Hello. You’re back. Thanks for coming back. Sometimes it can get lonely around here without you. It’s always good to have friends visit. In fact, didn’t the Beatles have something to say about friends?
What’s up with the cold weather. Have you ever thought about the power of God in the temperature? So it’s pretty cold right? Last night we built a fire, turned on the heat, put on sweatshirts and bundled up, all in defense of the cold, to warm up the place. All that effort just to heat up our little place. But God can make half the planet freeze! I mean, walk outside, look all the way up, all the way East and all the way West…all freezing cold. That’s a lot of cold God makes! I wonder what the temperature will be like in Heaven? When it gets this cold, I can’t help but drift back to Maui, the air temp was always perfect. After living in Maui for over 2 years I would say the single biggest memory is not the beaches and scenery but one word, comfort. The climate was so stable and so predictable you were always comfortable.
What a great word, comfort. It’s such a good thing but it can also be a bad thing. What? You’re saying, Dan how can too much comfort be a bad thing? As I spend time in God’s Word everyday and really pray for Him to bless me with understanding, I keep coming back to one fatal flaw that we all have. In fact it was what caused Adam and Eve to first sin. It’s what caused so many great men and women to fall in the Bible, that it would take too long to name them all. The culprit I speak of? Pride. But I thought we were talking about comfort. We are. What is comfort? Do I really care if YOU are comfortable? Kinda, but I’m really concerned about…well…me. Comfort is our desire to see ourselves in a situation that pleases us on a physical, emotional or spiritual level. We seek comfort and when we find it, we dwell in it like a cat in a sunny spot on the carpet. We are creatures of habit, convenience and yes, comfort, and we desire the pleasures of abundant comfort in our lives. But how much comfort is too much?
In my own personal life, I have seen what too much comfort looks like. Too much of what I want. Too much of what brings me ease. Too much of me surrounding myself with things that make my life cushy and soft. Notice in every one of these scenarios I just mentioned is the word me, myself or I. You see too much comfort is selfish. And here we make full circle back to that word...pride. I think the single biggest tool that Satan uses against us is just that, pride. When our desires cause the displacement of God and others, we can get into troubled waters.
When we lived on Partridge here in Ft Worth for over 10 years we were very comfortable. Big house, pool, hot tub, stuff, beautiful yard, lots of speakers and a big TV and oh yeah did I mention, lots of stuff? We had created a haven for ourselves and it was a haven of comfort. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning home, belongings and comfort, I’m saying that if the comfort of those things and that place distances you from the world, from God and from others it will cause disconnect. I found myself in a place of “Dan solace” and I didn’t want to leave. When we sold it all and left, it was a major turning point to say the least. Our comfort was gone. It changed us forever. In fact, just last night, Marge and I were talking about what “home” is. After you have experienced going for God, "home" changes. Home is where God tells you to go. Home is where God puts you. Right now its here, who knows where home will be in the future. Right now, I choose to get my comfort from the Lord, not from my surroundings.
Well, I got a little sidetracked on that, let’s look at God’s Word. Today is 2 Corinthians 9 and Paul is continuing on from yesterday in Chapter 8 with the theme of cheerful giving. Lots more great points and principles here in chapter 9 about joyful giving to the Lord. Check out these verses:
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Cor. 9:6-8.
I love the beginning of this verse. Agriculture was the basis for the economy and the society so again, we see ties back to farming. If I have one acre of land and I sow 1 ton of grain I will of course reap accordingly. But what if instead I decided to sow 2 tons? Would I get more? Well, it seems silly but of course I would. But of course it would cost me more up front to sow the bigger crop. It would also take more faith. Faith that it will rain and my crops will grow. Its the same giving to God. You will reap what you sow.
We touched on the major principles of giving to God in yesterday’s 5MC, if you missed it you should double back and check it out. I’ve often heard it said that you cannot out give God and that’s true. How do I know its true? I just read it. God’s Word is true and trustworthy. The more you give, the more He blesses, period.
I’ve read and heard so many great stories on this topic of outgiving God and each and every time they give me goosebumps. The evidence of God out-blessing people is everywhere, just look for it. I’m sure you’ve probably got several of your own stories, I know that I do. That makes this verse even more impactful for me. I know how God has blessed me, so what would have happened if I had sown more bountifully? Tough question. We don’t live in the past but we can learn from it. What’s the lesson? Sow generously and claim the blessings of God. So what is “generously?”
I heard a story about 2 men talking about giving for the much needed new building at their church. One asked the other, “how much are you gonna give?” He answered, “I guess I could give $1,000 and not feel it.” The other man replied, “Then why don’t you make it $2,000 and feel it?” You see the blessing comes when we feel it. When we allow God to stretch us beyond our ‘comfort’ limit. When we get outside of our ‘comfort zone’ we are now in ‘God’s Zone’ and my friends, that’s where you want to be.
When it comes to giving back to God, He never fails to put an amount in my mind. You say “how do you know it's God?” Because the amount He puts in my mind, ALWAYS stretches me. If Dan is left to himself he would hold onto his money tightly. But God knows exactly what amount will cause you to ‘feel it” and that’s what He asks for. He wants to push us, challenge us, change us. If we really want to become more like Christ, we have a lot of changing to do!
I pray today that you are supporting the place where you receive your spiritual blessing. We live in a very commercial society, if you want a product or service you pay for it. Why is church any different. I hate to reduce church to that, but if you are receiving a spiritual blessing from your church you should be supporting it financially. Doesn’t it just make sense?
Well, thanks for reading along today. I pray for you guys every morning and my prayer is that you don’t just read my blogs but that you’re opening up God’s Word and having your own sermons, just you and God. I pray that your doing it each and every day too. We need God and His wisdom to walk in this world and once or twice a week sitting under His Word is just not enough. If we feed ourselves physically 3 times a day why would we feed ourselves God’s Word any less?
I hope God challenges you today to draw near to Him. Accept the challenge.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8
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