Seriously. So, no resolving... I set goals and work toward them.
For 2019, I have some goals in mind regarding fitness,
weight, um... housekeeping... and, this morning while reading from the Book of Luke, I want to set a goal to GIVE more.I wanted to share with you some thought I jotted down (aka typed... ha...) while I read over Luke 6 a second time. The first time, I was inspired... so I read through it again and took notes summarizing WHY.
Giving is a feeling of challenge. There are lots of avenues to giving, lots of reasons to give and plenty of arguments why we should NOT give. My goal is to become deaf to those arguments (both inside and outside of my head).
So here are my notes from Luke 6. Afterward is a video of a really great song about giving... just try to look past the drummer sporting horns... haha... ok, here goes:
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Healing
Poor on the outside, rich on the inside. Lacking worldly riches means lacking potential distractions from the deeper, spiritual riches.
Belief. Faith. Taking God at God’s word and knowing and expecting God’s word to be truth; to be fact; to become tangible.
While you are in hard times, your focus narrows. Direct that narrowed focus toward God. FIX your eyes on God and let that resolute, steadfast focus become a dedicated conduit from God to you. People touched Jesus and were healed. When you connect with God, God’s pure goodness goes into you. So, hard times are HARD and even terrible. Let those terrivle times have not only a good but an amazing result.
Don’t intentionally stir up people to hate you. Don’t be greedy for attention; live your life. Narrow your focus. And if, while living your life plainly and simply, with you eyes fixed on Jesus, people notice that you are different, they will feel uncomfortable. Things that are different and out-of-the-ordinary tend to make us all feel uncomfortable. If people notice you are different and feel uncomfortable to the extent that they “hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man” - don’t allow that to change the core of who you are. Keep that dedicated conduit affixed to God; superglue and weld it in place. And God’s goodness will pour into you.
If your focus is attached to the riches and prosperity you have now, your conduit is attached to a place with nothing new to give; nothing to add to you beyond what you already have.. That would be like needing a blood transfusion and drawing that blood from your own body. It’s the same blood you already had; nothing new, and nothing more to add to your deficiency.
Don’t celebrate prosperity in the present; give that prosperity away lest it weigh you down and wear you out. Kind of collecting Mardi Gras beads at a parade; you catch then and hang them around your neck until they get HEAVY, then you fill up bags and containers with them and, when the parade is over, you have joyfully collected millions of strings of plastic beads to lug home and take up space.
Don’t passionately collect possessions now; they are only burdens. Give away as much as you can. Then you will be in a position to form that dedicated conduit to God, and God will give you what MATTERS.
Don’t passionately collect possessions now; they are only burdens. Give away as much as you can. Then you will be in a position to form that dedicated conduit to God, and God will give you what MATTERS.
Love
Love those who don’t care a thing about you. Love those who treat you badly and hurt you by ignoring you or excluding you. You don’t have to love them within shooting range… you can love them from a safe place; from the secret place where you rest in God’s arms.
Don’t try to stand on the tracks and valiantly stop a freight train by your own strength. Go to the secret place and ask God to stop what needs to be stopped.
Love
Give, give, give. You cannot out-give God.
Don’t focus on material things. Give them away. If someone takes from you, pray your heart can be ingrained with the natural reflex of giving so that you can consider what was taken as a gift to whoever stole from you.
Give to the beggars in intersections, soliciting outside stores and roaming WalMart parking lots.
Give to people who might very well be lying to you. What matters is the gift; what they do with that gift is on them. What is done with a gift you’ve given is not your concern.
Give to people who might very well be lying to you. What matters is the gift; what they do with that gift is on them. What is done with a gift you’ve given is not your concern.
Give with no thought of being reimbursed. Remember - the focus - the dedicated conduit straight from God to you.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to e repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for HE IS KIND TO THOSE WHO ARE UNTHANKFUL AND WICKED.” Luke 6:35
Be compassionate. God is compassionate; be like God.
Don’t judge. Don’t condemn. Just do what you are supposed to do. (the focus; the conduit) Do what God says TO do, and don’t do what God says NOT to do. It’s all spelled out for you and God’s instructions are not complicated.
Forgive.
Give. Then, when God blesses you for giving, give even more.
Give monwy. Give possessions. Give time. Give assistance.
Be like Jesus. If you don’t know how, scroll back up to the top of this post and read it over and over again until you understand. Better yet, read Luke chapter 6. Read all of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Study Jesus’ life and model yours after His. You will never go wrong that way.
