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Give or
Take Gen. 13:8-12
When Abraham and Lot faced
a strife filled circumstances they decided to
separate themselves. Abraham said to Lot,
"...if thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right hand,..." Lot only had
to lift his eyes before he became a taker. The key decision in everyone's life
is, "Are you a giver or a taker?" Like Abraham, a giver is more
likely to do whatever is necessary to make peace. Lot
was a taker and needed Abraham to take care of him. A giver gives out and
also is more likely to give in. Takers, (Lot)
always take what they think is best for them, even if it is not best for
them. Their focus is always on themselves. A giver's concern is always is
always what can I do to help someone else and make them happy. Gimme, gimme, is favorite phraise of taker. Givers are always busy, but always find
time for others. A taker looks for the path of least effort and finds time
for himself. A takers life is a self-centered life
and is marked by constant conflict with others.
In churches, givers come to church looking for how they
may serve the Lord. They want to be a servant. Takers come
to church looking to be served. Their attitude is, "What is in it for
me." A giver gives his tithes and offerings with joy and sacrifice. Even
when times are tight, he keeps on giving. A taker may give a tithe, but he
will expect to receive more back than he gave. Soon he will
blame others that he is not getting anything out of the service, and then may
even stur up strife. A giver is always taking notes
during the sermon so that he may be the light of the world. A taker seldom
shares his faith and is like a burned out light bulb. A good barometer of who
is a giver or taker in church is to watch people during the song. A givers has the joy of the Lord and loves to sing even if
he is off key. A taker makes excuses about his singing to cover up his lack
singing. A giver always comes to church, even when he does not feel like it.
One service a week is enough for a taker
In marriage, takers will eventually take away the very
relationship that keeps them alive. They often end up alone and lonely. It is
never wise for two takers to marry. They will never be satisfied with each
other. They will continually find fault with each other and they will blame
each other. Their favorite line is, "She's not meeting my needs
anymore," or "He doesn't love me anymore."
Takers destroy each other and strong takes destroy other around them as well.
The last word of a takers marriage is, "I couldn't take it
anymore." When one is a giver and other is a taker, eventually the taker
will complain that the giver is not giving enough. The giver gives out
because he's drained.
When both are givers, there is rarely a divorce. If a
marriage is to be made in heaven both must give themselves totally to God and
each other. John 3:16 is the greatest example of life long giving.
You can choose to be a giver. Joseph in prison chose to be
a giver. Even when he was wrongfully accused and everything
was taken from him he still kept giving. Abraham gave to Lot.
God gave his son for you even when you were an undeserving sinner. Being a
giver is the only reasonable way to life. Focus on God's undeserving mercy
and favor. Count your many blessings.
Thought: It is more blessed to give than to
receive. Acts 20:35.
Pr (i)
de James 4:5-11, I Peter 5:5-6
Jesus is warning the men in James chapter 4 of the
enemy of pride. Pride is an inordinate view of ones
self. Note that the middle letter in pride is the letter "i" , which is a major cause
of pride. Pride inflates your sense of self worth and destroys your
perspective of reality. A proud person is one who walks to 3rd
base and takes credit for winning the game. Pride takes away from God the
glory due to Him. It will eventually deliver you to destruction. When a man
looks his halo of praise and good works long enough he will eventually and
systematically turn it into a noose and hang himself.
Saul, the book of 1st. Samuel grew proud and eventually destroyed
himself. Pride will put you on the shelf. It will render us unteachable. As a teacher, I have never known a proud
person who was a great student. Your pride tells you that you know it all, so
you do not commit to personal growth. It will makes
you close your mind to personal feed back from others and from God. Proud
people seldom confess-up, so they seldom fix-up the problem. They will blame
others for their problems. They try to justify themselves, rather than try
change themselves from within. The proud person is seldom flexible. Things
have to go their way. Someone once said, "Blessed are the flexible for
they seldom get bent our of shape." A proud
person will eventually destroy the best of relationships because of their
selfishness. The true test of a relationship is seen in how
you react when someone fails you, as well as in how you react when someone
succeeds you. Often the things that brought us the greatest success can
through prideful arrogance bring you the cause of your greatest failure.
