Christians are givers not takers. Those who’ve genuinely experienced the life rescuing grace of God have been turned from selfish grabbers to selfless gifters. God has built it into the DNA of His children to be generous, that’s what grace does to a person! Notice how Paul uses the believers in Macedonia to prove this point:

“We want you to know brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2, emphasis added).

Even though affliction was their experience, generosity was their expression. The specific affliction they were suffering (at least one of them) was their poverty. The fountainhead of this generosity is God’s grace. Grace received responds in a like manner…it offers whatever we have to others. We are not the judge and jury of another’s need; their need is between them and the Lord. When we are made aware of a genuine need we don’t respond by looking at our needs and comparing to see if we are in a worse condition. The Christians in Macedonia were in the worst financial condition of all the churches under Paul’s care, but they were the ones who responded most generously.

The Christmas season is simply a trigger or platform for believers to give in specific and generous ways. We have families in our church who are in need financially. All you have to do is keep your ears and hearts open and you will see what I mean. I want to challenge you to give to those you believe are in need. You can do this anonymously by sending a gift through the church and simply designating it to the family in need.

There, I’ve given you a practical way you can express generosity even if you’re experiencing hostility. No matter the condition of your circumstances, they should never dictate the direction of your heart. God bless you as you give to others for the cause of the kingdom of God.

Grace & Peace,

By the end of this week the turkey will be a history, the family gathered around telling funny stories from years passed will be a pleasant memory, Christmas music will be cranked up 24/7, the Christmas tree will be half decorated, and shopping will just have begun! Oh the joys this week signals. It is perhaps my favorite time of year because of all that it reminds me of: Jesus, family and hope.

The world we live in is pretty messed up, but it is not without its redeeming qualities. The world God created is a wonderful place to live, and everyday we look around we can find cause for rejoicing and even some hope. However, if all we ever do is look to the surrounding culture to give us hope then we would ultimately without hope. The hope that is offered “out there” is temporary at best and deceiving at worst. But if we allow this season of the year to remind us of the hope God offers then everything can change around us.

“O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption” (Psalm 130:7).

This instruction to Israel to place their hope in God is not a misplaced hope and is a promise that still holds true today. Turning to the Lord replaces hopelessness with hope because in the Lord we find steadfast love and redemption. The hope that comes from God is redemption and redemption radically changes everything.

So let the mistletoe, tinsel, music of the season, trips to the mall, the smell of cookies baking, and Christmas parties remind you of the hope God has given to us through Jesus Christ. Hope is what we all look for and hope is found in Jesus.

Grace & Peace,

Thankfulness is a trait characteristic of all cultures from all ages whether or not they know God personally. This is because God’s common grace invades everyone’s life to make them grateful. However, not everyone is thankful all the time. Usually people are grateful when good things happen to them, but when an event turns bad that’s when the gratitude attitude takes a vacation. This is not true in the believer’s life…at least it shouldn’t be. God’s children are thankful when the bad times are rolling, when the wheels fall off, when things aren’t exactly going our way, or when someone has sucked all the sweet off our sucker.

At the end of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he pulled out his automatic gospel gun and just fired off a bunch of commands. One of them that’s gets right up into our faces and screams for us to practice in our world today is,

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

As simple as this command is, it is equally difficult to practice. It is not easy to give thanks in a culture that is discontent at every turn. We live in a world that is not a happy one. People around us are not happy with their jobs, spouses, friends, vacations, church, or even their happy meal! We are a complaining society, and we are defined as odd and out of touch with reality if we aren’t griping about something.

Sometimes we need to change our circumstances, but usually that’s not what God is calling us to. He is calling us to change our attitude and press into Him more closely during harrowing times. All circumstances are under the control of our sovereign God. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens to God’s child that doesn’t first pass through His hands, and His hands are always gracious, kind and loving.

Instead of following the path of our complaining culture let’s just scrape the pickle off our happy meal hamburger and eat, thanking God that we have something to eat, teeth to chew, taste buds to enjoy, and a digestive system to process the food. Not everybody has those!

Grace & Peace,