I grew up in the CRC, and am still here, along with my family. I'm married to Daryl, who has a construction business. I had a CPA license for 10 or so years, then I added EX to the front, and MOM to the back, so now I'm an EX CPA, MOM =). I am MOM to Duncan, Ian and Samantha. Our family also owns a raspberry farm, and in the summers we get to work out there together.
Hello, just spending a few moments going through some older network posts here via safe church, and the link to the CRCNA 2005 emotional abuse report did not work... just wondering what happened... thanks. Bev
oh He does open the floodgates of heaven when we give our tithe!!! I was going to respond last week, and I didn't get to it... had the link open for several days as a reminder ;/...
I hear people often, "we aren't suppose to test God." Wrong!!! in Malachi 3 God gives us very specific permission to test Him in our giving!! Tithes, offerings and gifts are God's economy... Giving (particularly in a struggling economy) is totally backward to "rational" thinking, totally counter-intuitive... He is so amazing... our family has tons of testimonies/God stories about finances, but I would like to recommend a book by YWAM founder, Loren Cunninghma, called "Daring to live on the Edge: The adventure of faith and finances" =)
One comment I wanted to make last week, is that it seems some/many in the crc do not think tithing is for the modern day. I was surprised in a discussion on tithing with several pastors, and they didn't think it was a concept continued in the NT.
I do believe God is still asking for our tithe and sees it as a valuable principle for us to follow, along with our gifts and offerings... because of Jesus response to the Pharisees telling them not to neglect the tithe, along with ministering love, mercy and justice to those in their sphere of influence... I see tithing as giving an estimated 10% to where you worship and where you are trained for warfare... then gifts and offerings are above that, to other ministries and those in need...
I know this is suppose to be about money, but I'm going to share a fun little testimony on how God values the support of prayer. This came through a telemarketer of all people! Bless his heart.
So, several years ago, I was working at my desk when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, and it said "unknown number". I debated about answering, thinking "it's probably a telemarketer, but it might be family", so I answered. It was a telemarketer. He went through his "spiel"/monologue about raising support for children, and then asked if we would be willing to give on their behalf. I told him that we supported children in other ways, like through prayer. His reply astounded me. He says, "why didn't you tell me you were one of the top donors?!?! You have a good day Mrs. Sterk." and he hung up. My mouth fell open, I was so surprised. This man understood prayer, and shared with me that very encouraging message from the LORD, on how God views our prayers.
anyway, I know we need the practical side of the $ as well, and we have lots of cool testimonies on that too! I'm sure as a result of our prayers. Just the other day, a crc council cut the rent in 1/2 for a non crc ministry I'm involved with on their campus, and the decision was made in 3 minutes. WoW!! I joked, most times, any decision in a crc setting takes 3 mos- 3 years to get anything done =)!! Thank You Jesus!!
You know, I think John Z has mentioned George Mueller before somewhere before, but George prayed in all of his support to care for over ten thousand orphans, and travel over 200,000 miles (in pre aviation days) evangelizing. He never requested any money, never gave an appeal for funds other than to God.
Through all this, Müller never made requests (other than to God) for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost over £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. For example, on one well-documented occasion, they gave thanks for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone ...
one documentary on Uganda and the LRA that I found insightful was "An Unconventional War" by the Sentinel Group which looks at it from a spiritual warfare angle... if you have an opportunity and can get a hold of a copy of the dvd, I would encourage you to do so.
I mention George Mueller's "methods" as an alternative example, that we don't hear about often, and frankly have never heard in the crc. I do think it is a specific call to specific individuals/ministries, and agree that it is not a "universal" call required by scripture, but a personal call that the LORD puts on some people's hearts.
thanks Mark, as I pray on behalf of and support/choose life, I realize that there will be different dynamics as a result of that... that we need to pray for the LORD to raise up the support needed to embrace life as well, which would include more families opening their homes for adoptions (and the related adoption ministries of course), more homes for say, those with downs or disabilities, more support for young moms who choose to keep their baby, and do not have the resources/support to do so successfully...
unfortunately, that level of commitment seems to scare some off for a variety of reasons; from our human perspective, it might seem overwhelming..
Yes, the Church needs to step up in a lot of ways... and we can only do so with much prayer and the walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, which helps us be sensitive to His calling on our lives...
