Right Living; Right Giving: A Spiritual Journey to a Generous Lifestyle

By Craig A. Dunn, Larry Moore and Stan Toler

This book is full of helps for keeping the joy in your Kingdom living and giving. Its transformational concepts will expand your Christian worldview. And its Scripture applications will give you Scripture road maps for pursuing a victorious Christian life.
Written by authors who have vast experiences in pastoral, leadership, and finance ministries, their insights will be of great value to you on your spiritual journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WesleyanInvestmentFoundation
• Release date: May 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781943140541

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Copyright ©2017 by Craig A. Dunn, Larry Moore & Stan Toler All rights reserved

Copyright ©2017 RIGHT LIVING, RIGHT GIVING: A Spiritual Journey to a Generous Lifestyle Craig A. Dunn, Larry Moore & Stan Toler

ISBN: 978-1-943140-54-1

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NIV

New Living Translation (NLT), Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NKJV

New King James Version (NKJV), Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked KJV King James Version (KJV), Public Domain

Scriptures marked MSG The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

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Cover and Interior Design: D.E. West / ZAQ Designs

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Introduction

1. Real Financial Security

2. Safe from Recession

3. Everything is a Gift

4. He Will Carry You

5. God is Not a Scrooge

6. Use the Right Theorem

7. A Sure-Fire Investment

8. It’s Time to Give

9. Like a Parent Gives

10. Whatever You Need

11. Faithful Always

12. Sow with a Full Hand

13. Reaping Joyfully

14. Exercise Your Giving

15. An Ancestry to Cherish

16. It Means a Tenth

17. Thankfulness and Stewardship

18. Wise Worship

19. How to Grow Your Future

20. Divided Focus

21. Invest Your Heart

22. So Many Things to Love

23. Obedience is Love

24. A Dedicated Plan

25. Hoarding

26. Unwilling Sacrifice

27. Ultimate Servanthood

28. Lord of All

29. The Joy of Sharing

30. Not-So-Instant Rewards

31. A Penny Earned

32. Contentment Meltdown

33. Could You Give it All Away?

34. Flying Both Flags

35. The Grief of Greed

36. The Giving Wall

37. Christ-Filled and Christ-Like

38. One-Hundred-Percent

39. Plan Before You Build

40. Watch Out for Weeds

41. Pay it Forward

42. A Legacy of First Fruits

43. Prince and Pauper Alike

44. Willing Response

45. The Name on Every Account

46. Honor the Source

47. Abundant Responsibility

48. Right Preparation

49. The Right Ingredients

50. God’s Measuring Cup

51. Blessed and Blessing

52. Lauren’s Choice

53. Trust and Trustees

54. What God Asks

55. When I Grow Up

56. Power of the Checkbook

57. Ambidextrous Giving

58. Layer on Layer

59. Beyond the Valedictorian’s Address

60. The Worst Invader

61. Godliness Index

62. Refresh by Refreshing Others

63. Beginning at Home

64. On the Jericho Road

65. Greedy Inheritance

Meet the Authors

Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting.

God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon.

His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

2 Corinthians 9:6-11, MSG

INTRODUCTION

The challenges of right living and right giving go all the way back to Bible times. In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain's offering was given impulsively and disobediently, while Abel's was given out of love and obedience to God. The fallout was disastrous. Cain’s jealousy led him to murder his brother and spend the remainder of his life as a restless wanderer (Genesis 4:12).

Wrong motives for doing right things often put a glitch in our daily activities. They even affect how we worship on the weekend. Trading joy for duty results in a dull emptiness. And watching others rejoice in worship can arouse feelings of resentment.

We pray that Right Living, Right Giving will be transformational. We offer you time-proven insights for living triumphantly and giving generously. And we hope these concepts will also help you in your development of a Christian worldview.

The Scriptures are highly relevant to these issues. We have personally discovered that God’s directions are accompanied by the promises of His supply. They are absolute truths that contrast the world’s conditionals. And they are positive in providing spiritual security in troubled times.

In gratitude to our Lord, each of us has served His church in ministry for nearly four decades, in pastoral leadership, or financial services. And what we have learned from our on-site experiences, we delight to share with you. We believe Right Living, Right Giving will be of great value to you, as you continue to make Kingdom values a priority in your life.

Craig A. Dunn, Larry Moore & Stan Toler 2017

1

REAL FINANCIAL SECURITY

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture

(Psalm 37:3)

Gordon heard his pastor speak on biblical principles for giving tithes and offerings, but he wasn’t buying it. Did God expect him to give blindly before he knew how the month would shake out? What assurance did he have that he could provide for the things he needed?

The words of the Psalmist provide valuable answers:

Trust the Lord and do good. Do what is right, in this case giving to God in obedience to His Word.

Dwell in the land. Rest in the security of His provision of grace.

Enjoy safe pasture. Trust God to resource and protect you right where you are, not just where you hope to be.

The truest financial security is trusting God with our resources and believing that He will supply what we need, when we need it. Estimating His worth is futile. Psalm 50:12b,