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Life of David Part 8: Faith Enough to be Generous

8/24/2016

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give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
​David had convinced Saul that he was not his enemy, but he was wise enough not to go home just yet. We’ll read in 1 Samuel 25 today. He and his men remained in the wilderness away from Saul’s mercurial mood and spirit. Samuel died and the prophet was mourned by all of Israel (1 Samuel 25:1a). David and his men went to Paran since being near the safety and counsel of Samuel was no longer an option. While he was there, he stayed near the land of a man named Nabal and as David tended to do, he was generous with his gifts and traits and cared for and protected the man’s property including his servants and sheep. A feast day was upon them, and David being obedient to God wanted to ensure he and his men honored the Lord by celebrating it. 1 Samuel 25:1b-8 describe it.
Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
This man Nabal was very wealthy and could easily accommodate David’s request. More so, David had protected his men and his property and saw no reason this man should not agree to keep the Lord’s commandment to share the festival day with his fellow Israelites and sojourners. David was not too proud to have to beg. He knew his own heart would not turn away a beggar on a feast day and he knew that God commanded his children not to do so as well (Leviticus 23:22, Zechariah 7:9-10). The Lord is generous and gives to those who ask. David, a man after God’s own heart would do the same. Psalm 37:25-26 reminds us of God’s generosity and that we should also be generous.
I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or his children begging for bread.
26 He is ever lending generously,
    and his children become a blessing.

 
Nabal did not answer David with any kind of respect. David deserved a great deal of respect for all he had done, but he didn’t expect it or ask for it. And Nabal didn’t give it. He was in fact quite insulting. Maybe he was afraid of receiving the same punishment as Abimelech received for giving David help (1 Samuel 22:18-19), but regardless his answer was foolish and hateful. Verses 9-13 read,
When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
Nabal was not a man after God’s own heart. It seemed he was selfish, thoughtless, and spiteful. Jesus told us that even imperfect father’s give good gifts to their children and evil men will justice to people and so we can expect our Good and Perfect Father to do more (Matthew 7:7-11, Luke 18:1-8). Pursuing God’s heart means we too will be generous with good gifts. But Nabal was anything except what God desires for his children. The ability to be generous is a visible sign, a testimony to our faith in God and results in God’s glory. Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever.”

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
Nabal paid David’s kindness back with evil and David was angry. He reacted wrongly and strapped on his sword. He was about to seek his own vengeance instead of waiting for God. But God was there and did not let that happen. He intervened through a faithful servant and a faithful wife. Verses 14-27 in The Message read,
14-17 Meanwhile, one of the young shepherds told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, what had happened: “David sent messengers from the backcountry to salute our master, but he tore into them with insults. Yet these men treated us very well. They took nothing from us and didn’t take advantage of us all the time we were in the fields. They formed a wall around us, protecting us day and night all the time we were out tending the sheep. Do something quickly because big trouble is ahead for our master and all of us. Nobody can talk to him. He’s impossible—a real brute!”
18-19 Abigail flew into action. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she had it all loaded on some donkeys. Then she said to her young servants, “Go ahead and pave the way for me. I’m right behind you.” But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.
20-22 As she was riding her donkey, descending into a ravine, David and his men were descending from the other end, so they met there on the road. David had just said, “That sure was a waste, guarding everything this man had out in the wild so that nothing he had was lost—and now he rewards me with insults. A real slap in the face! May God do his worst to me if Nabal and every cur in his misbegotten brood aren’t dead meat by morning!”
23-25 As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage, saying, “My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say. Don’t dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him.
25-27 “I wasn’t there when the young men my master sent arrived. I didn’t see them. And now, my master, as God lives and as you live, God has kept you from this avenging murder—and may your enemies, all who seek my master’s harm, end up like Nabal! Now take this gift that I, your servant girl, have brought to my master, and give it to the young men who follow in the steps of my master.
 
