Insights Magazine: April 2011

April 2011

phil Callaway:

Get Rich

Giving Money

Away!

Chuck swindoll:

Money–to Grip, or to Give?

in this issue “Although we live in a consumer society

we do not have to have a

consumer world view.”

3 Strengthening Your Grip On Money Charles R. Swindoll

pressure points

6 All That Glitters...

Steve Johnson

lifetrac

9 Time Wise Robyn Roste

moment of insight 14 Managing Your Rest

lifelines

15 Cost and Worth Charles R. Swindoll

STRONG FAMILY

16 Hope Beyond Failure Charles R. Swindoll

laughing matters

19 What Money Can Buy Phil Callaway 23 Surrendered to Grace Ben Lowell

Copyright © 2011 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved.

No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Insights is published by IFLC, the Bible teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NASB. Printed in Canada.

Unless otherwise noted, photography by IFLC staff.

Strengthening

Your Grip on Money

by Charles R. Swindoll

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N

ow there’s a fitting title! Especially in a day when our chequing accounts need month-to-month resuscitation to survive mind-numbing government deficits and debts. Unlike those who receive incredible salaries for playing games, making movies, singing songs, and pumping oil, most of us are forced to face the fact that the only way we’ll ever see daylight is to moonlight. Even then we feel like nothing more than members of the debt set. So when somebody mentions that there is a way to strengthen our grip on money, we listen.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not interested in promoting greed. We get enough of that mercenary jungle fighting on the job every day. Added to that, the flame of materialism is fanned anew each evening, thanks to loud commercials that pound their way into our heads. But even though we may get weary of that drumbeat, none can deny that money plays an enormous role in all our lives . . . even when we keep our perspective and steer

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Strengthening Your Grip On Money continued from p. 3

clear of greed. As is often said, money cannot bring happiness—but it certainly puts our creditors in a better frame of mind.

I agree with the late heavyweight boxing champ, Joe Louis: “I don’t like money, actually, but it quiets my nerves.”

To the surprise of many people, the Bible says a lot about money. It talks about earning and spending, saving and giving, investing and even wasting our money. But in none of this does it ever suggest that money brings ultimate security. I love the proverb that paints this so vividly: Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

(Proverbs 23:4–5 NIV) Can’t you just picture the scene?

WHOOSH . . . and everything is gone for good.

This is not to say that money is evil. Or that those who have it are wicked. Let’s once for all put to bed the old cliché: “God loves the poor and hates the rich.”

Nowhere does God condemn the rich for being rich. For sure, He hates false gain, wrong motives for getting rich, and lack of compassionate generosity among the wealthy. But some of the godliest people in the Bible were exceedingly prosperous, even by today’s standards: Job, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, Josiah, Barnabas, Philemon, and Lydia, to name a few.

In my observation, both the prosperous and the poor must fight similar battles: envy of others and greed for more. Scripture clearly and frequently condemns both attitudes. This brings to mind a particular section of the Bible that addresses several of the attitudes that frequently accompany money.

Comment on this article

In 1 Timothy, a letter written to a young man who was a pastor in Ephesus, the writer (Paul) dealt with the subject of money as he drew his thoughts to a close.

While encouraging Timothy to carry on in spite of the odds against him, Paul exposed some of the characteristics of a religious fraud in chapter 6, verses 4 and 5: He is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:4–5) The Message renders the latter part of verse 5: “They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.”

Red flag! Keen-thinking Paul used this as a launching pad into one of the most helpful discussions of money in all the Bible. Read carefully the words that follow: But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. . . .

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to

share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. (1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19) Go back and check that out. The first series of thoughts is a reminder to those without much money. The second section is a warning to all who crave riches. The third is instruction to the wealthy.

“Money cannot bring happiness—but it certainly puts our creditors in a better frame of mind.”

I could summarize these three sections like this: To those who struggle to make ends meet, guard against being envious of the wealthy and work on being content with life as it is.

To those who would have to admit that the pursuit of more and more money is now a passionate drive, hear the warning again: if you don’t come to terms with yourself, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll find yourself ensnared and miserable. In the process, you’ll lose the very things you think money will buy—peace, happiness, love, and satisfaction.

And to those who are rich? Put away conceit, forget about finding ultimate security in your money, and cultivate generosity . . . tap into “the true life.”

Straight talk, but that’s what it takes to strengthen our grip on money. Be honest now, are you gripping it or is it gripping you?

Photograph of Chuck Swindoll © 2010 by David Edmonson Excerpted from Swindoll, Charles R. “Strengthening Your Grip on Money,” in Strengthening Your Grip: Essentials in an Aimless World. Dallas: Word, 1982 (71–87).

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Pressure Points

Since the time Cain refused to give God the first fruits of his crops, humanity has had difficulty properly relating to material things, as they relate to idolatry, materialism, and stewardship.

I

n the past our relationship to material things was only one of many issues Christians faced. But today, in our North American culture and society where consumerism and materialism are twin gods, this is a key issue, if not the key issue facing Christians.

We cannot escape. We live, and move, and have our being in a consumer cosmos. The global economy and interconnection of markets and resources means every time we eat a meal, listen to music, put on clothing, or read a book we are being consumers.

There is nothing wrong with basic consumption or material things. We need them to live. The problem comes when the “ism” is added. Materialism is the “preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.”1 I’m suggesting that Christians, by and large, have responded to the ethos of our day with accommodation. Indeed we have not only accommodated our lifestyles to mirror the world’s attitudes, some have even developed a prosperity theology that promotes materialism and consumerism as a divine right.

But Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15 NIV). He said it was the “deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things” that kept the Word from being fruitful in the lives of believers (Mark 4: 19). One may not have riches or things yet still desire them. It is the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil, not money itself. It is not the rich man’s riches that keep him out of heaven, but that his love for them is greater than his love for the Lord.

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Comment on this article

Although we live in a consumer society we do not have to have a consumer world view. The early Christians lived within the Roman Empire but their hearts and minds were not beholden to Caesar. Likewise, we must learn to exist in a consumer empire but not forfeit our souls at its altar. Loosening our death grip on things and living in this consumerist, material world but not being of it can come as we obey three biblical principles.

“Although we live in a consumer society we do not have to have a consumer world view.”

The first is stewardship. This applies whether we have much or little. It is not the amount of stuff you possess that makes you a materialist or not. It is your attitude toward it. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (NIV). We are not owners, only managers charged with managing material things for the glory of God, the furthering of His kingdom and showing love to people. We will also give an account for how well we do that. A good steward knows this and lives accordingly.

The second principle is simplicity.

Most of us have too much stuff. But getting rid of the clutter is hard because we are emotionally attached to it, which is

an indictment in itself. It’s hard because sometimes even the good is the enemy of the best. And it’s hard because unknowingly we may be deceived into believing the lie that those things keeping us from simplicity of life and devotion to Christ are things, which will make us happy and satisfy us. Compared to knowing God, they are merely trivial pursuits.

Pursuing simplicity requires renewed minds released from consumerism’s grip. It requires minds captivated again by the total sufficiency of Christ to meet all our needs. Simplifying our life is a spiritual discipline that takes time to implement and diligence to maintain.

Yet the reward of removing the clutter is that we free up the time and mental space to pursue the Lord.

Finally, strengthening our grip on heaven helps wean us from material things. The things of earth will grow dim as we choose to value and invest in the things of heaven more—as we store up treasures in heaven, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

We are citizens of heaven and stewards of earth. This world is not our home and the things we collect and use are not ours.

They are not idols to be worshipped, but tools to use to fit us for the life to come. Remembering this will make us different and free.

Steve Johnson is the interim executive director at IFLC http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/materialism

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Update In April, 30,000 leadership books for Cuban pastors were printed and shipped to Cuba! We have raised two-thirds of the funds and need your help to finish the project.

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Will you partner with us? visit insightforliving.ca/cuba or call 1.800.663.7639

by Robyn Roste

On lifetrac.ca and facebook.com/lifetrac this month: Cheerful Hospitality and Boundaries by Emily Lynch

H

ow do you view time? Something to be chased? Something to find? Something to dream about? Something to be lost? What about something to be quantified?

Here’s another question: Would you say you are a good steward of your time?

I always thought I spent my 24 hours per day pretty wisely— I took time for work, time for play, time for friends and family, and had enough left over to sleep. Of course I could always use a little more sleep but for the most part, I was pretty proud of myself. And of course, just as I was getting comfortable with my time-keeping abilities, I got a new job.

It was for a consulting firm— one that billed in 15-minute increments. Since we charged our services out to several companies at once, we needed to meticulously pencil into a logbook each phone call, email, and physical work we did.

“Have you ever logged your life in 15-minute increments?”

