Over the past couple of weeks, the Mars Hill Blog has featured various posts related to stewardship and finances:

• Faith vs. Fear
• The Parable of the Talents
• How to Be a Bad Steward
• Ten Ideas for Everyday Saving
• How to Get a Job
• Real Estate: To Buy or Not to Buy?
• The Three-Step Spending Plan
• Ten Steps to Get Your Finances in Order

As we wrap up this series, I’d like to leave you with a few questions to consider, pray about, and study as you learn how to worship Jesus with your money. I’m still learning myself, and quite thankful for a good God who uses crooked sticks like myself to draw some straight lines.

When it comes to stewardship, whose example are you following?

We can benefit from the insight of the Warren Buffets, Dave Ramseys, and “Rich Dads” of the world, but as Christians, Jesus must be our standard. He lived generously and faithfully, giving everything in order to glorify God and save his loved ones from sin and death. The counsel to be found in his Word is unmatched.

Who is your king?

You have to choose a king. Will it be Jesus or will it be money? Our budget reveals our true allegiance and often our worry is a sign that we are seeking something above God’s kingdom.

What are you afraid of?

The Bible calls us to fear God—that his wisdom, his power, and his sovereignty would direct our life, because he is good. The alternative is to doubt God and fear our circumstances:

• Loss of job
• Hard times
• Approaching the edge of financial comfort
• Inability to pay bills
• Lack of retirement funds
• Having kids (and affording them)

Fear doesn’t just go away. It must be dealt with by illuminating its source with the light of the gospel and walking in Holy Spirit-driven repentance.

Do you feel a sense of urgency?

Jesus left us with a mission; he saved us for a purpose. Jesus is building his church to spread the gospel, rescuing people from sin, death, hell, wrath, and folly. This is a beautiful story that all Christians have the privilege of participating in. Does your life and involvement in Jesus’ church reflect a gospel-centered urgency?

What do you believe?

You may lose your job. You may go bankrupt. You may lose your house. And someday you will die. Not fearing these things doesn’t mean we deny their existence. It means we choose to trust God and be content with his all-sufficient grace. As the Bible says:

• God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).
• Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
• Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Tim. 6:18–19).
• Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love… (Ps. 33:18).
• I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory (Ps. 73:23–24).
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6–7).
• “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9).
• No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11).
• By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us… (1 John 3:16).

True treasure awaits, the joy of Jesus transcends circumstances, and God himself is the greatest possession. We grow to trust these promises as we get to know the one who’s making them—God himself. And we get to know him through faith, through his Word, and through Jesus.

I hope this series has been beneficial for you–thank you to all of our financial coaches, pastors, and members who contributed!–and I pray that you thrive in Jesus’ love, wisdom, and truth.