Thursday Devotional - Gifts to Give

There’s been lots of talk here at Thomson Reuters about breaking down silos, collaborating with coworkers, and valuing different perspectives. These aren’t new concepts. God thought of it first! He designed all of us to work together rather than individually and to use our unique skills and abilities for the benefit of all!

Romans 12:5-8       so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Believers make up Christ’s one body (the universal Church) with their unique God-given gifts. These gifts aren’t for us to keep to ourselves, save for a rainy day, or use when we feel like it.  God has given each of us unique ways to contribute to the lives of those around us to build up His universal Church.

What gifts has God given to you?

When have you and I not used them for the benefit of other believers?

How will you and I willingly and cheerfully use them for the benefit of fellow believers now and in the future, even when we don’t feel like it?

As verse 5 says, we belong to God and to each other!

Alice

Godly Chaos And Mayhem

“About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!”  Luke 15:14-17

So while on vacation, there are always these moments of chaos and mayhem.  For me, it’s when the grandchildren in Georgia come into the picture.  Four of them.  They are filled with exuberance and joy.  This should be a time of happiness for my wife and me … when I see it coming.  However when my wife says those infamous words, “Sure, they can spend the night,” and I am not consulted, welcome to chaos and mayhem.  I am no fan of these types of surprises.  However, I am yet thankful for all of them; my wife included. J I could be alone, unloved, unemployed, or with a multitude of things to be concerned with.  However, God has blessed me with this vacation where wife and children control my day.  What would my world be like without them?

We should always have gratitude for the life God has provided us.  I recently got additional insights from today’s verses from the book of Luke.  We always focus on the story of the Prodigal Son’s ungrateful ego in the beginning and humble return.  In reading to the point of his epiphany, we see a man destitute without hope.  He has nothing to look forward to or count on.  This is what a world without God looks like.  No one to trust and with no to care for you when you have nothing.  Many who choose to leave the world through suicide live in this kind of world, and this is heartbreakingly sad.  However, we DO have an awesome God.  It is the same God that when Jonah was angry with God and filled with despair, He did not desert him.  He provided shade for comfort (Jonah 4:6).  This is a reminder of who God is; a merciful who when we see nothing but despair provides us hope.  He is ever present and always there.  Furthermore, He has given us this wonderful life that in good times and bad we are to be forever grateful for.

We are to embrace life.  Not complain.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Thus, is there room for us to either complain or be ungrateful? Would we prefer a world that the Prodigal Son found himself in?  Let us be as Paul said, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  What circumstances can you give to God?  How can you be remindful of the world God has blessed you with?  My prayer is that we can be thankful of the joy God gives us even amidst chaos and mayhem.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Don't go alone

1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.” (NASB)

Hello,

Recently there was a situation I was involved with that left several confused. Turned out, someone was trying to go at things alone. As it ended, that person admitted they were doing too much on their own. How much are you doing on your own? There are many stories in the Bible of people teaming with others, but I like this one here in Thessalonians. When we think of Paul, sometimes we think of a lone wolf going through crazy trials, but look at his references to those with him. Even with sending Timothy – there were others he still had with him. Also, here we see that Paul didn’t want the church at Thessalonica to be on their own, which is why he sent Timothy to them.

Are you trying to go it alone? We were not designed to be alone, don’t fall for the lies of pride – be open with others. Lean on them, let them lean on you.

Have a blessed day,

Will

Godly Ambition

My cousin posted a good devotion this morning so I am sharing it with all of you as well.

“Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” Psalm 37:4

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25

~ The greatest rewards are those that are often overlooked--and almost always unexpected. Psalms 37:4, at first look, might seem like a statement of cause and effect. A person may read the verse by itself and quickly deduce that if he was to "delight" in God, then he could have what he wants. The problem is that the focus often shifts from the first part of the verse to the second. And so the verse is understood to tell a person that if he wants to get what he wants out of life, then all he need do is delight himself in the Lord. The result is that the person attempts to live a lifestyle that he believes will please God, so that he can have what he wants from this life. An example might be a person who, knowing that God rewards giving, decides to give twenty percent of his income to the church, feeling certain that God will give more to him than what he had to begin with. The problem with this line of thinking is when the motivation is more focused upon getting a desired reward rather than being a delight to God.

But as a person's focus is directed toward the first part of Psalms 34:7 ("Delight thyeself in the Lord"), then the rest of the verse falls into place. For as we draw near to God and delight to do His will, the desires of our heart are steadily transformed. Our ambitions, goals and aspirations begin to change--in perspective at least, if not also in direction. For what we desire moves away from selfish desire and moves toward godly ambition. We move away from pouring ourselves into doing what will bring us pleasure and seek how we might please God instead. And as we do, God grants us the desires of our heart because our desires have become a smaller reflection of His greater glory.

Jesus told us that "whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for [Jesus'] sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). Our greatest rewards will come when we do not seek them. As we seek to "lose" our lives, we open ourselves up to be the instruments of God's purpose, to accomplish His will on earth. Living this way will bring us great rewards, and that is because we do not seek rewards. We do not seek to store up treasures in heaven and we do not do our righteous acts so that God will reward us--we simply do them because--and we require nothing in return.

If our only reason to live the Christian life is to gain better reward then we have missed the point. Following Christ means sacrifice of our wants and giving up of personal desires so that God's greater good will prevail. ~ ❤️