At first I found the task not only overwhelming but a bit needless. Who cared whom I spoke to at 10:15 for seven minutes or which company’s data I entered from 12:35–2:44? I sure didn’t and as long as my work was completed at the end of the week, it didn’t seem like my boss cared too much either.

Time Wise continued from p. 9

My attitude towards logging my life wasn’t great until one day a client called up to dispute a bill. Amazed, I watched my boss go over the charges, point by point, and compare them to our logged timesheets. As quickly as each disputed charge came up, it was dispersed. Finally understanding why this was an important task, my attitude towards tracking my every minute at work changed. How I used my time in the office directly impacted our clients’ bills and just as my boss needed to be accountable to clients, I needed to be accountable for how I spent my time.

Have you ever logged your life in 15-minute increments?

At first it feels incredibly constraining, but if you submit to the process and use your time wisely, it can actually be quite liberating. You are able to stand behind your actions with no fear or shame. You know you will be able to face any dispute because you’ve kept careful record. You are certain you are being a good steward of your time.

Often we connect being a good steward as tithing at church or to charity, but it’s so much more than that. “Stewardship” refers to the management of affairs, property, or supplies with proper regard to rights of others.

Comment on this article

Think about it like this: life is short and each day we have is a gift. “Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NLT). Thinking of our time this way inspires us to use the little time we have wisely.

When we use our time wisely, we can be confident our days will be meaningful.

There is nothing wrong with playing or relaxing or having fun when you know your actions are pleasing to God. However, there is something to be said for wasting time or over committing our free time. We know when there are better ways to use the hours in a day and when we aren’t being good stewards of our time, our hearts always seem to let us know.

It’s easy to ask God for what we want while putting little time into reflecting on what He has already given us, or considering what we can give back to Him. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Whether it’s time, money, food, or other resources, stewardship is not only about accepting personal responsibility for taking care of something entrusted to you, but having a cheerful attitude about it. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7).

When I look back at my time at the consulting firm I am glad I had the experience of tracking my time so exactly. It taught me a lot about how easy it is to waste time, and also showed me I didn’t use my minutes as productively as I thought. It was a humbling experience. This month I challenge you to look critically at how you use your time. Sure, logging every second of every day is extreme but if you were to track your time—even for a day or two—you might be surprised by your spending habits.

Free mp3 God has called each of us to our work, whether or not it’s in ministry. Do you agree with this statement?

What about this one? How you do your job says more about your relationship with Christ than how you worship on the Lord’s Day. Many of us draw an invisible line between the sacred and the secular, reserving work for the week and worship for Sunday. In his message, Honouring God in Our Occupations, Chuck Swindoll draws some important and relevant principles from Ephesians 6, which will change the way you look at your job.

If you ever catch yourself feeling like your job isn’t significant, or that only pastors or missionaries can do meaningful work, this is a message for you.

Download April’s free mp3 today at lifetrac.ca

“Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it And give according to what you have, not what you

eagerly.

don’t have.”

2 Corinthians 8:12 NLT

Investing in Eternity

Are you looking for something worthwhile to invest in? When you make sacrifices for others and go the second mile you’re investing in people and eternity.

Subscribe or listen free online at lifetrac.ca

Robyn Roste is the LifeTrac coordinator at IFLC.

April Featured Resources Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter

Insights on 2 Peter: Conquering Through Conflict 10 CD messages

$28.00 reg $40.00

Second Peter is a power-packed letter of warning against moral corruption, doctrinal compromise, and false prophecy. Peter reminds believers that those whose faith rests in the Lord will not only survive, they will be victorious.

hardcover, 336 pages

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Creating A Legacy

Doing Right When You’ve Been Done Wrong

5 CD messages + workbook

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Look to God’s Word to discover where you came from, how to overcome the obstacles that you face today, and what to do about tomorrow. Join this journey to learn more about how your life can become a legacy for the benefit of those who follow you.

This volume offers insight into some of the most pressing and significant issues for Christians, including how to ensure you have a vibrant faith and how to persevere in the midst of hard times.

single CD message

$6.00 reg $8.00

In the closing 13 verses of Romans 12, Paul addresses how to respond correctly to wrongdoing.

Retaliation remains one of our favourite carnal sports. But there’s a supernatural alternative to our natural reaction.

