“Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Why is money so attractive to us? We can all understand the truth of this verse as we look at our account balance shrink over the course of a month. It is amazing to see much become little after what seem like just a few nickel and dime expenditures. I believe we could eliminate most of our selfish desire for money if we could only internalize its fleeting nature. Even the things we purchase are fleeting, as they break down, get old, wear out and are lost or stolen from us. Money could be much better used to encourage the brethren or assist in the spread of the gospel. These investments will pay eternal dividends and accomplish the goal God has set for our lives – to see Himself glorified with our time, effort and resources. Let’s see money as a tool to minister and avoid being snared by its fleshly appeal.
Most of you know that our family has been praying that God will open an opportunity for me to serve in Pastoral ministry. Recently our hearts have been moved to pursue work in a church of significant need. To be specific, a congregation that is small, just starting out, or would perhaps even have difficulty supporting a pastor and his family full-time. Typically these churches have trouble finding men willing to consider them. Our desire is to place ourselves in a position to undertake any work of ministry around the country, without regard to the financial constraints that may discourage others.
With this in mind we have considered which avenues of business God would allow us to pursue that could provide freedom to enter such circumstances. After many careful hours of deliberation we believe He has lead us to begin Abounding Media, a freelance internet and media services effort that will focus on assisting churches, christian ministries and wholesome business projects worldwide. Sounds big doesn’t it? Well, it’s really little more than the expansion of a freelance career I have been urged to undertake by friends and colleagues for years.
As the burden to help a truly needy church has grown, so too has my level of knowledge and skill in the field internet technology. Factor in a decade of experience in professional and ministry broadcasting, missionary service and photography, and I believe it is now possible for me to credibly offer these services without hesitation.
It’s awkward now to think that during a time in which I so eagerly anticipated being in full-time ministry, the Lord was actually equipping me for a future I didn’t imangine. God is wonderful in this way, as He sees the big picture, leading us by the hand into paths we know not!
We also want to be clear on a few additional points in this regard: first, we would not continue this effort in any way unless it was both permissible and beneficial to a future church family. Second, we do not intend Abounding Media to be a part of our lives forever. While we are certain my previously-mentioned skills will be put to good use in future ministry, our primary desire is to serve a church, not advance a freelance internet media career.
While the final launch of alwaysabounding.org, the Abounding Media homepage is not ready yet, we would encourage you to visit and see what we have done so far. We’d also like you to read about the philosophies that lead us to think this was a worthy effort. There will be many more details upcoming on how we plan to organize and undertake this work. Suffice it to say we are excited about some of the ideas God has given us for getting it off the ground.
The title of a book I have never read prompted some thinking and study of God’s word that ultimately led to the outline of this message. God called upon Moses to “do hard things” for His name’s sake, and thanks to his obedience we have a wonderful example today. This message from Exodus chapter 3 was presented at our church in Fairbanks several months ago.
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“And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.” In the detail of the previous passage outlining every square inch of the tabernacle, we see example and representation of God. Bible scholars could show us line upon line revealing the character and nature of Jehovah by these earthly means. I believe the revelation was far from stopping there. Even the priestly garments testify of our Lord. His ministers were to present in their clothing the glory and beauty of the One True God. We understand that a bit of fabric is nothing of itself. Apart from the choosing of God nothing on this cursed earth does Him justice. Even these priests, as fine a men as they no doubt were, could never have hoped to reveal a glimpse of their Creator without His own specific intervention. These garments had no holiness because of earthly cost. They were common garments, selected by the King to evidence His greatness. We are equally common, offering our Savior no value, and we can give Him nothing except a willingness to be used “for glory and for beauty” in a world of dishonor and ugliness.
Devotions | Chris | 
October 4, 2009 10:00 pm | 
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