Are You Jesus?
(As you read this think about what you would do!) A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...."; he paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?" He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
52 Key Verses on Generous Giving
52 Key Verses on Generous Giving
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds ... For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Deuteronomy 11:18a; Romans 15:4). God not only commands us to memorize his word, but he also promises us an immeasurably great return for it. To help you get started, we have arranged into weekly readings 52 key verses on generous giving from generousgiving.org.
God Owns Everything, and I Am His Money Manager
Week 1 — Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
Week 2 — Leviticus 25:23 — “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”
Week 3 — Haggai 2:8 — “ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Week 4 — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
Week 5 — John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Week 6 — Deuteronomy 8:18 — “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
Week 7 — Romans 11:36a — “For from him and through him and to him are all things ...”
Week 8 — 1 Corinthians 4:2 — “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
Week 9 — Romans 14:10 — “... For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat ...”
Week 10 — Romans 14:12 — “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Week 11 — Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God’s Money
Week 12 — Ecclesiastes 5:12 — “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”
Week 13 — Proverbs 18:10-11 — “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.”
Week 14 — Matthew 6:19 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Week 15 — Matthew 6:20 — “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Week 16 — Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 — “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This Present World Is Not My Permanent Home
Week 17 — Philippians 3:20 — “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
Week 18 — Luke 12:15 — “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ ”
Week 19 — Proverbs 23:4-5 — “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”
Week 20 — Psalm 90:10 — “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
Week 21 — Psalm 39:5b — “Each man’s life is but a breath.”
Week 22 — 1 Timothy 6:6-7 — “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
Week 23 — 2 Corinthians 8:9 — “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Week 24 — Mark 12:43-44 — “Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’ ”
I Should Not Live Merely for the Moment but for Eternity
Week 25 — Hebrews 11:25-26 — “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt , because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Week 26 — Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”
Week 27 — Matthew 19:27-28 — “Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ ”
Week 28 — Matthew 19:29 — “ ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’ ”
Week 29 — Proverbs 19:17 — “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”
Week 30 — Revelation 19:7-8 — “ ‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)”
Week 31 — 2 Corinthians 9:6 — “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
Giving Is the Only Antidote to Materialism
Week 32 — Ecclesiastes 5:10 — “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”
Week 33 — Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 — “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.”
Week 34 — Mark 10:21 — “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ ”
Week 35 — 1 Timothy 6:9 — “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Week 36 — 1 Timothy 6:10 — “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Week 37 — 1 Timothy 6:17 — “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Week 38 — 1 Timothy 6:18-19 — “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Week 39 — Malachi 3:10 — “ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘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.’ ”
God Prospers Me to Raise Not My Standard of Living, but My Standard of Giving
Week 40 — 2 Corinthians 9:10 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
Week 41 — 2 Corinthians 9:11 — “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Week 42 — 2 Corinthians 9:12 — “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
Week 43 — 2 Corinthians 9:13 — “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
Week 44 — Luke 12:33 — “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
Week 45 — Acts 20:35b — “[T]he Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Week 46 — 2 Corinthians 8:7 — “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Week 47 — 2 Corinthians 9:9, quoting Psalm 112:9 — “As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ ”
Week 48 — 2 Corinthians 9:7b — “[F]or God loves a cheerful giver.”
Week 49 — James 2:14-17 — “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Week 50 — 1 John 3:16 — “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Week 51 — 1 John 3:17 — “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
Week 52 — 1 John 3:18 — “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds ... For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Deuteronomy 11:18a; Romans 15:4). God not only commands us to memorize his word, but he also promises us an immeasurably great return for it. To help you get started, we have arranged into weekly readings 52 key verses on generous giving from generousgiving.org.
God Owns Everything, and I Am His Money Manager
Week 1 — Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
Week 2 — Leviticus 25:23 — “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”
Week 3 — Haggai 2:8 — “ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Week 4 — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
Week 5 — John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Week 6 — Deuteronomy 8:18 — “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
Week 7 — Romans 11:36a — “For from him and through him and to him are all things ...”
