Wheaton Bible Church

I am humbled that the director of finance at my new home church (Wheaton Bible Church) felt led to write an article featuring excerpts from More Than The Gift. The article will appear in the Summer edition of the church magazine. In addition, in June I will teach a 3-week series from "More Than The Gift" to one of the adult community classes.

Please join me in prayer that God prepare the message, the messenger and the soil of the hearts of His people so that the seeds planted will bear fruit that blesses His kingdom and bring Him glory.

His message continues to advance bit by bit. Matt.13:33 The kingdom of God is like yeast....

Praise Report - Book Signing

Thank you for your prayers. God's presence was evident during the book signing. Hearts were stirred, books were sold and God was glorified. The agent for the other author even asked if I would join them at their future events. I believe we are entering a new season for the ministry. I expect new doors to open, but please pray that I exhibit spiritual discernment to distinguish between the call of God and the call of man. This is about Him not me.

Internet Bible Study - May 2011 - Giving That Gets God's Attention

The Biblical account of a widow’s offertory gift of two mites is examined from the perspective of its proportional magnitude. Readers survey several Biblical accounts where individuals were willing to render their all. The decision to surrender all to the Lord always gets His attention and such giving is memorialized in scriptures.

Reference Scripture:

Mark 12:41 – 44 (widow’s mite)

Supporting Scriptures:

Genesis 22:11 – 18 (Abraham… you have not withheld from me your son)

Romans 8:31 – 32 (He who did not spare His own son)

Philippians 2: 3 – 8 (He humbled himself and became obedient to death)

Click on the link to the Internet Bible Study (located in he right margin of this blog) to review the full text of the lesson.

Don't study alone. This is the worldwide web. Invite a family member, friend, someone from another state or another country to join you.

Ask questions! Make comments! Let's create a worldwide conversation.

Book Signing - May 12, 2011

Inner-City Underwriting Agency is hosting a joint book signing at its office on May 12, 2011. The event will feature the Christian writings of two of the firm's constituents (Dr. Jennifer Moore and myself). I want to thank the firm's president, Matthew Cooper, for his hospitality and faith in the message God is sharing through us. Please pray for God's presence and blessing during the event.

Monday's Meditation - May 2, 2011 - Our Preparation For Our Inheritence

A new podcast has been published to the More Than The Gift website and iTunes Store:

Our Preparation For Our Inheritance

When our twin sons were infants, my wife and I researched investment options to save funds for their future. One very interesting option was a gift trust managed by a prominent investment firm. This investment had a remarkable track of performance. It had increased in value by more than 20% for each of the preceding 10 years. However, there was one characteristic of the trust that concerned us. It was an irrevocable trust, which required that any contributions we made become the permanent property of the trust for the benefit of our sons. We could put money in but we couldn’t decide later to take it out. At the predetermined time the trust would be available for our sons to use as they wished. We could not decide to withhold the funds if they made poor choices. That was a very scary thought because in spite of our love for our sons, we knew it was impossible to predict whether our infant sons would become wise stewards as adults. We had no desire to pre-fund unwise choices they might choose to make later. Prudence suggested that we invest the funds in a manner where we would retain control over their distribution. So, we chose not to commit substantial treasure to our sons’ ownership prior to their developing and demonstrating the judgment to handle it. However, we simultaneously committed to using a weekly allowance to help them acquire and demonstrate that judgment. While their allowance was small, it seemed big to them. It gave them the opportunity to acquire basic skills for handling wealth by practicing with a small amount. Handling their allowance was a foundational step in preparation for incremental increases in responsibility and eventually receipt of their inheritance. When I think about it, it becomes clear that God gives each of us opportunities for earthly stewardship to prepare us in very much the same way.

This podcast is a continuation the series of podcasts regarding the theme : "What Our Giving Accomplishes".

As always, I invite you to receive Monday’s Meditation as “food for thought “ for the week, then let it become “fuel for action” for the weekend and beyond.

The is audio podcast is available on my website: morethanthegift.net and the iTunes Store. Links are provided in the "Additional Resources" section of this blog.

After listening to the podcast in the iTunes Store, I encourage you to offer a review and to send an invitation to a friend or loved one to listen also.


Use this blog for your comments, questions and testimonies regarding the episode.



Keep praying with me!