I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We really do have so much to be thankful for. A grateful heart is victorious over the challenges of daily life.

Many of us have used a business card we produced to bless others. The card says “This Meal’s on Us! It’s just our way of saying “God loves you…no strings attached.” On the back it has information about Pantano Christian Church. Folks will buy a meal at a restaurant for another table or pay for a meal for the car behind them at a drive-thru. They give the server the card to give to the person they bought the meal for and pray a prayer of blessing for the person or family. It’s a simple way to bless others.

You might have seen the wonderful movie called Pay it Forward (2000). It’s about a boy who wanted to change the world by having folks pay a favor forward (not just paying a favor back). Recently we had our own pay if forward experience. I got this letter in the mail:

Dear Pastor Elliott;

You can probably imagine our surprise about a week ago, when we pulled up to pay for our meal at the Taco Bell drive-in window and saw no amount showing on the digital sign. I asked the young woman at the window “How much do I owe you?” She answered: “You don’t owe anything … Your meal’s been paid for by the lady in the car in front of you.” “But why?” I asked. She smiled and handed us your lovely card … “She left this for you”, she said. I read it, and thanked her and pulled away. It was then that tears welled up in my eyes. It hadn’t been a particularly easy day health-wise for my husband. In fact, both of us have had serious health issues of late, and your kindness became overwhelming to me!

We thought we’ve got to do something in return. And so, Pastor, we are donating the amount of our meal, plus enough to fill holiday boxes for three families at the Community Food Bank. This donation is being made in the name of the Pantano Christian Church. We, too, are Christians, and we too just want to spread God’s love around a bit. We never know how many concentric circles we will make when we throw a pebble into the pond, do we? Thank you.

Yours sincerely in Christ; (name left off intentionally).

I hope whoever bought that meal might know that they made a difference. Every day we have tons of ways we can make a difference in other’s lives. We’ll have more of the “This Meal’s On Us!” cards available in the lobby of the auditorium over the next few weeks. Pick up a few and make a difference.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

Through the financial crisis I’ve been listening to the economic experts. I find them coming to similar conclusions. “Get out of debt.” “Live within your means.” These are principles God has given us and now, in recession and financial crisis, they are again popular!

My wife and I have been following 5 godly financial principles for most of our married life. They are biblical. What I continue to learn that is that God’s ways really do lead us to blessing, peace, contentment and financial freedom (not necessarily wealth though). Following these principles has brought me to a place where I am not afraid of or anxious about the economic downturns and storms. While I’m not rich by American standards, I find myself in a place of worry free peace. Financial freedom is a tool that allows me to follow Jesus well.

I shared these principles in my message last weekend, but I want to repeat them and encourage you to consider living by them. They are tried and true.

1. God is the owner of everything. We gave ownership of our lives to Jesus. God then asks that we manage his resources (”Our” time, talents and treasures) for his purposes. (Lk. 14:33; Rom 1:6; 7:4)
2. Live within your means. Spend less than you make in order to save. That means having a budget. Know what you make and don’t spend more than you have. But it means being content with what you have. (Pr. 21:5; 30:7-9; Lk. 3:14; Phil. 4:11, 13; 1 Tim. 6:6-8; Heb. 13:5)
3. Don’t go into debt or get out of debt and stay out. Debt is slavery. It limits our ability to be generous. It adds huge stress to life. (Pr. 22:7; Rom 13:8)
4. The only way to stay out of debt is to save. Stuff we really need does break down. A modest savings covers unexpected events. (Pr. 21:20)
5. Give generously. We are blessed to be a blessing. The greatest joy in life is being able to give to God and others. And when we are generous to the poor, the Bible says we are being generous to God. (Pr. 19:7; Mt. 10:8; Acts 20:35; 2 Cor. 9:6-11)

We practice these principles at our church. We never spend more than we collect. We live by a budget. We are trying to get out of our mortgage debt through Free and Clear. We won’t add debt. We have a modest savings for emergencies. We give generously. Last year as a church we gave away almost a half million dollars to missions, benevolence and needs outside our community of faith!

We have a number of resources (seminars, classes & one-on-one help) to help you discover and live by God’s financial principles. Check with the East Tucson or Sierra Vista campus to find out how you can get godly financial help.

