Acts 20:32-35
I now place you in God’s care. Remember the message about his great kindness! This message can help you and give you what belongs to you as God’s people. I have never wanted anyone’s money or clothes. You know how I have worked with my own hands to make a living for myself and my friends. By everything I did, I showed how you should work to help everyone who is weak. Remember that our Lord Jesus said, “More blessings come from giving than from receiving.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
There is a little girl in my Sunday school class who went to a local bank today to see Santa. She and her little brother had their photo made with Santa. The little girl’s mother posted on Facebook that “Julia has been so worried that everyone just asks Santa for presents and never asks what he wants. Julia did not ask for anything. She just asked Santa what he wanted.” I would say that Julia is well on her way to developing a giving spirit!
There is nothing wrong with children sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what they want for Christmas. But too many of us have cultivated the “what’s-in-it-for-ME?” attitude to the point that it has become second nature to us. Everything we say and do is framed in this context. We are envious of others…we fight to “keep up with the neighbors”…and some of us would step over our own family members to make an extra buck to acquire more “stuff.”
I grew up in an atmosphere of giving. I watched my Mam-ma Polly give out of her abundance more times than I can count. And let me be clear…my grandparents were NOT rich! I thought they were when I was little, because they were ALWAYS giving something to someone. Not until I was an adult did I realize how little they had…and how much they gave. And it served them well. My Mam-ma was one of the most loved women I’ve ever known. And she was revered for her generous spirit.
Don’t misunderstand me…we don’t give so others will think we are wonderful. We give because Jesus commanded us to do this…to meet the needs of others and think of these ahead of our own. God has already given us Jesus and more than we ever could deserve. The fact that He also blesses us with love and abundance because of our own generosity toward others is merely a nice side benefit.
Look around…especially this holiday season. Who is in need…of a hug, a card, a bag of cookies or candy, a warm coat, a few bucks, a sack of groceries, a helping hand, a ride, or a few words of encouragement? Who needs to know that you care…in whatever form that may take? Who needs to see Jesus in the words and actions that you provide? Who will be the catalyst for blessings you cannot even imagine, as you yield to Jesus’ command and “work to help everyone who is weak?”
Isn’t it time you asked someone else what they wanted – even Santa? Will this be the day that you get started?
©2016 Debbie Robus
I now place you in God’s care. Remember the message about his great kindness! This message can help you and give you what belongs to you as God’s people. I have never wanted anyone’s money or clothes. You know how I have worked with my own hands to make a living for myself and my friends. By everything I did, I showed how you should work to help everyone who is weak. Remember that our Lord Jesus said, “More blessings come from giving than from receiving.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
There is a little girl in my Sunday school class who went to a local bank today to see Santa. She and her little brother had their photo made with Santa. The little girl’s mother posted on Facebook that “Julia has been so worried that everyone just asks Santa for presents and never asks what he wants. Julia did not ask for anything. She just asked Santa what he wanted.” I would say that Julia is well on her way to developing a giving spirit!
There is nothing wrong with children sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him what they want for Christmas. But too many of us have cultivated the “what’s-in-it-for-ME?” attitude to the point that it has become second nature to us. Everything we say and do is framed in this context. We are envious of others…we fight to “keep up with the neighbors”…and some of us would step over our own family members to make an extra buck to acquire more “stuff.”
I grew up in an atmosphere of giving. I watched my Mam-ma Polly give out of her abundance more times than I can count. And let me be clear…my grandparents were NOT rich! I thought they were when I was little, because they were ALWAYS giving something to someone. Not until I was an adult did I realize how little they had…and how much they gave. And it served them well. My Mam-ma was one of the most loved women I’ve ever known. And she was revered for her generous spirit.
Don’t misunderstand me…we don’t give so others will think we are wonderful. We give because Jesus commanded us to do this…to meet the needs of others and think of these ahead of our own. God has already given us Jesus and more than we ever could deserve. The fact that He also blesses us with love and abundance because of our own generosity toward others is merely a nice side benefit.
Look around…especially this holiday season. Who is in need…of a hug, a card, a bag of cookies or candy, a warm coat, a few bucks, a sack of groceries, a helping hand, a ride, or a few words of encouragement? Who needs to know that you care…in whatever form that may take? Who needs to see Jesus in the words and actions that you provide? Who will be the catalyst for blessings you cannot even imagine, as you yield to Jesus’ command and “work to help everyone who is weak?”
Isn’t it time you asked someone else what they wanted – even Santa? Will this be the day that you get started?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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