Zebra Ministries

Nick's Choice

Good morning Zebras,

My son is a junior at Moody Bible Institute training to become a youth pastor.  This summer he is required to do an internship.

Two prospects floated to the top.  The first was a church in Illinois that was willing to pay $4,000 plus room and board for a youth ministry intern.  The second was paying your own way to minister somewhere outside of the United States.  He asked me my opinion.

Of course, the first thing I said was that he needed to pray.  I know God talks to Nick, I’ve seen it before, he just needs encouragement to trust what he hears.  The second thing I said was that money should not be the driver to do God’s work. 

Christians have an interesting relationship with money.  They know the Bible says:

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Followed by:

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

But they still act like they can negotiate a truce.

Years ago, I convinced Gary to quit putting money into savings and to just use what God gives us for His glory.  At the time the parable of the “rich fool” struck a little too close to home.

Luke 12:16–21 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”  

But it was God who convinced Gary to start taking it out.

Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I don’t know which door God will open for Nick but I’m praying it is the one that has the greatest potential of seeing “the fire of the Spirit” at work. 

Love,

Jill