Today I’m pleased to introduce you to my friend Caryn Rivadeneira. Caryn is a writer, speaker and author of five books, including her newest, Broke: What Financial Desperation Revealed About God’s Abundance (InterVarsity Press, 2014). Caryn is a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics, a columnist for ThinkChristian, and has written for OnFaith, Relevant, Christianity Today, among others. Caryn lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, three kids and one rescued pit bull. Visit Caryn at carynrivadeneira.com

I always appreciate Caryn’s thoughtful take on things, and today in no different. Enjoy! 

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Not long ago, I’d’ve flipped. I’d’ve gone nuts upon reading that Ed Young, fancy pastor extraordinaire of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, joined the ranks of pastors who issue a “Tithe Challenge,” offering a “money-back guarantee” if God doesn’t bless your tithe in 90 days by opening the floodgates of heaven on your rear and leaving you maniacally laughing in a ball pit of money tossing cash into the air (or something like that).

In fact, had I heard the challenge issued, I’d have been one of those standing in line asking for my money back. After all, it was while we were above-and-beyond-the-tithe faithful givers and just after we’d filled a pledge to donate sacrificial chunks of change to our church’s building campaign that we began our descent (slow at first, then picking up nice steam) from cushy, comfy well-off to broke. The kind of broke when businesses and economies slump, dragging incomes down with them, when babies are born without insurance and ginormous hospital bills go unpaid for far too long and interest heaps on, when businesses die and new jobs can’t be found, when mortgages can only be covered by the good grace of family members, and when food is bought on credit or gift cards from kind friends.

This kind of broke makes you cancel the pledge you made to church and to God because God, in fact, did not seem to open the floodgates of heaven. This kind of broke makes you read the words of Malachi 3:10, the verse Ed Young bases his challenge on, and doubt God—his goodness, his faithfulness, his existence.

But this time I did not flip out. I did not go nuts upon reading that Ed Young offered this money-back guarantee from God. Because Ed Young is right. Dead right. God is true to his promise in Malachi. God blesses our socks off when we give faithfully, sacrificially, when we bring the tithe. 

But the blessing is always (usually) what we expect. 

So here’s the deal. People who are rich (whether globally rich—meaning those who make enough to pay basic bills, keep a roof over their heads, a car in the driveway, food on the table and clothes on backs—or American rich—meaning they have all that and all the extras too) and who don’t falter from wealth, who don’t teeter into the land of the financially desperate, will of course read God’s promises different from those who are broke.  

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,” God says in Malachi 3:10,“that there may be food in my house. Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

It’s no wonder rich pastors like Ed Young cling to this. I’m sure Pastor Young gives faithfully and therefore Malachi 3:10 handily helps him hang his wealth on God. No guilt about his million dollar homes, planes, salary or even that other extra pair of Spanx. Because God blesses! 

And, naturally I get why this verse appeals to broke folks: being broke stinks. Not having enough to cover the bills, fretting month after month about how to pay rent or mortgages or keep utilities on and kids fed and supplied stinks. So when this lovely promise in Malachi offers the fresh scent of financial abundance, we’re all over it.

Of course, the problem is that while God may very well have been talking about material blessings as a “proof” of his faithfulness and his longing for his people to “return to me” (doesn’t that break your heart?) and though God certainly could’ve used stuff to woo back the wandering Israelites back from their jagged journey as God’s people, it’s tough to look at Scripture as a whole and believe that money, money, money is God’s blessing of choice. 

Certainly it isn’t by the time of Jesus. With Jesus, wealth isn’t so much a blessing as something that gets in the way of being blessed. At least, that’s what Jesus says—in the Beatitudes, to the rich young ruler. And I’m going to go out on a limb that Jesus brought his first fruits faithfully (and paid his taxes dutifully) but Jesus seemed a bit strapped for cash, praying for his bread every single day and all.

So it goes to figure that if God really wants to bless us, if he really wants to prove his faithfulness and if God is interested in blessing us so that we experience his goodness and bring about his kingdom, maybe—sometimes—he’s going to allow us to have less money rather than more. He’s going to let our gaze fall from the stuff we want and maybe move it toward the hurts of this world, toward our individual callings or turn our eyes upon Jesus, as the song says. So sometimes those floodgates will pour out blessings that look much more like brokenness, suffering, challenges so that we can know God’s goodness, his presence, in ways that have nothing to do with dollar signs.

But, of course, not always. Sometimes those blessings are financial. To deny that right-on-time check or the loan of a cabin for a summer vacation you could never afford is from God would be ungracious. Rude.

Even still: most of the blessings we receive don’t come within 90 days of an act of obedience. Instead, they come straight from God’s love on his timetable. And they don’t come with a money-back-guarantee because there’s no money required. They’re free. Gratis. Grace.

