Down to My Last Dollar

Have you ever found yourself completely broke?  Without a dollar to your name, or any money coming in?  Our Story Editor Alix shares a powerful modern-day fishes and loaves story of how when he was at the end of his rope - literally down to his last dollar - he prayed to God in thankfulness and received a financial miracle.

“Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”  (John 6:11 NIV)

It was warm, early December afternoon as I walked through the entrance of In-N-Out burger.  In less than a few minutes I could be seen exiting those same doors, having found out that I did not have any money in my account and thus could not even buy a hamburger.

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You Will Not Have Enough Room For It

Our friend, Micheal, recently learned the joy of giving with a generous heart and witnessed God’s riches that poured in because of his obedience.  Micheal’s message is one that many of us, in this economy, can relate to: If you don’t have much material wealth in this world and are struggling to stay afloat, give generously. You will be amazed by God’s ability and willingness to multiply our limited resources into something magnificent!

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “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.” - Malachi 3:10

This is a testimony to this verse. These past 2 months God has been teaching me about money. I remember being in a car with my small group leader and he was rebuking me saying, “It’s not that God doesn’t want to give you money, it’s just that you’re not ready for it yet. If you get money, God knows you will spend it on things you probably shouldn’t.”

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That night we went to a workshop on money. There, I learned about generosity. We should give in 3 ways: One, tithe. Two, give until you ‘see the whites of their eyes’, which means give so generously until you can see their eyes open wide in surprise. Three, royalty giving. In the same way there was this queen in the Old Testament who brought gifts to King Solomon, we should bring gifts to those we visit, even if they are rich. It’s not so much the gift, but more about knowing that you thought about them and went out and took the time to bring them something. We are royalty. We are sons of the King, princes and princesses. Giving should be a part of who we are.

That night, I went home and immediately tithed for all my projects. I later also attended a GBS prayer meeting, where they prayed for those who needed financial help.  A week later, I received 8 projects within about 3 days. (I’m a motion graphics freelancer and normally I only get like 2 projects in one month). A week later, I tithed again, donated some money to the organization “Food for the Poor,” and also gave my roommate, who found out that the new job he got was for a scam artist and ran away with his money, $100.  That same day, I received a call and got asked to do a video for KOLLABORATION. Simultaneously, my church amazingly also started a 2 week series on money and giving. At our small groups, our leader challenged us to give to whoever asked of us this month.  That week, I received mail from 2 organizations, Food for the Poor and Holtz International, asking for donations. I gave to them and tithed again. A couple days later, I received 3 more projects: One for the KPOP MASTERS concert at MGM in Vegas, and another to make background graphics for the new KIA cars when they are showcased at the national auto shows around the US. These are some of the biggest projects I’ve ever received.

This is NOT a prosperity gospel testimony. It is not about seeking after money. What it is about is the following: If you seek after God, He will take care of you. If you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your hearts. (Psalm 37:4). I’ve received a lot of projects. But these projects don’t give me the same kind of joy as when I’m praying or when I’m in the presence of God. That is TRUE JOY and no amount of amazing projects, fame, or money can compare! Aren’t you thankful that there is someone out there who doesn’t care about how much money you make, or what you look like, or how many relationships you’ve been in, but cares for what matters most: our character? He cares for our soul. It is not that He doesn’t want to fix your financial life, but rather that He wants to first fix your heart. My pastor from my home church in Illinois would always say: God is always looking for ANY excuse to bless you! It’s not that He doesn’t have enough blessings for us, it’s that we don’t have enough room in our hearts to receive the blessings. Father, increase the bowls of our hearts so that we may take more of you in!

Lastly, for those who are in need of financial help, I wrote this for myself. Maybe it can help you. Open up your bank account and look at how much money you have. This number could be $50 or it could be $50 million. But let me tell you some truth. That number you are staring at is NOT a measure of how much God loves you and it is NOT a measure of how much God will take care of you. You already KNOW how much God loves you. You know how much God will provide for you and how many resources He has. That number, whether it be $50 or $50 million, is problematic. It’s far too small compared to how much God loves you and how much you ALREADY have in Jesus.

