January 9th, 2021

Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.  When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”

The Big Picture

I love how practical the Bible can be. This is certainly true when it comes to its teaching on money. In addition to appealing to our hearts (“the love of money is the root of all evil”, for instance), passages like this in Proverbs 23 appeal to our logic. In effect, this passage is saying, “Why make the pursuit of wealth your goal when you’re not going to be able to take any of it with you?” Similarly, Jesus appealed to our left brain when he said, "Do not store up treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy… but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20). So much of our energy is spent acquiring wealth that isn’t eternal. What if we shifted our focus toward storing up treasures in the kingdom? What if today we sought out ways to be generous for the sake of others? What if we leveraged the resources God has given us toward making an impact? What if our true treasure was the gospel of Jesus Christ? Let’s spend some time today praying toward that end!

How To Pray

• Pray that we would all grow in the grace and joy of generous financial giving. Ask God to provide full funding for all the ministries of PBC and its missionaries.

• Pray for those in our church who are going through financial hardship or difficult times. If you can think of an individual/family, pray for them by name.

• Pray for our Connection Groups as they meet this semester.