Our battle is not against flesh and blood... it's against the enemy, and the Church is the one that is not fulfilling the calling to be on our knees on behalf of those around us, we will be held accountable for our prayerlessness (there are statistics that give us insight on the low level of prayer in the church)...
we have to stop trying to point to society and our ills and think we can fix this with man's ways, because there is something deeper and darker driving this violence... we have to pray for those who have come in agreement with the enemy through their choices... for God to reveal (including prophetically) these hurting people/lost souls, to bring light alongside of them, so they can escape the dark pit they are in...
Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, the only True Counselor, through listening and healing prayer is a key, so we can point people to Jesus, His love and mercy and bring healing... our "rational" reasoning and intellect is not enough, God gave us the authority and power to do so much more, through His Holy Spirit, let's start walking in it more fully... Your will be done LORD, on earth as it is in heaven...
Again, thank you... I am so glad safe church is dealing with this!!! Thank God...
yes, this connection is so important for people to understand, I made this connection a while back as I was praying about, so I'm so glad this is being shared...
we need to know, that when they are coming in agreement with pornography, there are horrible, horrible, results, that i would hope none of us would ever be a part of... i have a friend who goes to asia on missions to expose the human trafficking and help rescue those trapped in it, and the stories of what happens to these women/children, are beyond evil, we would never want that for anyone .. and we don't want to have any part of this, we are called to holiness, we are called to take care of the widows and orphans, as many involved in the human trafficking are widows, orphans, the poor, the outcast... Oh God, help us to live up to the calling You gave Your Church, help us to live lives of holiness, help us to step up and be obedient to the calling You gave us to care for the widows, orphans, the poor and the outcast, for Your Glory, for Your Kingdom....
Posted in: An Ounce of Prevention
Hello, just spending a few moments going through some older network posts here via safe church, and the link to the CRCNA 2005 emotional abuse report did not work... just wondering what happened... thanks. Bev
Posted in: The Stewardship Series: I'm In Debt And I Can't Afford To Give
oh He does open the floodgates of heaven when we give our tithe!!! I was going to respond last week, and I didn't get to it... had the link open for several days as a reminder ;/...
I hear people often, "we aren't suppose to test God." Wrong!!! in Malachi 3 God gives us very specific permission to test Him in our giving!! Tithes, offerings and gifts are God's economy... Giving (particularly in a struggling economy) is totally backward to "rational" thinking, totally counter-intuitive... He is so amazing... our family has tons of testimonies/God stories about finances, but I would like to recommend a book by YWAM founder, Loren Cunninghma, called "Daring to live on the Edge: The adventure of faith and finances" =)
One comment I wanted to make last week, is that it seems some/many in the crc do not think tithing is for the modern day. I was surprised in a discussion on tithing with several pastors, and they didn't think it was a concept continued in the NT.
I do believe God is still asking for our tithe and sees it as a valuable principle for us to follow, along with our gifts and offerings... because of Jesus response to the Pharisees telling them not to neglect the tithe, along with ministering love, mercy and justice to those in their sphere of influence... I see tithing as giving an estimated 10% to where you worship and where you are trained for warfare... then gifts and offerings are above that, to other ministries and those in need...
Posted in: The Stories Are Out There
Thanks for your post Karl.. always good to hear your thoughts... looking forward to what God is going to do with us through His Spirit =)
Ha... I think I've heard somewhere the following concept labeled the "Spock syndrome" = )...
BOQ ...our rigorous rational organizational scientific ways of being together in congregations and in meetings, in projects and in institutions. EOQ
Posted in: Support Raising: Begging or Biblical
I know this is suppose to be about money, but I'm going to share a fun little testimony on how God values the support of prayer. This came through a telemarketer of all people! Bless his heart.
