Episode 107: The Widow’s Mite: What Are You Still Holding Back?

Jacob Paul: Welcome to the Truth in Love podcast with your hosts Kimberly Faith and John Mac. The Truth in Love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: Well, dad, you know, we talked about last time we were meddling. We’re doing some meddling in our

John McLarty: own lives. Do some more. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: God’s been meddling in my life, and I think it’s worth for our

John McLarty: own good. Is.

Kimberly Faith: He’s like, Kim, you really don’t quite have that role right. We need to, you know, speaking in jujitsu terms, you know, you need to, you need to get that. You’re missing some things here. And I really appreciate that because the title of this podcast is Do you want God’s best? And I think we all do. But if we do, we need to learn to keep score God’s way. And I’ll be honest, this sermon I mean, this podcast was inspired by a sermon I heard by a guy named Terry Moore, who is the executive pastor at Nags Head Church. At least that’s what the website says. I don’t know what that really means, executive pastor. But he is an amazing speaker as is all the people I’ve heard speak, including the lead pastor at Knightshead Church.

John McLarty: Sounds like a great church.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. It’s a church where my daughter goes.

John McLarty: Messages.

Kimberly Faith: Perfect. This one just hit home because it kind of boils down to if we really want God’s best, then we gotta do things his way.

John McLarty: You know? Absolutely.

Kimberly Faith: I would agree with that. And The

John McLarty: teacher teaches that.

Kimberly Faith: 100%. And one of the you know, it’s not like we’re saying best is some kind of vague term. The bible tells us exactly what God’s best look like looks like. And it’s all the things money can’t buy, you know. It’s it’s that we talk about the fruit of the spirit a lot.

You can’t buy love. You can’t buy joy. You can’t buy peace. You can’t buy compassion. And what’s what’s interesting about those things, those are things that we can experience right now.

But y’all also can’t buy the salvation of souls. Right. You can’t force those things. They have to come by doing things God’s way, and then we get his best blessings.

John McLarty: And he wants us to have the abundant life.

Kimberly Faith: He does.

John McLarty: We’re not talking about, obviously, the prosperity gospel.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s the the the spiritual blessings are the best blessings, but God also blesses us with physical blessings. We tend to to think that God’s best is represented by how much money we have, how much land we have, how, you know, successful we are. Those are the smallest things.

The greatest things are the things that we can’t measure by this earthly standard.

John McLarty: How about this verse, which is one of our theme verses, Ephesians three twenty? I think you could almost quote it. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

John McLarty: So God wants to bless us and, yeah, that’s obviously beyond houses and riches. Right. That’s the abundant life. That’s the fulfilling life.

Kimberly Faith: Right. When you think about

John McLarty: Life in Christ.

Kimberly Faith: I know a lot of people who are incredibly wealthy, and they’re, like, the most unhappy people I know.

John McLarty: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s and it’s not that is an indictment on the failure of the physical world to meet our spiritual needs, really. And so we’re just going to jump right in, and we’re going to read whole message was grounded in Mark chapter 12 verses 41 through 44 about the widow’s offering.

John McLarty: If The widow’s might.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. And do you want to read that?

John McLarty: Sure. This is from Mark twelve forty one through 44. Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury, and many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which makes a quadrants. So he called his disciples to himself and said to them, assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.

For they have all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had her whole livelihood.

Kimberly Faith: You know, that that that phrase her holy life her whole livelihood, that was everything she depended on her. That was her that was her only plan. She didn’t have a plan b, a savings account, anything. She did not know where her next meal was going to come from.

John McLarty: Put in all that she had.

Kimberly Faith: And and kind of the key that that, Terry started with in this message was Jesus isn’t measuring the size of the gift.

John McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: He’s measuring the gap between what we have and what we give. In other words, what we hold back. I was when I heard that, I was like, okay, Lord. That makes so much sense. And, you know, you think about the and this is this is again just a little bit of a rabbit.

But you think about the parable of the rich young ruler. What did Jesus tell him? Sell everything that you have. Right?