This Month’s Gift You and Your Money

Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance

paperback, 100 pages

fir st co py

FREE! additional copies:

$9.00 reg $12.00

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Plenty of books answer questions about budgets and stock portfolios, but this Insight for Living LifeMaps book addresses the heart.

It will remind you of money’s true place in your life—that God owns it, because God owns everything.

hardcover, 371 pages

$13.50 reg $18.00

Chuck Swindoll guides you through the fog of confusion, anger, and blame you feel in the midst of suffering.

This study of Job is a reminder that while suffering can’t always be understood, God is always in control.

April Featured Resources

$36.75 reg $49.00

$13.30 reg $19.00

Making Life Rich Without Money Set

2011 Easter Messages

NEW! 210 page paperback, 13-lesson small group DVD, and hardcover coffee table book

3 CD messages

Phil Callaway shares fascinating characteristics of truly rich people that have nothing to do with money. (To purchase individually, order online or by phone).

Christ has died and is risen! This is the foundation of every hope and truth about Jesus Christ. These stirring messages follow the Easter account from the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His resurrection.

Overcoming Anxiety

Paws & Tales, Season 3

booklet, 30 pages

16 episodes on CD, 30 minutes per episode

Break the choke hold of anxiety! Chuck leads you back to God—the only One who can free you and allow peace to breathe into your life once again.

$3.75 reg $5.00

$26.25 reg $35.00

Join C.J., Staci, Ned, and Gooz for 16 exciting adventures! Learn about purity, mercy, forgiveness, God’s will, truth, and more. Episodes include Shadow Valley, The Story of Saul, and A Cage Called Freedom.

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Moment of Insight

Renewal and restoration

are not luxuries; they are essentials.

Being alone and resting for a while is not selfish; it is Christlike.

Taking your day off each week or rewarding yourself with a relaxing, refreshing vacation is not carnal; it’s spiritual.

There is absolutely nothing enviable or spiritual about a coronary or a nervous breakdown, nor is an ultrabusy schedule necessarily the mark of a productive life.

Swindoll, Charles R. The Quest for Character. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982 (48-49).

AND

Lifelines

Cost Worth

by Charles R. Swindoll

“H

ow much does it cost?” “What’s it ues by the things he or she purchases. Or, worth?” These two questions may to use the words of Jesus: “For where your sound alike, but they are different. Very treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). different.

So next time you ask, “How much does it “Cost” is the amount of money it takes to complete a purchase . . . the bill, the tab, cost?” think also about “What’s it worth?” the monetary expense required to accom- This is especially true when we are decidplish a financial transaction. “Worth” is ing how to spend the money God’s people the usefulness of the object . . . the benefit, have given for the upkeep and ministry value, and importance of the thing pur- of the Church. While our stewardship chased. It is the long-lasting return we de- should guard against extravagance, we rive from the item. Justification for paying certainly do not want to clothe the riches a certain cost is usually determined on the of Christ in rags.

Think about Sundays—your church basis of the personal worth that accompalife and the motivation you receive. Think nies the purchase.

One other distinction must be empha- about your children and their future. And sized. “Cost” is cold, objective, and even their children’s future. Think about your painful. It is not necessarily easy to accept. neighbourhood—unreached individuals That’s where “worth” plays a vital role. In by the hundreds. Think about the possibiliour minds we juggle the unemotional, hard ties of radio or television outreach, perhaps facts of cost along with the subjective, mag- a Christian school, enlarged missionary netic appeals of worth. Worth, when it does outreaches, room to grow, room to park! its job, convinces the buyer that either the What’s it worth?

Deciding whether something is worth cost is acceptable, or it says, “Don’t do it . . . the cost requires intense, effective, prevailit isn’t worth that kind of money.”

The difference between handling our ing prayer, as well as the hard work of obmoney wisely or foolishly is largely deter- jective thinking. And then it requires courmined by the interplay between these two age to act on God’s clear direction.

Ministries that stay alive are forever forces. Obviously, we have spent wisely when the cost is eclipsed by the worth. moving forward—walking along the ridge Again, that must be determined individu- called “faith” overlooking that chasm called ally. That is why, in the long run, we can “impossibility.” usually determine a person’s scale of valSwindoll, Charles R. Day by Day with Charles Swindoll. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000 (310).

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Strong Family

Hope Beyond Failure

by Charles R. Swindoll

Rarely will one of God’s heroes show up in the Scriptures having lived a life free of failure.

Take Peter, for example. As soon as you read the name, you remember his story. Peter experienced the extreme highs and lows of life— from days spent in blessed fellowship with Christ . . . to the heartwrenching erosion of loyalty when he denied the Lord. Not once.

Not twice. Three times. Once he realized his failure, the Bible says, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62).

Can you remember a failure that was so dramatic and so tearful for you that you hardly need to be reminded of the feelings? I remember Betsie ten Boom’s words, “There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still.” As dark and as deep and as tragic as your failure may be, He is willing to go to the depths of it with you.

This was true of Peter too. Look back at Luke 22. After the surprising warning of Satan’s attack, Jesus gave Peter a statement of fact: “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” Then there was a veiled reassurance: “And you, when once you have turned again . . .”

Then a final command: “Strengthen your brothers” (22:32).

What does that suggest? It suggests that Peter was going to fall.

“Once you have turned again.” “Retraced your steps” is another way someone else has put it. “Once you have turned again,” Jesus said, “then use it to strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew Peter to the core.

He knew Peter would fall, but He prayed for him that he would not remain fallen. Jesus loved Peter—even at his point of deepest weakness.

How did He prove that love? Mark 16:6-7 answers that question.

After the Resurrection, while the women were standing at the tomb, an angel told them: 15 17

Comment on this article

“Can you remember a failure that was so dramatic and so tearful for you that you hardly need to be reminded of the feelings?”

“Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified.

He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter.” (emphasis added) Isn’t that great? “Don’t forget Peter. He’s the last one who thinks that I’ll ever want to talk to him again. Tell Peter!” What grace!

Somewhere between the time Peter fell and this angelic announcement there was a process during which Peter wallowed in remorse, wishing he could, if possible, correct his error . . . but he couldn’t. And somewhere in the midst of it he heard the Lord say to him, “Peter, I forgive you. I understand. Use it to strengthen your brothers.”

That’s why Peter later was able to write the following words to early Christians: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born

again to a living hope through the resurrection. (1 Peter 1:2-3, emphasis added) Why did this mean so much to Peter?

Because it was at the Resurrection Peter’s name was called, and the Lord in tender mercy said, “Tell him I’ve come back.”

First Peter is a letter of great hope written by a man who experienced it! By the time he wrote this letter, Peter had come to the place where he was not only back on the scene; he was aggressively engaged in the formation of the early church.

It can happen to you too. Just like fallen and forgiven Peter, you can find new hope despite your failures. If you are a believer, you are born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).

What tender mercy! What triumphant grace! Failure is not forever. God specializes in forgiveness and hope. He can use even your worst failures in a mighty way.

Taken from Swindoll, Charles R. “Hope beyond Failure,” Insights (August 2002).

This Month’s Gift

You and Your Money paperback, 100 pages

Plenty of books answer questions about budgets and stock portfolios, but this Insight for Living LifeMaps book addresses the heart. It will remind you of money’s true place in your life—that God owns it, because God owns everything. (see centrefold for ordering information) 18 16

Laughing Matters

by Phil Callaway

19 17

F

or six years, an Indiana couple made it their habit to look on the ground everywhere they went. They whacked their heads on a few tree branches, but the habit paid off. “We now have $400 in a container,” they told a reporter. Craig Davidson of Phoenix has them beat. He has found $5,170 while jogging. His wife verifies the claim.

“Craig runs a lot more than the average jogger,” she said. Perhaps he will spend some of the money on a treadmill.

When I was about five, I found a quarter on a sidewalk one morning (probably made more than my dad that day!), and before rushing to the candy store, I ran home to show it to my mother. “I’m gonna look for money everywhere I go now,” I told her, gasping for breath. My wise old mother sat me down and told me a story about a man who found a $5 bill in a gutter and spent the rest of his life looking for more. According to my mother, he never saw the trees. He never saw the flowers. He never saw the birds. In fact, he missed a hundred rainbows and a thousand sunsets. All he saw was gutters. “I hope you enjoy that candy, Philip,” she said, “but remember...always look a little higher.”

Here are stories of friends of mine who have learned that looking a little higher helps us find the things money can and cannot buy.

“A few years ago our church sent a container of clothes to the Ukraine. We had a hundred dollars that we wanted to spend, so we found a store that would give us a good deal on a hundred dollars worth of wool work socks. Giving money away has made my life richer.”

“Five years ago my husband and I had 11 credit cards and a debt of $100,000.

