Daily Thoughts about God Posts

by Dr. Bill Bright

God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more, so that there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others2 Corinthians 9:8

One of the greatest discoveries that I have ever made in the Christian life is the law of sowing and reaping. Paul explains, beginning in his second letter to the Corinthians with the sixth verse of Chapter 9, “If you give little, you’ll get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will harvest only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much. Everyone must make up his own mind as to how much he should give. Don’t force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes
(2 Corinthians 9:6,7).

I have several friends and colleagues who have joined with me in claiming this marvelous promise of God and in every case the blessings are abundant. People with modest incomes are able not only to give large sums of money, but also enjoy a life-style that one could hardly expect even from individuals whose salaries were much more than theirs. It is a “loaves and fishes” kind of demonstration of God’s faithfulness. You cannot outgive God. As someone put it, “I give to God by the spoonsful and He returns to me shovelsful.”

Most believers have never discovered the joy and excitement of Christian stewardship. Always remember that God’s graces are bestowed upon us, not that we may hoard them, but that we may pass them on to others.

The same principle of giving also applies to the giving of our time and our talent to the proclamation of the gospel. The more we give, the more we receive. Was God giving you an extra portion of love today, of joy, of patience, of encouragement, or peace? Pass it on. Has something happened to you? He may have given that extra supply for you to pass it on to others in need. By the same token, if your supply in any of these things is lacking, you need only ask. With your motivation of wanting to share with others, God will not delay in responding to your request.

Bible Reading: 2  Corinthians 9:6-11

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: In order to be a faithful steward of that which God has entrusted to me, I shall seek to share with others a generous portion of all that He gives to me, with special emphasis on the good news concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and the supernatural life which He gives.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/11/26/bb_more/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Bill Bright Thoughts by Men

By Marilyn Ehle

“…abide in me…This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit…�  (John 15)

“I spent all this money on a mission trip and now you tell me to just ‘be’ with the people?  No sharing of the Gospel, no handing out Bibles, no giving my testimony?�

Such were the questions – some spoken, some uttered only in the frustrated minds – of a group of young adults who traveled halfway around the world to participate in a church-sponsored mission trip. How could one’s mere presence fulfill the goal of Christ’s commission to bring the good news of salvation to all who would hear?

While we are too frequently less than faithful in giving words to our faith, it is also true that we who live in the Western world easily slip into the trap of placing more value on our words than on our actions, or even on our “mere presence.�

Could this be why we also shy away from wordlessly sitting in the presence of God, listening for whatever whispered words he might choose to utter in solitude and silence? The worlds around us place high value on production, success, activity, and their accompanying sounds. If we are not attentive, how quickly we can be ensnared by that same value system.

During the closing days of the mission trip described above, the participants who had traveled so far to speak the Gospel were amazed to hear the comments of people who had been observing them: “We watched to see how you reacted when the power went off or the well went dry. We saw you praying as you stood under a tree. We felt your hugs. We want to know the God who made you this way.�

Jesus, it sounds so simple to just “abide,� to just rest in you, to block out the noise of the world and the clutter of my mind, but I confess that I often choose activity over solitude, sound over silence because in activity and sound there is some sense of my effort and worth. Help me be more aware of when you want my presence to be your instrument of grace in a dying world.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/11/25/me_golden/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Marilyn Ehle Thoughts by Women