Giving is good. Giving is wise. And God blesses our giving and uses it to bless. But when we hold God to our standard of what blessings should be and if we stand ready to ask for our money back from God, we’re neither being blessings nor being blessed. And we certainly ain’t getting richer.

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For more, be sure to check out  Broke: What Financial Desperation Revealed About God’s Abundance. 

Sometimes kids show up that we didn’t expect.  Sometimes they come with a lot of surprises.

I know that mine have.  Each and every one.  One showed up with a whole lot more then what we bargained for.  But they all have surprises.  In their own little ways, they all have surprises.

This baby. This baby that you just got may come with surprises.  A whole bunch of them, but all they need is everything that you’ve given to each other kid that’s come before them.  Love.  That’s all.

All of the extra stuff that goes along with that new special kid is love.

All the doctor’s appointments.  All the loss sleep. (And not because they AREN’T sleeping, but because you’re wondering if they are still breathing while they are sleeping so much.)  All the therapy. It’s all love.  It’s because you love them and you want the best for them.

Our children no matter what their diagnosis are precious to us.  We will move heaven and earth to give to them what they need.

But all that moving…all that moving of heaven and earth is just plain exhausting.

The strong front that we put up when others are watching, wondering what it’s like to be in our shoes, but happy that they got the kid without the “issues”.  It’s hard to explain to people the grief of not getting what you were expecting, but being grateful for what you have.

What we don’t know now is that He knew what He was doing when He ordained it ALL before time.  He knew what He was doing.  He was doing and ordaining for HIS glory.  Not ours.  Not others, but HIS.

He knew that with each success of this sweet new baby you’d get excited for her.  You’d throw a party, because sitting up is a BIG DEAL.

He knew that you’d struggle with people.  Struggle so hard with them.  Trying hard to save face, but then losing it when you saw your husband.  Grace, for saving face.  Realness and grace for your patient husband.

He knew you’d struggle with perspective.  What others perceived and what you perceived.  He knew you’d struggle with acceptance.  Acceptance of the diagnosis and what life looked like now, even though much hadn’t really changed.

You got a new kid.  She’s not what you expected.  She’s more.   She’s her own new person.  She needs more help.  She needs more love.  She needs nothing more than what you’d do for your other kids.  You’d give your life for them, so you’ll give your life for her.

She perfect.  Just what you needed, but you didn’t know it.  Maybe still don’t.  But you need her like you need the others.  He knew.  That’s why He gave her to you.

Go give her a kiss.

This past weekend, Christians all over the world celebrated Jesus conquering Satan, sin, and death through his suffering on the cross, death, and resurrection. Here at Mars Hill, we had a great weekend of remembrance and celebration with Good Friday and Easter services. So many people heard the good news of Jesus. A total 367 people were baptized at the 53 services across our local churches. Praise Jesus! For more of what happened, see our liveblogging posts here, here, and here.

We would like to share some baptism highlights with you, plus a few clips from the Good Friday and Easter sermons.

Good Friday

God loved us on Good Friday

Jesus pays for your sin or you pay for your sin

The 7 last words of Jesus Christ

Easter

God’s definite plan to save you from sin

Why Jesus’ resurrection changed everything

The most important decision you will ever make

Where’s Jesus today?

Cut to the heart

“‘Chronological snobbery’ [is] the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited. You must find why it went out of date. Was it ever refuted (and if so by whom, where, and how conclusively) or did it merely die away as fashions do? If the latter, this tells us nothing about its truth or falsehood.”

–C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

New poll results from YouGov released this week reveal that the majority of Americans believe in the existence of the devil—57 percent, to be exact, which means that 43 percent of the country probably thinks that most of us are crazy. Pop culture images of a pitchfork-toting cartoon Satan wearing a cape abound, and no doubt many of those who disbelieve the devil’s existence have this caricature in mind. For the record, I don’t believe in that devil either, as I explained a few years back on a televised debate for ABC’s Nightline.

Other doubters dismiss the notion of demons and the like as relics of a primitive age when people were less evolved and more prone to silly ideas. C.S. Lewis coined the term “chronological snobbery” to describe this perspective, which assumes that the contemporary perspective is always most accurate. Chronological snobs mock the virgin birth, Jesus’ resurrection, miracles, and the truth of the Bible, often without much serious thought or honest investigation, sadly, to their own demise. The great line in the film The Usual Suspects says it well, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

While some ideas and fads rightly come and go, the enduring words of Scripture are timeless. And what God says is true—about the devil or any other subject—and timeless and applicable for all people throughout all history. We see this clearly in the Ten Commandments.

God’s call to his people

God begins the Ten Commandments with, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Throughout the Old Testament, we find God’s people, the Israelites, breaking this commandment by worshiping numerous gods with names like Baal, Asherah, Chemosh, and Molech. The people paid homage to multiple deities to hedge their bets, in a sense. Different gods promised to give different things like sex, fame, money, pleasure, comfort, fertility, children, physical health, power, promotion . . . you name it, the list goes on. People would sacrifice time, talent, and treasure to these gods in order get the desired outcome. Feed your god, and it will bless you.

Sound familiar?

Our contemporary world is still wrought with sex problems, finance problems, relationship problems, employment problems, and health problems. People still sacrifice time, talent, and treasure to these “gods.” And the results of chasing after sex, money, and power are as tenuous and disappointing as ever. We may not talk much about Molech, but just like the "uncivilized" cultures of old, plenty of people still sacrifice their children—sometimes literally, through abortion—in the process of pursuing higher financial or vocational status.

Make no mistake, false gods still exist and we still worship them. Satan has just rebranded old demons as new spirituality.

God says there’s one God. Him alone, him at the center. The first commandment liberates us from the lure of empty promises offered by false gods. Here are some questions to help you discover these false gods in your own life:

• Who or what are you living for?
• Who or what can you not live without?
• Who or what do you run to in times of need?
• What causes your highest joy and lowest grief?
• Who or what is at the center of your life?

My prayer is that Jesus would replace any other god ruling over your life, because only Jesus can provide the hope, the purpose, the love, the assurance, the peace, and the life we all so desperately crave. These longings transcend all eras, and Jesus always has and always will be the answer. False gods promise what only the real God can deliver.

All other commandments flow from this

God gave the Ten Commandments in a particular order. They progress in such a way that the first enables the second, and so on. All the rest of the commandments flow from the first two. If you are obeying the first two commandments, the others will follow because all sin comes back to the issue of worship and idolatry. The first commandment, “Have no other gods,” is the foundation for all of God’s commands, which means it will inform the way we learn about the rest of the commandments during this series. As we go, we’ll highlight different commandments here on the blog to show how they relate to culture today and how they’re far from irrelevant.

Stay tuned to the sermons using our site or iTunes, and subscribe to the blog to never miss a post.

(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Phillip Wilson. You can check out his blog here or follow him on Twitter. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

Top Ten Potluck Dishes to Avoid

Church potlucks are always dangerous territory. Dishes abound that are not for the faint of heart. There are concoctions that would scare the pink off a truckload of Pepto Bismol. We are talking about something you are going to PAY FOR in the morning…if you make it till morning. For those reasons, we have comprised a list of the top ten potluck dishes to avoid:

10- Bro. Ed’s Hot Chili: Made with enough peppers to stock Bobby Flay’s chain of Tex-Mex restaurants for a year. (Is that a hole in the wall of that crock pot?)

9- Sister Pearl’s Cream of Something Mustgo Casserole: When everything in the fridge “must go.” Cream of mushroom soup covers a multitude of sins…and leftovers.

8- Anything made with Spam and cheese.

7- Anything made with tuna and cheese.

6- Anything made with Spam AND tuna AND cheese. (Can you possibly imagine?)

5- Mayonnaise Egg Salad Surprise: It’s been at room temperature for 8 hours and you have food poisoning. Surprise!

4- Foods packed in a recycled oleo margarine tub. (Make sure I get that bowl back!)

3- Mable’s Marble Meatloaf: The color, texture, flavor and moisture content of real marble.

2- Aunt Sadie’s Pound Cake: Dense as a brick, and no amount of whipped cream or strawberry juice will penetrate its interior. Guaranteed to maintain that consistency all the way through your digestive track.

1-Cora’s Coconut Cake- Brought by the church cat lady, whose white Persian likes to sit on the counter and watch her bake.

Personally I suggest the no-name, half-chocolate, half-vanilla sandwich cookies straight from the plastic bag, a few stale chips, a couple of brown-and-serve dinner rolls, and a styrofoam cup of weak sweet tea. Enjoy!

(For more great writing from Phil, check out his blog!)

Spoiler alert: the answer is yes.

Yes, humor should matter to Christians, but why?

Why should laughter and humor have a place within faith?

It hasn’t always. I’ve never heard an atheist say, “I’m not a Christian, but wow, do they have a great sense of humor!” (If you have ever heard that, please let me know so that I can mail you a box of Thin Mints.)

That said, there are a lot of funny Christians doing funny things right now and maybe the tide is turning.

But again, why?

Why does laughter matter in faith?

The answer, funny enough, is in the Bible.

In Psalm 126:2 it says:

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Then.

Then.

Then.

That’s the most powerful word in that verse. The laughter was not just some frivolous thing. The laughter was not folly. It was was not jest.

It was a sign that the Lord has done great things for them.

In all our failing about to show people the goodness of God, I fear sometimes we’ve lost the simplest way.

To laugh.

To be overjoyed.

To be full of mirth.

Should humor matter to Christians?

It mattered to God, and that’s good enough for me.