Proverbs 31:20 “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.”
life is not about ourselves. It’s about others.
Scripture is saturated with a call to be selfless people, not selfish, not self-centered, but Christ-centered and others-centered.
We need to look for opportunities to be a blessing to others, to show the kindness of God to others, to take initiative.
God put us here for a purpose, we are always trying to figure out what our purpose is..I feel the key to finding out is that it is HIS Purpose not ours. If we really want to find our true self it will happen through self sacrifice.
"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16
Where you go from here is up to you.............
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day 30 Kindness
Sometimes we show much more kindess to the world then we do at home to our own families. Just think about the way we treat and serve guests compared to those that live with us and we love.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galations 5:22
Goodness in the Fruit of the Spirit does not just mean a kind heart, but kind activity on behalf of others. You have a good or kind heart but you don’t just keep it in your heart. You do something about it. It comes out. Off course we can't just serve the Lord without heart, and serve our families without joy.
Does my family know that I care, that I am kind, that I love them, and do I make a difference?
What about other people? What do I show them? When we are kind to those who don’t deserve it, we show people what God is like. We reflect the gospel.
In Luke 6 Jesus says:
I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galations 5:22
Goodness in the Fruit of the Spirit does not just mean a kind heart, but kind activity on behalf of others. You have a good or kind heart but you don’t just keep it in your heart. You do something about it. It comes out. Off course we can't just serve the Lord without heart, and serve our families without joy.
Does my family know that I care, that I am kind, that I love them, and do I make a difference?
What about other people? What do I show them? When we are kind to those who don’t deserve it, we show people what God is like. We reflect the gospel.
In Luke 6 Jesus says:
I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Day 29 Keep his promises with you all the time.
Life can be busy all the time, or you are suffering somehow, or maybe feeling lonely, overwhelmed, hopeless at times? Still we have to stop and remember the blessings we have. We can delight in and enjoy what we have no matter what we don't have or are dealing with, if we hear God all the time.
Take families for example. It is so much work to be a good mom and wife that we totally do the "work" but forget and lose perspective of the fact that children really are a blessing and so are the people God puts in our lives in some way or another. We stress about everything and time for enjoying the moments just passes us by. Why? I feel it is because we are not keeping our heads filled at all times with Gods promises.
We have to find it in out heart to actually enjoy our familes, and children and our lives. We can even sort of enjoy the bad things ,the hardships, the lonliness, and what ever suffering brings because we know that those times are molding us for something we can't even imagine!
I really feel like we can live filled with this joy regardless of what we are going through if we can just get to what I call the breakthrough point in our life with Jesus. That point is this..it is a realization that when we believe and have faith in God then we should believe all his promises too. This world isn't a permanent home and that God is preparing us for his Kingdom.
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him! 1 Corinthians 2:9
Wow! Wow! Flippin Wow! Do you get how crazy awesome that is gonna be!
Take families for example. It is so much work to be a good mom and wife that we totally do the "work" but forget and lose perspective of the fact that children really are a blessing and so are the people God puts in our lives in some way or another. We stress about everything and time for enjoying the moments just passes us by. Why? I feel it is because we are not keeping our heads filled at all times with Gods promises.
We have to find it in out heart to actually enjoy our familes, and children and our lives. We can even sort of enjoy the bad things ,the hardships, the lonliness, and what ever suffering brings because we know that those times are molding us for something we can't even imagine!
I really feel like we can live filled with this joy regardless of what we are going through if we can just get to what I call the breakthrough point in our life with Jesus. That point is this..it is a realization that when we believe and have faith in God then we should believe all his promises too. This world isn't a permanent home and that God is preparing us for his Kingdom.
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him! 1 Corinthians 2:9
Wow! Wow! Flippin Wow! Do you get how crazy awesome that is gonna be!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Day 28 Restore
We can really be drained from serving. In those times we go to His word to restore our souls.
Psalm 19 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul”. He restores our soul; He restores our mind, our emotions, our spirit through His Word.
Jesus said, “Come to Me all you who labor you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Also like Psalm 23 says..The Lord is my shepard I shall not want..
If we follow him like sheep follow their shepard who cares for them..
then verse 2 says:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
He will bring rest and peace.
Psalm 19 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul”. He restores our soul; He restores our mind, our emotions, our spirit through His Word.
Jesus said, “Come to Me all you who labor you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Also like Psalm 23 says..The Lord is my shepard I shall not want..
If we follow him like sheep follow their shepard who cares for them..
then verse 2 says:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
He will bring rest and peace.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Day 27 I shall not want
The Lord is my Shepard I shall not want…
I would love for that to be said of me! Would’t you love that to be said of you? Does our way of responding to life’s circumstances ,problems and stresses make people look at us and say, “The Lord is her shepherd; Psalm 23 she super lives that way!
I really feel that sometimes God has us experience want as a consequence of having gone our own way. We follow him and then we decide to do our own thing on some issues. I think it's just to restore us to following him because we all know that feeling of going astray and struggling, doing it on our own and then coming back to him and thinking wow, what was I doing on my own?
I shall not want. That’s a huge statement of faith. We don't need something more, something better or someone better. Sometimes you gotta say it when when you don't feel or see it you gotta trust it. He has promised to provide.
I would love for that to be said of me! Would’t you love that to be said of you? Does our way of responding to life’s circumstances ,problems and stresses make people look at us and say, “The Lord is her shepherd; Psalm 23 she super lives that way!