Week 8 — 1 Corinthians 4:2 — “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
Week 9 — Romans 14:10 — “... For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat ...”
Week 10 — Romans 14:12 — “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Week 11 — Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God’s Money
Week 12 — Ecclesiastes 5:12 — “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”
Week 13 — Proverbs 18:10-11 — “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.”
Week 14 — Matthew 6:19 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Week 15 — Matthew 6:20 — “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Week 16 — Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 — “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This Present World Is Not My Permanent Home
Week 17 — Philippians 3:20 — “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
Week 18 — Luke 12:15 — “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ ”
Week 19 — Proverbs 23:4-5 — “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”
Week 20 — Psalm 90:10 — “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
Week 21 — Psalm 39:5b — “Each man’s life is but a breath.”
Week 22 — 1 Timothy 6:6-7 — “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
Week 23 — 2 Corinthians 8:9 — “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Week 24 — Mark 12:43-44 — “Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’ ”
I Should Not Live Merely for the Moment but for Eternity
Week 25 — Hebrews 11:25-26 — “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt , because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Week 26 — Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”
Week 27 — Matthew 19:27-28 — “Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ ”
Week 28 — Matthew 19:29 — “ ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’ ”
Week 29 — Proverbs 19:17 — “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”
Week 30 — Revelation 19:7-8 — “ ‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)”
Week 31 — 2 Corinthians 9:6 — “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
Giving Is the Only Antidote to Materialism
Week 32 — Ecclesiastes 5:10 — “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”
Week 33 — Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 — “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.”
Week 34 — Mark 10:21 — “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ ”
Week 35 — 1 Timothy 6:9 — “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Week 36 — 1 Timothy 6:10 — “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Week 37 — 1 Timothy 6:17 — “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Week 38 — 1 Timothy 6:18-19 — “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Week 39 — Malachi 3:10 — “ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘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.’ ”
God Prospers Me to Raise Not My Standard of Living, but My Standard of Giving
Week 40 — 2 Corinthians 9:10 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
Week 41 — 2 Corinthians 9:11 — “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Week 42 — 2 Corinthians 9:12 — “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
Week 43 — 2 Corinthians 9:13 — “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
Week 44 — Luke 12:33 — “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
Week 45 — Acts 20:35b — “[T]he Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Week 46 — 2 Corinthians 8:7 — “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Week 47 — 2 Corinthians 9:9, quoting Psalm 112:9 — “As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ ”
Week 48 — 2 Corinthians 9:7b — “[F]or God loves a cheerful giver.”
Week 49 — James 2:14-17 — “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Week 50 — 1 John 3:16 — “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Week 51 — 1 John 3:17 — “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
Week 52 — 1 John 3:18 — “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
Friday, February 9, 2007
What are you trading the days of your life for?
Whatever we are doing now is exactly what we are trading the days of our life for. Things change, people change, the environment changes but God never changes and we must keep our minds clearly focused on what God is calling us to do. God never changes He's the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 As you go through your daily activities, you are either impacting the people around you or you are being infected by them. We do a good job of conforming to the ways of this world and being "politically correct" leaving God in the Church. The worldly thinking says conform to this "PC" thinking. The Holy Spirit doesn’t want you adapting to the world, He wants you transforming the world. What did Jesus do when he went into the marketplace? He transformed it. So, what are you trading the days of your life for?
"Do not conform any longer to the ways of this world…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Rom. 12:2 "For better is He in me than he who is in this world." I John 4:4
"Jesus hasn’t changed! He is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever!" Hebrews 13:8
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11
"Let your light shine before man and let your good deeds shine before man." Proverbs 4:26
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 "Get out of the finite thinking and get into the infinite thinking." Romans 8:28
"Do not conform any longer to the ways of this world…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Rom. 12:2 "For better is He in me than he who is in this world." I John 4:4
"Jesus hasn’t changed! He is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever!" Hebrews 13:8
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11
"Let your light shine before man and let your good deeds shine before man." Proverbs 4:26
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 "Get out of the finite thinking and get into the infinite thinking." Romans 8:28
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