Message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron, OH, Sunday, April 27, 2025.
As a child of God, we receive the blessing of eternal life through salvation because of our faith and belief that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin at the cross and in His resurrection. That good news is actually great news for anyone who believes in Jesus in this manner, but it also comes with a resolution for all who believe: We are to share this good news as often as necessary. The authority to act in this manner comes from none other than Jesus:
Matthew 28:18-20a NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
We’ve heard this verse before, but I’m bringing it up once more to emphasize how our role in ministry is something that we need to take very seriously. Prayerfully, these words should hit very close to home. We are to share with anyone and everyone about the goodness of God and how he has favorably impacted your life. We are to share with those we know and those we don’t know as well. The Spirit reveals to us who we share with and how we are to share. It won’t often be easy or simple, but we must remember that we are acting on God’s authority and in the power of the Spirit as we go.
And yes, as we share, we also will have occasions to share with our own family members.
For some of you, that may be a hard stop because of what you have had to go through in your efforts to just live as a believer in Jesus in the family.
I get it. You may be the only believer in sight.
But that doesn’t matter when you hold it up against the Word of God. We are still to be the lights in a world of darkness. We are still called to be ready to share the gospel at a moment’s notice. We are still called to live according to His IMAGE—Investigate (God’s Word), Meditate, Act, Grow and Endure.1
Of course, this is a lifetime process, and it may take much of your life to witness to your own family members about Jesus. While you are willing to share, the recipient has to be willing to hear—and willing to listen. Jesus shared often that he was shunned or ignored by those who should have been closest or more familiar with him:
Mark 6:4 NLT
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”
John 1:11 NLT
He (Jesus) came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
And your family will reject you, as well. Always remember that you can’t take it personally. It’s the message that they ultimately reject. It’s tough, but we need to stand firm on the truth.
One effective way to minister to our family members is to share or give counsel about areas that come up. One of the best ways to provide counsel is with finances. All of us have had to deal with finances in one way or another. Some of the information we have about finances is very good, and some of it involved learning about them the hard way. Both of these situations are qualifiers as to how to provide help when it is needed. We all (hopefully) learn from our mistakes! And because we have a track record of successes with our failures, we can be helpful where we can. Of course, the person who receives your help has to take responsibility for where he or she is and be willing to listen and take your advice. If one chooses to listen, you have an opportunity to build credibility and develop your relationship with that person. The more you build credibility, the better the opportunities to build on the relationship over time.
As far as finances go, it would be great if you had a sizable portfolio of mutual funds. For most of us, that isn’t the case, but it doesn’t mean that you aren’t qualified to help someone with their finances. If you know something as simple as how to balance a checkbook, you’re already ahead of the game. If you know how to budget from month to month in your household, that’s another great way to share. If you know how to save money by finding the best pricing, that is another way where you can help. Maybe you would be surprised at how simple it is to provide guidance for basic bookkeeping, but it may come down to just helping someone move through the weeds to get into the clear.
But the best way to share your knowledge about finances comes from building your own knowledge. Admittedly, I did not learn very much about finances until much later in life. In many ways, I learned in the same manner that Paul shared with us about how to manage whether you have a little or a lot:
Philippians 4:12-13 NLT
12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
This is foundational to any discussion about finances. Paul tells us that whatever we have—a little or a lot—is because of Jesus, and He is the One who helps us, through the power of the Spirit, to get us through any situation or circumstance.
To follow this reasoning in handling finances, we need to live according to the words, “die to self and live for Christ”:
Galatians 2:20 ESV
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
So how is this verse important when discussing finances? We can wreck our finances when we act in the flesh. By allowing ourselves to be crucified with Christ, there is a symbolic death to our old ways and fleshly desires. We actually think more often about whether a purchase is truly worth the expense. We don’t listen to those advertisers who tell us that we must get something to satisfy our desires. We actually learn about ways to spend less, and to save money. We incorporate the discipline to put aside enough money to operate in an emergency.
Proverbs 13:16 NLT
Wise people think before they act;
fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.
Before you give advice on how much money to put away, you should measure that on what is realistic. This advice is a little different for people who are still working from those who are retired with fixed incomes, but the principle is the same: It is wise to put aside about six months of what you will need to meet household expenses. You would need to record whatever you spend in your household for a month and multiply that number by six. That is your target amount. And before you say that can’t be done…well, it WON’T be done with that attitude. You can set your mind to do whatever you want to accomplish. You can evaluate what you spend your money on and save more money, or you can continue to flounder with your bills. A significant number of American households live paycheck to paycheck—about 62 percent of those surveyed by LendingClub said “yes” about this; however, the more telling number is that, according to the Federal Reserve, 43 percent of all U.S. families fall short of meeting basic needs.2 Whether you have a little or a lot, your attitude should be that you will look for and find ways to put aside money, and that should be the advice you give to someone that you are counseling about finances. We are to put aside our fleshly manners and live with godliness. This requires having an attitude where the Spirit is ever-present.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Are you content with what you have? Before you start offering advice to others, take the opportunity to pray and meditate over what God has provided for you. This has less to do with what you HAVE and more to do with WHO JESUS IS in your life. That’s just my take.