Today we are debt-free. For us the steps to financial freedom were simple but not always easy. First we quit spending more than we were making. Then we had a melt-down-our-plastic party. Then we paid God first (about 15 per cent), paid ourselves next (putting away 10 per cent each month), and paid the bills with what was left. We’ve had to downsize our dreams a little, but the nightmares have gone away. We’ve even had enough to give to some needy friends. Our lives are richer far because of it.”

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“We’re moving across town to the wrong side of the tracks this week. We’re venturing into the Somali slums here in Nairobi. These past two years our lives have been richer because of these refugees. We have fed, clothed, and prayed with people who suffer daily more than I ever thought possible. In the discovery that life is harder than I’d ever imagined, I have also discovered that God is bigger and better than I’d ever imagined. We left a comfortable home in North America to offer the hope of eternity to suffering people. This has made our lives rich indeed.”

“A year ago we decided to quit eating out so much and use the money to support a needy child. We keep her picture in our dining room and pray for her almost every night. Our daughters write her letters and consider her a part of our extended family.

It’s tough not to feel rich when you’re giving money away.”

JUST RELEASED! Following the theme of his popular book, Making Life Rich Without Money, Phil Callaway has just released a 13 part small group study DVD and hardcover gift book. (see centrefold for ordering information) “I noticed the other day that a widow in our town is working two jobs to make ends meet. I’m able to make some extra money, so we’ve started sending her what we can. She doesn’t know about it, but our kids sure do. Often when they see some money come in, the kids want to know, “Can we give it away?”

“After many years of climbing the corporate ladder my marriage was failing. Then the company I had given so much to went bankrupt. To thank me for my years of dedication, they even bounced my last two paycheques. I’ve never been one to run from a challenge, so I decided to rebuild my home with God’s help—one day at a time. My wife and I just celebrated our 23rd anniversary. Our son gave me a card thanking me for being his father and showing him how to be a man. In that moment all the effort was worth it. Without love there are only houses. Without my family I would have no home.

I’m the richest man alive when I’m just Dad.” Adapted from “What Money Can Buy.” Callaway, Phil. Making Life Rich Without Any Money. Eugene: Harvest House, 1998 (179-184).

Phil Callaway is an author and speaker.

Visit him at www.laughagain.org

Comment on this article

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April 1-30

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ordered ONLINE

(series study guides included where applicable) * Sale does not include DVDs, music CDs, Paws & Tales, or other products.

English products only.

Visit insightforliving.ca/sale today!

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Surrendered

to Grace

by Ben Lowell

J

ackson Bennett—now there’s a name of character and strength! Actually I’m a bit biased because it’s the name of my first grandchild born only weeks ago. His name “Jack” means “God is gracious,” and He is. Since the day Jack was born I have experienced samplings of God’s grace as I held his hand, tickled his little feet, and peered into his deep blue eyes. Now as a grandfather I marvel at this work of grace.

But, I am also convicted by a deep sense of responsibility. God’s grace always calls me to respond. The gifts he so graciously offers are free but they call me to respond. How can one respond to such profound love?

Each of us needs to consider how we ought to respond to God’s constant provision. It may be a response to a life like Jack’s that has entered your family. It may be a response to God’s blessing of unique gifts and talents and the very practical material resources that He has provided. It may even be in response to the opportunities He opens before you.

When Jack was born I realized this was a time in life to surrender myself to be a godly influence in his life, to pour into him the love that has been given to me, and to set myself aside for his well-being.

Our response to living for God means daily surrender. Every morning we pray, surrendering the ministry of Insight for Living Canada back to God. God has blessed this ministry and our surrender of it acknowledges His ownership. We are privileged to observe lives transformed, hope renewed, and new life emerge through a deeper, personal understanding of God’s love.

Surrender doesn’t come easy but only in surrender do we experience all that God would provide. It’s all about a faith adventure, and my adventure is taking me beyond the ministry of Insight for Living Canada.

Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made my 10 years as executive director a time of incredible blessing. Never would have I imagined God’s plan or path, but His faithfulness makes this surrender possible. My heart will always revolve around the mission of Insight—“Bringing the Truth of God’s Word to Life.” I know it has been our common passion that has led this ministry into even greater things than we might have imagined. And it will be your continued support that will glorify God and extend the effectiveness of this mission for years to come.

Here’s to surrender.

Just a final thought…

Ben Lowell served as the executive director of IFLC from 2000 to 2011

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