John McLarty: And he yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Because he had done he said he he claimed to kept all the commandments

John McLarty: from his youth. Says I’ve kept them all from my youth.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. But all these other people who come to the temple were giving out of their abundance. They’re giving only a portion.

John McLarty: And the rich young ruler went away sorrowful.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. Right. He never got what he was looking for.

John McLarty: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And I think and and I think one the things to consider as we kind of jump into this is what that the story ends right there. We never get to hear, oh, and then she went home and her you know, somebody bought her a house and a car or no mule, whatever they you know, a new donkey. And she had a whole storehouse full of food. Never get to hear that. You know, when I was, actually, my daughter Grace and I listened to this sermon together on way to the airport.

And, one of the things and she brought this up was we don’t like, we get to hear some of the ends of the stories like Abraham, how he was blessed. Right? Joseph, how he went from, you know, slavery in prison to being the second in command in Egypt. We don’t get to hear that with the widow. Interesting.

And I I think the whole point of this not knowing is to really say to really help us to turn our giving into less of a transactional, occurrence and more of a faithful occurrence. Because, you know, how tired we are, how much we feel like we give, that is not a measure of our faithfulness. It’s what we hold back. And I think this has been profoundly I I have thought about this ever since I heard this message thinking, wow. I need to I want god’s best.

I mean, I I’m I’m being a kind of mercenary here, but I do want god’s best. And and god wants us to want his best. But how do we get there?

John McLarty: You know, sometimes a great challenge I mean, we not knowing is a good thing in our life because it challenges our faith. I mean, we know how ultimately the story ends

Kimberly Faith: Right.

John McLarty: You know, in heaven Right. With Christ. But this life is, as you’ve said, full of trouble. And it’s sometimes how Christians are reacting to that trouble, not knowing the outcome. So it’s interesting that he he challenges us with this story of the widow and her mite and doesn’t tell us the outcome of how it turned out for her.

Kimberly Faith: Right. Did she go home and die? Did she you know, what happened? But if we needed to know the outcome before we can be faithful, then we’re we’re we’re basically turning our faith into a transaction with God instead of a trust. And and, you know, faith is only faith once there’s no safety net.

It’s only tested when it’s challenged. That’s right. A calculated risk is never a sacrifice. That’s just a calculated risk And or smart accounting or being you know, I’ve I’ve been guilty of this. Well, it’s not good stewardship for me to give by faith maybe to a missionary who needs a new truck.

Mhmm. It’s not good stewardship because I don’t know how my bills are going to be paid. That is an excuse to not exercise faith. If the holy spirit is laying on our heart to do something that requires our faith, we don’t I I like to think of it this way. I don’t have to know how God’s going to provide.

I get to live the adventure to see how he will do that. It’s a totally different mindset

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: To see to to to say, I’m going to join this adventure. You know, the first time I ever jumped out of a plane, you know, I didn’t know the parachute was going to open, but I trusted the guy that was the tandem guy. You know, he was the guy I jumped with. Mhmm. I didn’t even know this guy.

I sometimes put more faith in people I don’t even know, like jumping out of a plane where you could absolutely die than I do in the God who created everything and has provided for me in numerous ways throughout my life. The fact that I’m even alive is a miracle in my you know what I’m saying? And so we I

John McLarty: think of a verse, I’m just going to paraphrase it. I think it’s in second Corinthians, but it’s talking about as a man purposeth in his heart, so shall he also give. Right. And then there’s there’s, you know, again, not the prosperity gospel, but there’s blessings for that. But instead of this calculated, oh, I’m going to give, but I’ve got this bill and Right.

It’s this as he purposes in his heart.

Kimberly Faith: I like that.

John McLarty: So, you know, based on you know, and I’ve we’ve I think we’ve, as Christians, experienced that where God just puts this is for a missionary, a number in our head. Right. And it’s it’s not a calculation, and we looked at our spreadsheet. It’s just so that that that’s what the but she gave all.

Kimberly Faith: It’s flying free.