I really feel that sometimes God has us experience want as a consequence of having gone our own way. We follow him and then we decide to do our own thing on some issues. I think it's just to restore us to following him because we all know that feeling of going astray and struggling, doing it on our own and then coming back to him and thinking wow, what was I doing on my own?
I shall not want. That’s a huge statement of faith. We don't need something more, something better or someone better. Sometimes you gotta say it when when you don't feel or see it you gotta trust it. He has promised to provide.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day 26 Stewardship
True stewardship begins when you acknowledge that God is the true owner of everything. A steward is a manager of His property. Notice the waman in Proverbs is not just spending money or being careful to hold on to her God given time and life time for her own pleasure.
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it...” (Psalms 24:1). The entire world is His. He is the owner.
Evidence of good stewardship:
1. Understand “wealth” from God’s perspective,
2. Acknowledge His authority as owner,
3. Accept your responsibility as steward
4. Claim Proverbs 10:22…do you have “peace” as you manage His wealth. Or, do you have some or all of the “troubles” that go along with ownership? (Christian Financial Ministries, Inc.)
What does Jesus have to say about stewardship?
Read Luke 12:16-20
If you were to stand accountable before God today, for the quality of your stewardship, how would it look? Do you treat God as the owner and ask how to use all that He gives you to manage?
When God’s people were robbing Him by withholding tithes and offerings, He said, “Test me in this ... and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).
Ironically, many people can’t afford to give precisely because they’re not giving (Haggai 1:9-11). If we pay our debt to God first, then we will incur His blessing to help us pay our debts to men. But when we rob God to pay men, we rob ourselves of God’s blessing. No wonder we don’t have enough. It’s a vicious cycle, and it takes obedient faith to break out of it. (Treasure Principle)
Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s His provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with this money not to build my kingdom on earth, but to build His kingdom in heaven.
If you choose to be a good steward, God will bless you and entrust you with plenty, HE says so.
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it...” (Psalms 24:1). The entire world is His. He is the owner.
Evidence of good stewardship:
1. Understand “wealth” from God’s perspective,
2. Acknowledge His authority as owner,
3. Accept your responsibility as steward
4. Claim Proverbs 10:22…do you have “peace” as you manage His wealth. Or, do you have some or all of the “troubles” that go along with ownership? (Christian Financial Ministries, Inc.)
What does Jesus have to say about stewardship?
Read Luke 12:16-20
If you were to stand accountable before God today, for the quality of your stewardship, how would it look? Do you treat God as the owner and ask how to use all that He gives you to manage?
When God’s people were robbing Him by withholding tithes and offerings, He said, “Test me in this ... and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).
Ironically, many people can’t afford to give precisely because they’re not giving (Haggai 1:9-11). If we pay our debt to God first, then we will incur His blessing to help us pay our debts to men. But when we rob God to pay men, we rob ourselves of God’s blessing. No wonder we don’t have enough. It’s a vicious cycle, and it takes obedient faith to break out of it. (Treasure Principle)
Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s His provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with this money not to build my kingdom on earth, but to build His kingdom in heaven.
If you choose to be a good steward, God will bless you and entrust you with plenty, HE says so.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day 25 Give
Doesn't matter who you are or how much money you make. Yes you can give. We make up all kind of excuses why we don't have the money to give. The same week we go and buy something new for ourselves. We are saying that we don't trust God to provide if we give to him. Let's say our income was reducedd by 10% right now. Would we die? How about 20% No..That means we can afford to give we just don't want to.
Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every five seconds. There were 1.4 billion people in extreme poverty in 2005.
Did you know? In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths are due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition.
I don't believe a virtuous woman, one that loves God can sit and ignore this information. We just can't sit here and do nothing. Who else is going to take action but Gods people? I mean really, do we really need another new something?
God says, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13). In Isaiah 58:6-10, God says that His willingness to answer our prayers is directly affected by whether we are caring for the hungry, needy, and oppressed.
I encourage everyone to read the book The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.
One thing he says is : There are many roadblocks to giving: unbelief, insecurity, pride, idolatry, desire for power and control. The raging current of our culture—and often our churches—makes it hard to swim upstream. It’s considered “normal” to keep far more than we give.
But I’m convinced that the greatest deterrent to giving is this: the illusion that earth is our home. Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we think our home is.
The Bible says we’re pilgrims, strangers, aliens on earth (Hebrews 11:13). We’re ambassadors representing our true country (2 Corinthians 5:20). “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). We’re citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).
Jesus said "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20)
Give to those who have need. (Deut. 15:11; Matt. 5:42)
Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That's one child every five seconds. There were 1.4 billion people in extreme poverty in 2005.
Did you know? In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths are due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition.
I don't believe a virtuous woman, one that loves God can sit and ignore this information. We just can't sit here and do nothing. Who else is going to take action but Gods people? I mean really, do we really need another new something?
God says, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13). In Isaiah 58:6-10, God says that His willingness to answer our prayers is directly affected by whether we are caring for the hungry, needy, and oppressed.
I encourage everyone to read the book The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.
One thing he says is : There are many roadblocks to giving: unbelief, insecurity, pride, idolatry, desire for power and control. The raging current of our culture—and often our churches—makes it hard to swim upstream. It’s considered “normal” to keep far more than we give.
But I’m convinced that the greatest deterrent to giving is this: the illusion that earth is our home. Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we think our home is.
The Bible says we’re pilgrims, strangers, aliens on earth (Hebrews 11:13). We’re ambassadors representing our true country (2 Corinthians 5:20). “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). We’re citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).
Jesus said "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20)
Give to those who have need. (Deut. 15:11; Matt. 5:42)
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