I was truly blessed in the 50 Days of Transformation series. God really spoke to me about the treasures that I had been storing up. And what I realized was that many of the treasures I had were self-centered not God-centered. After the study, I decided to deliberately pursue God more with my time and with my money, not because God needed my money, but because I needed to do it for me. I realized that the random things I was spending my money on was doing nothing to help the church worldwide. It was mostly serving me. I really wanted to get the focus off me and on to God in order to connect with him at a deeper level. I also wanted to spend my time pursuing Him. Reading his word on a much more consistent basis than I had in the previous year. Through my dedication in the last 6 months, I have seen huge blessings. This scripture actually came to mind from Deuteronomy 28:12 “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.” In 6 months of giving to God through my local church and through the Compassion ministry, God opened his bounty of blessings to me. He sent extra funds my way through the school district I work for. He sent extra work my way that provided extra income, and he blessed me with recognition in front of all my peers at our end of the school year celebration. I am still in awe of His faithfulness. I didn’t feel that I deserved any of the blessings that came my way, but what I realized is that when God makes a promise, He follows through. Every penny of money given to God in the 6 month time period was given back with more added. Through my simple act of faith, to give, God was able to show up in my life. If I would ignored the Holy Spirit prodding my heart, then I would have missed out seeing the power of God working in my life. I feel that is why we give to God whether it is our time, talents, or financial resources. It’s when we step out in faith, that God steps in. And that solidifies our relationship with Him. It makes it stronger. It makes it more exciting. My prayer for each of you is that you ponder what your true treasures are, and see if your heart is in the right place. I pray that you step out in faith, and let God step in. It may be through volunteering for a ministry at VCNP or through setting up an automatic payment from your checking account like I did. Whatever you decide, I know it will grow your faith, and that my friend is the greatest treasure of all.
Be Blessed,
Jessica
What a wonderful testimony.
Brian and I started giving to the Baptist church we were a part of when first married, and our testimony is the same. God is faithful!
I love what you said about us stepping out in faith to see God step in. What an encouraging word!