As a parent, you want to teach them what to do when those feelings come. Counselor Eliza Huie equips you with practical ways to help your child move from chaos to calm while reminding them that God is always with them. You’ll learn a simple, grace-filled approach to emotional regulation that can help your whole family navigate big emotions with greater peace and confidence.

Receive a copy of the "Count Yourself Calm" bundle and an audio download of "Five Steps to Building Your Kids Emotional Health" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

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As your parents get older, they love to tell those stories again, and again, and again. We’ve enjoyed hearing some of the family stories that my wife’s dad had to tell. And, you know what? It filled in a lot of blanks, as we tried to put together the history of the last couple of generations. We asked him once about that little girl named Ada. My wife’s grandfather, Granddad Glenn, had one child – her dad. And he wanted a sister! So, Granddad Glenn traveled from their small town to a major city to check out the adoption possibilities at an orphanage there. I don’t know if he was prepared for the reception he got there. Everywhere he went, children asked him if they could go home with him. But there was this one dark-haired, dark-eyed little girl who just would not leave his side. Her name was Ada. She wouldn’t let go of Granddad’s hand, and she kept looking up at him with her big brown eyes and begging him, “Please let me go home with you. Please take me.” He did. And my wife’s dad got his sister.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Orphan in Your Heart.”

The heart of an orphan desperately reaching for someone to love and take care of her. Maybe that’s a feeling you know even though you’re not physically an orphan. But life can get pretty lonely; relationships that were supposed to bring you love and happiness ended up bringing disappointment and hurt. You live enough years, there’s a good chance you end up feeling abandoned at some point, left out, rejected, alone – even with a lot of people around you.

And the biggest mistakes we make in our life are often mistakes we make for love. We keep reaching for a hand that might offer love and saying, “Take me. If you do, I’ll be OK.” But we’ve never really been totally OK. No love has ever been enough love, and sometimes we’ve paid too high a price to get someone to take us.

It’s this orphan feeling in the human heart that Jesus Christ speaks to in our word for today from the Word of God, recorded in John 14:18. He says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Jesus says, “I can give you the ‘never leave you’ love that your heart's always been hungry for.’” Actually, He’s the only one who can finally bring us spiritual orphans home.

The loneliness we just keep feeling is ultimately cosmic loneliness. We’re lonely for God. Why? Well, He made us for His love and we’ve left Him. It isn’t that we don’t have a Father. We feel like emotional and spiritual orphans because we’ve never begun a relationship with this Father who loves us so very much.

In Isaiah 53:6, God describes how we have missed His love. It says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” Our sin – our "my way" living has cut us off from the love we were made for, and only Jesus could bring us back. The rest of that verse says, “The Lord laid on him (that’s Jesus) the wrongdoing of us all.”

In other words, Jesus died on the cross, carrying all the guilt and all the hell of all your sin and mine. That’s why He cried out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Reason: He was cut off from His Father so you would never have to be cut off from Him again.

And now He’s reaching out His hand for you to offer you the relationship – the love you were made for. The question is, “Are you going to reach back?” Won't you grab the hand of Jesus and tell Him, “Lord, take me. You’re this orphan’s only hope. You died for me. I am yours. I want to be a child of the Heavenly Father, born into His family this day because of what You did on the cross for me.”

Listen, if that’s where your heart is, go to our website. It has all the information you need to confirm that you belong to God through Jesus. That website is ANewStory.com.

Your Heav

The pain that happened to you is real . . . and it matters immensely.
The notion of healing what you can’t erase is not about ignoring the devastation of your past or putting a glossy, positive spin on current tragedy. That plastic version of faith isn’t actually faith; it’s unbelief. Chris Cook will join us to offer a road map for moving forward through the losses and scars by allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us . . . spirit, soul, and body.

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