212 Daily Readings

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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

This booklet contains five daily readings for each week of the series 212. We hope

you’ll find these readings challenging, encouraging, informative, and interesting. You can

use this booklet alone as a way of propelling your personal growth, you can use these

readings as discussion starters with your friends and family, or they can be used in a small

group setting to facilitate conversations. Each brief reading (they shouldn’t take more than a

few minutes) will have a Bible verse you are encouraged to read and some questions we

hope you will answer. Our goal is that we will all become more fully the people and church

God dreams for us to be. We hope this series and our 212 journey will be an amazing one

for you, your family, and for Community Christian Church.

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212: Week 1 212: Week 1 212: Week 1 212: Week 1 –––– CalibrateCalibrateCalibrateCalibrate

Day 1Day 1Day 1Day 1

Read: 2 Corinthians 13:5, John 10:10

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"It's today!" said Piglet. #"My favorite day," said Pooh. ~ A.A. Milne

This marks the beginning of 212 (pronounced two twelve). What is 212 you ask? That’s a fair

questions, since it could stand for so many things. It could be an area code (212 is the area code for

Manhattan). It could be your cholesterol level (212 is over the recommended level of 200, so you might

want to see a doctor). 212 could be a really high number (if this was how fast you were driving) or a

really low number (if this was the number of dollars you paid for your car). So what in the world do we

mean by 212?

To understand 212, we first have to understand 211. The difference doesn’t seem that significant,

just one more, but when it comes to the temperature of water, that one degree makes all the difference.

At 211 degrees, water sits in the pot still and calm; at 212 degrees, it boils and moves and comes to life.

At 211 degrees, water is just hot. However, at 212 degrees, water undergoes a transformation and begins

turning into steam: something powerful enough to move a locomotive or generate electricity.

We want the same to be true about our own lives and our own relationships with God. It’s

possible for us to come to church, sing the songs and listen to the message, and never really be moved to

become something more than we currently are. We can attend small group and form relationships, but

still never grow. We can serve and help other people, but never be transformed into the person God

dreams for you and me. We can live our entire lives at 211, never knowing what God has in store for us

if we were to turn up the heat.

Over the next several weeks, we will be going on a journey to turn up the heat in our lives, to

become 212 kind of people. It’s our dream that during this journey God will transform us into

something new: into people who trust God in amazing ways and who are radically generous with our

lives.

It might be challenging at times. It might be difficult. It might not always be comfortable. But for

those who are seeking Jesus, our calling isn’t to live simple, comfortable, easy lives. We are called to

follow Jesus, and be transformed along the way.

What are some ways a person can stay at 211 in their lives, instead of going to 212? If your life was a thermometer (where 212 is the heat all the way up) where do you currently find yourself?

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Read – Matthew 4:18-20

If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." ~ Charlie Brown

We bought it because it was 75% off. We didn’t really need it and it certainly didn’t fit in our

small townhouse, but we bought a massive rectangular chandelier that was five feet long, two feet wide,

and that weighed at least a hundred pounds. Picture something you might find in King Arthur’s court. I

can only imagine what the scene must have looked like as my wife and I tried to wedge this mammoth

chandelier into our Honda Civic.

After some creative packing and several heavy-laden trips into our house, we were officially the

proud new owners of a far too large light for our far too small dining room. Only there was a hitch: we

hadn’t thought ahead about the layout of the house. There were no electrical receptacles where the light

would fit. "No problem,” my wife said, in spite of the feeling in my gut that this was, in fact, a big

problem. Calling me an amateur electrician would be like calling Bill Gates “kind of wealthy.” I knew

nothing, but I was willing to learn.

I checked out books from the library, and asked a guy at one of the home improvement stores,

(once I finally found someone who worked there). I bought the right materials, I borrowed the needed

tools, and I double-checked my life insurance policy. Everything was in place. I was going to install a

light.

The process was surprisingly easy. I cut holes in the ceiling and wall. I snaked wire where it needed

to go. I installed a new light switch. At the end of a very long day, I stood back and looked at the wonder

I had performed. I was feeling pretty good about myself. That is, until I flipped on the light switch.

Nothing. I flipped the switch off and on again. Still nothing. I flipped the switch on and off over and

over like I was trying to create a man-made strobe light. Predictably, this did nothing to change the

situation. Somewhere along the way, I’d gotten my wires crossed, and until they got sorted out, nothing

was going to work.

I wonder if somewhere along the way we’ve gotten our wires crossed. Are we so busy

congratulating ourselves on a job well done that we forgot to flip the switch to see if it actually works?

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212 is an attempt to make sure we haven’t gotten our wires crossed. It’s a chance to recalibrate our

lives in the direction God desires: toward Jesus. The invitation we see in the Bible from Jesus is simply

this: follow me. Jesus says to follow him. Not hard to understand, nothing cryptic about it. And yet, it

can change everything. Just as a spark can light a fire, genuinely following Jesus can alter us in ways we

can’t even imagine. So, this is the place to start our journey, to calibrate our lives, to ensure our wires

aren’t crossed. It all begins with Jesus’ invitation to each and every one of us. If we’re going to turn up

the heat and live radically generous lives, it all starts with following Jesus.

When did you first hear the invitation to follow Jesus? Are you following him now? What does that look like in

your life?


Read: Matthew 9:9-13

God is not proud . . . He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him. ~ C.S. Lewis

How many are quite unworthy to see the light, and yet the day dawns. ~ Seneca

David Lodge, a novelist and playwright, was watching one of his own plays on the evening of

November 22, 1963. The audience chuckled as an actor in the play showed up for a job interview with a

transistor radio held up to his ear, showing his blasé attitude and indifference. The actor then set down

the radio and tuned to a station, the music, news, and commercials becoming background noise as the

play went on. This night, however, a voice came on the radio, interrupting the program with a live news

bulletin: “Today, the President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated . . .”

The audience gasped and the actor immediately switched off the radio, but it was too late. In one

sentence, the reality of the outside world shattered the artificial world of the theater production.

Suddenly, whatever took place on the stage seemed artificial and unimportant. By hearing one little

sentence, the false world crumbled down.

Sometimes the same thing can happen to us. We can surround ourselves with a world full of

entertainment and possessions and fun. The only problem, it isn’t real. Jesus longs to wake us up from

our slumber and open our eyes to see what matters around us. If we’re going to calibrate our lives, we

need to begin to recognize the imaginary world that cries for our attention and clamors for our focus.