John McLarty: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: It’s faith that allows us to fly in freedom. And that’s really you know, I use the jumping out of the plane experience because it you just feel like you’re flying free. It’s the most amazing feeling. You see, you know, you can see the earth. You’re like the wind is blowing in your face.

You’re like it’s an incredible experience. I I kind of equate it with when I went bungee jumping. You’re just free falling, and it’s just exhilarating. You know? I I guess some people might think it’s terrifying.

I thought it was exhilarating. I mean, mostly because I know if I die, I know where I’m going. You know? That that’s I guess it would be terrifying if I didn’t know that. But the widow’s trust was complete before she knew the ending.

That’s what separates trusting God 100% from trusting him at all. Because, really, if we aren’t trusting him 100% in every area of our life, then we’re not trusting him at all.

John McLarty: That is that, yeah, as as we started this, that’s doing some meddling there. Yeah. Yeah. Giving all.

Kimberly Faith: Well, and this word all that Jesus used is the same word that was used in Mark twelve thirty, where he said, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.

John McLarty: All your soul.

Kimberly Faith: All your mind. All your strength. And this word all is which is whole, entire, complete, not a majority, not even let’s say you were regularly giving 50% of your income to the lord. No. That’s this isn’t about how much you’re giving.

It’s about how much you’re holding on to. And, you know, this word holos comes from the word, that’s where we get the word holistic.

John McLarty: So all means all.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. It means the whole part

John McLarty: of you.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s it’s the the the widow’s mites, her two mites, were the whole of her livings with the the way Jesus put it. In other words, she didn’t hold anything back. She had no plan b. Jesus was her plan a. And I, you know, I think I think where the where the message kind of went that kind of really again, we’re meddling, and I am grateful that God thinks I’m worth meddling with.

You know? Is that right? Meddling with?

John McLarty: Meddling. That’s a good one.

Kimberly Faith: But grateful God does meddle because it it really has been so challenging and so wonderful. But

John McLarty: You might say steps on some toes as some of the old preachers would say.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. So it kind of comes back to that word all. You know, we as we sit here in our, you know, comfortable air conditioned room with all this electronic equipment doing this podcast, you know, we may be thinking, yeah, I I I give a lot to God. I’m kind of giving my all because I’m giving all the extra that I have.

Right?

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: I’m giving it in responsible way that and and I’m not even talking about just money. I’m talking about our time, you know, our love, whatever we we’re giving. But the fact is, we all do this. We judge our what mean what all means by our own standard instead of by god’s word. And just to set this up, and this is kind of the heart of this message, this this this idea.

We often appoint ourselves both prosecutor and judge while we’re the defendant in order to judge whether we’re giving all. Does that is analogy help?

John McLarty: Sounds like you get lawyer perspective.

Kimberly Faith: Well, think about it.

John McLarty: Defendant, judge, and prosecutor.

Kimberly Faith: That’s that’s how we define all. We put on the robe. We become our own judge. We hear the case. We make the ruling.

No surprise. We always rule in our favor. Right? As a prosecutor, we decide which charges we’re going to bring. You know?

And then we only bring the charges where safe where if you feel safely that we can win. This is what we do. And

John McLarty: We have a comfort level.

Kimberly Faith: We have a comfort level. And, you know, we don’t we don’t bring the charges we think we can’t really defend. Right? And this is the this is how we decide when our quote all is enough. And the the you know, God has never asked us to be the judge.

He has never asked us to be, you know first of all, you know, that may be not a great example because, you know, the devil is the accuser. Right? But we don’t get to rule ourselves innocent and call it discernment. That’s not examining our heart. We need to look at God’s word.

So this is kind of where this message kind of switched gears to instead of examining what we consider to be all when we talk about whether giving our time, our money, our, you know, our effort to towards, you know, other people.

John McLarty: Yeah. And I think that’s key because we’ve expanded it out from the widow’s the money, the widow’s mite, to Mark twelve thirty. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

Kimberly Faith: Right. That’s your whole life. That’s your whole life. Yeah. And and

John McLarty: That’s your time.

Kimberly Faith: So instead of us examining and putting on trial the things that we give to see if it’s all, the challenge was examine the parts you’re not giving. And that would be your time, your resources, your let’s say you have a like I do, your own business. Even your vehicle. You know? You don’t want to take the sticky neighbor kids to church because you don’t want them sweating in your vehicle.

I mean, that’s just a real practical example. Right? You don’t want to have the neighbors over to your house because they’re not the same social strata you are. And they’re, you know, they’re stinky or whatever. And I’m not saying this about any of my neighbors, but any of my neighbors listening to this.

I’m just using this as an example. Right?

John McLarty: Sure.

Kimberly Faith: These are Exactly. These are, these this is what we have to examine. And we’re going to talk about a real practical way to do that at the end of this podcast. But before we do that, I want to go to second Corinthians chapter eight verses one through five, which is just an incredible, incredible example example of a real church doing this. And do you want to read second Corinthians eight one through five?

John McLarty: Yeah. And I love this second Corinthians eight, and then I think nine is where I got the verse as a as a man purposeth in his heart, that socially also give. But yeah, these giving people. So second Corinthians eight:one-five, Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the church churches of Macedonia that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.

Kimberly Faith: That is the key.

John McLarty: That is so

Kimberly Faith: That is the key. Amazing. The first thing they gave was what?

John McLarty: Themselves.

Kimberly Faith: Themselves. And this is where this is where the rubber meets the road. Because unless we’re willing to give up every part of ourselves, how much money we give, how much time we give, we you know, check the box Christianity, it doesn’t it’s not even that is not even counting towards getting God’s best in our life. Because we are not we’re doing what Jesus said in Mark Mark was it Mark chapter five? Loving the Lord no.

12. Loving the

John McLarty: Lord Twelve thirty.

Kimberly Faith: Our God with all our heart. This is a command. This isn’t like option one. This is the command. Loving the Lord all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength.

John McLarty: Just to repeat that. For they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us Right. By the will of God. That’s So as they were following him.

Kimberly Faith: The biblical order is first give yourself, then you give out of, you know, out of the abundance of giving yourself to God. Because when we give ourselves every part of our life to God, he does our life better than we do. I say that all the time because it’s so true. And I say it all the time because I’ve I remind myself, you know. You know, I it has happened time after time after time in my business.

I will think this problem, I need to solve it right now. And God does not give me peace to tackle a particular case at that point. Instead, he has me doing something completely different. Later in the week, that problem solves itself. I never even had to spend the time Because on what the mission that God had me, the fire he may have had me fighting at the time when I was trying to do my life my own was his that was his firefight.

And he wins the battles. I don’t win the battles without him. So it’s giving all of yourself first. And and it’s it’s setting it said it’s following Jesus. Well, yeah.

But Jesus did.

John McLarty: It’s following the following the spirit. And, boy, this is you know, we can just stop right here and just contemplate this on our own.

Kimberly Faith: Right. Right.

John McLarty: But, yeah, to to give all, to be led of the spirit, that’s that’s you know, you think there’s the flesh. There’s a battle of the flesh. So, you know, it’s just such a challenge. But, you know, you just have to you just have to accept it and face it. Let your toes be stepped on.

Kimberly Faith: Well, when I say when I say god set the standard, Jesus gave all.

John McLarty: He did.

Kimberly Faith: He he gave everything. And why would we and he he gave everything so we could have everything. So we could have everything we ever were created to have. You read that verses in Ephesians chapter three earlier. I think it was this this yeah.

Where, you know, pray Paul Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they would have more than

John McLarty: they could ask

Kimberly Faith: for or imagine. Jesus is the giver of all we can ask for or imagine. And you think about your greatest imagination. We’re talking about what you know, having God’s best. We think God’s best the bar, we set it really low.

Because we think five acres. We think, oh, if I just had five acres.

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And then when God says, but I want to give you 50 acres so that you can glorify me with it. It’s when we’re in that in that frame of mind that we already belong to God, all of us, that doesn’t make us more greedy. What that does, it gives us a greater fear of the lord. Like, okay, lord. Are you sure you can trust me to do your will with this, or will I going to am I going to let my flesh get in and become you know, take over and start being mercenary, right, or protective or saying, oh, I don’t want the, you know, the the people these people on my property or, you know, because my property instead of God’s property.

Does that make sense?

John McLarty: It does. Well, and this this really challenges the Christian life because we all establish kind of our comfort zone of serving God. We’re going to serve God but within our comfort zone. And this challenges, you might say, the parameters, the boundaries of that comfort zone.

Kimberly Faith: It really does. As And I kind of saw God, you know, pushing me on the mat, so to speak, to be to capture his best so I could be better for his glory, One of the things I said, Lord, give me something I can remember to pray so that I will be trying to achieve this every day, finding the places where I’m holding back. And I mean, there is not a better verse that I could think of than Psalms one thirty nine twenty three and twenty four. It says, search me, oh god, and know my heart. Try me and know my my ways is what the King James calls it.

New King James says anxiety. I like my ways better. And see if there’s any wicked way in me and leave me in the way everlasting. You know, when wicked

John McLarty: That’s a deep prayer.

Kimberly Faith: It is. Wicked way

John McLarty: oh, God.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Wicked way there doesn’t mean I’m looking at porn. Wicked way means anything that’s not loving Jesus. You know? It’s we we’ve talked about this a lot.

Love the opposite of love isn’t hate. The opposite of love is selfishness.

John McLarty: Selfishness. Yeah. You know?

Kimberly Faith: So so the real so one of the I’ll just I’ll just be real transparent here. One of the ways that God has answered that prayer is with my little pockets time that I like to carve out in the evening for myself. It’s like, I deal with people all day. I don’t want to deal with people after 08:00. You know?

Mhmm. I don’t want to be on the phone. I don’t want to have to talk to people, you know, face to face. Lord, this is my space to just you know, my therapy time. Mhmm.

Whether that’s hiking or yard work or whatever or just, you know, hanging in my house. And and sometimes just even reading god’s word. None of those things are bad. But God has been poking the bear. He’s like, okay.

And even like my when I get to be actually in my house on a Saturday, I feel like, okay, this is my day, you know, to do what I want to do. Mhmm. Well, the very week the very day after I heard this sermon, I had a weekend at my house and I was like, okay, God. I’m going to give you this whole day. I’m going to let you poke into all the parts I don’t want you to.

And he did. And he did. He kind of rolled me on the mat a little bit. Like, these people need to be invited.

John McLarty: Prayed the prayer, search me, oh God. That’s right. And he

Kimberly Faith: did. And I’ll tell you, dad, it wasn’t I’m not going to say I really just enjoyed it 100%. I was kind of you know, like, it was kind of a sweaty workout. And it was a sticky workout. It was not it was a painful workout.

It wasn’t you know? But by Sunday, I didn’t get any of me time until Sunday night at 08:30PM. Okay? And the whole weekend. And I was like, you know what, Lord?

I appreciate you revealing what I’ve been holding back. Because what what I’ve I don’t like to base this on feelings, but I felt better about my weekend because I know I had planted seeds that god had given me to plant in the lives of lives of others. And, you know, I had I had one thing I wanted to do this weekend this that weekend. I wanted to write a song for my daughter, Sarah, whose birthday was Sunday. And And I’ve been wanting to do this for two years.

And you know, after everybody finally left my house around 03:00 on Sunday, God downloaded that song right into me. And I’d add on me.

John McLarty: That’s a blessing.

Kimberly Faith: It was such a blessing. And I, you know, as I kind of was reflecting

John McLarty: You gave to him and he gave back.

Kimberly Faith: He gave back. And I always know when I write a song, it’s not me. I always know because I can’t just say, I’m going to sit down and write a song today. No. I’ve wanted to write a song for my daughter for two years.

But it didn’t happen. It’s not something I can just conjure up. Holy Spirit has to do it. And I’m like, god, I don’t like this lesson, but I see the value. And I see it’s pushing me to in a position to be able to have your best.

