Give to Give

Giving is truly a gift. It feels great to give cheerfully and to give without expecting anything in return is wisdom. When you give without expecting anything in return, you are setting yourself up to receive blessings that are unexpected.

The problems arise when you give grudgingly or if you are not focused on the cause of giving but rather focused on getting something in return. Of course it is awesome to receive gifts from others, but some may mistake giving for bartering when they are expecting something just because they gave.

Before you give, decide what your motives are. Give lovingly and cheerfully. Don’t give to be seen by man. Don’t give what you are not able to. If you have regrets after you have given, reflect upon what you gave and check your true motives. Don’t feel bad when you can’t give or when you are not in the mood to give. We are humans, not robots being controlled on when to give. Listen to Holy Spirit and give when you are led to give.

2 Corinthians 9:7- “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Matthew 6:1-34- “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”

Proverbs 11:24-25- “There is that scattereth (gives), and yet increaseth; and [there is] that withholdeth more than is meet, but [it tendeth] to poverty; the liberal soul (giving soul) shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

We should know that God will bless us or will allow others to do so in His own time.

You Can’t Manage Time; Just Make the Best of the Time God Has Given You

 “Ugghh, I need to manage my time better!!!” Been thinking this for YEARS and still can’t grasp how to really go about the doing. That’s because we can’t manage time. Nope. We can’t simply “find” time, grab it, and control the constancy of it. Remember, we are spirit beings, but we are still attached to flesh and bones. No one can really define or truly measure it; it cannot be seen. We just know morning, noon, and evening occurs. We know days pass and we get older. Attempting to measure time is trying to be in control of time, which cannot be done.

Instead, we can make best use of the time we do have here on earth. The “time” that we have come to know, because God knows, understands, and controls time- the “time” we can’t see. But with our man-made clocks, watches, and stop watches, we can do the best we can with our definition of “time.” We can change our focus of managing time to instead choosing to procrastinate less, practice becoming more productive within time periods (30 mins, hourly), and become more organized in our personal and professional lives so we are not wasting and losing time. Of course making “to-do” lists and having a flexible schedule both help as well.

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

“For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night”               (Psalm 90:4).

I find that if you are not setting aside time for God; reading and meditating on the Word; praying; researching truth; feeding your spirit, time definitely seems to slip away and you get that tug on your heart that time and YOU are wasting away because you are not devoting yourself to the things of God. It seems like we “make time” for everything else, but spiritual and godly things….

In Colossians 4:5, we are instructed to “walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” Then Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Both scriptures inform us to “redeem time;” live holy and meekly with the time we have left because much time has already past; we have already wasted too much time in life.

“Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, (the time I have) what it is: that I may know how frail I am; behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah” (Psalm 39:4-5).

The time referred to in these verses speak of time within the lifespan of a person, but there is another time God deals with.

Eccleciastes 3:8 says, “a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

Romans 13:11; “and that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

Genesis 8:22; “while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

These are the times of seasons. This may be in terms of months or specific time periods (weekly, monthly, an entire year).

There seems to be 3 categories of time:

-lifespan

-seasons (calendar, time periods)

-time measured by man with the limited knowledge we have (clocks, watches, etc.)

So see, we can’t really make one definition of time. Neither can we “manage time” or control it. We truly can’t even say that we are in the correct time period because calendars and time zones are different and we are only going off of time that we have been forced to know. We just know that whatever “time” we do have, we best make the most use of it. Only God can define, manage, and control time.

 

We are Truly Blessed When His Desires Becomes Our Desires

Observe, Study, and Ponder Life

 Life is a mystery. Only to the Most High can “life” truly flash by or happen quicker than the speed of lightning. To us mortals, life is a process that happens overtime and if one is informed at an early age in life about this phenomenon, one will be more equipped to understand that they must view their lives as a gift that should be delicately unwrapped; taken with stride; observed, pondered, and studied during its process. They will understand that their life is their book and they should not seek to rush it, but learn and grow as much as they can, while they can. If we all knew this truth early on, we would have been able to live purposefully for a cause; striving to maximize all opportunities and aspects of our lives. But it’s OK; God still reserves much favor and grace in our humility and acknowledgment of our not knowing.