This is what we’re seeing in today’s reading. A tax collector named Matthew built his life on

getting ahead and making money. Perhaps he hoped to find significance along to way. So to get ahead,

Matthew accepted employment from the very people who conquered and dominated his nation and

countrymen. Day after day, Matthew extorted money from his own people. He made some money, sure,

but it also led to a life of relative isolation. His family would have disowned him as a traitor. His friends

would have abandoned him as a turncoat. Even his employers looked down on him as little better than a

slave. And so Matthew held onto his own imaginary world, a world where his life had meaning.

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Jesus woke Matthew up. Jesus interrupted Matthew’s daydreams. Jesus destroyed Matthew’s

make-believe world. And then he invites Matthew into something real and meaningful; he invites

Matthew to follow him.

The truth for all of us is one day the imaginary world we create for ourselves will come crumbling

down around us. Jesus hopes we will wake up and follow him. We will never get to 212 if we are simply

sleepwalking through life. It’s time to recalibrate.

What are some of the ways people build “imaginary” lives around themselves? How have you done this in your

life?


Read: John 15:1-8

For however devoted you are to God, you may be sure that he is immeasurably more devoted to you.

~ Meister Eckhart

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up

and hurry off as if nothing had happened. ~ Winston Churchill

The things we long, hope, and wish for reveals something about the condition of our hearts.

What does your appetite for the things of God tell you about the condition of your spiritual health? For

some people, you might be able to say that your appetite is at a healthy level lately. You’ve been enjoying

a closeness to God and have experienced what it’s like to draw near to him. Others might have to admit

their appetite has been lousy. Maybe you can’t remember the last time you opened the Bible or you

haven’t prayed in weeks. Perhaps you’ve developed a take-it-or-leave-it attitude when it comes to church.

Do you feel spiritually empty? Do you feel discontented and frustrated with your life? You might

find yourself being irritable and unhappy, even when there’s not an obvious reason why.

Could it be hunger pangs? Could it be your spirit is dying of starvation? Is it possible you’ve been

trying to fulfill your deep hunger and thirst with things that simply can’t satisfy you?

That inappropriate relationship which seemed so exciting at first has left you with residual guilt

and brokenness. The drugs and alcohol you hoped would numb your pain simply can’t keep you from

waking up again in a world filled with problems. That new toy you bought, thinking it would bring you

so much fun and fulfillment, is already boring and you still have 58 payments left. We can pour our lives

into broken cups, only to watch it leak out onto the floor. Maybe your soul is hungry for something

more.

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C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If I find within myself a desire which nothing in this world can satisfy,

the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” If we were made for another world,

then nothing of this world will ultimately satisfy our deepest hunger.

What does your calibration show? In what ways have you sensed a hunger nothing of this world can fulfill or a

desire that has gone unsatisfied? How do you normally try to fill this void in your life?


Read – Matthew 7:24-27

The knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him. ~ Blaise Pascal

The loftier the building, the deeper must the foundation be laid. ~ Thomas Kempis

The house was new and it was breathtaking. The construction was exhausting and the progress

came slowly, but now the work was complete and the time-consuming task was behind them. From the

layout of the rooms to the color of the walls, every detail was perfect. The only thing left was to move in

and call it home. All the effort and expense seemed well worth it as they relaxed in their new house.

The new homeowners had been warned about the weather: those long, powerful storms that rattle

the windows and make the lights flicker. They smiled and listened, but in the end never really expected

their beautiful new house could be besieged by anything so dangerous.

The skies were sunny and life was easy. That is, until it wasn’t. Dark clouds amassed on the

horizon blacking out the sky and casting shadows on this beautiful, new house. Soon the wind began to

blow, its ceaseless howling finding every crack and seam of this beautiful, new house. The rain began to

fall, pounding like solid fists against the walls and doors of this beautiful, new house. The streams began

to swell and rise, seeping under the foundation of this beautiful, new house. Then this beautiful, new

house fell with a great crash making a beautiful, new mess.

It happens in all of our lives. The storms come. No matter where we invest our lives, no matter

what we do or who we are, the storms come. So how do we make sure that our beautiful, new lives don’t

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become just another pile of tangled wreckage? We build our lives on the foundation of Jesus. We follow

after God. We throw off the things that ensnare us and build our lives on the foundation of Jesus.

Notice this in Jesus’ story - the storm comes to both houses, to the house built on rock and the house

built on sand. So the question is not if a storm will come, but when. And when it does, when the sky is

dark and the winds rage, what will you stand on? Jesus invites us to build lives centered on Him, on the

eternal love and grace of the author of creation.

But what does it mean to build our lives on the foundation of Jesus? It sounds so cliché and trite,

like something that should be said around a campfire while singing Kumbaya. The reality is that when

everything is stripped away, what do you have left? Who do you turn to when trouble comes knocking?

What gives you hope? With all of the options available, do you pattern your life after the example of

Jesus?

Maybe it sounds corny, but that kind of life, the kind filled with hope, centered on following a

loving God, that pursues righteousness and yearns daily to be more and more like Jesus, a 212 kind of

life, is a life worth living.

If everything were striped away and if you were left bare, what would be at the center of your life? What are

you (or could you) be doing daily to build a strong relationship with God so you will not get swept away when the storms come?

212: Week 2 212: Week 2 212: Week 2 212: Week 2 –––– TrustTrustTrustTrust


Read: Luke 6:20-22

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey.

We are spiritual beings on a human journey. ~ Stephen Covey

Money doesn't talk, it swears. ~Bob Dylan

In order to live a 212 type of life, we need to develop into the kinds of people who trust God. The

dream of 212 is to become radically generous people as we seek to follow after God. That requires trust.

After all, if we’re going to become radically generous, we need to rest in the assurance that God will

supply for all our needs and more.

Some of the things Jesus said are just a little odd. If people aren’t familiar with the Bible, they

might not realize this fact, but some of the things Jesus said are very challenging and perplexing. One

such statement comes from the book of Luke when Jesus turns and looks at his disciples and said

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

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That’s a really hard thing to read, isn’t it. After all, I don’t think many people would agree with

the statement that being poor is a good thing, much less a blessed thing. Philip Yancey gives perspective

on this issue:

Why would God single out the poor for special attention over any other group? I used to wonder. What

makes the poor deserving of God’s concern? I received help on this issue from a writer named Monika

Hellwig, who lists the following “advantages” to being poor:

1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their

interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of

privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that

one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor hear the gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not like a

threat or scolding.

10. The poor can respond to the call of the gospel with a certain abandonment and

uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.

(Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, Zondervan, 2001, p. 115)

This doesn’t mean we ought to seek a life of poverty, but there’s much we can learn from the

words above. If we’re being honest and take a clear view of ourselves, we might see our trust really isn’t in

God after all. Instead we might find it placed in the security our possessions provide. Jesus doesn’t relish

the idea of us being poor any more than we do, but he does want us to trust him and not our stuff.

