Double Dog Dare Ya

                The first question I hear as I tell someone about my journey to Germany and the nations beyond is “where will you get the support?” I never really have given an answer that satisfies the one who asked it. I will tell them it will come from individual supporters and just the goodness of God. They say, “Oh, so like a church will support you.” I wish a church would have me as their missionary. What an opportunity to be talked about in a church. Your work and the mission God called you on are being announced in front of believers, who are in church for encouragement. I could be that encouragement. For now though I will have to be an encouragement to those who see me on the street.
                The money I have raised for this trip, so far, has been through the sweat on my back. I have worked from sun up to sun down, to bring home the bacon. I am not bragging on my accomplishments, I just want to share that with you. To show you that being called to be a missionary doesn’t mean that all your finances will be handed to you. I believe God has given everyone a creative mind and a will to work to survive. I also be God blesses those who put His tools to work. Like the parable of the three men who he had given ten sheckles to. For modern times sake lets just say He spotted these guys ten bucks.  I guess now days, ten dollars wont get farther than breakfast, so lets make it 1000 dollars. Now with this amount you can start to make money off of, if put in the right place. Jesus said ill be right back and then ill need my money back. So these men being ambitious went out and took advantage of the money they were lent.  The first man went out and bought some stocks and by the end of the week had double the amount. He got to keep what he earned and gave the original amount to Jesus. The next man went out and bought a old car, fixed it up and got one and a half times what Jesus gave him. He got to keep his earnings. The last guy took his money and stuffed it in an old boot and kept it there till Jesus came back. He gave Jesus all the money he had lent him. He expected Jesus to be pleased that he was still able to repay the full amount. However, Jesus was disappointed at the man’s complacency. He congratulated the other two men because of their responsibility and was happy with them. This showed me that God will provide me with resources, such as money or a job or a clever mind, and it is my job to go out and use them to support myself.
                I understand that living off “support” can be and is sometimes looked down upon. It seems like it is an easy way out. That I don’t have to work and I can go travel the world of other peoples hard earned money.  That is not how it is.

In the bible, it says to tithe ten percent of your income. Some people will take that literally, just for a specific numerical amount. Yet God simply asks for an amount you think you can live with out. God longs for our trust and He loves providing for us. He wants us to put our selves in a place of 100% reliance on Him. He challenges us to tithe, as a practical starting point to be in that place of 100% reliance.  It is up to us how much we give. There is no scale on what amount is the enough; just that it pushes us out of self-reliance and into Gods arms. A poor man could give his last quarter to God and that would mean just as much as if the rich man gave his whole paycheck to God. A funny challenge I was told once was to out give God. Like some one Double Dog Dared me to do that. What happened? He out gave me every time. He loves to win if you haven’t noticed, haha.  
If you believe God is calling you to tithe, and giving your money to a “church” is out of the question, then its time to get creative with where to invest your resources. Gods work on earth is not solely through churches. They do a great work in their community but its not the only place Gods work is. Here in Bozeman, there are a ton of Christian college groups that reach out to the students and city. For example I am involved with Snowboarders and Skiers for Christ. These guy do so much to minister to the community, they need support. Campus Crusade does the tons of work too. I could go on, but I just want to give examples of different avenues to give your tithe offering.

Break the norm, and give outside of the church. Find someone or some group to support next time you have enough for an offering. Change things up.