Does that make sense?

John McLarty: It does make perfect sense.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. God isn’t stingy. He doesn’t want to hold back on us.

John McLarty: And he he’s we ask you pray that prayer and you’re go you’re search me, oh god. He answers that prayer.

Kimberly Faith: He sure does. And it’s and it’s not it’s always better than how we think it should be. You know, we we have a predis like, when I’m I was praying that prayer, I’m not going to lie. I was thinking, yeah. Search me, god.

I know there’s I could give a little more money. You know, I was thinking that’s what I was thinking. It was nothing to do with that. He know he knows what you love, and he wants to take what you love.

John McLarty: Let’s not take my little personal times away.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Exactly.

John McLarty: I think everybody can relate to that.

Kimberly Faith: He knows what we love more than we love him. Yeah. And he takes that if we let him and turns that into more than we could ever have without him.

John McLarty: Well, that’s a that’s a real challenge, Kim. Yeah. That’s to give it all to God.

Kimberly Faith: Well So

John McLarty: I’ll tell one quick little story. Okay. It’s just how our flesh fights this continually. Mhmm. Kind of a similar experience, But that turned into a blessing.

So it’s 11:00. It’s winter. I get a call from a son that works at a pizza place. And what you know, why is this son calling me at eleven? I knew it was trouble.

Uh-huh. I knew it couldn’t be to say, hi, dad. Right. I love you. Been thinking about you.

So this son had a flat tire out on I 49, and it was cold. And it was about eleven. I was already in my pajamas. He needed help. And my flesh was like, how could how could this possibly be happening now?

This is like I know you’re you’re asleep by eleven. Right. But, you know, my little quiet time was kind of from nine to eleven. I’m like winding down and just kind of processing things. But and of course, was kind of trapped.

I mean, who else is he going to call? Right. But I could have done it all with a bad attitude. Yeah. And just gone and give you know, he didn’t have a spare tire and he was just totally unprepared.

And between just getting back into my street clothes and getting into the car, God just changed my whole attitude. And I just thought, I’m just going to be ministering to my son and just have a cheerful attitude. And I didn’t my flesh, I didn’t will my flesh to do that. God just changed my attitude. Yeah.

And I kind of got excited about it.

Kimberly Faith: That’s a great

John McLarty: Made some hot tea, had a great conversation, and at, you know, 12:00, 12:30, and just had a great kind of bonding experience.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

John McLarty: But I couldn’t have changed my attitude. God did it. Right.

Kimberly Faith: That’s a good example.

John McLarty: But it was it was, you know, it was kind of a search me because those are you talk about your little personal times.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

John McLarty: That was, you know, way outside of my comfort zone.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. It’s you know, and I and I can we can sit there and be our own judge and say, well, God clicking through the list of things we’re already giving God. God, I already gave you my law practice. I already gave you, you know, my my home.

I already gave you blah blah blah, whatever. Right?

John McLarty: The Bargaining. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Bargaining. It’s it’s very if we want a transactional relationship with god, we’re going to be very disappointed. But God wants the part we’ve been holding back because he always does our life better than we do.

John McLarty: Amen.

Kimberly Faith: It’s not because he’s selfish. He can’t be selfish. He’s love. Right? And, you know, so I’m very much a work in progress on this.

Because there are pockets that I am praying this prayer. As well as prayers you kind of like when you pray for patience, you’re like, oh no, what’s he going to send? Same thing. Like, what is he going to want now? But then he’s showing me, look.

You gave me this and look what happened. You actually got something better than you had gotten if you had just used that weekend all to yourself.

John McLarty: I just think the rewards so just to totally blow away the prosperity gospel, your reward was being a blessing to your daughter, Sarah, in writing her that song.

Kimberly Faith: 100%. That’s a great way to look at it. And

John McLarty: So you you were blessed. And then by blessing her

Kimberly Faith: Right.

