Bear with one another's burdens. Reach out to your neighbor.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Overwhelmed By a Relentless God
You can never out-give God. Never. God is just so good.
I've been reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. If you have not read it, please do! I'll even buy it for someone if you'd like. Seriously, this book is changing my life. I can look at life in such a different way. Well anyway, the book has been talking about giving and how God is going to provide for you. I can't out-give God. He's going to take care of me. Here is a quote from the book that is so true: "If you really want to experience God's supernatural provision, then do as He says. Test Him. Give more than you can manage, and see how He responds." He says that this is the only place in the bible (Mal. 3:10) where it says we can test God. I mean, we can't give Him back more than He's already given us. And why do we give? Because we love God. We can't look at it like a chore, but if we do it out of love, it IS love. Love for Christ.
So I took this challenge and decided that anything I needed didn't matter, but in my love for God, I wanted to give back to Him. I had not given to God all semester, and I had already paid my bill for the spring, except my parents paid around $250 which I didn't have. I was thinking I should save the money in my account to give back to them, but after reading about it Crazy Love, I knew I had to give back to God, and that should be my priority. So I gave back to God, and decided that I would give all I have, because I love God. And how did God respond? Just yesterday I got an updated bill from Cornerstone that they had a mistake on one of my charges, and that it was actually $100 less than what I had already paid. So I will be getting $100 back. That's more than I was even able to give in the first place. God is just so good. And I want to share His goodness with the world.
Another thing Chan talked about in the book was how the Corinthian church, everyone gave to help eachother out so that there was a balance of needs. Those who had less, were given so they became equal to those who gave to them.
God gave EVERYTHING for us. He gave us Himself. That is the greatest thing anyone could give. We can do our part and give back to Him.
My challenge to anyone reading this, what are we waiting for? Since "God so loved the world that He gave" why aren't we that motivated to give back to him.. Our love should push us do great things. Jesus was considered crazy or even radical in the way He loved. If we took this challenge and adopted this kind of crazy love like Jesus had, how would our world change? I challenge anyone reading this to find a way to love that may be slightly crazy to today's standards. It could be that you're called to raise money to feed hungry children, or to help aids in Africa. It could be as simple as giving away things you don't need anymore. I encourage you all to evaluate your hearts and see where you can give back to God. It's the least we can do.
Who rather, being in very nature, God [Jesus] did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Rather, He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and being found in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a human being, He humbled Himself, by being obedient do death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ, is Lord.
I've been reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. If you have not read it, please do! I'll even buy it for someone if you'd like. Seriously, this book is changing my life. I can look at life in such a different way. Well anyway, the book has been talking about giving and how God is going to provide for you. I can't out-give God. He's going to take care of me. Here is a quote from the book that is so true: "If you really want to experience God's supernatural provision, then do as He says. Test Him. Give more than you can manage, and see how He responds." He says that this is the only place in the bible (Mal. 3:10) where it says we can test God. I mean, we can't give Him back more than He's already given us. And why do we give? Because we love God. We can't look at it like a chore, but if we do it out of love, it IS love. Love for Christ.
So I took this challenge and decided that anything I needed didn't matter, but in my love for God, I wanted to give back to Him. I had not given to God all semester, and I had already paid my bill for the spring, except my parents paid around $250 which I didn't have. I was thinking I should save the money in my account to give back to them, but after reading about it Crazy Love, I knew I had to give back to God, and that should be my priority. So I gave back to God, and decided that I would give all I have, because I love God. And how did God respond? Just yesterday I got an updated bill from Cornerstone that they had a mistake on one of my charges, and that it was actually $100 less than what I had already paid. So I will be getting $100 back. That's more than I was even able to give in the first place. God is just so good. And I want to share His goodness with the world.
Another thing Chan talked about in the book was how the Corinthian church, everyone gave to help eachother out so that there was a balance of needs. Those who had less, were given so they became equal to those who gave to them.
Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time you plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." - 2 Corinthians 8:13-15What if we did that for each other in our society today? We might be looked at as Crazy, but why should we hoard everything we have to ourselves because it is so brief. Our life on earth here is so brief, so we shouldn't hold on to material things, but if we can help someone else with the things we have, I think it will bring much blessing. What would happen if we could all love in this way?
God gave EVERYTHING for us. He gave us Himself. That is the greatest thing anyone could give. We can do our part and give back to Him.
My challenge to anyone reading this, what are we waiting for? Since "God so loved the world that He gave" why aren't we that motivated to give back to him.. Our love should push us do great things. Jesus was considered crazy or even radical in the way He loved. If we took this challenge and adopted this kind of crazy love like Jesus had, how would our world change? I challenge anyone reading this to find a way to love that may be slightly crazy to today's standards. It could be that you're called to raise money to feed hungry children, or to help aids in Africa. It could be as simple as giving away things you don't need anymore. I encourage you all to evaluate your hearts and see where you can give back to God. It's the least we can do.
Who rather, being in very nature, God [Jesus] did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Rather, He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and being found in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a human being, He humbled Himself, by being obedient do death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ, is Lord.
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