take my life Lord but not my money...

I’ll give you anything Lord; take my life…but not my money…
Like what I’ve written on my previous blog even in my facebooking
I want God to be glorified, in EVERY DEPARTMENT of
my life I want God to reign not me. I want him to take fully control
over my life. That’s basically what I’ve been praying for.

Someone told me this “don’t talk about laying down your life
for God if you can’t and need to think twice before laying
down your money for God sake”
For me it was a funny statement but it has powerful truth in it.
Few years back I do have problem in handling my money though
I’ve given what I ought to give to God but in my part I’m just
miserable, years gone by I can see the Holy Spirit has taught me
so much and I can see progress and though I’m still struggling but
I thank God that it didn’t get any worst. I’ve been asking the Holy
Spirit to give me self-control not to spend carelessly but with wisdom.

My sisters called me shopaholic , something that I didn’t take pride
in instead I’m embarrassed. We all still do have our own struggles in
our daily lives even after we became Christian and I acknowledge that
this habit can become worse without God’s intervention.
We all notice that the world system is corrupt, everyday they
advertise and encourage you to spend more and more
“shop ‘till you drop” that’s what the world always says…

Recently I was reading the book called the power of prayer by
R.A Torrey, and the author touched on the subject of generosity…
here’s what he wrote,

Many professing Christian men, every year of their lives,
spend more on the unnecessary, not to say filthy and
unwholesome, tobacco habit than they do upon sending
the Gospel to the perishing in China, India, Africa, and
elsewhere. Yet they wonder why God does not answer
their prayers. Many men in our churches today,
if you ask them for 100$ for foreign missions, would
almost faint away, and yet they spend more than fifty
cents a day on cigars, and fifty cents a day would add
up to more than $100 in a year… and never dream of giving
the same a mount to foreign missions.
Yet they wonder why God does not answer
their prayers.

At a great world missionary meeting in Rochester some
years ago, an enthusiastic missionary advocate stretched out
her hands to the audience in a pathetic appeal and said,
“sisters, we must have money for foreign missions.”
Yet as she said it, more than $7000 worth of diamonds
flashed her fingers. Yet we wonder why God does not answers
our prayers. Oh, there is no wonder at all about it;
the explanation is simple. It is found in the word of God;
it is because of our stinginess, the smallness of our
giving. Doesn’t God say it in His word, and is He not
thundering it in our ears right now:

Proverbs 21:13
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
he also shall cry himself,
but shall not be heard.


After reading the book I open my bible and the Lord spoke to me
clearly thru His word. It really stirs my heart; I do not want to be
a listener only I want to be a doer, to do what pleases God’s heart.
Suddenly the Lord reminded me of my pledge. I remember
I promised one of God’s servants that I will pledge to help their
church building; I really do have the desire to help this specific
church. Months went by and I forgot about it until that night…
in the other hand I also do not have the amount that the Lord spoke in
my heart. So I pray, for few days I pray and pray and believe by faith,
put into practice what I’ve learned. I do not know where or how or
when the money will come but deep within my heart I heard a voice
saying the money will soon come. True to His word, few weeks later
someone gave me amount of money so I set it aside for the pastor,
though I admit I was tempted to use the money for my own pleasure
but I remember God’s word

1 John 3:16-19
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life
for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our
brothers and sisters. If someone has enough
money to live well and sees a brother or
sister in need but shows no compassion—
how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other;
let us show the truth by our actions.
Our actions will show that we belong to the truth,
so we will be confident
when we stand before God.

Amazingly the day I sent the money over to them and even
after it I felt joy… I thought I would feel miserable. hahaha.. But it
turned out that I felt happy inside of me, knowing that I have
obeyed God’s word by faith with the help of His Holy Spirit.
I’m glad that the Lord gave me this opportunity to bless
others who are in need.

For me it’s not about the money actually, not about the amount,
it’s not about what I’m going to get in return; it’s about the
condition of my heart. How far am I willing to give it all for Christ?
I remember the story about a widow who came to the temple
and gave her offering while Jesus watched with his disciples,
though the Pharisees gave larger amount than the women
but surprisingly Jesus was pleased by the women’s offering.
Little that she had but she gave it all for the One who sees her heart.

Mark 12:41-43

How can we say we give our life for God when we are
holding back our money, our wealth, our family, loved ones,
our daily life and our future?

I know for sure that the pastor needed the money more
than me, whether the pastor will use it for their church building
or for mission, one thing for sure it will be for the expansion of
the kingdom of God and His glory.


Luke 6:38-39
Give, and you will receive.
Your gift will return to you in full—
pressed down, shaken together to make room for more,
running over, and poured into your lap.
The amount you give will determine
the amount you get back.”

This is not the end for me, this is just the beginning,
i want to abound in good works. Whenever the Lord speaks in
the future I want to be a blessing not just in words but also through
my action. Every time I give what is mine to others in need,
I felt that I have crucified my flesh and carnal desire and through
this process I can see God being glorified. Only when I crucified
myself will I taste true freedom and joy that I found in Christ Jesus.