Seek the Lord first and He will give you what you need. And for those who are rich, which I argue is anyone living in America, let’s learn to be generous. God doesn’t give you more money to increase your standard of living, but to increase your standard of giving. And how could we not give!? The more we give, the more God has promised to give back to us!

A Gift From Someone I Barely Knew

Our friend Andy shares an amazing story about God’s incredible provision - when he took a chance and followed the dream God had put on his heart, all of the finances for the project were miraculously covered by someone he had just met.

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Food for Thought: God, why so silent?

Have you ever experienced a length of time during which you prayed countlessly for God to answer this one specific prayer or dilemma that you’re facing, and all you get was silence? One of our editors went through that exact situation, and got her answer from God today.

A couple of months ago, my fiancé’s stereo system in his car was damaged. One of his CDs was stuck in the system, and it could not be ejected.  This led me to a hunt for the ultimate car stereo with the latest functionalities, from built-in Bluetooth for hands free calling to an auxiliary input for his iPod and a touchscreen.  During this search, I realized that the people who install these systems earn a substantial amount in labor charges, sometimes even more than the cost of the system itself. Not only that, having a built-in Bluetooth as one of my requirements raised the price even more.

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I was terribly conflicted. On the one hand, this was the best time (so I thought) to get him a new stereo because his was broken; but on the other hand, I’m looking at an outflow of cash that is sufficient to purchase an iPad 2 or something extravagant. Because this is a large sum of money, I also wanted to be sure that I was getting the best deal I can in the market. So I researched…and prayed…and researched…and played around with the systems at BestBuy and Fry’s…and I could not find something that I was comfortable with.

Throughout this whole process, I’ve chosen the best car stereo in terms of functionality and affordability, but my heart still felt heavy. I prayed for God to lead me to the right decision, the right stereo, and the right dealer. I got nothing. I soon abandoned the idea of getting him one and just told him to suck it up and live with it. I probably should have mentioned earlier that he listens to his med school podcasts while driving to school and clinics, so it wasn’t just for pure entertainment. Left with nothing but a tuner that works, instead of being fluent in his Boards material, he was reciting Adele lyrics and is pretty certain that he’s got moves like Jagger (so he thinks).

A week ago, I was looking for ideas for his 25^th birthday present. I decided to give the stereo a second shot. Long story short, I did the same research, said the same prayers, asked for the same guidance, and this time, I actually found a place in Ontario that does really good affordable work through Yelp. This struck me as odd, because before, I used the same sites to look for the same information, but the results were less than satisfying. In fact, that Ontario dealer was not even on the list.

My conclusion as to why God was silent for months until now? My circumstances and I were not ready. The situation was not ideal for His answer. Now that I think about it, I remember our bills for the past few months were quite high because we had numerous one-time, non-recurring expenses. I know that God is plentiful and bountiful, which is why I prayed for him to A BIT more plentiful a few months ago.

Matthew 6:32-34 says “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

My parents always remind me of those verses, that God will always provide when you need it.  And if He’s not giving it to you now, that means you don’t need it. They’re right. It’s true - we didn’t need the stereo at that time. We could wait. When we wait in silence for God’s answer, we know that He is preparing us for something bigger, something better. The outcome is usually more than what we expect to receive.

As for the fiancé, he was overwhelmed when he received his present today. He thinks the system is magnificent and is accompanied with an equally grandiose price tag. I actually got everything for less than the market price, but I’ll let him hold on to that thought because I get extra fiancé points.

Food For Thought (Dan): “You’re Really Lucky”

Today I had to go to the County Recorder’s Office in East LA to pick up a copy of my marriage license, and when I got there the line was atrocious - person after person queued up and fanning themselves in the late summer heat.  I was frustrated by the wait, and my patience was really being tested because I’ve become an impatient person when it comes to wasting time.

After more than an hour in the long winding line inching forward ever so slowly (and a dozen or so checks to Facebook Mobile), I finally made it up to the service window.  After all the wait, my heart sank.  The teller at the window told me my Certificate would be mailed and they couldn’t give me a copy in person unless it had already been entered by the County Recorder.  She had to check for me.