Abigail understood exactly who David was and the respect he deserved. Even if he had not been God’s anointed she could still see his kindness and generosity toward Nabal’s shepherds and property. She acted quickly to stop any fight. She not only gave them the foods they asked for and more, she praised what God was doing in David for Israel. She reminded David through her prophetic words that his faith was in the LORD, not his own strength. She called David, lord. He the beggar and she the lady of the house still knew David was her master and would one day be king. David had the LORD with him and was anointed. Verses 28-31 read,
Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
 
David allowed Abigail’s well-worded exhortation to work on him. He was not only generous with what he had, he was generous in spirit and willing to listen to the counsel of others and understand that God can and does work through His followers. Verses 32-35 record his response.
 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
 
Abigail reminded David of who God is and so enabled him to trust vengeance, salvation, protection and provision to God. He was able again to be generous and chose not to harm Nabal or his men. He would leave it to God. And God did not ignore Nabals’ wickedness. Verses 36-39a record God’s response.
And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.”
What Abigail told her husband made him realize his grievous sin. It gave him the chance to repent. It doesn’t record in the story if he did or didn’t but since his heart became like stone, I think he did not. When David heard what had happened, he was generous with his praise and thanks and praised the Lord for keeping him from sin. He acknowledged that vengeance belongs to the Lord and God is Justice.
God is generous. He is lavish with the good, provision, and joy He gives to those willing to trust Him. Verses 39b-44 read,
Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
Since Saul had taken Michal and given her to someone else, God replaced her with Abigail. It was not God’s will for David to take a second wife, but he did anyway. David was not perfect, but he was forgiven and he was a man after God’s own heart. We too are not perfect. Yet we can be forgiven and seen as blameless through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:22). Gratitude for God’s deep love allows us and encourages us to pursue God’s heart as David did. The faith God gives us enables us to be people after God’s own heart. Romans 1:16-17 says it like this,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Ingratitude, results not in spiritual growth but spiritual decay. Romans 1:21-23 reads,
 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
 
Your giving takes nothing from you! You can give because you have faith in God’s promise to take care of you. In Luke 6:38 Jesus said,
give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
 
Believer, are you faithful enough to be generous? Are you faithful enough to share your gifts, provision, and thanksgiving with those around you? Are you generous with God’s glory? Don’t be afraid to step out in faith and cheerfully give all you have and see how generous your Lord will be with you.
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James 5:1-6 You Can Keep Your Eye on God or Your Wallet, Not Both

4/24/2016

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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 10
​James 5:1-6
The worldview says it is important to have money. Certainly living in the world without money is almost impossible especially in countries like The US. Money is a “necessary evil.”  But from the world’s standpoint money is a measure of success, if not the measure of success. The world gauges their peace by how much money is in the bank and the IRA. It is not so in God’s Kingdom. Money is not what determines success or peace. Storing up money is not godly and moving heaven and earth to make more is not right from God’s perspective. Being rich is not a sin. The sin lies in the place money has in one’s heart and endeavors. Verses 1-3 read,
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
 
These are the rich who have put money first, who have done whatever they can to make themselves rich. They have laid up money and left God out of the equation. They will enjoy their time on earth, but our time doesn’t end when our hearts stop beating and our lungs stop breathing. We live eternally. After this life we will either enjoy that eternity with Jesus in New Jerusalem or we will suffer the torment of Hell. The person who has put money first cannot serve God. The person who serves God understands this world and present life are temporary and live it in preparation for the real thing, eternity. She wants God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven. She wants people to know Jesus. She doesn’t lay up treasures here, she lays them up in Heaven. In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus said,
 
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
 
If your eye, (your focus and perspective) is on money, earthly treasures and pleasures then it cannot be on God, His will and purpose. The wrong focus will blind you to the truth and you will not glorify God, it glorifies the self. Satan will be happy to make us richer and he will laugh as we walk blindly to Hell because our eye is on our bank account instead of The Lord. This life is temporary, it lasts 80 years. Do you imagine that 100 years from now or 100,000 years from now it will matter if you lived in a mansion and had servants? It won’t. It will matter how you treated the servants. It will matter how you loved or sinned against the people around you. It will matter how you lifted up or oppressed the people you came into contact with. It will matter if Jesus Christ is your Lord or money is your lord. Verses 4-6 read,
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
 
The rich who got that way through sin and oppression, who put money and their own comfort above God and love, they are enjoying all the luxury and comfort they will ever enjoy unless they open their eyes and weep over their sin and repent. Proverbs 16:5-9 reads,
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
    be assured, he will not go unpunished.
6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
    and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
7 When a man's ways please the Lord,
    he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness
    than great revenues with injustice.
9 The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.

