Your Level Of Living Depends On Your Level Of Giving

Conventional wisdom says that your life will be better if you keep everything you have for yourself. However, God clearly says that your life will be better if you work to make another person’s life better.

In Galatians 6:7-9, Paul writes, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

In other words, what you give to others will affect how they give to you; the amount of love, patience, and kindness that you show to others will affect the amount that they show to you. This principle of giving and receiving applies to many areas of life. For example, if you invest an hour a day into exercising, then you will reap the benefits of that investment—a strong, healthy body. However, if you invest that same time into flipping channels on T.V., then you will reap the benefits of that investment—a wasted hour.

Paul isn’t just talking about money or time; in fact, he is focusing on giving into the lives of others. In the very next verse,Galatians 6:10, Paul instructs believers: Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. If you “do good” to others by giving into their lives, then you will benefit.

So, if you don’t feel like you’re getting the love you should get, then maybe you should ask yourself if you’re giving the love you should give. Why? Because you reap what you sow. If you give love, you’ll receive love. If you give friendship, you’ll receive friendship. If you give mercy, you’ll receive mercy. (It is important to note that you may not always receive from the same place you give.)

Therefore, decide to give freely to others, actively look for ways to be a blessing to other people, and deliberately go out of your way to walk in love. Then, watch as the benefits of that giving affect your life. Remember, your level of living depends on your level of giving.

Before you can love others, you must receive God’s love for yourself, because you cannot give away something you don’t have.

God deeply and intimately loves you! His love for you is unconditional—no strings attached, and there is nothing that you can do to get God not to love you. Indeed, Romans 8:38-39 says that there is nothing that can ever separate us from God’s love.

Knowing that God loves you is central to your understanding of the Gospel, for the entire Gospel is based on God’s love (See John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10). The good news is that God hasn’t withheld His love from us; instead, God has poured out his love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).

But what do we do with that love? We know God loves us, but so what? What should we do with God’s love? Give it away! Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). In other words, our response to the news of God’s love for us needs to be to love others. Indeed, Jesus repeatedly commanded us to love others (See Matthew 5:43-47, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:27-35, John 13:34-35, John 15:12,17).

However, it is impossible to love others unless you know, believe and receive God’s love. 1 John 4:19 says, We love because he first loved us. In other words, we are able to love other people, because God first showed His love to us. If God hadn’t shown His love to us, we would have no standard and no example on which to base our love for others.

Similarly, 1 John 4:7 says, Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Here again, our ability to love one another is only because love comes from God.

Think of your ability to love others like a glass of water. At first, the glass is empty. If you don’t have any water in your glass, then you obviously can’t give water to anyone else. But when you hold your glass under a faucet and let the water pour out into your glass, it will fill up. Then, once it is full, your glass will overflow, and you can let the water pour out to everyone around you.

If you don’t have love in you, then you can’t give love to anyone else. Therefore, you must first receive God’s love, before you can love one another.

Love Rights Wrongs

Two wrongs never make a right, but one loving action can right many wrongs.

Consider the following images:

A child comes in from a bike crash, with banged-up hands and knees. Running to her mom, she cries, “Kiss it and make it better, Mommy!” Smiling, her mother complies. Her mother’s love tells her, “It’s all right; now get up and try again!”

A man puts his foot in his mouth, unintentionally saying something that could embarrass his wife. But she laughs. She is not identified by her foibles, and her love for him tells him he isn’t identified by his either.

A hungry homeless man steals a candy bar. The security guard catches him and brings him back into the store. But instead of punishing him, the guard pays for the candy bar as well as a ham sandwich, an apple, and a carton of milk. Love wiped the slate clean for the hungry thief, and even satisfied his hunger.

The apostle Peter wrote: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Each of the illustrations above communicates in some way this type of love that we read about in the Bible: a love that rights wrongs.

Consider This:

1. How have you been wronged recently? How did you respond?
2. When did you last act wrongfully toward another? How did they respond to you?