So, your positive attitude plays into how you will succeed in this matter, and your success comes from leaning on the Spirit and not on your own desires:
Matthew 6:22-24 NIV
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
In this passage, the word ‘healthy’ implies ‘generous.’ The word ‘unhealthy’ implies ‘stingy.’ The attitude of a person about money certainly impacts their level of generosity, or even giving. Have you ever noticed how people will make excuses—perhaps even out loud—as to why they choose not to be generous? Is this attitude reflective of your giving? (Yes, I went there.) But it’s more than just giving money to the church. What about charities? What about helping a brother or sister in need? What about that relative of yours that you want to counsel? We’re supposed to have the attitude to give something and not expect something in return!
Luke 6:35 NIV
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Let the Holy Spirit give you wisdom, knowledge and a good attitude. Let it be about none of your flesh and everything in the Spirit. Let the fruits of the Spirit guide your attitude about generosity. As God has blessed you, share your blessings with others.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NIV
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Now, I want you to understand that many of us wish we had the information that we have now as we have gone through on-the-job training. Here are some things that you can do right now to help build up your savings and cutting your monthly expenses:
1.) Get your debt under control.
The biggest obstacle to financial health is debt. According to financial experts, the percentage of Americans in debt is around 80 percent, and the average debt per household is $38,000 not including mortgage debt.3 The plain and simple response to resolving debt is to pay it down and have the discipline to curtail excessive spending. For some of us, that will take a very long time, but if you trust the Lord through the process, you will come out on the other side. I don’t recommend going with a company advertising on television about debt consolidation or anything like that. Consumer Credit Counseling may be a very good option. Your goal is to get your debt level down to a place where you can sleep at night. It goes without saying that it would be hard to counsel others about finances if you have substantial debt. If you are firmly into a program of paying down debt and you have experienced success, you have earned the right to share your victories with others.
2.) Put aside something.
Even if you are paying down debt, don’t neglect to save some money. Don’t waste another pay period. If your employer has the ability to divert funds into a savings account, do it. Even if it is $25.00 or $50.00, do it. The money doesn’t have to be a lot, but just get started and see what happens down the road. Whatever you can manage to put aside, just do it.
Open a Roth IRA. I wish I had learned this earlier, and I have told younger people to do this right away and just add to it with funds from their paycheck. By the time they get closer to retirement, their savings now could add up to hundreds of thousands of tax free earnings.
3.) Check and re-check your monthly budget.
If you don’t have a grasp of your monthly outflow, that should be a concern. You need to get a handle on your groceries, utilities and expenses. The utilities are often similar expenses from month to month. A variable cost is in groceries, and a more variable cost is in expenses. Look at where you can cut back on these expenses to necessities that allow you to be able to save some money. Reduce any waste that you discover, and always review your subscriptions. You may be paying for something that you’re not even using anymore.
When looking at finances, please always remember that this is not a sprint…it is a marathon. It requires patience and prayer throughout the process. Ask God to reveal things to you that need to be addressed as you check your budget and save money.
4.) Create a budget/savings plan for major purchases.
Also, please note that your monthly budget needs to be distinguished from your budget for larger expenses. For example, if you want to set up a budget for a future vacation or the purchase of a house or automobile, then designate an account in order to track your savings towards that goal. It would be unwise to pull funds from your monthly budget UNLESS you have disposable income that can be moved towards your fund for major purchases. You also need to make sure that you have the funds put aside for your six-month expense fund and THEN start planning for your vacation fund. That’s just following a matter of priorities, of course.
In addition, please note that I advocate taking vacations. I don’t think it is wise to just save money all of the time and never take a vacation. With that said, there are ways to travel and spend less. In most cases, driving is less than flying, and hotel stays are less expensive during off season dates, so spend some time going over where you want to travel and how you can save money in your wonderful getaway. You can still do something even if you have only a little, but whatever you do, plan some time away to relax, refresh and recharge…even if it means doing something as simple as going to the park and enjoying some greenspace.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 NLT
And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
As I stated earlier, your practice of prudence in your own household finances will help you in providing advice to your family members.
Let’s summarize this section with a verse that we can point to about God’s involvement in all of this and your guidelines for discussion with others:
Philippians 4:19 NLT
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Now, offering advice to your family members is to be done upon request, and it is to be shared in confidence as it is quite a sensitive subject for most people.
Pray about all of this, and don’t stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Copyright © 2025 Melvin Gaines.
1 Gaines, M. (2015, April 30). Characteristics of your image. Melvin Gaines. https://melvingaines.com/2015/04/24/characteristics-of-your-image/
2 Srikant, K. (2025, February 26). Fact check: Is there a consensus that a majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck?. Econofact. https://econofact.org/factbrief/is-there-a-consensus-that-a-majority-of-americans-are-living-paycheck-to-paycheck
3 Payments, D. (2020, April 14). American debt statistics [ updated March 2021] dual payments. Dual Payments. https://dualpayments.com/statistics/american-debt/
Melvin Gaines 