What does it mean to be generous? One way to look at it is putting someone else’s priority ahead of ours. For those who travel regularly, can you picture getting ready to board an airplane, knowing that there is always a shortage of overhead bin space for carry-on bags. Generosity is patiently waiting to board the airplane rather than anxiously scrambling to the front of the boarding line to make sure we get a place for our luggage. How about driving in traffic? Generosity is consciously providing space for that other driver to pull into your lane, even though he or she waited until the last opportunity to merge so they can get in front of everyone else. Or, walking by the Salvation Army ringer during Christmas, realizing you don’t have any change or dollar bills in your pocket but you have a twenty dollar bill, and putting it into the bucket. There are unlimited examples of how we can be generous.

Jesus says in Luke 6:38 that when we are generous, we get more than we give, “For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

Dear Lord, help us to be generous, which is just our reflecting and sharing the love you have given us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you experienced, or heard of someone who experienced, a situation where something bad happens, but something good came out of it? Something that might never have happened if the bad event did not first happened. For example, college is not going well so you switch majors, and find your true calling. Or, someone loses his or her job, then ends up starting a business out of necessity that becomes a great success. We can never know how God is working things in our lives, to put us in the right situation.

Isaiah writes God’s words in Isaiah 55:9, ” For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” NLT

God has a plan for each of us. Our job is to commit our plans and activities to following God’s plan, and listen for his direction.

Dear Lord, help us remember that part of having faith in you, is keeping our peace and joy even when things do not go the way we wished, knowing and trusting that you are working a higher plan for our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I think we have all seen those wild animal documentaries showing the predators, lions, tigers, and hyenas following a herd of prey. They wait for a young, old, or weak member of the herd to get out of the safety of the herd, and they attack that one.

In the same way, 1 Peter 5:8 tells his followers, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The devil also looks for someone that does not have support of other Christians. The lack of support makes them easier to influence, manipulate and pull away from their faith. Having a “herd” or our group of Christian friends for support helps us avoid being vulnerable to attack from our enemy the devil. The best way to have a group of Christian friends is to have a church you regularly attend. The “herd” is there to help protect you, but you are also there to protect and support other members.

Dear Lord, Help us all find our Christian “herd” and a church where we can feel safe and comfortable in our faith. Help us provide mutual support for each other to defend against the attacks of the devil. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Sometimes it is difficult to have freedom, because freedom requires discipline.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “‘I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.” NIV In order to handle the freedom that we have, we need to have boundaries of what is “beneficial” and “constructive” as Paul describes, then we need to stay within those boundaries. Having boundaries and staying within them is “discipline.”

When we are children, we need our parents to do this for us, but as we mature, we build self-discipline, so that we keep ourselves within the boundaries and do not need to be “disciplined”. The bible tells us that God also disciplines us on occasion. Sometimes the difficulties we face in life are actually God’s challenges to help us build our own discipline.

Proverbs 3:11,12 writes, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” And in Hebrews 12:7, Paul writes, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.”

Dear Lord, It is difficult for us to accept challenges in our lives as learning experiences that you are using to help us set boundaries, or stay within boundaries we know we should. Help us endure these challenges to come out with better Christians. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

“What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.” This is a message all fathers should keep in mind.

As Christians, we have two fathers, our earthly father and God our father. My brothers and I have been amazingly blessed to have a father and mother that taught and continue to teach us by their wonderful Christian examples of love and faith. By the grace of God we are doing the same for our Children.

We also are told in Romans 8:14-16, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs”

We are children of God, the Creator of all things, and we are heirs of the King. Let us act like the children of royalty, taking our example from the grace, love, mercy and confidence of our brother and Lord Jesus.

Dear Lord, thank you for allowing us to be the adopted children of God as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Help us live our lives to glorify God our father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen