Thank God
If you chose to use every breath between now and your last breath you would not have enough time to fully give thanks to God for all the ways He has blessed you.
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you...For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised...If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to...the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do."
Deuteronomy 15:1, 4-8, 10-11, 18-19
God wants to teach you a new mindset. It is a mindset of abundance. It is a mindset where we see how richly the Lord our God blesses us. It is a mindset that sees the generosity of God and naturally responds with a heart of generosity towards others. What is your current mindset? Do you see the blessings of God as a river that flows to and through you?
We live in a world that can teach a very different mindset. The mindset that is prevalent in our world is the scarcity mindset. It is the mindset that says that if I give then I will have less. It is the mindset that says I have limited resources and a limited ability to resupply my needs. It is a mindset that says you need to worry about tomorrow because you do not know if you will have enough. Fear loves the scarcity mindset and the enemy wants to help you embrace it. Which mindset will you choose? Which mindset would a third party see if they were to look at your checkbook and your calendar? Would they see a person who has been abundantly bless and is eager to bless? Would those tools tell the story of great faith or fear?
“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise...From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me...You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. You armed me with strength for battle...The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.”
Psalms 18:1-6, 16, 19, 27-30, 39-49
Which mindset is reflected by this song of David? What do you see in these words of praise? David says the Lord is my strength. What is your source of strength or confidence? Many people find it in the security of their assets, career, or possessions. How does putting your trust in the person of Jesus over possessions help free your heart to be generous with others?
David says the Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, the horn of my salvation. It is important to see that David is not living a care-free life and able to trust God because he has no problems. David needs a rock to lean on because he faces headwinds. David needs a fortress because he gets attacked. David needs a deliverer because he cannot find deliverance in his own strength from the drama. David needs a shield because of the fiery arrows of the enemy and others. David needs a horn of salvation because some times the only way forward is by hearing not by seeing. He needs to hear how to move by hearing God. How does exalting the characteristics and names of God help you to find the freedom to trust God through the trials and tribulations you face?
“The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.”
Proverbs 15:4, 9, 14, 18, 22, 27, 29-30, 33
Have you ever considered how your words can be a gift to another person? How one word can change a life? Pause and think about one person who spoke life to you and how it changed you. Can you picture that person? Can you remember how that felt? Flip the script. Can you think of something someone said that hurt you? Have you held on to that hurt? Was it true or false? Stop and ask God how He sees you and how He feels about you. Solomon speaks powerfully about the tongue and wants us to change how we think about the importance of being generous with life giving words. Remember a beautiful thought unspoken is the same as one that is never thought. Who could you be generous with your words today?
Why would Solomon say that greedy people bring ruin to their household? What happens when people are greedy? How does it impact their hearts? God always tests our hearts. Solomon does not say that greediness from wealthy people brings ruin. You can be poor and greedy or wealthy and generous. You can be poor and generous and wealthy and greedy. The issue comes back to the text in Deuteronomy about how we see the resources of this world? Is everything from God, for God? Or are we living with limited resources and a scarcity mindset?
“It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place...do what is just and right...You are to use accurate scales...observe the Passover"
Ezekiel 45:4, 9-10, 21-22
What happens when you live in a world where people lie, cheat, steal, and use dishonest scales? Does it not make you want to fight fire with fire? The Bible time and again says that God knows you and knows that you are not perfect. The question is never perfection, it is faithfulness. Do you see how when you use accurate scales you honor God? Do you see how when you do what is right and just you are being faithful to your commitment to Him?
One of the important truths that emerges in scripture is that you will not stand before God in a group. You alone will stand before God and you will be accountable for your choices. Jesus will ask you what you did with what you were given? Did your life demonstrate that you trusted Me through your recognition of My generosity and the ways you did what was right and just?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will...to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ...When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead”
Ephesians 1:2-23
Paul can hardly contain himself. He has tasted and seen that the Lord is good. He is overwhelmed by the generosity of God and expresses how loved he feels with powerful praise of his personal Savior. Read this passage and then re-read this passage. Each of these verses is as thick as chocolate mousse with truth and insights that can transform your life.
Consider all the promises that Paul declares over you. He says you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. What! When you woke up today did you declare that I have every spiritual blessing or did you wake up feeling like someone else would be better suited at being a world changer? Paul says you have every spiritual blessing so start practicing. Start using your gifts. God will reveal how He has empowered you with what you need at your place of need.
Paul says you are chosen, predestined, and adopted as beloved child of God. The enemy of your life wants to steal your identity. God wants to affirm how much you are loved. Whose voice will you listen to?
Paul says that God gave and blessed and gave even more. Paul says the Holy Spirit is your guarantee of the inheritance you were freely given. He does not say you better watch the clock or be wary of how much you call on the Spirit. He says that you have the Spirit without limit and it is the same powerful Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. If this is true then what can ever come against you? Paul says nothing. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ or power that dwells in you. God has abundantly given you more than you can ask or imagine.
What is Paul's one prayer? What is the one thing he wants most for you? He says he prays that you would have the wisdom and understanding so that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened to hope. He is not describing hope as wishful thinking. He says that the hope that you now have in Jesus Christ, the riches of your glorious inheritance as God's child and the power you have through the Holy Spirit, should change how you live your life.
How could you look at the world with a scarcity mindset when you have the hope of glory and power of resurrection living in you? Paul says instead of going around worrying about tomorrow, learn to live as a child of God. Learn to live as dearly loved. Learn to stand on the truth that God has been, is currently, and will always provide more than what you need because He loves you. Paul says give thanks to the God who gives and give extravagantly knowing that you can never outgive the God who is the source of all giving.