generosity

2 Samuel 7 – Melting the Father’s Heart

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Picture this…

One day, a father gives his boy a shiny new bike. While riding the new bike, the boy realizes his father doesn’t have a bike of his own. The boy doesn’t take into account that his father has a car and all the possessions he desires. He just knows that his father was so good to him to give him his new bike, and he wants his father to have one.

So the boy tells his father he’s going to get him a new bike and begins to save his money for one. This melts the father’s heart. So the next day, the father brings home an even bigger present for his son. Overwhelmed all the more by his father’s generosity, the boy climbs into his father’s lap and tells him he’s the greater dad in the whole world!

This is a picture of what’s happening in 2 Samuel chapter 7. David is grateful for what God has done for him and wants to give back to God. This attitude of gratitude melts God’s heart, causing Him to bless David all the more. Realizing he can’t out-bless God, David sits before God and acknowledges God’s greatness.

This chapter, like the story of the boy with the bike, reveals a tender interaction between a father and His child. In both stories, the father’s heart is melted by the child’s attitude of gratitude.

Gratitude leads us to want to give, which leads us to become more like our Heavenly Father. This melts the heart of God because what parent doesn’t melt when they see their children trying to imitate them?

Do you have an attitude of gratitude that prompts you toward generosity…and melt’s the heart of God?

Deuteronomy 26 – Things That Go Together

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There are things that naturally go together. Think of bacon and eggs, peanut butter and jelly, Abbott and Costello, and Batman and Robin. When it comes to these pairings, one would seem incomplete without the other.

Deuteronomy chapter 26, reminds us of another inseparable pair: commitment and generosity. These are inseparable, because when you’re committed to something, you generously give yourself and your resources to it. And without generosity, your commitment is called into question.

The same is true when it comes to relationships. Your commitment to someone can be seen in how freely you give yourself and your resources to them. The greater your commitment, the greater your generosity, and the greater your generosity the greater the evidence of your commitment.

Nowhere is this inseparable pairing seen more (or at least it should be) than in marriage. Marriage calls for the ultimate in human commitment and giving. The more freely you give to your spouse, the more committed you are to them. And the more committed you are to your spouse, the more freely you give to them. Many a shaky marriage could be ignited and strengthened by pouring efforts into commitment and generosity. (In fact, Deuteronomy 26:16-19 sound a lot like a marriage ceremony.)

Deuteronomy chapter 26 reminds us that the same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. Our commitment to Him will be seen in our generosity to Him, and to others. (Matt. 25:40) (Matt. 22:36-39) And our generosity to God and others shows our commitment to Him and to others. Just like marriage, our relationship with God is to be characterized by a commitment to generously give ourselves and our resources to Him and others. May God help us to make these two concepts inseparable in our lives.

Deuteronomy 15 – Share What You’ve Been Given

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You can see it in a small child protectively clutching a toy. You can hear it in their voice when they punctuate the word “mine!” Since the Garden of Eden, our natural tendency has been to keep, rather than give.

But God’s people are to be characterized as givers. We are to demonstrate the character of the One who has so graciously given everything to set us free and continues to generously give everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3) He reached down when we were in need, leaving us an example to follow.

In Deuteronomy chapter 15, God institutes the year of Jubilee or the year of release. It’s God’s way of reminding His people who they are and where they’ve come from. Deuteronomy 15:4 teaches us that as God’s children, our hearts and resources should go out to the poor and the debtor. Just as God freed us and blessed us, we too are to free and bless others. And as we generously share what God has given us, God will bless us even more.

This applies spiritually as well as materially. We are to give the forgiveness we’ve been given. We are to give the love we’ve been given. And we are to give the mercy we’ve been given. As God’s children, we are to give release and relief, both spiritually and materially.

Have you experienced release and relief from God? If so, how do you need to share that? Whom do you need to forgive? How do you need to bless someone? Find a way to start today!

Numbers 7-8 – Are You An Indian-Getter?

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Maybe you’ve heard someone use the term “Indian Giver.” Though not politically correct, the title refers to someone who gives something away only to take it back.

I suppose the opposite of an “Indian Giver” would be an “Indian Getter.” This would be someone who is given something only to give it away. You don’t hear too much about “Indian Getters.” If they’re out there, they are few and far between.

God’s character is that of an “Indian Getter.” In Numbers chapters 7 and 8, we see God receiving many things from His people. They give Him carts, oxen, gold, silver, lambs, rams, even a whole tribe of people known as the Levites. But then God takes all the things the people give Him and gives all of it back to them! His reason for doing this is so that his people will thrive and prosper…thus being able to give to Him further. (2 Cor. 9:11) What a deal! (Matt. 10:8) (Luke 6:38)

I believe God wants to show Himself to the world by infiltrating the world with “Indian Getters.” God’s children should more and more be taking on the nature of giving away what’s been given to them. This would not only make for some very powerful public relations for God…it would radically change our world for the better.

May God increasingly make us into “Indian Getters” for His glory and our good.

Can I Help?

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Fall leaves with rakeIt was a simple question: “Can I help?” But one young man breathed new life into my soul with that simple question. I was out raking my yard…

But first, I should let you know that I hate doing yard work. I put it off as long as I can and hope the neighbors don’t storm my house with torches and pitch forks. I should also let you know that I’m much older than I used to be and more out of shape than I’ve ever been. Anyway, back to the story…

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Bullet Points for Life

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List on Clipboard with PencilI know life is too complex to be reduced to a few bullet points of simple advice. That kind of thing usually bothers me. But sometimes you just need something quick and simple to hold on to. So here are a few bullet points for life that will help you change your thinking and take some pressure off…

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