Read through the list again, except this time replace the words “the poor” with your name. How many of the

statements are true of you? How many are not?

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Read: 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning. ~ Thomas Aquinas

It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept. - Calvin and Hobbes

There are times in life when trust comes harder, when we find our ability to rely on God tested.

During times of crisis, when everything feels like it’s falling apart, it’s easy to revert back to trusting

ourselves.

During World War II, C. S. Lewis delivered a sermon at Oxford called “Learning in Wartime.”

England was bracing itself for a prolonged war with Nazi Germany and Lewis wanted to address

questions that must have troubled all the students at Oxford in those days: How could they be expected

to concentrate on subjects like classical literature and medieval art when the country, and the world, was

facing such a crisis?

"Is it not like fiddling while Rome burns?" he asked rhetorically.

What Lewis reminded the student was a crisis such as a war merely heightens the situation in

which we always find ourselves. For, of course, no one knows when our lives will come to a sudden end.

War certainly increases the immediate odds, but it doesn’t change the ultimate reality in which we all

live. The question is not whether literature is worth studying in wartime, Lewis concluded, but whether

literature is worth studying at all. The wise person lives in the awareness of time and eternity both, a dual

citizen of the city of God and the city of this world.

Some people ask the same question as those students asked during World War II. The question

isn’t whether it’s a good idea to trust God in the face of a crisis or an emergency, but whether or not it is

worth trusting God at all. We are given no guarantees about tomorrow, whether the sun is currently

shinning in our lives or not. Hard times and troubles merely serve to emphasize our constant need for

God, or as Lewis put it, our ultimate reality.

It’s easy to forget the condition we all find ourselves in everyday: in deep need for a God who

loves and cares for us. Yet we pretend, though we would never say it aloud, that we are able to handle

anything that comes our way. The real truth is we need to trust and rely upon God. We have a desperate

need for God. That is our ultimate reality.

When times get tough, how do you normally respond? Are you more likely to trust in God or in yourself?


Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-10

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes if for happiness. ~ Mary Wollstonecraft

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All that glitters is not gold. ~ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 2:7

Guess what the following two people have in common:

A guy by the name of Jody Lee Taylor was arrested in Collinsville, Virginia for attempting to run

over a sheriff’s deputy. On the night of the arrest, Taylor was driving naked down the wrong side

of the road with his headlights off.

William “Bud” Post, a Pennsylvania man, was sued by his girlfriend, had his brother arrested for

hiring a hit-man to kill him, lost millions on two venture capital investments encouraged by his

other siblings, and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. He got in

debt to the tune of $1 million and declared bankruptcy.

What do these two men have in common? Both are lottery winners. The power of money is great,

but paradoxical. Don’t we all think if we only had a little more money a lot of our problems would be

solved? If only we had a little bit more money then we could stop our worrying about finances, stop

fighting with our spouses about financial decisions, and have peace of mind. After all, who hasn’t

fantasized about life after winning the lottery?

The Bible warns us about “wanting to get rich” and being “eager for money.” Why? Have you

ever asked yourself that question? God says when we want to get rich (which is what many people mean

when they say they want to be “comfortable” or “financially independent”), we fall into a trap, and

temptations will pierce us with grief and even cause us to wander away from God. The trap regarding

money is thinking it makes us safe. Examples of how money doesn’t have the power to make us safe are

everywhere, from the various stock market crashes to companies who raid retirement funds. People who

thought they were set for life find they worked all those years for nothing.

Money doesn’t have the power to make us safe. The temptation we often face is to spend our lives

planning for our future financial security, only to realize it was a mirage. Money can’t guarantee the

protection we’re looking for. Grief can be caused by anything from working too much and neglecting

our families, to moving all over the country chasing the highest paycheck and living rootless lives. We

can even wander away from God, pursuing money above all else. Before we assume this is someone else’s

problem and not ours, let me remind us of one more truth: we don’t have to actually accomplish the goal

of getting rich in order for the pursuit to cause us grief. There are just as many (if not more) people who

are not wealthy who have pierced themselves with grief as those who are.

In what ways can the pursuit of wealth pierce us with all kinds of griefs? Have you experienced this before yourself?

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Read: Colossians 2:6-8

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. ~ Sir. John Lubbock

The world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. ~ Sean O’Casey

What is your status symbol? I think we all drift toward something as a way of marking ourselves

and where we stand in the world. Is it the clothes you wear? The car you drive? The home and

neighborhood you live in? Is it in the number of zeroes in your paycheck?

What some of us have in our wallet isn’t just money, but it’s also prestige. Sometimes we are

trying to impress others—to show that we are worthwhile, important, successful people to be admired

and accepted. Other times we’re simply trying to impress ourselves. “I feel better about myself,” we

might say, “when I make it to the next level of income, or when I pull into the driveway of a nice, big

house on the right street, or when I see a closet full of clothes with designer labels.” Whether we’re trying

to impress ourselves or someone else, we can see money as prestige, popularity, and status.

We might assume the more money we have, the more willing we would be to be generous with

that money. Yet, research has shown when people’s income goes up, their proportion of charitable

contributions tends to drop. This is counterintuitive, isn’t it? When we have little, we can trust God with

it because we have so little to lose. Yet, when we have much, we often withhold it from God because

trusting God might cost us more. The truth is, God wants all of us, no matter how much or how little

we have, God wants us to follow him completely and to trust him with our stuff. We are often tempted

to put our trust and self-image in our possessions. God desires us to become people who put the focus of

our self-worth in our relationship with him.

To what degree do you think your self-image and self-esteem is anchored to how God sees you? To what degree are they tied to your possessions?


Read: Luke 21:1-14

I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and

perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God. ~Prison doctor witness to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's

death

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The plate is passed, just as it is every week. From hand to hand, it moves down the row in its

normal, slow procession. And with each person it grows heavier as money is placed inside. Each and

every week this collection takes place, each person putting money in or not as they see fit. Some make a

display of their giving, placing in large sums with a sort of understated fanfare. Other sheepishly sneak in

their modest amounts, hoping no one saw how little it really was. Others let the plate pass altogether,

either defiantly or skeptically passing it on to the next person. And then there are those who find this

time is really an occasion to worship, an occasion for joy and for celebration.

The same has been true for ages. Even in the days of Jesus a collection was taken to fund the

functioning of the temple. One day, Jesus, sitting where the collection was taken in the temple, watched

as a variety of people come to give to the temple treasury. Several people placed in large sums of money.

Maybe you can picture the scene of a crowd of people milling around in what to us would look more like

a marketplace than a church. One after another, people toss in bags full of coins, each clanging against

the stone and sound like a winning slot machine.

Into this picture walks a poor widow. She does not click and clang with a money bag overflowing

with coins. Instead she has only two small coins which are almost worthless. That is, they are almost

worthless to anyone else. To her, it is all the worth she has. To her these two coins represent everything.

She places these two coins, these two worthless coins that are worth everything to her, into the

collection. Jesus is so impressed with this act of giving that he calls his disciples over to brag about this

poor widow.

“Look at her,” Jesus says, “she has done an amazing thing. Look at all these people, giving out of

their wealth. All these people give money they don’t even notice is gone. They give money, but it is not

a sacrifice, it is a show of importance. This woman,” Jesus says, “she has given out of her poverty all she

had to give. This is true giving, giving that comes out of the heart.”

Never mistake what God is truly interested in. God is interested in you more than your money.

God is more worried about your heart than the size of the check you write to the church. God wants all

of you, your heart, mind, and life. If you are willing to give these things, than money is given naturally.

In the end, the amount given is almost secondary. God wants your heart. And one sign he does is that we

are willing to sacrifice for the things that matter to him, that we support and care for the kingdom of

God. This is the lesson of the widows giving. This is why Jesus brags about her. I hope and pray he will

brag about us in the same way.

When our hearts are in line with God, we are willing to trust him with everything, even our very

lives. When we throw ourselves in the arms of God and follow his lead into being radically generous with

our lives, we will hold nothing back from Him. And being in the arms of God is a wonderful place to

live.

How does the story of the widow fit with your understanding of giving? Is it consistent with your experience at church? What would it look like if the way you give was a reflection of your devotion to God? What do you

think it would look like, specifically, if you “threw yourself completely into the arms of God?”

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212: Week 3 212: Week 3 212: Week 3 212: Week 3 ---- TransformTransformTransformTransformationationationation


Read: Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8

Our pursuit of God is successful just because He is forever seeking to manifest Himself to us. ~ A.W. Tozer

People are very open-minded about new things—as long as they're exactly like the old ones. ~ Charles Kettering

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This is week three of our series 212, where we are looking to turn up the heat in our lives to

become radically generous. When the temperature of water crosses the threshold of 212, it becomes

something completely different: steam. If we are going to turn up the heat to 212, we need to be

transformed as well. Transformation is something God desires for all of us. God knows one place we

need transformation is when it comes to our minds.

When it comes to our minds, it’s not a matter of thinking less. We can’t just tell ourselves to think

the right things. That’s about as effective as telling yourself not to be hungry. What it’s really about is

changing what we are focusing our thoughts on. As I once heard said, we need to repaint the walls of our

minds.

This is something that goes against the flow of culture, but it’s something the Bible speaks about

directly.

God knows there is something essential about our minds and if we want to be transformed into

something new, something that glorifies and honors God, we need to renew our minds. We need to tear

down the old posters and wallpaper we’ve left hanging in our minds. We need to have renewed minds,

minds that no longer obsess, fixate, and fantasize as they did before. Do not conform to the pattern of

this world, the pattern that says it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to think about and imagine anything

you like.

The Bible tells us to fix our thoughts on Jesus and on the things of God. Over and over again the

Bible makes it clear we have control over our thoughts. The thoughts we feed and embrace will grow.

Are you reading things worth fixing your thoughts on? Are you having conversations that help you

capture your thoughts? What are you focusing your thoughts on and where can you begin to replace

unhealthy thoughts with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and

praiseworthy. For generations people have used the Bible as a way of focusing their thoughts on God.

The word of God, the things written in the Bible, should be hidden in our hearts. Why? Because

when it is, the words of God help us avoid sin. The word of God can help us stay near to him. This is

especially the case with our thought life.

Maybe you need to begin reading the Bible on a regular basis so the word of God can be

something real in your mind. Perhaps for you this means beginning the practice of memorizing parts of

the Bible to arm yourself during times of weakness. Maybe you can start with the Bible verses for today’s

reading. Try to “hide” these in your heart and you’ll be better equipped to honor God with your

thoughts.

To what degree do you have God’s word “hidden” in your heart? How might memorizing the Bible better

prepare you to face times of weakness? Why do you think it’s important to transform our minds?


Read: 1 John 3:1-2, 16-20

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God, out of his boundless love, became what we are that he might make us what he himself is. ~ Iranaeus

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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. ~ Oscar Wilde

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And

that is what we are!” This is what John exclaims in his first letter about his relationship with God. Yet,

everything around us murmurs the opposite: you are unworthy, you are a failure, you are going to fall

short. As if anticipating the objections, John adds, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what

we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him . .

.” There’s a part of us, John is saying, that remains hidden and undeveloped. For now. Yet as the Holy

Spirit’s work proceeds, invisibly and unendingly, we are transformed and fashioned into our true selves.

We cannot construct a personality that pleases God. But God can and promises to do exactly that. God

makes it clear he accepts us, but even more than that, he delights in us and makes us individual bearers

of his image. We do not always sense God’s divine love. Self-doubt and despair can steal in. Sometimes

our own hearts condemn us, as John acknowledges, but he also reminds us that God is greater than our

hearts (1 John 3:20).

When the New Testament translator J. B. Phillips came across this passage from 1 John, it seemed

to leap off the page. Phillips explains, “Like many others, I find myself something of a perfectionist, and

if we don’t watch ourselves this obsession for the perfect can make us arrogantly critical of other people,

and in certain moods, desperately critical of ourselves.” Phillips suffered from clinical depression, and

when he descended into darker moods, he would wallow in self-criticism and feel unworthy of mercy.

But when he came across these verses in 1 John, he clung to them.

“It is almost as if John is saying, ‘if God loves us, who are we to be so high and mighty as to refuse

to love ourselves?’” Accepting God’s love involves a relentless hushing of voices that whisper otherwise,

voices that whisper, “You are unworthy. You failed again. God cannot possibly love you.”

Phillips concluded he must ask the God who “is greater than our hearts” to stop the ruthless cycle

of guilt and condemnation which attempts to keep us from living out the transformation God longs for

us to experience. We all need to be reminded of perhaps the hardest truth to grasp: God desires and loves

us. Why does God love us? God loves because of who God is, not because I have done anything to

deserve it. God cannot help loving, for love defines his nature. And because of that nature, God longs for

us to transform in the people he created us to be.

When have you wrestled with the same thoughts J.B. Phillips struggled through? How can these thoughts get in the way of transformation in our lives?


Read: Matthew 6:24

17

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us

an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior. ~ Roy Lessin

A society that denies the supernatural usually ends up elevating the natural to supernatural status.

Annie Dillard tells of experiments in which entomologists attempted to attract male butterflies with a

painted cardboard replica larger and more enticing than the females of their species. The male butterfly,

when lured to the piece of cardboard, paid all of its attention to it. "Nearby, the real, living female

butterfly opens and closes her wings in vain."