John McLarty: It wasn’t just to give you a warm fuzzy feeling. You spread that to Sarah, and then she, you know, I’m I’m sure it just made her

Kimberly Faith: think was pretty special

John McLarty: for I don’t know. Her a whole year.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. May. Well, I don’t know about that. But but, you know, it’s it’s God’s economy Yeah. Is is not he doesn’t invest in things you know, his biggest investments aren’t things that are that’s going that are going to pass away.

His biggest investments and the best investments that what do we call the 10000% is in the things that last forever.

John McLarty: And think about this. You did not know the outcome. You wouldn’t have thought, okay. I’m going to minister to this situation in all my private times. But I’m going to get to write this God’s going to give me this great song for Sarah, so I’ll do it.

You just did it. And then the Lord blessed.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s just like

John McLarty: the widow’s just

Kimberly Faith: like the widow’s mite. Just like the widow’s mite. Right? She didn’t she didn’t give those two mites and thinking, okay. But when I get home, I better have some food on the table.

Yeah. No. She did it, and we don’t know. We we know the faithfulness of God. So we know he took care of her as he saw fit.

John McLarty: You know, this it does boil down to trusting in God, doesn’t it? Trusting in his loving kindness.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. And and is there is there any loving kindness, any faithfulness, any strength, any wisdom, any any degree of anything worth having that we’ve ever experienced that’s greater than god’s?

John McLarty: No.

Kimberly Faith: No. So we again, I wanted to do this podcast just because it was, oh my goodness, it was just like, lord, thank you for showing me this. Don’t like it. Okay? My flesh doesn’t like it.

John McLarty: It’s meddling. It’s meddling.

Kimberly Faith: And my flesh hates to be meddled with, but my soul loves it.

John McLarty: Amen.

Kimberly Faith: You know? So I I if you’re listening to this and this has challenged you, I hope it’s challenged you because I think we all have pockets of areas where we go, god, this is off limits. But if you’re listening to this and you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, that’s the first step. The only way you’re ever going to have god’s best. Because the best thing he has given us is himself.

Jesus gave everything so we could we could be with him. We could be reconciled to him through the great his grace and his mercy. And, you know, we talk about salvation a lot on our website. We talk about we explain how to be saved and all the mechanics behind it. They’re not it’s not that hard.

You are you know, I remember when I got saved, and I I know y’all heard this before. But when I accepted Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, it was a surrender. It was like, am done.

John McLarty: Into him. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: I’m done trying. I’m done trying to perform. I’m done you know, all these things. I’m not hanging on to the things that I think you’re going to take away from me. I surrender.

I give up. I’m yours. And that was as simple as it was.

John McLarty: And since the challenge, we’re holding back because we want that control of our life. We want those things that we think are giving us joy. Right. So even the salvation is that surrender.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. And it’s just again, if you haven’t done that, this today is the day of salvation. You may not get tomorrow. And if you are saved and and you’re living a Christian life and it and you feel like there are things that, you know, you feel like you’ve given all, I want to challenge you.

I want to challenge you to pray that prayer and ask god to search you because I don’t want you to miss a thing.

John McLarty: Amen.

Kimberly Faith: I don’t want you to miss any opportunity. And more than that, god doesn’t want you to miss any opportunity. My my what I want for you is so small compared to what God wants for you. God wants that part. We’re holding back because he will do our life so

John McLarty: much better than we do. 100%.

Kimberly Faith: I want to take a moment to invite you into something more. If today’s episode is encouraging you, don’t stop here. There’s a whole world of resources waiting for you at gofaithstrong.com. From devotionals and worship music to blogs and past podcast episodes, everything we create is designed to help you grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus. We know how hard it can be to stay rooted and true throughout the week, which is why we poured our prayer and hearts into building a place where faith is personal, practical, and powerful.

Whether you’ve been walking with God for years or you’re just beginning, you will find something to strengthen your journey. And while you’re here with us, would you take a second to like, follow, and share this podcast? It helps us reach more hearts with the gospel, and that’s what this is all about. So when you’re ready, head over to gofaithstrong.com and keep growing with us.