 
Many of the Proverbs were written by Solomon, one of the wealthiest men to have ever lived. People heard about his wealth and his wisdom and came from very far away to see it. Even the very wealthy Queen of Sheba was floored by his wisdom and prosperity (1 Kings 10:1-13). Being rich is not the sin; the sin is in what the money means to a person and how she obtained that wealth. True wealth is in the joy of a relationship with God. Real peace comes from righteousness.  Proverbs 15:15-17 reads,
All the days of the afflicted are evil,
    but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
    than great treasure and trouble with it.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
    than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

Money cannot save us, regardless of how much we have. Are you living for The Day of The Lord or are you living for tomorrow? Proverbs 11:4 says,
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.

The Proverbs have a great deal to say about money and how we should use it. Proverbs 3:9-10 tells us,
Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,
    and your vats will be bursting with wine.

There is a great deal more to be gleaned about money from the Bible. And I know I need to learn how the Lord wants me to think about it and use. For now I want us to consider where money is in our hearts. Is money on the throne? Do you seek money or do you seek the Kingdom of God? Chasing wealth leads to sin. 1 Timothy 6:3-10 reads,
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Are you asking what you are supposed to do about feeding and clothing your family if you don’t focus on money? Are you saying, “Donna, this world is expensive and I’ve got to eat! How do you expect me live if I don’t save up as much money as possible? How will I live when I’m 75 and can’t work?” Well, I say “Pursue God, have faith that He is God and nothing is impossible for Him.” In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus answered those questions.
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (The Message).
 
Just keep your eyes on God and what He desires and He will take care of all the other stuff that could take your focus.  When you do what is right with your money, when you are generous and lift up the poor instead of oppress them, God will ensure you have plenty of money to live on and to continue being generous. If you trust God enough to give generously, even more than you think you can afford, He will prove your faith and ensure you will always have enough to keep giving. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says it this way,
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
In fact your generosity spreads the Gospel because God’s love and your faith in Him are evident in the act of giving (2 Corinthians 9:10-15). Do you really trust God to be God or do you lean on your bank account in case He doesn’t come through? Stop trusting money and start trusting God. Stop serving your bank account, your earthly future, or your present comfort and be courageous enough to serve God.
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Deuteronomy 15 The Sabbath, Forgiveness, and Generosity

3/9/2016

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Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;     his righteousness endures forever.” 2 Corinthians 9:7-9
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 2 Corinthians 9:7-9
Deuteronomy 15
The Sabbath is more than the seventh day of the week. It is a profound celebration of the profound concept of deliverance to life. The Lord did not only proclaim a Sabbath day once a week, He proclaimed a Sabbath year every seventh year. In this chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses reiterates the laws of the Sabbath year. Verses 1-3 read,
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. 3 Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release.”
In the Sabbatical Year, whatever debts were owed within and between Israelites were forgiven. Every person who owed a debt was released from that debt. The Lord demonstrated the concept of forgiveness to His people by having them understand what it meant to forgive something as tangible as wages and money. Foreigners were not forgiven of their debts. This too demonstrates salvation, it is by God’s will, His chosen are forgiven. Foreigners did not worship The Lord and were not covered by the blood of sacrifices, their debts were not released.
And The Lord told Israel that they would be prosperous if they would diligently obey the Law. Verses 4-6 say,
“But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.”
Within the church, there are no poor because we have an inheritance from God and that is eternal life. We have a wealth of treasure in Heaven if we obey the law to love as Jesus loves. Jesus loved by laying His life down for us and forgiving us a debt we could not pay. We are to love one another that way. The church should show the grace of the Lord to the world, freely and joyfully giving to them and demonstrating God’s perfect love to them, freely forgiving people because Jesus forgave us. We should not be be inflicting the wounds that require forgiveness.
Forgiveness whether it is of emotional or physical wounds is hard. Forgiveness of financial debt is equally difficult. It is a sacrifice to forgive. When I loan someone money and time passes without them paying me back, I forgive the debt and I feel it, but I do not let it stress me because I know who my Lord is, He provides. In my act of faith, He blesses me.
Forgiving emotional and physical hurts is also a sacrifice. It is not easy to let those wounds go. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for Jesus to be whipped and ridiculed and never answer back. He was completely innocent and He was slapped, stripped, beaten and murdered yet He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). I know how hard it is to forgive terrible abuses. I know how hard it is to forgive spiteful actions against us, but how can we manifest Jesus to the world if we don’t? We must be as generous as God in every aspect. Jesus told us to, “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). That is real, concrete, and visible love within the church and beyond her. It is not only in forgiving but in giving we show abundant love. Verses 7-11 read,
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother,8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’”
For many of us money is something challenging to let go of. That is why we are commanded to give cheerfully and generously and to forgive the debts owed to us. But money is not the issue for everyone, for some it is pride, mercy, or kindness. We are to be generous in all these areas. We aren’t supposed to be offended by someone’s actions or words. How can they hurt us, we are shielded by The Holy Spirit. We are supposed to forgive others as we ourselves were forgiven (Colossians 3:13). The tangible nature of generosity with money teaches us we can forgive the intangible wounds of the heart and let go our pride which keeps us from fully becoming the image of Christ. This same generosity of money shows the world a clearer picture of Jesus and leads to deliverance. If we give grudgingly to one another, the world sees that and decides that God is hard-hearted and stingy.
Being generous shows the world we have faith. The more generous we are the more God is able to bless us and demonstrate His provision and blessings to us. There will always be poor among us. Hording away money will not change it, even generous giving won’t change it. But generously caring for the poor will show the world who Jesus is. When Mary (the sister of Martha) anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, Judas was outraged that Jesus would allow such a waste. He said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He didn’t care about the poor, he had no plans to give the money to the poor; he wanted the money for himself. Jesus answered, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me” (John 12:1-8). Mary was generous with her precious perfume and she used it to glorify The Lord. Her generosity revealed Jesus as Messiah. Our generosity can do the same. Our love manifested as generosity can lead to people being released from slavery to sin to become slaves of righteousness. Verses 12-18 read,
“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.”
One Israelite could only be a bondservant to another for six years, after that regardless of the debt, the slave was freed and given generous provision for beginning life as a free person. Forgiveness shows the forgiven God’s immense riches and love. As the Israelites were once slaves in Egypt, we too were once slaves. We were redeemed, forgiven of our debts and so we forgive too. When we are plentiful with our love the person receiving it might love the Lord in return and choose to devote herself to God. In Israel when that happened the person was sealed by the piercing of her ear and bonded forever to her master. She was forever in her master’s household. When someone devotes themselves to The Lord and chooses to serve Him, she is likewise sealed for eternity into the household of God, she becomes a slave of righteousness, compelled to love as Jesus loves. The wonderful thing about becoming a member of The Lord’s household is that we are no longer servants but friends, no longer slaves but free, no longer children of wrath but sons and daughters of the King of kings. John 15:7-17 reads,
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
We are not only supposed to be generous toward others, but generous toward The Lord who is so very generous with us. Verses 19-23 read,
“All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You shall eat it, you and your household, before the Lord your God year by year at the place that the Lord will choose. 21 But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your towns. The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.”
We give Him the first and the best. We give others the best as well. Giving what we don’t want is not generosity, it is a miserly and empty act. How does your second-hand dirty or unwanted donation show the abundant riches of God, the awesome love of Jesus, or the immense faith of The Spirit? The next time someone is collecting canned foods for the hungry, don’t pull out the can of lima beans that you’ve had in your pantry for six years, pull out the can of chicken or asparagus you were planning on cooking tonight. Pull out the ravioli you love to eat for lunch, give the best of what you have and see how God will bless you.
Practice the Sabbath, not only in dedicating your days to the Lord, but in demonstrating the forgiveness and generosity of The Lord in delivering you from slavery to freedom.
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John 6:1-15 Have Faith. Even with a Little, You Can Give A Lot.

11/23/2014

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John Chapter 6 Verses 1-15

You can always be generous. Even if you think you have nothing to give, God ensures you do.

Verses 1-3 read,

“After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.”

The narrative begins after Jesus had taught about His union with the Father. He went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. This is not something unusual in the Gospels. Jesus took time for Himself and the twelve disciples often, especially after a difficult or stressful situation. He would take a break from the demands of the crowds and refresh.

Jesus is our ultimate example of pastor and leader. He is the exact image of God. Since we long to be like him we should pay attention to His model.  We can tend to get busy quickly. Although Jesus had a lot to do in His ministry and had many people depending on Him, He took time off from serving them to commune with the Father and fellowship with His friends.

But Jesus didn’t begrudge the crowds, He loved them and so when He saw that they had found Him, He had compassion on them and wanted to give them the teaching they sought as well as meet their physical needs. He already knew what He would do, but He asked His disciples for ideas.

We face so many situations in life when we don’t know how something can happen. Jesus doesn’t teach us to worry, He wants us to have faith that He is our Jehovah-Jireh, and El-Shaddai. He is the Lord Our Provider and Our Almighty All-Sufficient God. Jesus asked Phillip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He didn’t ask because He didn’t know. He asked so that Phillip and the other disciples would consider the options and realize that Jesus was the answer to their needs.

Peter mentioned a boy who had five barley loaves and two fishes. He knew this was something and that Jesus could use the little bit somehow. But he didn’t know how. Perhaps he wondered if anyone else had brought food. If enough had brought food maybe there would be enough. Jesus and the twelve didn’t ignore the people when they arrived. They didn’t resent that their rest had been interrupted. They interacted with them, showed kindness, and got to know some of them. How else would Peter know about the boy’s food?

God consistently provides you opportunities to serve Him. You can recognize and embrace those occasions or you can resent them and miss your chance to demonstrate God’s love for someone and your love for God. If you are going to serve God ungraciously, He’d rather you not. He is always graceful, always loving and always compassionate. If you serve Him because you have to, your sullenness doesn’t demonstrate God.

Verses 10-11 read,

“Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.”

Although their earthly resources were limited, they used them. They recognized that it was from God and they thanked Him for what He had given. Jesus didn’t say, “Alright, Y’all everyone just take a bite cause we don’t have much.” He told them to take as much as they wanted.

2 Corinthians 9:8 reads,

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work”

When you give, God guarantees you will have enough to give. He wants you to be Jesus to the world. He wants to do good works. He makes it possible for you. If you only have $1.00, it will be enough to do good for someone. If it will take $10 or $100, God will make it doable. Had the disciples chosen to ignore the crowd and go buy food for themselves, God wouldn’t have provided for them. It was in the giving that He multiplied what they had.

And boy, did He ever multiply it! Verses 12-13 read,

“And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”

Jesus made sure that nothing was wasted. Just because His riches are inexhaustible doesn’t give us the right to waste them. They gathered up all the leftovers and there was plenty left for people to take home and feed their families. Because they didn’t waste anything, the good work that was done could continue to work. Part of our recognition that all things come from God is that we are wise with His resources. Thankfulness involves using what we are given well.

The story ends with verses 14-15.

“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself”

The good work Jesus and the disciples did resulted in people recognizing Jesus. When you do good works for Him, people will recognize Him as well. They will see Jesus in you, they will have to acknowledge Him. They didn’t get it quite right, but eventually some of them would. They were about to make Jesus their earthly king to save them from the oppression of Rome. So Jesus withdrew again.

God knew He needed some rest and the time came for Him to be able to take it. Jesus provided for the spiritual and physical needs of the crowd, and the Father met Jesus’ needs.

When you give cheerfully and lovingly, you can count on God to allow those works to thrive. And you can count on God to meet your needs as well. Don’t be afraid to use the little you have to do be generous. God does great things with those willing to let Him.

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