C. S. Lewis uses the phrase "sweet poison of the false infinite" to describe this same tendency

when we see it in the human species. We allow substitute deities and artificial sacredness, or “false

infinites,” to fill the vacuum of our dissatisfied lives and our disenchanted world. We see a dangerous

example in the world of politics.

"I am warning you in all seriousness. I tell you that communism is sacred," said Nikita Krushchev

in 1961, as he described the massive political experiment taking place in Russia. Ten years later, his

successor, Leonid Brezhnev, reiterated, "Everything which bears on the life, activities, and name of Lenin

is sacred." The seriousness with which this ideal was lived out is evidenced by the thousands of statues of

Lenin. For all but a few diehards, however, the promise of communism vaporized as it joined the fate of

other substitute sacreds and other false infinites. In the words of A. N. Wilson, "Dethroning God, that

generation found it impossible to leave the sanctuary empty. They put man in His place, which had the

paradoxical effect, not of elevating human nature but of demeaning it to depths of cruelty, depravity and

stupidity unparalleled in human history."

We, too, are often tempted to place a false infinite in the sanctuaries of our lives. While we don’t

often think of it this way, the most frequently elevated “false infinite” in our lives is money and

possessions. Jesus knew how much of a struggle this would be for us, and warned us clearly that we

cannot serve both God and money. This doesn’t mean God and money are incompatible, but that

money is not intended to take the place of God. In a world full of butterflies that are large, colorful, but

fake, we need to remember not to give away our one and only lives to a false infinity, but to give it to

God.

Alone of all the creatures on earth, humans have the power and freedom to choose what we center

our lives on. We do not, it would seem, have the power to abstain from worshipping something. But

instead of focusing our worship on the real and living God, we often substitute in lesser gods. "Nearby,

the real, living female butterfly opens and closes her wings in vain."

What are some of the “false infinites” people worship with their lives? Which of these do you struggle with?

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Read: Ecclesiastes 3:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 3:24

God draws, but He draws the willing one. ~ John Chysostom

Will power does not change men. Time does not change men. Christ does. ~ Henry Drummond

Evander Holyfield is a former heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. Over the course of his

career, he earned more than 200 million dollars in prize money and endorsements. After divorcing his

fourth wife, he lives alone in a 54,000 square-foot mansion in Fayetteville, Georgia, situated on hundreds

of acres of land. He has a collection of cars and a stable of thoroughbred horses worth millions of dollars.

He will be remembered as one of the greatest boxing champions of all time. Yet, at the age of 48,

Evander still goes into the ring and fights, long after most people in the sport have retired. Why? Why

does Evander, who is long past his prime, put his life and safety on the line by continuing to fight?

In an interview, Holyfield confessed, “I continue to fight because I’m bored.”

What Evander has discovered is something the Bible articulates well. We live in a big, beautiful

world full of wonderful things, and yet none of those things can ultimately satisfy the deep hunger of our

hearts. No matter how much “stuff” we have, there will still be a restlessness and a longing deep within

us that all the world’s pleasures can’t satisfy. The problem, the Bible tells us, is we were made for

something more.

Solomon, the great king of Israel who had more wealth and possessions than anyone in the ancient

world, wrote, “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of

men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The

problem, Solomon concludes, is the fact God planted eternity inside our hearts. God placed a deep

hunger and thirst in us that’s spiritual in nature, not material. Consequently, no matter how much we

acquire, it’s never enough.

What can fill our lives with meaning and purpose? What can satisfy our deep hunger? What can

still the restlessness we all feel at some point in our lives? For many people, they try answer after answer

but nothing ultimately fulfills them. Except for God. Jesus himself tells us he will send his Spirit and that

his Spirit, the Spirit of God, will dwell in us. The promise of God is He will be with us and we can be

with Him. And when we are with God, we can become new creations. God promises to satisfy the deep

longings of our life in ways nothing else can.

What are ways people try to find purpose and meaning in their lives? Can you identify with feelings of restlessness and boredom in your life? How do you normally react to these feelings?

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Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Luke 12:22-34

The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not

doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. ~ C.S. Lewis

We make a living out of what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~ Winston Churchill

When we allow God to transform us into something new, it changes the way we view ourselves

and the world. It also changes the way we view the resources God has entrusted to us. God has essentially

entrusted us with three resources: our time, our money, and our talents.

The strange thing about accumulating money is it makes us want more. There is no other reason

billionaires still have a life quest of making more money. While most of us can’t relate to billionaires, the

average person is the same way too. It’s interesting how when we learn to live with a small amount, we

aren’t often tempted to want more. Yet, if our income is suddenly enlarged, the amount of things we

want tends to expand. Only God can transform this natural tendency.

It all comes down to one word: more. The word “more” can dominate us. It can ruin us

relationally, emotionally, and financially. We are scared of not having enough, so we want “more.” We

think if only we had “more” we would be happy. We think having “more” will make us feel significant.

But God longs for us to exchange the word “more” with the word “enough.”

Some people love history, other people have to stifle a yawn just at the mention of the word. But

there is much we can learn from the past. In 370 A.D., a man named Basil became the archbishop of

Caesarea (just another way of saying he was the leader of the churches in the area). Basil’s beliefs brought

him into sharp conflict with the emperor Valens, whose own beliefs were opposed to those of

Christianity. Valens, a man of great power, attempted to intimidate the new bishop into agreeing with

his beliefs. Valens sent the leader of his imperial guard, Modestus, to threaten Basil.

Basil replied to Modestus and his threats by saying he was ready to die for Jesus if he needed to,

and he had so few possessions that banishment, confiscation, or imprisonment held no real threat to

him. When Modestus complained that no one ever talked to him that way, Basil answer that perhaps

he’d never talked to a bishop before. “When the interests of God are at stake, we care for nothing else.”

Lots of people ask: “Am I spending too much money?” or “Where does all my money go?” or

“Why can’t I be content?” We ask these questions because what we have in our wallet isn’t just money;

it’s access to pleasure and assurances of security. Many of us try to buy our way out of emotional holes or

shop ourselves into a better state of mind. And it works, but only for a little while. It never lasts.

Real, lasting pleasure comes from contentment. When we allow God to set us free from always

wanting more stuff, then we get the best pleasure of all: the pleasure of contentment. Imagine being able

to see your neighbor’s fancy new SUV and not having any desire to get one for yourself. That’s the

pleasure of contentment. Imagine being able to see your friend or family member’s remodeled kitchen

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with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, but have no desire to posses them yourself. That’s

real pleasure, the pleasure of contentment, the pleasure of “enough.”

