Deuteronomy 26:2and 10 tell us plainly what our financial priority is to be. It says, “You shall take some first fruits of the various products of the soil which you harvest from the land the LORD, your God, is giving you; put them in a basket and go to the place which the LORD, your God, will choose as the dwelling place for his name. Now, therefore, I have brought the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, LORD, have given me.” You shall set them before the LORD, your God, and you shall bow down before the LORD, your God.

There it is – God first. We are to give to God from the first fruits of what He gives to us.

No misconstruing that one. We are to acknowledge that everything comes from God. And in humility and gratitude, we give back to God from our first fruits.

Is God first in your life? In every area of your life? If I looked at your check book would I see evidence of that?

Give to God the first fruits of your income.

Give to God because It’s Not Your Money.

#GodFirst #FirstFruits

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Hello and welcome to another podcast of It’s Not Your Money: Finding the Peace of Putting God First. The message of It’s Not Your Money is to help you connect your faith-life with your financial life. The first step in that journey is to trust God. You can trust God to provide.

On the last podcast I talked of how when I finally took that step of faith and trusted God enough to start giving courageously, that my life changed for the good. Stressing about money melted away.

That is absolutely true, but I have a confession to make: it didn’t all happen at once. It was more of a progression of steps over time. Let me share with you how that progression went.

The first steps happened when I was in my mid-thirties. Up to that point, I was all about building my career, my family, and my lifestyle. Sure, We went to Mass, I taught CCD, and when the collection basket came by I put some money in. I was doing all I was supposed to be doing – or so I thought.

Remember last cast I mentioned my friend’s testimony on a Stewardship Sunday that nudged me to be more intentional about my giving. I went from giving haphazardly whatever cash was in my pocket – and I never carried too much cash – to writing checks, most weeks, to giving online.

The biggest step came about 15 years ago. Father’s homily challenged us to think about what we are giving in return for all of God’s blessings. I felt a prompting by the Holy Spirit to increase giving by $15 per week. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it was that nudge that gave me pause. I wasn’t sure I could afford that on top of everything else. You can read the details of that account in the book, but suffice it to say that it came down to trust. Did I trust God to provide, or not.

By the grace of God, I gathered my courage, stepped out in faith, and increased our giving. And what happened???       Nothing happened. We didn’t miss any meals. All the bills got paid. But what really happened was I gained a sense of peace I can not explain. That was the “a-ha” moment for me. That was when I learned that I truly can trust God to provide.

Trust God to provide in your life. Put Him first in every area of your life, including and especially with money. Take the step of faith like I did and see if you, too, don’t begin to realize the sense of peace and happiness you truly want.

Please share this podcast with your family and friends. And please like my FB page. And please get copies of the book to share. Get those at the website itsnotyourmoney.org

Thank you for listening. Till next time, Be Well.

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To cut off hands and feet and pluck out eyes – as we read about in Mark 9 – sounds extreme. But, think about it in terms of how you spend money pursuing the seemingly innocent little pleasures in life. Let’s consider a few:

Do you go get a cappuccino everyday?
Do you shop for yet another pair of jeans or shoes?
Do you subscribe to a bunch of premium music and movie channels?
Cut them out.

Could spending this way be a hidden obstacle that keeps you from being a better steward? What more could you do for God if you redirected this spending to help the poor?

Give because you are blessed.

Give because It’s Not Your Money

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How do you react to the person begging on the street? That’s always been a tough one for me. I generally don’t give to the people on the street who ask of me. In high-and-mighty righteousness, I tell them of the shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries nearby.

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:30 to give to everyone who asks. I need to change my attitude. I need to give directly to the poor and vulnerable, and not just to the food pantry. I need to give because It’s Not My Money!

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The message of It’s Not Your Money is one of stewardship which is discipleship – how we live our lives everyday. It starts with the mindset that God provides. Everything we have and all that we are comes from Him. When we embrace this truth, then how else can we respond but in overwhelming gratefulness and all humility, give all praise and glory to God our Father, and go deeper into discipleship!

On the last podcast I wondered what our world would be like if we all responded to God this way – do what He calls us to do and give what He calls us to give. We would change the world! God calls us to be detached from worldly goods and material comforts. He calls us to be obedient to His word and give courageously. But I think the first thing God calls us to do is to trust Him.

Trust that He knows you. He created you and He loves you. He knows your strengths and your weaknesses. He knows what you think about. He knows your talents and abilities, what you’re good at and what you’re interested in. He knows what you’re proud of and what you’re ashamed of. And He loves you anyway. Trust that He loves you and that He will provide for you. He has your best interest at heart. God will provide.

My story is one of God nudging me to go deeper into discipleship, in my faith and trust in Him so much that I would respond with courageous generosity. Trusting God changed my attitude about money and changed my heart to make me want to obey what He says in the Bible. Some sources say there are over 2500 verses in the Bible that address money and possessions – more than any other topic. I count 321 of them just on giving courageously.

I knew a lot of these verses from my time as a protestant. But it was a witness talk at Mass given by a friend on a Stewardship Sunday that tweaked my heart to heed those verses and start giving what He commands us to give. When I finally took that step of faith and began to tithe, my life changed for the good. Stressing about money melted away. I began to realize a sense of peace. You can read more about that in the book It’s Not Your Money. Get a copy at the website itsnotyourmoney.org.

God wants you to have His peace. The world’s way to peace and happiness is fleeting. Trust God. Put Him first with your money – It’s not your money anyway – and see if in that you don’t begin to have a sense of peace.

Listen – How you handle money is a direct reflection of how much you trust God. It reflects how intimate your relationship is with Him.

Please share this podcast with your family and friends and let’s go change the world.

Till next time, Be Well!

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