At that moment, I prayed in full faith “Lord Jesus, I really need this certificate today so we can file our applications by our deadline.  Would you somehow make it ready for me?  I know you can do anything.”  Despite my prayer, I was still prepared for the worst.

The teller looked up at me with a smile.  “You’re really lucky, you know?  It says here it’s JUST been entered, so I can give you your certificate today.  It normally takes six weeks, but yours was somehow entered in only two.  You’re really lucky.” 

“Yes, I guess I am really lucky,” I said.  Walking back to my car, I couldn’t help but smile.

Pray at all times, pray for the impossible, and watch God move Heaven and Earth out of love for you.  Just believe!  “All things are possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23 (ESV)

Moving Heavens and Earth

Are you bold in what you pray for?  Recently, I’ve become absolutely convinced that God will move Heavens and Earth out of love for us if we just ask.  That He can - and will - do anything to show you His love, even change the weather.

Now before you strike me as some kind of radical or crazy person, Jesus himself said “With man this impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

I just got married on September 18th.  It was a Sunday.  For three or four days before the wedding, I woke up each day to dark grey overcast skies.  I checked the weather each day, hopeful there would somehow be sun for the biggest day of our lives…[click “Read More” below to continue]

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The Abundant Harvest from Our Helper

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:6.  Our sister shares an encouraging testimony of how after 4 difficult years of waiting, trusting,and learning, God provided her a new job and new life almost overnight.

Do you ever have those weeks where things just seem to pile on top of each other, problem after problem? I can definitely say that I just went through one of the most unforeseeable and unexpected things in my life.

For about 4 years now, I was extremely unhappy at work. It wasn’t just about being unhappy, but my attitude was bitter for a good amount of those 4 years as I felt like I was being attacked from all sorts of directions. Every day seemed like forever and I couldn’t believe how emotionally abusive my work environment was.

I cried out. “God, why are you doing this to me? What are you trying to teach me?” I repeated this over and over for a very, very – VERY – long time.

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The Beautiful Valley

God is known for explaining His nature in terms of the nature we see around us every day. The Bible talks about “peace in the midst of storms”, the “trying and testing of the desert”, and also “the valley of the shadow of death”. Normally, just the mention of shadows and death are enough to make me want to turn and run the other way – missing out completely on the valley. 

But God, in His wisdom, allows valleys in our life to help refine our walk, refill our souls, and to remind us whose really in charge. The valleys have been some of my greatest journeys. They have allowed me to find and define myself 

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And The Curtain Was Torn

Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you?  Our Editor Dan shares a story of how finding the perfect verse at the perfect time increased his intimacy with the Lord.

A few weeks ago God totally bailed me out.  The leader of our house church had asked me to prepare a message for a special Good Friday event we were hosting at my house.  I was meaning to spend time in prayer and in the Word to find the perfect lesson plan.  But as often happens, I got caught up in all the worldly details of our event.  I cleaned the house, bought chairs for everyone to sit, coordinated food for the night, emailed people to attend, but by the time 6:30 rolled around, I was panicked.  It was only an hour before we were scheduled to start - and I had no message prepared whatsoever.  So I went upstairs and started to pray…[click “Read More” below to continue]

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Closing One Mouth to Feed Another

I recently moved from Marina Del Rey to Silver Lake, and I really love it out here.  I love it so much that I’ve even been bragging to friends recently that there isn’t really much I miss about the West Side.  There’s less traffic out here, the neighbors here actually want to meet you and say hello, and everything is so much cheaper.  The reservoir is beautiful to walk around, and there’s so many neighborhoods nearby to explore.  But if there’s one thing I miss about the West Side, more than the beach, more than the weather, more than anything, it’s Bay Cities Italian Deli.

Now before you laugh, anyone who’s eaten there knows that a sandwich from Bay Cities isn’t just a sandwich, it isn’t just an institution, it’s a dream fulfilled.  Which is why when I found myself all the way out in Santa Monica on Saturday afternoon, I just had to - no needed to - get a sandwich from Bay Cities.

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