Prideful arrogance will hinder you from being greatly used of God.
To avoid the destructiveness that comes from pride, you
must model the humility of Jesus, "who made
himself of no reputation." When we model the humility of Jesus, we will
greatly multiply the impact of our life. Do not spend time
trying to cover up your failures. Confess your mistakes. Then learn form
them. Learn the art of humility by deflecting praise to God and to others.
Often we want the glory for our self instead of giving glory to God. Be more
interested in other than you want others to be interested in you . Those who toot their own horn always play flat
notes. Spurgeon said, "The empty tub makes the loudest noises."
Instead of trying to impress others, try to be a servant to others. God put
us on the earth not to impress other, but to serve others. Are you trying to
impress your neighbors through your possession, positions, titles, or
prideful scorn. You have to give up yourself to grow
up. The quickest way up is down. "Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven." Mt. 18:4
Thought: Be more interested in other than you want
others to be interested in you.
Worry, A Slave
Master Matt. 6:24-34
Jesus was dealing with the problem of worry in Matthew
6:24-34, when He told us to be anxious for nothing, "but seek ye first
the kingdom of God." The English word for worry
comes from the word to strangle. Worry has a way of strangling our Faith and
hope in God. The Greek word translates "being troubled or pulled
apart." Worry is a destructive force, if permitted in our life, it will strangle you physically, emotionally, and
spiritually. It will pull you apart and created all kinds of problems in your
life, and the only one who can control worry in a Christian's life is the
Christian himself. It is his choice. One of the evidences that worry is
controlling our life is when we are all caught up with possessions and
things. We allow ourselves to be pulled apart between our bondage to things
and our peace that God will supply all our needs. God wants us to be free to
serve Him. In Gen.1:31 we know that God made all things for us to enjoy. It
is not wrong for us to own things, but it is wrong for things to own us and
strangle our faith and service for the Lord. God knows what things we have
need of, vs. 32. He will supply all our needs when we internally seek first
His kingdom and externally His Righteousness, vs. 33. Our life will never be
measured by what we possessed, but by who possessed us, i.e. The Lord Jesus
Christ. Luke 12:15 tells us to take heed and beware of covetousness. We
easily get wrapped up and pulled apart by the things which we possess. Mark
Twain said, "Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary
necessities." We are not to put our trust in things. I Tim. 6:17 says
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy." We can so easily get wrapped up in our
possessions and start to worry about those things that will be meaningless in
eternity. Your mind can get fixed on those things until they start to
strangle you. Your mind will become darkened so that you will not seek God's
best, but only what you want. Worry about things will control your mind and
destroy your life. Your heart will become divided and unstable. Things will
become your master, not the Lord Jesus. "No man can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to
the one, and despise the other." Ye can not serve God and mammon."
The evidences of worry are impatience and anxiety. Your inner man starts to
deteriorate, and your unbelief in God starts to grow. Your unbelief will
manifest itself in disobedience. Disobedience is proof that something is
wrong inside your heart. Give God your heart today.
To be free from the slave of worry we must act in
obedience. Put God where He really belongs in your life and take things out
of the center of your life.
Thought: Worry is to high of a price tag to pay
for things that are only pulling you apart and strangling your peace and
trust in God .
Anger, The
Destroyer Prov.
16:32, 29:22
Anger is one of the most destructive
forces know to man. A parents anger is the leading
cause of rebellion in their children. Anger is seldom alone. It is usually
accompanied with the sins of wrath, bitterness, envy, strife, pride,
hatred, deceit, lust, and immorality. Anger is also the leading cause of high
blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. Nothing can cook your goose like
boiling anger.
Ben Franklin wrote, "Show me a person who has a quick
temper, who flies off the handle at the lease little thing, and I will show
you a person who is argumentative, contrary always fighting, or fussing with
someone, and has very few friends." If you continually loose your
temper, you will also loose the respect of your colleagues, your children,
and the love of your wife. Speak when you are angry and you will make the
most regrettable speech that you will ever have made. Whatever is begun in
anger will always end in shame. When a persons' temper gets the best of him,
it reveals the worst of him.
Most people who are angry are deceived
and are prone to feel justified in their anger. They tend to blame
circumstances, problems, and even others for their sin. Some even blame their
ethnic origin. "I can't help myself, I am
German, Italian, etc." The truth of the matter is that anger is not
caused by what is happening on the outside of you, but is what is happening
on the inside of you. It often results from unconfessed
sin or unresolved hurts from the past. It is your choice to express anger,
suppress anger, or substitute anger by keeping your focus on God. God always
resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Never store the acid of
anger in the container of your body. Like milk that sours, anger that is not
quickly disposed in a Biblical manner will curdle into the cancer of
bitterness.
Is your life at the mercy of what makes you angry?. There is deliverance from anger. You
must confess your sin to God. Focus on what God is trying to teach you
through your trials. Consecrate your ever emotion of anger to God.. Surrender it to His complete control. Humble yourself
and use that for His Glory.
Thought: Either control
your anger or your anger will control you. Never kill a fly with a
sledgehammer!
Money
Talks Mark 12:41-44
Many years ago a college professor was given an assignment for the
completion of his doctoral degree. The assignment was to write a dissertation
on the life and times of the Duke of Wellington.
When a doctoral dissertation is written it is be an
original research paper. The preference usually is write
on something that no one has written on before. Not an easy task by any
means. The professor searched for information on his topic for over a year.
It seemed like there was nothing written, until one day in Scotland the
professor came across the nobleman's expense records. By searching through
the Duke of Wellington's expense ledgers he could learn the innermost details
about the Dukes life. Money is an exact index on ones character. Where you
spend your money reveals where your heart is and what your life priorities
are Mt. 6:20-21. Money itself is amoral, but when someone see's
the pattern of your spending, they can readily determine your values in life
and weather or not your were a success or failure. Your success in not a
measure of what you have, but rather of what you are before God. A good way
to measure what your are really worth is to take away
everything you have, your wealth, your possessions, and all your outward
security, and see what you are in character. Becoming the person God's wants
you t be and achieving the goals He has set for your life is far more
important than any amount of material wealth you may have.
In our scripture reading for today, Jesus saw the Plan
of the scribes and Pharisees giving. Their giving was
talking very clearly about what was in their heart. Their giving had become a
form of self righteousness congratulation which only served to puff up the
pride within themselves, vs.41a. They loved to sit
in the chief seats in the synagogues, and in the uppermost rooms at feats to
be seen of men. Their giving was not any different. Our giving should be in
secret. Then Jesus who sees the action and attitude of our giving may reward
us openly.
Jesus not only saw the plan of their giving but He also
saw the Place of their giving. They came to the synagogues and
gave money openly to be seen of men. The place of our giving should be the
local church, vs. 39-41. Our tithe is not to be sent in the mail to some
radio or TV personality, but should be to the local storehouse. The tithe is
the Lords, not a designated tithe to your favorite church project or
committee. It is not a payment for your Christian school tuition, nor is it
to be for the support for your mother in law who is a widow. The place where
you tithe talks about your vote to keep open or close your local church.
Jesus also saw the Percentage of their
giving... "and many that were rich cast in
much, vs. 41b. Jesus saw the big gifts of the scribes and he saw the small
gift of the widows two mites. Her giving was
sacrificial. It cost her something. "She cast in all she had, even all
her living, vs. 44." The Biblical plan for giving it to give 10% of your
gross income, Prov. 3:9, Mal. 3.
Conc: Don't limit God.
Your money talks to Him as well.
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