What it would look like for you to allow God to transform the word “more” to the word “enough” in your life?

212: Week 4 212: Week 4 212: Week 4 212: Week 4 –––– SacrificeSacrificeSacrificeSacrifice

Day 1 Day 1 Day 1 Day 1

Read: 1 John 2:2, John 10:17-18, John 3:16

You never hear Jesus say in Pilate's judgment hall one word that would let you imagine that He was sorry that He had undertaken so costly a sacrifice for us. When His hands are pierced, when He is parched with fever,

His tongue dried up like a shard of pottery, when His whole body is dissolved into the dust of death, you never hear a groan or a shriek that looks like Jesus is going back on His commitment. ~ Charles Spurgeon

I think most of us want to be comfortable and live relaxed lives. There’s nothing inherently wrong

with that, but what happens when being comfortable becomes our highest goal, the thing for which we

fight and strive? Eventually, being comfortable can become the center of who we are and living is simply

an exercise in moving from one comfort to the next.

It was once said of basketball legend Michael Jordan that he was living the American dream

because he was in a position where he could do anything he wanted to do and not do anything he didn’t.

This may or may not have been true of Jordan, but this is certainly the goal for many people’s lives.

Yet, those who want to follow God are called to something more. We are called to live in such a

way that we focus on something greater than our personal comfort. If our focus never wavers off of

ourselves and onto God, we will never reach 212 in our lives. What this means is we are called to

sacrifice.

We are called to give up ourselves as living sacrifices. What this means is purposefully taking our

own aims and goals and sacrificing them to God for his greater purpose. It’s about seeking more than our

own comfort, but about seeking God and his will for our lives and this world. This is the way we should

worship and honor God, by sacrificing ourselves to him. This isn’t a literal sacrifice; God doesn’t desire

ritualistic suicide, but people who put his goals and desires ahead of their own. This is a sacrifice of our

wills, which sometimes is harder than a one-time bodily sacrifice. The hard part is this sacrifice goes

against everything we see and hear from our world. The Bible tells us we must no longer conform to the

pattern of this world, but be transformed by God.

What does self sacrifice look like in your life? Would you say the highest goal of your life is to be transformed by God or to be comfortable? How can being comfortable get in the way of reaching 212?

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Read: John 15:12-13, Matthew 6:19-21

We cannot help conforming ourselves to what we love. ~ Francis de Sales

Jesus was once teaching his followers and telling them about what it means to follow God. He

taught about prayer and about fasting and then Jesus says this: “. . . where your treasure is, there your

heart will be also (Matthew 6:2).”

Jesus wanted his followers to know that there is a link between our stuff and our heart. And the

problem isn’t the stuff. Not really. The problem is that our hearts have the annoying tendency to follow

our stuff like a puppy following a hotdog vender.

What this really means is that if you have a heart, you are susceptible to materialism. We often get

the impression that only rich people are materialistic. But the size of your bank account has no bearing

on whether or not you’re materialistic. You can be filthy rich and materialistic. You can be flat broke and

materialistic. Our financial situation has no influence on whether or not we’re materialistic; the only

thing that matters is the condition of our hearts. Our hearts will follow where we lead them. Jesus is

telling us the thing that leads our hearts is where we place our treasure.

Now, when you hear the word treasure, what do you think of? Right, pirates and a treasure map.

That’s not what Jesus is talking about at all. What Jesus was talking about are the things we value most.

The things you and I value most, that’s where our hearts will be. If the thing we value most is our

possessions or our money or our prestige or ourselves, that’s where our heart will live.

The question for all of us becomes, where is your treasure? Where is your heart? If our hearts are

where you don’t want them to be, then it might be time to sacrifice the things we’re holding onto as

treasures. If we don’t, our hearts might end up in places we don’t want them to go.

In what ways have you experienced the truth that our hearts will follow after whatever we hold as treasures? What are some things you treasure right now in life? What do you think this means for your heart?

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Read: 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, Matthew 25:21-28

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment. ~ Hilaire Belloc

Money is not evil or bad in and of itself. Money is merely a tool. It can be used well or it can be

used poorly. There are people who intentionally use their money to honor God and to serve others.

There are people who have learned how to use the tool of money very, very well. But there are others

who don’t. There are other people who use money to entertain themselves or to feel more secure. There

are people who judge their value by the worth of the portfolio. Money isn’t bad or good. The part that is

bad or good is how we choose to use it.

I think most of us are familiar with the TV Guide Channel. The TV Guide Channel shows a

scrolling list of what’s on all the other channels. If you are looking for something to watch on TV, often

the TV guide channel is the place to go.

But now the TV Guide Channel is different than it was before. It shows it’s own programs on the

top half of the screen while the scrolling list of what’s playing on other channels is at the bottom of the

screen. I actually caught myself watching a rather stupid show where they made a regular lady look like

Miley Cyrus, all the while the bottom of the screen was scrolling away other options on other channels.

Somewhere along the line, I got distracted and forgot the purpose of the TV Guide Channel. I

turned it on to find out what was on the other channels, but it turned into something else. I stopped

using it the way the channel was intended to be used (it is, after all, called the TV Guide Channel).

I think the same thing can happen to us with money. I don’t think anyone thinks to themselves,

“You know what, I want to become really materialistic. I want to spend my life chasing after money.” No

one says that. But what we do is get distracted and somewhere along the way we stop using money as a

tool and it becomes an ends to itself.

That’s not the way it was meant to be. Perhaps it’s time to reassess how we are using our money to

avoid it becoming something more than a tool. This might call for some changes to be made, for

something to be sacrificed.

If you were no longer usde money as anything more than a tool to accomplish an end, what would have to change in your life? What would you have to sacrifice in order to make it so?

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Read: Romans 12:1-3

It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man. ~ Albert Einstein

The opposite of love is not hatred. The opposite of love is Self. It is Self that has a way of

destroying relationships. Self has a way of ruining marriage. Self often throws tantrums and fits until it

gets its way. Self is very persuasive and has a way of edging into the spotlight of our lives. The challenge

becomes even harder because for most of us the default setting on our lives is Self. When things get hard,

when times are rough, when we are unhappy or dissatisfied, we turn, without a thought, to Self.

If we are to turn up the heat to 212, then Self must be put to death.

But Self is a weasel; it comes back to life everyday. We must become people who have the daily

practice of putting Self to death. It is the very thing being addressed in the passage from Romans we read

for today. In order to be a living sacrifice, all of our individual Selves must die. If we cultivate this

practice, we will be more able to love and serve those placed in our lives. In this way, we begin to build

God pleasing marriages, relationships, families, and lives. This is how we turn up the heat and develop

generosity.

