Being Faithful in Pennies and Seconds...

There's an old saying dealing with finances that you may have heard. God has placed in on my heart this week, and I want to share the thought with you. The sayings goes like this, "If you manage your pennies, your dollars will take care of themselves."

This is true with not only finances, but virtually every other area of discipline in your life. If you wisely manage your minutes, hours, and days, then your weeks, months, and years will have been spent well. If you eat unhealthy snacks and unhealthy meals, you'll have an unhealthy diet (and ultimately an unhealthy body!) Good books are good because of the good sentences and paragraphs. You see the pattern?

Did you know that the words disciple and discipline have the same roots? Contrary to popular belief, in the Bible we're never commanded to be "good people" or even "Christians," rather we are given the ultimate task of becoming and making disciples. One aspect of being a disciple is being disciplined. In fact, the goal we should all seek is to be as disciplined as Jesus!

Wow, what a lofty goal! Could we ever attain such a feat-to never sin (lie, cheat, steal, lust, covet, etc.), while always serving and loving others, worshipping and praying to God, showing forgiveness, mercy, grace, etc...and this is just the beginning of living like Jesus!

This is very intimidating for those of us who can barely without thinking or saying something wrong! How could anyone live the life of a disciple?

Let me first say, we'll never be fully sanctified (perfectly without sin, completely holy) until we leave this life and meet our God face to face. However, if we "manage our pennies" we will begin to see some big changes taking place in our lives.

The Bible says the following in Luke 16:10:

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much;
and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in
much."

There it is. I didn't say it, God did. If you're faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the big things. If you're unfaithful in the little things, you'll be unfaithful in the big things

The challenge: start doing something small, faithfully. Start giving a little more, you'll evolve into a really generous person. Start praying a little longer, you'll become a mighty prayer warrior. Share an encouraging verse with a family member or friend...you might become a preacher! :)

You get the point. For all those reading this blog, let's do a little something more-let's do it faithfully-and let's see what the God-results are.

On the Journey Together,

Justin Winstead