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Christians often think about stewardship in terms of giving, saving, and spending. But if God owns everything He has entrusted to us, stewardship also raises another question: What about the companies we own through our investments?

Harry Pearson, Founder and CEO of OneAscent, says that question became increasingly important in his own journey of faith and finance. OneAscent is a family of companies that equips advisors and investors with faith-aligned solutions for planning, investing, and giving.

For Pearson, connecting biblical convictions with investing began with a broader realization: Faith should shape every part of our financial lives.

Pearson grew up in a home where generosity was modeled well. His parents taught him to tithe from an early age. For every dollar he earned, he put a dime in the offering plate.

What he had not learned, however, was how to connect his faith with the rest of his financial life.

That began to change about 18 years ago when he attended his first Kingdom Advisors Conference. Pearson remembers arriving somewhat resistant, but the experience challenged him to consider what it would look like to align his work with the faith God had already planted in his heart.

Colossians 3:23 became an important lens: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

That principle extends beyond our occupations. If everything belongs to God, then our time, abilities, and financial resources are all things we manage on His behalf.

The question becomes not simply, “What do I want to do with what I have?” but, “How can I faithfully steward what God has entrusted to me?”

That perspective also changes the way we think about leaving a legacy.

Families often devote significant attention to the valuables they hope to leave the next generation—homes, savings, investments, and other assets. Pearson believes Christians should give just as much attention to the values they are passing along.

Rather than focusing only on leaving a legacy, he encourages families to think about living one.

Children often learn stewardship less from formal lessons than from what they regularly observe. They see how their parents talk about money, respond to financial pressure, practice generosity, and decide what matters most.

That gives parents an opportunity to invite their children into the stewardship process.

Let them see generosity practiced. Allow them to participate in serving others. Talk with them about why your family chooses to support particular ministries or causes. Those conversations can help the next generation understand not merely what the family owns, but why it uses money the way it does.

After all, preparing the next steward is about more than transferring assets. It is about cultivating wisdom and faithfulness in the person who may one day receive them.

The same stewardship framework applies to investing.

Many investors purchase mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or other investments without knowing much about the individual companies they indirectly own. Pearson believes that is worth examining.

If God is the ultimate owner of our resources, Christians can thoughtfully consider whether the businesses in their portfolios align with their biblical convictions.

That begins with a simple question: Do you know what you own?

For some investors, looking beneath the surface of a portfolio may reveal companies or business activities they would not knowingly choose to support. That realization has helped drive the growth of faith-based and values-aligned investi

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Chip wraps up this series with a look at how to treat what he calls, “Chronic Relatititus.” It’s a condition that presents as frustration with someone whose behavior is driving you nuts, and it just isn’t changing. He explains that through it all, peace CAN rule in your heart. Join Chip to find out how.

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Licensed counselor and mom Michelle Nietert brings her trademark stories, humor, and practical wisdom to parents navigating the teen and young adult years. Drawing from her newest devotional, Strong and Secure, Michelle shares candidly about her own struggles — from parenting teenagers to launching her daughter into college — and the lessons God has taught her along the way.

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Michelle Nietert encourages parents to not hold on to lists too rigidly.

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When we go out in God’s name, Satan makes a dash for the nearest exit. We have weapons he cannot match. What are our weapons? 2 Corinthians 10:4: Prayer, worship, and Scripture. Prayer invites God, praise dethrones Satan, Scripture discloses truth. And Satan hates the truth.

Flee sexual immorality. Let no evil come from your mouth. Make sure the demons of hell know that you are on God’s side, not theirs. People of unbreakable courage know what Elijah knew. “The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV).

Victims? Not on your life. Victors? You can count on it!

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For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

You can read about the Grand Canyon. You can see pictures of the Grand Canyon. But you can't begin to comprehend how grand a canyon it is until you're standing right there at the edge of it, trying to drink in how massive it really is. The moods, the colors, the vastness—it was really something impressive for our whole family the first time we went there together. You stand on the South Rim and you look at the North Rim in the distance…the far distance, realizing you can only look. It averages at least ten miles across! There's no way to get across that canyon. There’s no bridge that will take you to the other side.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Eternity Gap."

You stand looking at something you'd like to experience, but there's no bridge to get you there—just a very grand canyon between you and what you're looking at. It's a feeling all of us are much too familiar with; looking at where we are, then looking at the kind of person we need to be and realizing there's a grand canyon in between.

Sometimes it's getting married, or having children, or going through one of life's deep valleys that makes us see our dark side; that makes us realize the great gap between the person I am and the person I want to be, the person I need to be, the person the people around me need for me to be. We don't want to be selfish, but selfishness seems so natural and so hard to change. We don't want to be enslaved by this habit, or hurting people with our angry words, or by constantly succumbing to negativity, even depression. We see our worst come out, and it's often hurting most the people we love the most. We want to be different, but listen, it's a long way to the other side. I know what I want to be, what people who count on me need for me to be, but my dark side wins too often.

This is not a new struggle. One of the writers of the Bible actually talked about it in Romans 7, where we find our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do." That sounds all too familiar, doesn't it? "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” He says, “For what I do is the evil I do not want to do...who will rescue me?" This man has stumbled on the way that we can bridge the gap between the person we are and the person we need to be—a rescuer. He’s crying out for a rescuer. He answers the question "who will rescue me?" this way: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

All our efforts to improve ourselves seem to fall short. And according to Romans 3:23 in the Bible, our best falls way short of getting to a perfect God. We have only one hope of crossing the grand canyon that we've never been able to cross, and that is literally being carried across in the arms of Jesus Christ. He can rescue you from your dark side because He died to pay the death penalty for all your sins, and then He rose from the dead to prove that He has beaten everything that has beaten us.

The arms of Heaven’s Rescuer are, in fact, open to you this very day. But He won’t grab you. No, you have to grab Him. Has there ever been a moment when you’ve come to the end of yourself and placed all your hopes and all your trust in Jesus Christ and in Him alone? If not, this would be a great day for you to finally take that first step of faith and to tell Him, “Jesus, I am Yours. I'm putting all my faith in You to have my sins forgiven and to go to heaven someday, to have a relationship with my God."

This could be the beginning of a new story for you. In fact, that's the name of our website - ANewStory.com. And I want to urge you to go there today, and I think you will find there some things from God's Word that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus Christ.

He

We hide, hedge, and demand proof, sure we're too weak to be of any use. God finds Gideon cowering, then calls this fearful man a mighty warrior. In this message, Pastor Philip Miller shows how God draws out our insecurity to heal it. Discover why God shrank an army to 300 so the victory could only be His.

This is part two of the sermon, "Gideon: Seeking Security Through Power."

This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://livinghopeoffer.net or call us at 1-800-215-5001.

00:03 – Gideon Is Afraid: An insecure man hiding from his calling.
02:20 – Security Through Power: The next identity trap, in Gideon.
04:30 – The Security Blanket: Signs, fleeces, and the need for proof.
08:00 – Tearing Down the Altar: Obeying God—but only under cover of night.
12:00 – The Fleece Tests: God's remarkable patience with a doubting heart.
16:00 – Shrunk to 300: Why God drew out Gideon's insecurity through weakness.

Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Living Hope" and "Moody Church Hour," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.

Dr. Philip Miller is the 17th Senior Pastor of The Moody Church. He is the featured speaker on "Living Hope" and "Moody Church Hour," with programs broadcasting on 700 outlets in the U.S. He and his wife Krista live in Chicago with their four children. Pastor Philip is passionate about proclaiming God's Word, cultivating healthy ministry, and investing in future leaders.

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