I don’t know what this looks like for you, but I bet you probably have an idea. Think about the

things you get in arguments about. Think of the places where you make sure to get your own way.

Think of the times and situations when you could serve or help someone else but don’t. Think of the

ways you focus on you.

Maybe we need to ask some questions in our lives.

What can I do to make my relationships stronger? What can I do to make my community richer?

What can I do to make my church healthier? How can I turn the heat up in this area of my life? Pay

close attention to the answers, because often these are the areas you will be called to a greater level of

service, submission, and sacrifice.

How does “Self” manifest in your life? What would it look like for you to sacrifice Self in your life? How would this sacrifice help you turn up the heat to 212?

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Read: 1 Chronicles 21:22-24

You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. ~ Amy Carmichael

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. ~ Francis Havergal

There’s an odd story in the Bible found in our reading for today. King David is told by an angel

to build an alter to God and he’s given the specific location where this alter was to be located. When

David went to buy the land needed for the alter, the owner was more than willing to give it to him free

of charge. Not only that, David is offered wood to burn and oxen to sacrifice. Actually, David can built

the alter and make the entire sacrifice without having to spend a dime. If it were me, I’d scoop up the

freebies faster than a sample at Costco. David’s response is interesting.

David declines. The owner of the land is offering it for free, the wood at no charge, the oxen are

gratis, but David knew something about what it means to do the work of God. God called David to

built an alter and to give a sacrifice. But David refuses to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing. David

pays for the land and everything required for the sacrifice. No sacrifice without cost.

I wonder about us. If we are called to make sacrifices for God, and I believe we are, do we simply

give the left-overs? Or freebies? Or things that cost us nothing? When God calls us to make a sacrifice for

him, do we look for a way of doing so without paying a cost?

Think about what it might mean for you to make sacrifices during this season of 212. What

would it look like to make a sacrifice that would actually cost something, a sacrifice you’d notice. Too

often we try to find the easy way out. Too often we look for loopholes. Too often we look for how to

make a sacrifice without having to really sacrifice anything. If we’re going to turn up the heat and

become radically generous people it will require sacrifice with a cost.

Turning up the heat to 212 will require sacrifice. What are you willing to sacrifice and what will it cost?

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212: Week 5 212: Week 5 212: Week 5 212: Week 5 –––– Commitment Commitment Commitment Commitment Day 1Day 1Day 1Day 1

Read: Galatians 6: 9-10

In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized. ~ T.W. Manson

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life

of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. ~ John F. Kennedy

In our fifth and final week of our series 212, we want to talk about what it means to not only turn

up the heat in our lives, but to keep it up. What this will require is commitment. If we truly want to

become radically generous people, the kinds of people God describes in the Bible, then we need to

commit to a 212 type of life.

For many people, life is like floating on the waves. Their emotions and their desires ebb and flow

with the peaks and valleys of life. One day they’re committed to something, the next day they aren’t.

They turn up the heat in their lives until the situation changes or it becomes uncomfortable, then they

turn the heat back down.

For many people, the difficulty isn’t turning up the heat in our lives, but in keeping it up.

Have you ever run a marathon? Yeah, I haven’t either. There is a certain amount of training that is

involved in preparing for a marathon, namely, a whole lot. I’d be interested in giving it a try, except for

all the running involved. Every time I’ve gone for a run in the past, I get weary of it almost as soon as I

started. I might engage in a running regimen for several days, excited at the prospect of my new training

program. But before too long my energy begins to lag and my trips to run become more of a drudgery

than a pleasure. The next step, of course, is to stop running altogether.

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It’s easy to grow weary of things that are difficult. Ask anyone who is in school. Even the best

classes, the ones you enjoy and look forward to, can grow tiring. Or think about anyone who has tried to

learn a skill, such as how to play an instrument. It can be fun to think about playing an instrument, but

it is an entirely different thing to have the patience and discipline to learn how to play one.

The same is true with anything that is difficult in life. One thing that can be difficult is doing

what is good. We can start off so strong; excited at the prospect of doing what is good, what is right. We

can be thrilled at the onset, but before too long we begin to grow fatigued.

Paul, the writer of Galatians, wants to encourage us. He knows how difficult doing good can be.

He suffered much for doing good and had plenty of chances to stop. Paul was arrested, beaten, and

mocked. He was shipwrecked, abandoned, and persecuted. Paul knew what it meant to grow weary. But

Paul never gave up doing what was good and right. Humans seem to have a natural tendency to turn

their eyes inward when they grow tired and weary. Instead of focusing on the good we are called to

perform, we focus on ourselves.

So I also want to encourage you. Throughout this series we’ve been talking about what it means to

become radically generous people, but 212 isn’t about money. It’s about generosity and kindness. It’s

about using the opportunities that we have to help those around us. It’s about working through the

weariness that will someday place its long, cold fingers on each of us.

If you talk to someone who has trained for a marathon, who has passed all their classes, who has

learned how to play an instrument, they will all tell you that the effort was worth it. All of them will tell

you there were moments when they wanted to quit. But they didn’t. And the fruit of their commitment

was worth the effort.

I want to encourage you to keep doing what is good and right because it’s worth it. There are

times when it will be hard, but if we continue, we will increasingly become the people we were made to

be. Never miss an opportunity to do what is good and to be generous to those around us.

Have you ever grown weary of doing what is good? How does doing good, especially when we are growing weary, help us to become the type of people God wants us to be? What are ways you think you might grow

weary of the journey to 212?


Read: Proverbs 19:27, Philippians 4:6, Matthew 6: 25-34

The true calling of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. ~ A. P. Stanley

Everybody has the will to win; precious few have the will to prepare to win. ~ Bobby Knight

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If we are going to genuinely commit to turning up the heat in our lives and becoming radically

generous people, we need to get practical about how we think about and handle our money. Money is a

topic we don’t often like to talk about, but Jesus had no such hang-ups.

It might surprise you, but the Bible has over 2300 verses about money and possessions. About

15% of Jesus’ words recorded in the Bible are about money, more than almost any other topic. Over and

over again while reading the Bible, we encounter stories and teaching about money.

As you read that, do you wonder why? Why would God spend so much time and effort talking

about money? Why does money seem like such an important part of what God wants to teach us?

Perhaps its because God knows it’s an area where many people struggle. Perhaps its because God

understands our hearts and how easily they can get off track in this realm. Perhaps its because God cares

so much for us that he wants us to make wise choices when it comes to how we use and think about

money.

Does it surprise you that money is such a dominant topic in the Bible? What do you think this means about how God views money?