Glen

Yep, I’m getting ads already encouraging me to buy gifts for Christmas. This Christmas I’m asking that we intentionally put the focus back on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. There are three things that can help us focus on Jesus - the reason for the season. I call this the Christmas Challenge and I’m asking that our entire church body join in making this the best Christmas ever.

Relax. Let’s not jam this season so full that we are not able to love and enjoy one another and become distracted from celebrating the real reason for the season. We have intentionally tried to clear the church calendar as much as we could during this month, to allow you to enjoy time with family and friends relaxing and reflecting.

Give Relational Gifts. I’m asking that all of us commit to not buying lots of stuff (that we forget about after Christmas anyway), but give relational gifts. Relational giving is the gift of self. It can be giving something we make or it could be giving of ourselves in special ways. Our staff put together a list of thoughts to give you some creative ideas (it will be on our web site soon). Let this Christmas reflect the giving of God - he didn’t send a store bought gift - he sent himself in Jesus. That’s the epitome of relational giving.

Make a Difference. With some of the money we save by not buying tons of store bought gifts we have the opportunity to make a difference for those in need. We have two basic ways you can do this.

1. Season of Giving. You can make a difference for a struggling family. At the East Tucson Campus you can adopt a family who has a parent in prison. This is called Angel Tree. Or you can adopt a family with needs that are not being addressed through existing social services. Aviva Children’s Services is our partner in connecting with these families. Our Sierra Vista Campus is also adopting families through the Carmichael School and the Salvation Army. And finally, if you know of a family in our church that needs help, we have applications you can pick up at the tables to see that they get help also. Make a difference in a family that’s hurting this Christmas.

2. Christmas Eve Offering. This year we are going to split our Christmas Eve offering to help meet two great needs - one local and one international.
Due to the current financial challenges, requests for financial help have risen dramatically. Through our benevolence ministry, we serve folks in our church and in our community. It is not just welfare, but we work with folks to help them through the crisis and develop a good financial plan so they won’t be back in crisis.

We also want to purchase 3 clean water systems for international use. We have found a system that costs $2000 a unit to provide massive amounts of clean water to a village. That cost includes all materials, set up and maintenance needs. We’ll have special offering envelopes available prior to Christmas Eve.

Together to re-capture the true meaning of Christmas.

Glen

I’m actually writing this on Monday, Nov. 3rd - the day before the election, because what I’m thinking has nothing to do with who wins or loses the election. So you are getting this early this week. I am very frustrated about how I’m hearing Christians who are both Democrats and Republicans refer to the “other” side. Some of the emails attacking both candidates are sickening. Can you sense my frustration? May I remind us of a few things?

1. If we follow Jesus we are first citizens of the Kingdom of God before we are Democrats, Republicans, Green or Independent. May we NEVER forget that! Therefore, let our words, actions and attitudes clearly reflect Jesus first as we all discuss the results.

2. No matter who wins or loses God is still God. He is still King of kings. He is still on the throne. He is still good. The Bible is still trustworthy. Jesus is still for us. Presidents and administrations will come and go, but God and his Word will last forever and ever - AMEN!

3. The Bible is VERY clear on how we are to treat the current President and the future President. Read 1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV):
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Some key points:
• By doing good we silence the ignorant talk of foolish men (and politicians). Notice we don’t use our own foolish talk against such, but it is our good actions that make a difference. May we be known for acting like Jesus, not mean party members.
• Show proper respect for EVERYONE. We might disagree with President Bush or the new President, but never are we allowed by God to be disrespectful to the person. Ever. I choose not tolerate or listen to others talking disrespectfully toward our next President - whoever he is (this is not a partisan stand). Peter reminds us - be servants of God, respect all, love others, fear God and honor our President. Period.
• We can and should disagree about the policies of any government. The fact is that there will NEVER be a human government that fully aligns with the teachings of Jesus. We will disagree. But it is not only what we believe and stand for, but it is how we disagree that sets us apart as saints.

4. You say, well, it was different in Peter’s day. Was it? Some suggest that Peter wrote when Nero was the emperor of Rome. Nero persecuted Christians and Peter may have even been martyred during his reign. Yet Peter reminds us that no matter who our President, Senator, Representative, Governor or Mayor is, we respect and honor them and yes, even submit to them short of violating our faith in Jesus.

Finally, may we truly speak and act like Saints before, during and after the election. Be sure to vote, no matter what the early projections say about the east coast voting. We have propositions and races that affect us here in Arizona.

Jesus first,

Glen