Daily Devotional Mediations
Practicing Extravagant Generosity – Week Two
Monday, October 24, 2011
As If for the Very First Time
The Word: “…I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity.”
— Philippians 4:15, The Message
Reflection: Have you ever heard the proverb, “It is more blessed to give than to re-ceive.”? A few years ago Spring Branch Presbyterian Church received a thank you letter from one of the sailors that had received the gift boxes prepared by our youth and delivered to the Seafarers’ Center that November. The writer tells of how grateful they were to receive the gift boxes. He describes how they gathered on Christmas Day, care-fully removing the wrapping paper from their boxes, each carefully removing one item, showing it and replacing it in the box. The boxes were then re-wrapped, the gifts saved. The sailor explained that because none of them had gifts to give to their families on their return home they decided to give what they had received with their families. I still get “choked up” each time I remember this “blessing of generosity”. Having participated in this ministry of our church for many years, this was the first time I remember receiving any word of thanks from any who had received our boxes. God uses our generosity in ways we can not imagine and sometimes never know. Now that I do know how this particular ministry has changed someone’s life, I strive to be more generous each year when donating. Have you been changed after learning how a gift you gave was used by God? Has your life been transformed through a gift you have received?
Pray:
Dear God, open my eyes to the opportunities you place before me to receive blessings of generosity through giving to others. Open my eyes to see the ways I might give a blessing, whether large or small in my life. Amen.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Whitewater World
The Word: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it.
Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way…”
— Hebrews 12:2, The Message
Reflection: I have never paddled a canoe on a fast moving river, but I have been tossed about in a rip tide current off Galveston beaches. The energy of the tidal flow of water can knock you off your feet, tumble you along the bottom and dash you against the jetties in the blink of an eye. To make it back to the beach, you must keep swimming. Success in any endeavor requires knowledge, guidance, endurance and certain skills. Today’s technology creates a “whitewater world” where inform-ation flows rapidly, people move quickly, and the rush and swirl of our daily lives can leave us off balance, feeling out of control. To be successful you need to learn the necessary skills and then train and practice to be the best you can. Christian discipleship requires having faith which means we rely on God. We gain the skills for passionate discipleship through prayer, worship, Bible study and service to God. Life has always required ‘agility of spirit’ to survive therefore by keeping “our eyes on Jesus” through prayer, study, worship and service we not only keep our balance, but gain strength so not to be overwhelmed by the forces of the world. Successful living comes first through faith in Jesus Christ and through The Word and those with the right spiritual gifts we can learn the skills to stay balanced and strong in this world.
What pressures and currents tend to knock you off balance? What skills do you need to keep from being overwhelmed?
Pray:
Dear God, keep me from losing sight of where you are leading. Help me to remain faithful in prayer, worship, and the study of your Word. Guide me to be a servant disciple and give me strength that all that I do is for the purpose of glorifying you. Amen
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
What Happens to God’s Love?
The Word:
“If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.”
— I John 3:17-19, The Message
Reflection:
I remember going to a poor part of town as a child with my father on some errand. There were some shabbily dressed men lounging around on a broken, discarded sofa. I asked who they were and why they were there. His answer was that they were “hobos”. Today we would call them homeless people. Some ‘hobos’ are genuinely without a home, others are professional beggars earning hundreds of dollars a week. How do we tell the difference? Through many conversations with my father growing up, he used different situations to teach me to how to discern who to help and how. There are people that will deceive you to get money or other things that they have not earned or may not deserve. So how do we practice “real love”? It comes down to individual discernment and faith. Deciding when and who to “lend a hand to” can be difficult, but I believe the answer is found in ourselves. The answer is also in serving through giving to the church. We do not need to personally know someone or the details of their circumstances to help them. God judges individuals, not circumstances.
Have you ever found yourself helping someone that perhaps you would not of normally given assistance to because ‘it just felt like the right thing to do ’?
Have you turned down a request because ‘something didn’t seem quite right’?
How do you practice the real love of God?
Pray:
Dear God, give me discernment that I might practice your real love with everyone generously everyday. Amen.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ownership
The Word:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”
—- James 1:17, NIV
Reflection:
Thorndike Barnhart Advanced Dictionary, 2nd Edition defines ownership as: condition of being an owner; the possession of something; right of possession. The Word of God says that everything belongs to God. Which is it? Does God own it all or do we have ownership of temporal and material things? More simply put, do you believe that all you have is a gift from God placed in your trust to manage and care for to God’s own purposes? Or do you fundamentally believe that everything you have is entirely yours and you can dispose of any or part of it as you see fit? The first belief in practice is that we return to God a portion of what is His already and that as good stewards we manage wisely and carefully what is left. The second belief says we do what we choose with what we have and God should be grateful with whatever we decide to share with him for his purposes. For example, let’s use land ownership. You have a title that says you own it, and you receive tax bills showing you own because you pay taxes on it to various governmental entities. But who held title before you did, before there was a State of Texas, a Republic of Texas, or Mexico, or Spain, or France or some tribal group? Who will hold title to your land in 50 years or 150? People live and die, governments come and go. Ultimately what difference does our ownership today mean in the far off future?
This same principle can be applied to all our temporal possessions. After all, what we owned will not matter after we die. If we choose to live by the wisdom revealed in Scripture and years of Christian church tradition, which is, that everything belongs to God and we are his appointed stewards, then most assuredly our lives will be more joyful. When we live according to God’s purposes rather than our own our life is richer and has purpose. Think about these two views, which perspective do you believe will leads to living the true, real life God intends for you?
Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to remember that everything I think I own is really yours. Guide me to make decisions that further your purposes in the world so that I may live the true real life you intend for me. Amen.
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