GENEROSITY

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Greetings!  I pray that this finds you doing well.  It is good to be back at the keyboard today.

This past Friday into Tuesday was action packed. 

Beth and I are in the middle of pursuing a new opportunity of ministry in partnership with some dear friends and colleagues from the Twinsburg, Ohio area.  We would covet your prayers as we continue to listen to the Lord and craft the plan.  We are believing that GOD has opened this door and believing it could provide an impact that we have been praying about for some time. 

We then journeyed over to PA to visit a new friend, a pioneer in the field of helping others find FREEDOM from destructive behaviors.  His name is Kris McFadden.  Remember that name.  GOD has anointed him for ministry.  If you want to check out his work, click here. 

https://www.paatc.org/

He is retooling TEEN CHALLENGE PA into a model that I believe will be revolutionary.  Pray for Kris and his team.

Then we journeyed down toward Philly to be with some friends and their kids.  And while there we were blessed to worship with our friends from ValleyPoint Church in Glen Mills PA.  https://valleypointchurch.com

The Lord under the leadership of Pastor Eric has birthed a congregation that embodies servant leadership and generosity.  They are a growing and giving gathering.  And this past week Pastor Eric opened a new series of teaching around generosity.  He even called it the THEOLOGY of GENEROSITY; leaning on the definition of THEOLOGY as, “the study of the NATURE of GOD”.

So, this past Sunday was the FIRST of several teachings designed for the congregation to “study the NATURE” of GOD when it came to GENEROSITY.  And his passage for last Sunday was from 2 Corinthians 8.  This passage is an encouragement to that church to emulate the giving of the more than generous Macedonians.  But the passages I want us to focus quickly on today are these:

2 Corinthians 8:7-9 (ERV)

…You are rich in everything—in faith, in speaking ability, in knowledge, in the willingness to help, and in the love you learned from us. So now we want you to be rich in this work of giving too.

8 I am not ordering you to give, but I want to see how real your love is by comparing you with others who have been so ready and willing to help. 9 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know that he gave up his heavenly riches for you. He gave up everything so that you could be richly blessed.

In this passage Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to examine the generous nature of the Macedonians and do the same; encouraging them to look at their own “treasures and talents” and find ways to SHARE them and to GIVE them.  But I want you to home in on is VERSE 9 today. 

Paul reminds us HOW GENEROUS our Lord is.  John 3:16 reminds us that GOD gave.  And we see time and time again the GENEROUS nature of JESUS; giving rather than receiving, serving rather than being served.

Therefore, today I ask you a few simple questions.  

What are you "rich in"? 

And do you have the “nature of generosity?”  

Are you willing to "share"?

I would hope so. 

GOD does.  Jesus did. 

remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much. – 2 Corinthians 9:6 (LB).

Be generous!

I love you all!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE