Everyday Discernment: The Importance of Spirit-led Decision Making – Day 6

Ever felt the tug or stress on your life when it comes to your finances? Ever heard that the love of money is the root of all evil? Not having, using, or giving money but the love of money is the root of all evil! So when you are faced with stress or contention when it comes to your finances, what do you do? how do you respond? how do you know the right thing to do? Do you turn to God and seek wisdom and discernment? Well, today’s devotional from Tim Ferrara will speak to “Discernment with Finances“.

Life demands we make critical choices, but how can you do so effectively? Your ability to discern can make all the difference in what your future looks like. As you read, you will discover how to measure what you are taught against the truth of God’s Word, how to develop a life-giving connection with God, and the path to finding clear direction from the Holy Spirit.

Everyday Discernment: The Importance of Spirit-led Decision Making | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

As I reflect on God’s Word from today’s devotional, I realize that some people may wonder why I do that. Why do I put the scripture for the devotional first? Why do I separate it and put it first? Well, it’s because I believe the Word of God is powerful and alive and is able to speak to us right where we are even before we get to the devotional content and how important it is to get rooted in God’s Word! God’s Word is active and alive and can meet us right where we are at! God’s Word never returns void! God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and so why not get started there so that the darkness will have to flee?

Let’s be the dads who realize that everything belongs to God! Let’s be the dads who realize that every good and perfect gift we receive comes from God! Let’s be the dads who realize that since everything belongs to God, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of everything we have! Let’s be the dads who realize that since everything belongs to God, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of our wives, our kids, and our relationships with others! Let’s be the dads who choose to serve God as our Lord and Master! Let’s be the dads who choose to love God! Let’s be the dads who choose to devote themselves to God! Let’s be the dads who choose to serve God! Let’s be the dads who realize that how we live our lives is a matter of the heart! Let’s remember how God is looking at our hearts not at what others can see on the outside! Let’s be the dads who remember that from the overflow of our hearts the mouth speaks and so much more of what comes out of us is because of the state of our hearts! Let’s be the dads who decide how generous we will be, not out of compulsion or persuasion, but from the overflow of our hearts! Let’s be the dads who are cheerful when we are being generous, not burdened or weighed down! Let’s be the dads who are hilarious when we choose to give because our hearts are overflowing that much!

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Helping you make better decisions that honor God (discerning-dad.com)

Reading through today’s devotional, here are some takeaways for me: (check out the devotional on your own too to see if you pick up other nuggets, and please share your findings in the comments)

For more information, please visit: https://discerning-dad.com

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Discernment with Finances“

• Let’s be the dads who work as unto the Lord and as such when we work hard, we are doing it to glorify Him!
• Let’s be the dads who work hard, unto the Lord, and accept our pay as His offering to us so that we can be good stewards of it for His glory!
• Let’s be the dads who work hard as managers for God’s purposes, who work hard and manage the resources we are given for God’s purposes!
• Let’s be the dads who keep an eternal focus on how we are choosing to live our lives!
• Let’s be the dads who grab onto the reality we found in the scripture from Psalm 24:1 and so allow God to help us with our money-making decisions as stewards and servants of God most high for He has entrusted us with these finances for our good and His glory!
• Let’s be the dads who are loyal to God!
• Let’s be the dads who serve only Him because we know from Matthew 6:24 that we can’t serve two masters!
• Let’s be the dads who have Jesus as our main focus!
• Let’s be the dads who focus on Jesus so that money won’t distract or derail us from His plans, purposes, and priorities for our lives!
• Let’s be the dads who pursue Jesus rather than the accumulation of wealth and possessions!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that there is more value (wealth and happiness) in knowing Jesus, in knowing we serve Him, and in our attitudes than the amount of money and possessions we have (not dollars in a bank account)!
• Let’s be the dads who check our hearts and attitudes!
• Let’s be the dads who “use discernment in our motivations with giving“!
• Let’s be the dads who realize it’s not a comparison game between how much money we give compared to someone else, it’s a matter of our hearts and attitudes and our desire to glorify God and be cheerful givers!
• Today’s devotional uses this example to help us check ourselves:
  • “If we curse under our breath as we give because “our spouses are making us,” for example, we are missing the entire point. Our love for God should overflow in us to the point that we gladly give in abundance to the needs of the church, to the needs of our neighbors in our community and abroad.“
• Today’s devotional closes with the following thought and challenge for us to consider:
  • “If we rely on ourselves or “things” to drive us, we will never find contentment. A part of having discernment with our finances is understanding our needs vs. our wants and, ultimately, letting God be in control of our money. We need to control our lust, longing, and desires for what we don’t have, cannot obtain, or cannot afford. Our strength, hope, and true riches are found in Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2).“
  • “Does God have your heart when it comes to finances?  How do you ensure that the love of money does not overtake you?“