Most of what we receive from God we take for granted.  Blessings come daily — big and small — some even unnoticeable at the time.  And in the busyness of our lives, we simply miss or ignore them until we find them slowly disappearing from our lives.  Our health, the blessings of family, food on our tables, clothes on our backs — these things, even though we pray for them and about them, sometimes become just a part of the day.

         And yet, God is in the business of satisfying our needs.  Our challenge is in our difficulty distinguishing our needs from our wants.  We suffer from the lust of our eyes, stomachs, mind, and heart seeking those things we believe will make our lives more fulfilled and fulfilling.  And I’m sure that the list of things we want is long.  But God supplies us on a level beyond what we can see, feel, taste, smell, or hear.  God touches our lives with Spiritual food, eternal shelter, and surrounds us with the promises of Christ for our protection.  It is truly God that satisfies all of our needs, and they come from God’s abundant throne of grace in Jesus Christ.  The needs that God supplies allows us to be “content with what we have” as opposed to always wanting more than we need.  You just can’t beat that kind of giving.

• Can you name something that you really wanted, that after acquiring it, you still weren’t satisfied?
• How did God work in that situation to provide what you really needed, and what was it that God supplied?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, empower me to come to that place where I can fully trust that you will satisfy all of my needs and that I can live contented with all You supply through Jesus Christ.

         God’s invitation to us is to be as generous to others as God has been to us.  Out of our generosity, God promises to bless us in everything we do.  I don’t have to wonder if God’s motivation for us to be generous to others is connected God’s commandment to  us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  It fulfills the founding principle behind God’s desire that we be generous to others.  God always seems to find a blessing for those who, in their obedience, are able to rescue our brothers and sisters through the generous act of giving to others.  And in reality, it is a saving grace for us.  It enables us to be as generous to others as God has been generous to us.  The transference of God’s generosity to us and then through us enables the recipients of our gifts to give praise to God through our generosity.  Just as those who are poor in spirit know their need for God, those who are poor in substance also know their need for God’s provisions.  When we provide the material things that others need, we have shown others the generosity of God through our giving, especially when we live with the attitude that what we give is not ours but God’s.  We’re simply transferring the blessings that we’ve received so that others may experience God’s generosity and know that we can’t beat God’s giving.

• In what ways do you believe your generosity to others has been a blessing to them and to you?
• How do you give praise to God through your giving even if those who received your gifts do not?

Todays Prayer

Today’s. Prayer —
Precious Lord, enable me to open my heart to those in need of the bare necessities of life. Allow me to give to them as generously as You have given me.

         There’s a common joke about an architect, an engineer, and a lawyer.  Each of them were privately asked, “What does 2+2 equal?”  The engineer said, “Without a doubt, 2+2 equals 4.  The architect who saw the world in patterns responded, “Well, 2+2 equals 4; but also 1+3, and 4+0, and 3+1 (which is different than 1+3).  When the lawyer was asked, he thought for a moment, walked to the door and locked it, went to the window and pulled the shades down, sat down in front of the interviewer and said, “What do you want it to be?”

         In some ways, God is the consummate architect, engineer, and legal expert.  Where God is at work in the universe, 2+2 can have a much different result.  We should never overlook the wisdom of God born from generations of faithful people who simply share their story.  It is a reflection of God’s order, creativity, generosity, and math in the universe. “One man gives and ends up with more.”  It doesn’t seem logical.  We ask, “How can a person give what they have and yet end up with more than they gave?”  The answer in God’s world of stewardship is simple: (2+2) always equals more than four.  It equals whatever God chooses to make it in whatever currency God chooses to deliver it.  And there may be some truth to the fact that stinginess leaves one spiritually and emotionally bankrupt.  But those who are generous are satisfied in their ability to be generous by their contentment.  Giving alone is the gift we not only give; it is the generous gift we receive from God wherein God receives the praise for our generosity.

• How does being generous in your giving to others enable you to gain more than you gave?
• Has the old adage, “You can’t beat God’s giving” ever been a part of your experience?  How?  When?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Generous and wise God, teach me the art of giving generously, so that I may experience satisfaction that only comes from knowing that You are able to give me more than I can give.