A generous love.

I read something today that touched my heart and spurred me to write.  It's this story about a man and a young couple in love.  As the story goes, this man is on business in Boston and is dining at a restaurant for dinner.  Apparently, he has a quite delightful habit of paying for strangers meals when he eats out, so he tells the staff to find him the most "in love' couple in the place for him to anonymously pay for their meal.  The staff tells him about a young couple there who look head over heals in love and the man pays for their meal, and without being recognized, slips out before the couple realizes what has been done for them.

Check out what 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Remember what?!!?  Our giving is directly related to the blessing we will receive at the harvest time!  You know, this isn't a hard thing for farmers to understand; they know that if they plant lightly, the crop is sure to be sparse, but if they plant in abundance, the harvest will be much more plentiful.

And yet somewhere down the line, we have forgotten this.  

How many times have we missed out on what God has intended for us because of our selfishness?

How many times have I?.......

And please don't misunderstand, this is not just concerning money.  What about our time and energy?  Our skills and giftings?  Our willingness just to be available to the blessings that God wants for us?  Are we too busy to stop and consider that God has said he wants to "Bless us ABUNDANTLY"???

I often forget that he gives this promise to us all.  Look at that last verse.  God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in ALL things at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will abound in EVERY good work.  

Did you catch that?  All.  Every.  Not now and then when I feel like it.

Every instance.  Every opportunity.  All times.  God wants to bless us abundantly because of his great love for us.

By the way, if you keep reading that passage in 2 Corinthians, you find that God continues...

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.  You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.  Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others 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.  And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

God promises that He will supply our every need so that we are able to be generous.  Not for our glory, but for His.

Go back to the story about the man and the couple in Boston.  It's a nice story about the generous nature of a man and the gratitude of a couple blessed by the thoughtfulness of a stranger, but the story doesn't end there.

You see, the man returns to Boston three years later and with some excitement and awe, one of the staff members approaches him with an unbelievable announcement!  The couple that he bought a meal for those three years prior, were dining there at that exact moment, in the same table where they sat on that fateful night, and the younger man was now proposing to his beauty!  The server said the couple were sitting at that same table three years ago and some stranger paid for their meal and made them think about kindness and love and they’ve been talking about it ever since.  He went on to say they’ve incorporated it into their lives and mentioned there was no other place he could have proposed, as it was their most impactful memory!

What are the chances that this man would happen to be there, right at the same time that the very couple he blessed three years previously would be on the verge on getting engaged?  Some may say coincidence and yet I believe that there are very few true coincidences in this life.  These are divine inspirations of God's love for us!  To show us He is present in our lives and wants to shower his blessings down on us!

And that's what I pray for you.  That as believers, you grow more generous in every aspect of your life, so that you will experience the wonders and amazement of His unending love for you!

Because that's how life was always meant to be lived.....

I am not amused.

I was reading in my quiet time today a post from a man that I respect greatly today about the concept of amusement.  Mark Hamby wrote about a book titled "Amusing Ourselves to Death"  where the author - Neil Postman - made this interesting observation.  He stated the word "amuse" comes from the root word "muse" which means "to think".  However, when you add the prefix "a", it gives the word a negative context and changes the meaning to "not to think".

Hmmm....not to think. 

Is this really what we have been doing?  I mean, sure, we haven't been doing this consciously or with intention, but we have been deluded by the culture of this world into believing that we must be amused at every turn and position in life. 

Consider this fact.  Televisons have been commercially available since the 1920s.  With the advent of the TV, media and companies were able to come into the homes of the average American and inundate us with entertainment for the first time.  Families would gather around the TV set and be amused by the shows and performances that aired over these TVs.  I may be off a bit, but in the 1950s, the average home had one TV.  As of Jan 2011, the average home had 2.5 TV sets and watched an average of 35.6 hours of programming per week. 

Let that number sink in a bit for a moment.  35.6 hours.  That's like working a full time job, except all you are doing is sitting on your couch and flipping channels occassionally.  Consider also that since the 1950s, TV has been the main medium for molding public opinion.  How much time are you spending "checking out" at home?  How does this compare to your quiet time?

But that's just the average adult.  What about our children?  Surely our children are better right? Well, in the same Nielsen study, kids aged 2-11 watch an average of 25+ hours of TV per week.  Not much better.  (Seriously??? 2 year olds watching TV the equivalent of a part time job???)

This is not to condemn or criticize anyone if this is you, but to point out the false reality we have generally bought into as a people.  And that's just TV.  don't even get started on the Internet, iPhones, iPods, iPads, XBOX, PS3, Nintendo Wii, etc., etc., etc.  We are a society driven by technology but we have long since gone beyond the ability of using our technology.  We now let technology use us and we are being "amused" into oblivion.  Are we really thinking this through?

Are we thinking at all?

The Bible says this in Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Do not conform to the pattern of this world....

Truth be told, this is a tough one for me.  you see, while I don't watch TV that often, I am an infomation junkie and am rarely without access to internet and my iPhone.  I have all that I could ever want or desire to know in the palm of my hand.  i can play any game I care to, jump on Facebook at any time, and do any various amount of other stuff if I wanted to.  Quite often I do. 

I check out.  I turn in my brain at the door.  I fail at not conforming.  We all do.

But here is the point: God wants to renew my mind (your mind) with His goodness. 

With His perfect will and plan for our lives. 

Often times I recognize this and allow Him to work in and through me and get to enjoy His joys and plans for me.  Just as often though I try to go my own way, as if I could somehow block the creator of the universe out from my  experiences and get away with it.  So often I feel like the disciples, not because they were mighty men of God, but because, truth be told, they so often messed up and got things wrong.  Sometimes, they totally missed the point. 

And I guess that's why I am able to have peace most times.  I realize that I am just like these men.  Human.  Frail.  Broken.  Ultimately though, I pray I am most like them because ultimately I know that God is in control and he is doing a great work in my life and he is going to continue that work that he does in me (and in you) until the day of completion.  How can a man know the will of the Father if he is not in a relationship with the Father.  and if we are being transformed by Him, how can we answer in any other way??
I am learning to allow him to transform me into the man he has called and designed me to be.  And I hope I am doing well.

Can I challenge you for a moment?

Unplug.

Unplug from everything for a moment and consider that God has a bigger plan for you.  It's time we stop shutting off our brains and letting the TV - or Facebook or Movies - do the thinking for us.  We need to be renewed by the strength of the only One who has the power - TRUE power - To bring us real life, not the virtual reality we have built around ourselves. 

It may be hard at first, but we were never made to waste half our lives "not thinking".  Once you have that down, things become a lot more fun and exciting, instead of just being amusing.  Let God be the source of your passions.  Not the remote control or a mouse on your computer.   

Because that's how life was  always meant to be lived......

Life more abundantly....

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

This is the inspiration and purpose for the blog.  Jesus came to bring us life.  And not just life in the way we generally live it from day to day, but life more ABUNDANTLY!!  This is what Jesus was all about.  Not that we would be satisfied with the things of this world and the trappings and “shiny distractions” it has, which by the way lie to us daily and try to tell us we need them to live a good life.  No, he came that we would have life far beyond ANYTHING this world could ever offer!!  His gift is bigger than anything we could ever imagine; and if we place our trust and faith in him, he is faithful to his word.  Jesus is life, and life more abundant.  Because, this is how life was always meant to be lived……