The Power of a Generous Heart

A preview of May's email-only article.

Ashley Green

The Bible has quite a bit to say about generosity.

And, while this shouldn't be your primary motivation, did you know that Proverbs suggests some pretty cool things will happen to you when you give freely?

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're talking about prosperity, generosity, and obesity. (Yes, you read that right.) If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below.

Here's a snippet:

The KJV renders Proverbs 11:25 as, "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."

It may be weird to think that getting fat is a reward for liberality; in the first world, we don't value fat. In fact, most everyone is obsessed with skinniness. Why?

Because in affluent cultures, it's easy to get fat.

McDonald's occupies a corner at every busy intersection, and our supermarkets have entire aisles dedicated to ice cream, cookies, and chips.

Because of this, slender figures are rarer. They are badges of youthfulness and sex appeal. Not so in other eras of history.

 
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How to Please God

Advice from Solomon and the book of Hebrews.

Ben White

 

HAVE YOU EVER PONDERED the daunting prospect of trying to please God?

Our God is omnipotent, so he doesn't need anything. And he's holy so we can never live up to his standard of morality.

How then can one possibly please God? Is it even possible?

Yes, it's possible, as you'll see, and the approach is actually pretty straightforward—though it might not be what you think. We'll take cues from Solomon and Job for an Old Testament, pre-messianic perspective and then the book of Hebrews to gain a more complete picture.

Before we dive in, though, here's the short answer:

The Importance of Christ's Recklessness

A preview of April's email-only article.

Daniel Thomas

What does the Bible say about cosigning loans?

Perhaps you're familiar with the proverb advising that those who cosign for strangers will suffer harm (Pro. 11:15). Sound advice, right?

Yet, I think there's another angle to this discussion worth bringing to light.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers. This month we're looking at the reckless decision Jesus made, and why that decision is so critical in our lives.

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I MET KATIE IN THE HALCYON DAYS of senior year at Norman High School. Life sped by at a thoroughbred's pace, and I did my best to maintain my grip on the reins; it seemed I went from a twerp teenager to man-child in a matter of days.

Two years after graduation, we were married.

One struggle of twenty-year-old newlyweds is leasing an apartment. We had jobs, but no credit, and they were part-time jobs. So even though our rent was something like $375, they wanted a cosigner—someone to fulfill the yearlong commitment were we to flake out.

My dad signed the paperwork.

It was probably stupid for him to do it, but he loved us and trusted in our work ethic and financial savvy.

Lest you think this is one of those financial horror stories, we paid our rent. Every month on time.

But the story could have turned out differently.

 
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Your Money Is No Good Here: The Only Way to Prepare for Judgment Day

 Cash can't cushion you from metaphysical disaster.

Glenn Carstens-Peters

 

NEARLY EVERY FINANCIAL ADVISOR on the planet advocates for having a cash reserve to cover unexpected expenses. Author and former television show host Suze Orman recommends you save eight months of expenses. Famed radio personality Dave Ramsey suggests three to six months is enough.

Sage advice if you ask me.

Costly mishaps have a way of barging into our lives without permission, and for those without a large, unallocated, cash fund, such events can have devastating effects.

Though they might differ on the recommended amount, these experts all use similar monikers to describe the account. They used words like emergency fund, safety net, buffer, and rainy-day fund.

Several years ago Katie and I decided to sell one of our sedans to buy a larger vehicle. With the adoption of our two foster boys, we had gone from zero to three children in the span of about a year, and elbow room was getting tight in the back of that Nissan Sentra.

We found a buyer and arranged to meet him at his bank the next morning.

Can You Ever Be Good Enough for God?

   A preview of March's email-only article.

Patrick Schneider

What do you think?

Can a mortal man be right before God? Can a person be pure before his maker?

These are the questions posed not by Job, but by his friend Eliphaz in response to Job.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're asking the question: can one ever be good enough for God?

If the question sounds loaded, it is. But I think it's a critical query each of us must resolve in our own minds if we're ever to make sense of the Scriptures and of our lives.

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Here's a snippet:

Job's friend here intends to juxtapose our finite and humble existences to that of God almighty who is everlasting, pure, and perfect.

He first posed the rhetorical, "Who that was innocent ever perished?" as if insinuating Job deserved the suffering in his life.

Then he circled back and reported the words of a voice he heard, asking, "Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?" (4:17).

Connecting the dots here, Eliphaz argues that the innocent will not perish, but that no one is innocent.

Fair enough.

We've all sinned, as the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans.

 
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