Speaker: Len Cole and his wife, church members (not Pastor Ryan Rench); both introduce themselves as “Cole,” and her first name is not clear in the captions
We are the Coles, and we have been coming to this church for at least five years. Many years ago, back when I was thirty-eight years old, we were tithing, and a situation came up: I had a heart attack due to job stress. What I had to do then was just quit my job, and I spent a summer trying to recover. Every morning I would read and study my Bible and pray to the Lord; I would spend a couple of hours doing that. One morning I was reading and studying Proverbs 23, where it says, “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” Then I read a few pages over to Proverbs 27, where it says, “And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.” Those were promises from the Lord. About that time I received a check for $17, and I wanted to tithe on it, so I wrote a check for $1.70, and we took it to the church on Sunday. A few days later I got a phone call with a job offer that opened up the economic floodgates for us. The Lord came through. All we need to do is submit to the Lord. He cares for us, and He certainly came through for us and has blessed us over these many years. So in this situation, we have decided to give sacrificially to the Lord for our church, so that we can become debt-free. There was a certain amount I had in mind, but then I challenged us to kick it up even more, and that is what we are going to do.
A Queen in a Castle
His wife: From the beginning of our marriage, my husband was the protector and provider; that was his job, and my job was to care for the home and, when the children came along, for them. But another thing that is top for me is prayer. I have always prayed that the Lord would guide my husband in all the areas of finance. We were challenged at one time to draw very close to the Lord continually, all the time, and lay all our burdens down before Him, and we were able to bless the Lord even more at that time. So I would challenge anyone, especially young couples, to establish right off, maybe even before you get married, in your premarital time, what is going to be really important in your life: first of all the Lord, then being part of a local body, a church, and then being part of caring for that church. The Lord has blessed us so much. I want for nothing. I am a queen, I live in a castle, and I have a king. The Lord directs us and takes care of everything for us.
Len: One of the important things is to sort out your needs from your wants, and then submit to the Lord what He would have you do, because God owns it all. It is not your money; He has you as a custodian of that money. If you can advance the kingdom with sacrificial giving, that is very important. And by becoming debt-free, the church is able to more fully fulfill its mission, which is to reach others with the gospel.