My thoughts on this subject stems from 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” This verse means that apart from us learning from our pastors and elders, we must do our own study and research the Word for ourselves, knowing it is ultimately to please God. We must not solely rely on our teachers to feed us, but we must feed ourselves and continue to seek the truths within the Bible.

One day I pondered how this verse may be applied to not only just reading the Word, but to life in general. So knowledge and wisdom you have learned from others must be applied to your life; studied and pondered. A wise person may offer you some wisdom or ponderings, but you have to be the one to decide whether you will just listen to what they are saying, or will you go the extra mile to see how that wisdom they spoke applies to you or those around you. You can show yourself approved:

-In your marriage/relationships- learning what a true relationship is; doing research; pondering and studying other relationships to enable your own to grow

-In parenting- learning wrong and right parenting styles

-In your favorite hobby/interest- becoming the best you can be with your interests (but not making your hobbies and interests idols :] )

And in other areas of your life you can demonstrate the value of study, ponder, and evaluation.

Will you dig deeper in order to become wiser yourself in order to be approved by God? Will you study, ponder, observe, and engage your spirit and mind into higher knowledge of the Most High God; the complexities of life; your own interests and likes?

Observe, study, and ponder life- it will transform you.

 

The Balancing Act- Guarding Your Heart and Keeping It Open to Live In Love and Unity

Lord, May My Works Be Pleasing and Acceptable in Your Sight

Whenever I read Christ’s teaching on entering into the kingdom, I always pause and reread the passage and humbly hope and pray that I am not one to be rejected from partaking in eternal life. I always hope and pray that my life, works, and deeds will be acceptable and worthy in the Lord’s sight on the day of judgment. Hoping and assuming one will enter in, only to be told that you have no right to the kingdom will be the worst experience ANYONE would face. The passage that I speak of comes from St. Matthew 7: 21-23 and reads;

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”

“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Reading these verses forces you to carefully analyze every aspect of your life on a daily basis. It “shakes you up” and pushes you into the reality and graveness of the meaning of the verses.

 I have purposed to be a woman of “right motives” so I always think about my own motives and why I do the things that I do. I also have pondered others’ motives, especially if they were linked or connected to me in some shape or form. I always strive to ask myself “why am I really doing this?” “Am I doing this to benefit myself solely; am I doing this to help others; am I rightfully helping myself and others; what does the Most High have to say about this?” (my favorite question I personally ask myself). Anything that we do, we must purpose to do for the Most High God with right and pure motives. If the motives are not right at the time, cease to do that particular work and wait until you deal with and overcome the negative motives and the motives are changed to pure ones.

We are workers on this earth with our own vineyards to work in. We have been assigned and given different tasks, duties, and responsibilities that we must complete in life within our unique vineyards. Our service is to be consciously and subconsciously for God, which will in turn inevitably bless others. We were created to praise, glorify, and live for the Most High so we must purposefully do all for Him to benefit those that are His. Colossians 3:17, 22-23 reads,

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

“Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

Verse 22 brings me to another subtopic which is the point of not doing your works and deeds for the eye service or approval of man. We know that we must respect others and those who are placed over us, but we should remember that it is God who gave us the job or position and our works are to be towards Him and again, our good works will inevitably work towards the good of others.

So we have to take care to work diligently in our own vineyards; doing a good service unto God, not to be praised and seen by man; and our works have to be with the right spirit, with right motives.

“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another; for every man shall bear his own burden” (Galatians 6:4-5).

“The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor”
(1 Corinthians 3:8).

These verses simply mean that we must be concerned and busy within our own business, works, and enterprise and not concerned with someone else’s. We must be grateful for the land we were made to till, patient and waiting until our own harvest, knowing that if we have right motives towards our business, we will reap a good harvest. Being concerned with the fruit of another man’s hands or their bountiful harvest may be a distraction or hindrance to you fulfilling your purpose. Briefly put, we must not strive to keep up with everyone else but be faithful in our own work because our sole purpose is to glorify God and build towards the kingdom.

All of our deeds, motives, and works will be manifested and brought into the light on judgment day. The Lord will reveal and openly display whether our works were of honor or dishonor; whether our motives were pure or defiled. Because we are not perfect and sometimes do not even understand our own motives unless we really sit and think about them, we must always be praying and asking the Most High whether the work or action is His will or not.