Take Action:

Write down at least three things that hinder you from expressing love toward those who “sin against” you. Circle one of them and write down some practical steps you can take to push back against those impediments through deeply loving actions.

I Spoke The Universe Into Existence

 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Right at the beginning of the Book of all books, the Bible says… “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This statement alone could be enough to bring peace to any unsettled heart. God is in control.  He has always been in control.

He is the One who spoke the entire universe into existence with just the sound of His voice. He is Almighty God. He is the All Powerful God. He is the All Knowing God. Whenever you feel that your life is spinning off its axis, be comforted in knowing that our God and Father has always been, and always will be in control.

This is the same Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent Creator who has decided to love you with all His heart (1 John 3:1). No matter what forces oppose you today, be comforted in knowing that the God who spoke the universe into existence is in your corner!

An Eight-Year Old Explains God

One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth.

He doesn’t make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn’t have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk, He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime. God doesn’t have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this. Since He hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn’t go wasting His time by going over your parent’s head asking for something they said you couldn’t have.

Atheists are people who don’t believe in God. I don’t think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren’t any who come to our church.

Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn’t have to go out on the road anymore, He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important, of course.

You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the times.

You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there’s anybody you want to make happy, it’s God. Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong! And, besides, the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don’t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can.

It is good to know He’s around you when you’re scared in the dark or when you can’t swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids. But you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you.

I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And that’s why I believe in God.”

Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith, hope, and love enable us to build meaningful relationships—but the greatest gift is love.

“These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13

As we navigate life, its many bumps and detours can cause timeless words such as “faith,” “hope,” and especially “love” to lose their meaning. Worse, we begin to fail to observe their beauty and goodness as a result of our growing cynicism and suspicion.

But these three gifts are indispensable.

To build meaningful relationships, we must have faith in ourselves, in others, and in God, the one who sustains us. Others will often let us down—just as we let ourselves down at times. These human disappointments can chip away at our faith, even in God, unless we have hope.

Hope, rooted in the good things we have experienced, allows us to move through disappointment, keeping us actively engaged in our relationships. Through hope, we can turn the next page, trusting that the future holds possibilities of beauty and goodness. Hope is the anticipation that the story is still unfolding—that a happy ending awaits.

That happy ending is love. When all else passes away, the final word will be love, because the one who made heaven and earth promises it will be so.

Consider This:

1. What would you need to know, feel, and experience to bolster your faith in yourself, others, and God?
2. If you are currently feeling hopeless, where can you look in your life and the world around you to have that hope replenished?

Take Action:

Think of someone you love—your wife, husband, son, daughter, mom, dad, best friend. Create a habit of telling them how much you love them. Notice how it affects their outlook on life. Seek out the resources you need to bolster your own faith and hope. Start by recognizing that you are loved.

I Refuse

Dear Sirs and Madams,
I am writing concerning the poem that you have put in your e-mail….. I wrote this poem shortly after my
daughter was murdered and I have noticed that many ppl are using it in thier e-mail ministries and web site
ministries. I dont have a problem with that but I do have a problem with the slight changes and the unknown
author. If you wouldn’t mind when you use the poem in the future to use the poem in its origional and intirety format
and add my name as the author I woulds appriciate it. Inclosed is a copy of the poem in its intirety along with the
copy right. thank you very much for your time and for addressing the matter accordingly. I understand that many
dont know the story behind the poem but it means alot to me.

I Refuse to be Discouraged!!

I refuse to be discouraged,
To be sad, or to cry;
I refuse to be downhearted,
and here’s the reason why:

I have a God who’s mighty,
Who’s sovereign and supreme;
I have a God who loves me,
and I am on His team.

He is all-wise and powerful.
Jesus is His name;
Though everything is changeable,
My God remains the same.

My God knows all that’s happening;
Beginning to the end;
His presence is my comfort;
He is my dearest Friend.

When sickness comes to weaken me,
To bring my head down low,
I call upon my mighty God;
Into His arms I go.

When circumstances threaten
to rob me of my peace;
He draws me close unto His breast,
Where all my strivings cease.

When my heart melts within me,
and weakness takes control;
He gathers me into His arms,
He soothes my heart and soul.

The great “I AM” is with me.
My life is in His hand;
The “Son of the Lord” is my hope,
It’s in His strength I stand.

I refuse to be defeated,
My eyes are on my God;
He has promised to be with me,
as through this life I trod.

I’m looking past all my circumstances,
To Heaven’s throne above;
My prayers have reached the heart of God
I’m resting in His love.

I give God thanks in everything.
My eyes are on His face;
The battle’s His, the victory mine;
He’ll help me win the race.

A Son Is Led By His Fathers Voice

John 14:24

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
These words you hear are not my own;
they belong to the Father who sent me. (NIV)

Jesus lived a life of complete dependence upon His Dad. Everything that Jesus did was an exact representatiion of His Father’s being (Hebrews 1:3). He was always listening for His Father’s voice to guide Him. In Romans 8:14, we read that those who are led by the Spirit of God are really the children of God.

To live in sonship is to live a life of learning to be led by the Spirit of God so that we can tune in to His frequency and hear His voice. Jesus told us in the first part of John 8:47 that Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.(NIV) Part of our birthright is to be able to discern the voice of God when He speaks to us.

In John 10:27, Jesus tells us My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (NIV) It is imperative for us to come into a place of intimacy with with the Triune God where we can recognize His voice when He speaks. When my own earthly father would call me on the phone, he wouldn’t have to identify himself by the words he said. As soon as I heard his voice, I knew it was my dad.

Many years ago, I had an experience where I was subjected to a harsh, public prophetic word that seemed to be speaking about things that God was already dealing with me on. The big difference was the tone and harshness and insensitivity to how it was delivered. Still, I wondered if it was indeed a word from God because it touched on issues that I was already dealing with.

In prayer I asked God if it was Him speaking to me through this prophetic word. All He said to me was…“Barry, did you hear My voice in the words that were spoken?” Immediately I knew what God was saying to me. He was telling me to listen to the tones in the voice to recognize if indeed it was from Him. When I thought of this encounter in this light, I realized that this is not the way my heavenly Dad deals with me. He doesn’t publically humiliate me with harsh words of judgment. It was at that point that I could respond to God and say… “Of course that wasn’t your voice!”.

As beloved sons and daughters to our Father and beloved brothers and sisters to our elder brother, it is part of our inheritance to be able to hear the loving voice of God speaking to us. Seven times in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus tells us… Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.(NIV)

An orphan mindset does not feel intimately connected to a father to be able to be led by His voice. An orphan feels all alone in this world and since he has no one else to guide him, he feels the need to guide himself. Of course we know that we are not orphans! We do not have to live by orphan beliefs and mindsets because we have a heavenly Father who loves us and has called us into an intimate relationship with us so that we could recognize His voice when He speaks to us. 

My prayer today is that our God and Father would bring a deeper revelation of His fathering to our hearts so that we would know that we are not alone in this world. I pray that the eyes of our hearts would be opened by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation (Ephesians 1:17-18) so that we could tune into our Father’s voice just as Jesus does.

I pray that every word of judgment and condemnation that we hear from the father of lies would be exposed for what it is and that we would have the grace to resist every voice that does not come from God. May we have the grace to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and live a life of being led by the Spirit of God, always listening for our Father’s voice.

Pedal

I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn’t really know Him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since I took the back seat to Jesus, My Lord. Christ makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way, but it was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said “Pedal!” I was worried and anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered the adventure. And when I’d say, “I’m scared”, He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord’s and mine. And we were off again. He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more, He just smiles and says … “Pedal.”

Inner Purity Results In Outer Power

In Psalm 24:3, David ponders, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” Then, he answers: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior” (Psalm 24:4-5).

Here, David tells us that in order to stand before the Lord, you must have “clean hands and a pure heart.” Such inner purity results in a “blessing from the Lord and vindication from God.” What an excellent reward for keeping a pure heart!

Intuitively, to have God’s power flowing through you requires a clear “path” through which it can flow. In other words, if you want God’s power to be working in your life, you must keep a clean conscience and a pure heart. It’s no surprise, then, that Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Having outer, visible power requires having a developed, mature inner life. A believer who tries to have a powerful outer life but lacks that pure inner life is like a tree with lots of branches that lacks roots. When the storm comes and the winds blow, the tree topples, because it has no roots. Likewise, you must develop solid “roots” in your inner life, if you ever want to bear strong, stable fruit in your outer life.

Similarly, in Colossians 2:6-7, Paul instructed the early Christians to be “rooted and built up in [Christ], strengthened in the faith as you were taught.” We too, need to be rooted and grounded in God.

King David also knew the importance of inner purity. After he had ordered the murder of Uriah and committed adultery with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11), he obviously lacked inner purity. However, in Psalm 51:10, David asked God to cleanse him: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” His desire for inner purity was necessary before he could “receive blessing from the Lord.”

Since inner purity results in outer power, I challenge you to take David’s prayer and make it your own.

Use your words as building blocks not battering rams.

Every word you say will have an affect on others. Positive words will encourage and strengthen other people, but negative words will tear down and harm them. You must decide whether to speak positively or negatively. Please understand that speaking positively requires a deliberate decision, whereas speaking negatively comes easily—for it is human nature. Therefore, actively strive to speak positive and encouraging words to others.

It is no surprise that the Bible instructs us to say beneficial things about others: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Furthermore, Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt …” Speaking positive, uplifting words is extremely important. Indeed, Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

In Psalm 19:14, David prays, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” David clearly knew the importance of words, and so he prayed that he would speak words that were pleasing to God.

We must deliberately choose to speak positive words; otherwise, we will instinctively complain and be negative—for that is human nature. Thus, it is no surprise thatEcclesiastes 5:2 tells us, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Similarly, Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Usually when you “hold” your tongue, you’ll catch yourself before you say nasty things about others and cut them down with your words.

Lastly, it is important to understand that whatever you say is a reflection of your heart attitude. Matthew 12:34 says, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (also see Luke 6:45). In other words, your words are simply an overflow of what’s in your heart. If you think poorly about others, you’ll speak poorly about them. On the other hand, if you think positively about others, as the Bible instructs us to, then you’ll speak positively about them.

Since words carry power, make a decision to use your words as building blocks not battering rams.

The Golden Rule

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” —Luke 6:31

The Bible has been called a manual on how to love. It extensively expounds upon both the law of love and the desire we have for it. Love is a law written on our own hearts; the Bible helps us understand why that is. As does life itself.

For example, if you have ever locked yourself out of your car or your house, you may remember how desperate you felt for help. Perhaps a neighbor or friend opened their home to you while you waited for a spouse, roommate, or locksmith. Or perhaps someone brought a spare key to you from across town. Whatever the case, you were shown care through their service. You recognized love in their one small act, and you wanted to serve them in return.

On the other hand, neighbors do not generally go around purposefully tearing up one another’s gardens, intentionally running over children’s toys, or spitefully stealing one another’s mail—and it’s not just governmental law that deters them.  We all want to live in the safety of love’s auspices.

The Golden Rule is so labeled because we prize it. Love is more precious than gold—to be loved is the greatest commodity on earth.

Consider This:

1. How has someone at work, in your neighborhood, or even a stranger served you in the past?
2. How can you serve and love others around you in meaningful ways?

Take Action:

Consider the second question above. Jot down several ideas and act on just one of them over the next week. Watch others’ reactions. Can you tell love is precious to them, too?