DAY 94-GENEROSITY-GIVING FREELY

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Paul continues to talk about giving. God does not try to force us to give but leaves it up to us. We should not be pressured in to giving but instead give generously based on our faith. And the best part is that if we give freely –not forced but give by faith–God will ensure that we have everything we need with enough to share with others. God will reward us for giving to others. Think about how that might change the world if we all adopted this attitude.

DAY 93-GENEROSITY AND GIVING

“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. (2 Corinthians 8:7)

In a recent study conducted by Christianity Today, it was revealed that those who make less give more than those who make more money. The trend is the more we make the less we give. Why is it that we have a hard time giving of not only our treasures (money) but our time as well? Why is that?

Why is it that many of us struggle to give? Is it that we are selfish? Are we afraid of giving because we see it as a way of losing a part of our time and money? Giving is not a losing proposition, but actually a winning one. We cannot grow if we are not willing to give up a part of our selves. Think about what God did when He sent Jesus. “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.” God GAVE so that we could receive eternal life.

I would like to encourage you to try this next week to give generously to someone else—someone in need. Not just a monetary contribution, but your time as well. Try it, you might like it!

DAY 92-NEW BODIES

There are times when I sit down to read the daily passages that instantly I know what I want to write about. Today was one of those days.

I lady I know is having some severe stomach and back aches. She has gone on line and researched the internet and is convinced she is going to die—and this terrifies her. Not only has this caused her much anguish but it has also caused her to become physically sick as well. It is obvious that she does not know Jesus as her Lord and Savior and thus cannot proclaim the promise we see in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

I am comforted to know that when I leave this place, God has prepared a home for me with a new body–a body that will be free from disease and pain. As a Christians we are free from the pain and worry that my friend is experiencing. Please pray for me as I witness to her and show her that the worry and concern she has can be replaced with peace. How about you? Do you have the peace and assurance that you will have a new body and eternal life? Just something to think about.

DAY 91-TRANSPARENCY

“God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up. But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly, showing everyone who we are. Then they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are in God’s sight” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2)

I believe as Christians we can learn a lot from Paul. We need to share the Good News as it is. No sugar coating or embellishment—just the truth. We need to be transparent and real to ourselves and to others. We need to show how Jesus changed us and how he works within our lives. Our stories should be truthful and plan to ensure we let everyone see us as we are so they can see Jesus in us. Are you up to the challenge to be transparent and bare it all so others can see Jesus in you

DAY 79-WOW

One of my favorite passages in the bible is where it talks about the body of Christ and how we have a purpose. A purpose because God has given each of us unique abilities to serve Him.

Romans 12:6-8, “God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Have you thought about your gifts? What gifts do you have that God has given you to serve others. God has a purpose for you to serve to use your gifts. If your not using them or maybe your not sure what they are, take time right now to ask Him. Dear Lord, please help me to see and understand my gifts. Help me to see how they can be used to help others and how I can serve you. Amen.

DAY 78-WHERE IS THE EASY BUTTON

Romans 10:9-13, “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation. The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed. [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved/

No matter who, we are, where we live, Jew or Gentile, all we have to do is confess with our own lips that we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. All we have to do is believe and receive. Does it get any easier than this? If you do not know Jesus, He is waiting for you. All you have to do is confess your sins and that you believe in Jesus and you will be saved. You will have an eternal home in heaven. How awesome is that. Acknowledge Him right now.

DAY 77-WOW

When I sat down to write about today’s passage, I couldn’t find any one thing that jumped out. The trouble was that in Romans 8 I found a lot of good stuff. What a powerful chapter—or at least for me.

No condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (8:1)
….power of the Spirit has freed you from the power of sin (8:2)
We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (8:28)
If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (8:31)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (8:38)

Wow, what a wonderful God we have……

DAY 76-SLAVES NO MORE, WE ARE FREE

In Chapter Romans 3:23-24 we read, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty.” Then in 5: 8-9, we see God’s love, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” Then in chapter 6, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6: 11-14)

Do you think Paul was trying to make a point? We are all sinners and will continue to face temptations but we are no longer slaves to sin. Through God’s grace we are forgiven and have the power over sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:23). We have been set free and now have eternal life—eternal life!

DAY 75-WE ARE ALL SINNERS

In Romans chapter three, it talks about how we are all sinners. I have heard from several people that they hate to be called sinners. They go to church, pray, help others and obey the law. They are good people. How can they be considered sinners? Paul writes:

10 As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”

No matter how much we try, as humans we fall short, we all sin. You see, left alone by ourselves we are prideful human beings. We only see what we want to see and thus make decisions with our “best” interests in mind—sometimes the decisions are not so good but we justify it by comparing ourselves to others— “I’m not as bad as so and so.” But it isn’t about us. It is about God and our relationship with him.

What I see in this passage is humility. By humbling ourselves we realize our shortcomings which help us recognize our need for Jesus. And thorough Jesus are sins are forgiven and we are made whole again where we can experience fellowship with God. Sometimes when we take a moment to reflect we are able to see ourselves in a totally different light. We need to be honest with ourselves and more importantly; we need to be honest with God. We are humans, we will fail. Forgive me Lord of my sins. Help me to humble myself before you and stop making excuses. Help me to trust in you and allow you to lead my life. Amen.

DAY 74-GOD KNOWS THAT YOU KNOW

As I read Romans 1, I found the following passage underlined in my Bible, Romans 1:20,

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Next to it in the margin I had a note that read “No excuses for not seeing God”. This reminded me of a passage by our pastor. He was trying to tell us that no one had an excuse to say that they did not see or have the opportunity to know God. God has revealed himself thorough nature and creation. No one has an excuse to say they did not know God existed. Just look around. I am thankful that my eyes were opened to see God and who he is.

But now that I can see, I have an obligation. An obligation to do what is right. In Romans 2:5-8, we learn of the judgment that will come upon all of us. If we proclaim to follow Jesus and our actions do not meet our words, then we will be harshly judged. God knows our hearts and we know right from wrong. We know what we need to do and when we fail, God knows–we cannot hide from Him. Stop and take a look in the mirror, a really hard look at yourself. Where is your heart? What does God see? What do others see? Do they see Jesus in you or are they confused by how you say one thing and do another?