So, several years ago, I was working at my desk when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, and it said "unknown number". I debated about answering, thinking "it's probably a telemarketer, but it might be family", so I answered. It was a telemarketer. He went through his "spiel"/monologue about raising support for children, and then asked if we would be willing to give on their behalf. I told him that we supported children in other ways, like through prayer. His reply astounded me. He says, "why didn't you tell me you were one of the top donors?!?! You have a good day Mrs. Sterk." and he hung up. My mouth fell open, I was so surprised. This man understood prayer, and shared with me that very encouraging message from the LORD, on how God views our prayers.
anyway, I know we need the practical side of the $ as well, and we have lots of cool testimonies on that too! I'm sure as a result of our prayers. Just the other day, a crc council cut the rent in 1/2 for a non crc ministry I'm involved with on their campus, and the decision was made in 3 minutes. WoW!! I joked, most times, any decision in a crc setting takes 3 mos- 3 years to get anything done =)!! Thank You Jesus!!
Posted in: Support Raising: Begging or Biblical
You know, I think John Z has mentioned George Mueller before somewhere before, but George prayed in all of his support to care for over ten thousand orphans, and travel over 200,000 miles (in pre aviation days) evangelizing. He never requested any money, never gave an appeal for funds other than to God.
from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M%C3%BCller
Through all this, Müller never made requests (other than to God) for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost over £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. For example, on one well-documented occasion, they gave thanks for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone ...
Posted in: Kony 2012: What CRC Agencies are Doing in Northern Uganda
one documentary on Uganda and the LRA that I found insightful was "An Unconventional War" by the Sentinel Group which looks at it from a spiritual warfare angle... if you have an opportunity and can get a hold of a copy of the dvd, I would encourage you to do so.
Posted in: Support Raising: Begging or Biblical
I mention George Mueller's "methods" as an alternative example, that we don't hear about often, and frankly have never heard in the crc. I do think it is a specific call to specific individuals/ministries, and agree that it is not a "universal" call required by scripture, but a personal call that the LORD puts on some people's hearts.
Posted in: Another Side of Prolife
thanks Mark, as I pray on behalf of and support/choose life, I realize that there will be different dynamics as a result of that... that we need to pray for the LORD to raise up the support needed to embrace life as well, which would include more families opening their homes for adoptions (and the related adoption ministries of course), more homes for say, those with downs or disabilities, more support for young moms who choose to keep their baby, and do not have the resources/support to do so successfully...
unfortunately, that level of commitment seems to scare some off for a variety of reasons; from our human perspective, it might seem overwhelming..
Yes, the Church needs to step up in a lot of ways... and we can only do so with much prayer and the walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, which helps us be sensitive to His calling on our lives...
I pray for this to become reality...
Posted in: Diagnosing Evil
Our battle is not against flesh and blood... it's against the enemy, and the Church is the one that is not fulfilling the calling to be on our knees on behalf of those around us, we will be held accountable for our prayerlessness (there are statistics that give us insight on the low level of prayer in the church)...
we have to stop trying to point to society and our ills and think we can fix this with man's ways, because there is something deeper and darker driving this violence... we have to pray for those who have come in agreement with the enemy through their choices... for God to reveal (including prophetically) these hurting people/lost souls, to bring light alongside of them, so they can escape the dark pit they are in...
Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, the only True Counselor, through listening and healing prayer is a key, so we can point people to Jesus, His love and mercy and bring healing... our "rational" reasoning and intellect is not enough, God gave us the authority and power to do so much more, through His Holy Spirit, let's start walking in it more fully... Your will be done LORD, on earth as it is in heaven...
Posted in: Mental Illness or Moral Illness?
I wonder how the demonic is involved...
Posted in: Semper Gumby
thx. for sharing... good word =)
Posted in: The Making of Internet Pornography: When Children Pay the Price
Again, thank you... I am so glad safe church is dealing with this!!! Thank God...
yes, this connection is so important for people to understand, I made this connection a while back as I was praying about, so I'm so glad this is being shared...
we need to know, that when they are coming in agreement with pornography, there are horrible, horrible, results, that i would hope none of us would ever be a part of... i have a friend who goes to asia on missions to expose the human trafficking and help rescue those trapped in it, and the stories of what happens to these women/children, are beyond evil, we would never want that for anyone .. and we don't want to have any part of this, we are called to holiness, we are called to take care of the widows and orphans, as many involved in the human trafficking are widows, orphans, the poor, the outcast... Oh God, help us to live up to the calling You gave Your Church, help us to live lives of holiness, help us to step up and be obedient to the calling You gave us to care for the widows, orphans, the poor and the outcast, for Your Glory, for Your Kingdom....