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

“Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid” (1 Timothy 5:25).

The best gift that was and is given to mankind is eternal life. We all look towards it and hope for the time when all of our pain, sorrow, ailments, woes, and mortal bodies will be no more. I must add that I just don’t want to barely make it in though. That’s a blessing just to make it in, but I surely want all of my works to be counted that I did here on earth so that I receive all my blessings in heaven. The Most High is so compassionate towards us to the extent that even if our works are not up to par or we did not accomplish all that we were to, we still may be able to partake in the gift of eternal life. All of our works will be tested by fire and truth:

1 Corinthians 3:11-15
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;”

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

“If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.”

“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Wow, this is amazing grace!! We still should strive to give our all, do our very best, fulfill all of our purpose here on earth, and work in patience and humility to receive full reward; we must no lose sight of our mission and the gift that lies ahead!

“Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully” (2 John 1:8).

Something to ponder:

We as jewels do not want to physically count all the works we do here on earth. In other words have a mindset that says, “oh I did that deed, I did that good thing, I did a lot of good things this month.” We want to look at our good works, commend ourselves, and pat ourselves on the back, but not to the point where you’re counting them one by one and assuming that they count. How many of those good deeds is the Most High counting? Only those which were done in purity towards the Lord and those we did in which we were led by the Holy Spirit to do.

“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18).

Lord, may our works and deeds be acceptable in your sight, and may you find us worthy in that day, though we are not. Amen.

 

God’s Perfect Will for Your Life Equals Your Destiny

No Sprinters Necessary- Life Was Designed For Marathon Runners

God’s Love Is Unconditional

True love is pure and unconditional and the only way we can love others in a pure way is knowing Christ. It may sound cliché and many may know this, but who is truly loving others unconditionally?

Love is demonstrated by one expressing it through love or by actions and deeds. Sometimes one may “feel” love because it can be demonstrated through your emotions, but what about the times when you don’t really feel like showing or expressing love, but really want to show or voice your love for someone? Even deeper; what if you don’t feel like showing or expressing love and don’t want to show it due to mishaps, feelings, misunderstandings, lack of communication, etc. Knowledge and understanding of true love through Christ will allow you to inevitably demonstrate it regardless of circumstances or how you feel. Lack of knowledge of true love allows one’s love to be perverted, tainted, and distorted. Overall, one not always need to say “I love you” because they may not truly mean it; if anything, we should rather show others we love them by our actions- like God did by sending Christ to the world and like Christ showed when he chose to submit himself to death.

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).                

In order to love others unconditionally, you have to learn and understand the love of the Most High and Christ- love without the Father and Son will always be mixed with carnality. We must know that if we are called and chosen for Him, we are loved unconditionally regardless of our circumstances in life. We are truly loved by the Most High in the current state we are in no matter how we look, how much money we have, or how our possessions look. God does NOT love us the way our parents, siblings, spouses, friends, or relatives love us; not even the way we love ourselves because our love for one another in some shape or form may not always be filled with perfect love, as we are not perfect individuals and some of us are still learning to love ourselves unconditionally. We will always strive to live in perfect love, but there will sometimes be breaches in our love showing us that God’s love supersedes ours: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord; or as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

First, understand and accept the love of God and Christ- our Father and Christ loved us first

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him; herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9).

In order to love others unconditionally, we must understand His love and also love ourselves unconditionally- taking care of ourselves, uplifting ourselves, and encouraging ourselves, because how can one love others if they don’t know or understand the love of the Father and Christ, yet alone even demonstrate true love to themselves?

Next, Learn to love yourself through Christ

“He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good” (Proverbs 19:8).

“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cheriseth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:29).

And then you will learn and grow to love others the way you are to

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:7, 11).

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another; by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13: 34-35).

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins”     (1 Peter 4:8).

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

So, know that God loves you more than you will truly understand. You must learn to love and serve Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Christ has demonstrated his love through his own life; we must learn to love and nurture ourselves; we will then strive to love others as we imitate Christ.

Many are familiar with the following verse, but we still must diligently seek to live it:

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up;doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things; charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Cor 14:4-8).

I encourage you to re-read and read again; then deeply meditate on how we are to love

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (John 15:9).