Read: Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 27:23

When the water starts boiling, it is foolish to turn off the heat. ~ Nelson Mandela

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore. ~ Yogi Berra

One of the first things we need to understand is how we think about money. This might seem like

an odd place to start, but how we view money makes a huge difference on how we spend, save, and use

money. What this really comes down to, for most people, is how the use of money was modeled for them

in their early life.

What kind of attitudes toward money did you witness at an early age? Was money something that

was ever discussed? Was it used to try to buy happiness and fulfillment? Was saving and planning

modeled? Did you see money used well or poorly?

All of these attitudes can have a profound effect on us, pushing us to either follow the same path

or to intentionally go the opposite direction from what we’ve seen in our lives.

There are essentially two different attitudes that exist when it comes to money: spenders and

savers. For some, it is natural and easy to spend money on the things that they want and need. This can

easily lead to attitudes of gluttony and materialism. For others, spending brings about feelings of guilt

and unease. Instead, they have a natural tendency toward saving. This can lead to attitudes of stinginess

and greed. Behind each of these attitudes is a general sense of what purpose money plays in our lives.

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Money means different things to different people. Often the meaning of money and how it

motivates us can be subtle, but understanding something about the purpose we attach to money can

make a big difference. Some people see money as a source of security and having money means being safe

and secure. Others see money as a way of expressing love and building relationships with others. For still

others, money means having the freedom to do what they like. Others see money as a symbol of personal

success and power. None of these is inherently good or bad, although each definitely has their

downsides.

As you begin to take a closer look at money, ask yourself where you land on this spectrum. We

need to know where we’ve come from with regard to our money so we can understand where our

instincts about money come from. Then we can begin to address them in healthy ways.

How was the use of money modeled for you growing up? In general, are you most influenced by seeing money as

a source of freedom, security, power, or love?


Read: Proverbs 24:3-4, Proverbs 12:1

Don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do. ~ John Wooden

The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an

elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. ~ Mad Magazine

We’re moving into the area that no one wants to talk about: making a budget. The “B” word. It

might not be a four letter word, but many people treat it as if it were. I think the reason why people hate

the idea of a budget is because it feels so restrictive. It feels like a punishment, like being grounded.

A budget really is just a plan. It’s a chance for us to determine where our money goes in a very

intentional way. The truth is many people allow their money to go wherever it pleases without having

any control. And so sometimes money bleeds out of our bank accounts. We want is control over our

money. A budget helps us get control.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind while creating a budget. First, remember that there

are things we buy that we don’t need. We are told over and over again by our culture and our world that

there are things that we absolutely need. There are very few things that fall in this category. If your

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budget is getting really tight, it’s time to consider areas where you might be able to cut. You don’t need a

cell phone. They are nice and very useful, they are not a need. You don’t need cable TV. You don’t need

the best vacation. You don’t need a brand new car. Keeping a proper perspective of what needs and

wants are will help if you need to cut your budget.

Second, be sure your plan isn’t just for “right now” but also for your future. It is often a mistake

to max out your budget for right now just because you can, without thinking about where you hope and

dream to be in the future. Don’t just plan for now, plan for the future as well. Do you want to buy a new

house someday? Budget for it. Do you, as a family, want to live on one income? Budget for it. Do you

want to be more generous? Budget for it. There are people who have trimmed other areas of their budget

to ensure there’s enough room left for radical generosity. I’ve heard people say they would love to be

more generous, but they can’t afford it. I wonder sometimes if they could afford it if they changed their

budget.

The purpose behind a budget is to purposefully direct where your money goes, instead of it just

trickling away. If we are going to commit to a 212 life, we need to begin purposefully budgeting for

generosity in our lives now.

Do you have a budget? What is your first reaction to making a budget? How can making a budget help you commit to living a 212 life?


Read: Proverbs 22:7, Galatians 5: 1,13

Never, never, never give up! ~ Winston Churchill

People are living longer than ever before, a phenomenon undoubtedly made necessary by the 30-year mortgage. ~ Doug Larson

Another area to address while beginning to take a look at our finances is debt. Again, this is a hard

topic to talk about because we are normally uncomfortable talking about how much money we owe.

This topic of debt becomes even more troublesome when we are talking about credit card debt, since

most of this debt carries very high interest rates.

The first step is to get clarity on where we stand. Make a list of every debt you owe with several

factors, such as current balance, minimum payment, and interest rate. Once you see how much debt you

owe, you can begin to address it. I suggest that you begin using a method called the debt snowball. The

debt snowball is a simple tactic that accelerates our debt payoff.

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Once you have listed out your debt, begin with the smallest balance at the top. Keep paying the

minimal payments on all your debts, but add extra to the smallest debt to go toward the principal. Keep

chopping down your smallest debt until it’s paid off. Then take the amount you were paying on the first

debt and add it on top of the minimum payment of the next smallest debt. Once that debt is paid off,

you roll that payment to the minimum payment of the next debt, and your snowball is off and rolling.

Here is an example:

Balance Minimum

Payment

Payment

Card A 500 50 150

Card B 1000 75 225

Card C 1500 100 325

Card D 2000 125 450

On Card A you have a minimum payment of $50, which you increase to $150 to go toward the

principal. Once Card A is paid off, you shift the $150 on top of the minimum payment of Card B ($75

+ $150) for a total of 225. Once that is paid off, roll the $225 on top of the $100 minimum payment of

Card C (totaling $325). Again, once this is paid off, you take the $325 to Card D for a total of $450.

The disturbing, but simple truth is we are enslaved when we are in debt. We work, but we aren’t

working with the freedom to use our resources as we best see fit, but to pay someone else. When we can

eliminate our debt, we free ourselves to become more generous and to be able to respond when and

where God calls us to.

How can debt get in the way of turning up the heat? Do you have a plan to address your debt? In what ways will eliminating debt help you commit to a 212 life?

Final ThoughtsFinal ThoughtsFinal ThoughtsFinal Thoughts

Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

We are at the end of our five week journey. We have been challenged to look at ways we need our

live to be recalibrated and redirected toward God. We’ve talked about the difficult step of trusting God

with our lives and our resources. We’ve seen how transformation is the norm and not the exception for

someone who has met God. We’ve discussed how turning up the heat and becoming radically generous

will require us to make sacrifices. And we’ve been urged to commit to this journey for the next two years.

What does this mean for you? Where have you been challenged? Where have you been pushed to

think and act differently? What has the 212 journey looked like for you so far? What do you hope and

dream it will look in two years from now? What steps are you taking, right now, to engage fully on the

212 journey and to make that journey last?

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212.212.212.212.

Turn up the heat.Turn up the heat.Turn up the heat.Turn up the heat.

Live a radically generous life.Live a radically generous life.Live a radically generous life.Live a radically generous life.

Notes:Notes:Notes:Notes:

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212 Daily Readings

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