First fruits?….giving Tuesday…

 First fruits?…giving Tuesday…

Fall sales have passed, Black Friday is over…cyber Monday has finished…oh, but some are extended for further bargains…

And now, by the way…let’s give something…it’s Giving Tuesday…last but not least…

Or maybe it should be first and the most…oh well, at least it is acknowledged….

I think this every year as this day approaches…I get multiple solicitations for “Giving Tuesday”, some with matches of funds to double the giving…it feels like an “add on” sale or last minute thought instead something planned…something CELEBRATED….giving is an act of worship…an act acknowledging Who really owns it all…Who really gives the ability to give…thank YOU…

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 

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. 

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. 

As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.

Exodus 23:16

and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:20

And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 26:10

We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord;

Nehemiah 10:35 

Roots…

 Roots…

One of my cousins just sent me a video about exploring old homestead ruins from where our grandparents settled in the 1920’s.   There were some foundations of homesteads of former settlers from another era.  Bits and pieces of oak logs, rocks in rows or stacks from former foundations…pottery shards here and there…

As a small child, I remember some standing cabins we explored in the same area…scavenging through the old bottles and cans, even an old wood-burning kitchen stove filled with a pack rat’s home…

A homemade brick kiln…

Times gone by…

My cousin had taken some former neighbors, now in their late eighties, well known artists, to wonder over the meadows where grains had been coaxed out of the rocky soil, cows/pigs/chickens had once ranged…families long forgotten or moved on from the foothills of the towering Sierras near the giant redwood forests of central California…reminiscing of places and people they had known as youngsters…

He has written a book about the history of the area…filled with facts, humor, pictures of area…but is always looking for more info…meeting and finding more people from our heritage…

My own memories have taken different paths…not the facts and figures of townships and ranges, but the games, foods, family times we spent…recently, one of my children asked me to resurrect a game started in the lean times of newly married couples (my parents and their siblings)…we played it wherever we were able to get together for the holidays…it continued through the beginnings on my marriage…we played it again when my children were newly married…now to continue with grandchildren in college…

Identical closed boxes filled with groceries…the object is to guess what might be in the boxes…there were usually 20 items…some everyday items and some extra treats…whichever family who guessed the most items correctly got a jar of jam, the loser got an onion…but all got to keep their boxes…I think is was my grandmother’s way of fun giving of normal stuff and help with groceries …so now we are down to the fourth generation with a simple gift…

I make persimmon pudding from my grandmother’s recipe…it is drowned in lemon sauce which makes the dessert even more delectable…both fruits from the fall bounty of orchards nearby…

All this to say, we can hand down memories from generation to generation…we can be enriched by our spiritual heritage as well…their faith, their love, their stories…their steadfastness …

Or if our heritage is wrought with dysfunction…we have the choice to break from the bad and start a new cycle…not be hounded by broken relationships or people…but growing in grace, faithfulness…giving to future generations good foundations to build upon…good memories…relationships…

Reading through Genesis, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and further, there are some repeats of bad decisions and good ones as well…God’s continued patience and promises from which we reap still today…by example and blessing… that generation to generation…

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 

I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 

And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” 

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 12:2,13:16,15:5-6 

Thank YOU….

Psalm 20

Thinking about all the prayer requests that come our way…thank YOU….

 Psalm 20

May the Lord  answer you in the day of trouble! 

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! 

May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! 

May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! 

Selah 

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! 

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! 

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 

They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. 

O Lord, save the king! 

May he answer us when we call.

Psalm 20:1-9

The wicked…

 

The wicked….

Several of the psalms have descriptions of the wicked, especially 10 and 37…Proverbs has contrasts all the way through….there are 469 references to the word “wicked “ in the NIV version of the Bible…

It is not a subject that brings laughter and joy, but rather discouragement in one regard, that it seems like it is increasing in these days…and I don’t want to dwell in the negative….but wickedness is as real now as it has been over the centuries…we really haven’t gotten any better with time( as some would argue)…the descriptions are the same now as they were when God’s Word was written down…

There is a remedy…turning away from wickedness and turning toward God…it has always been open and will continue until the end…thank YOU….

“Why, Lord, do you stand far off? 

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 

He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 

His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. 

He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” 

He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” 

His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. 

He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. 

His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” 

Arise,  Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. 

Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? 

Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? 

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. 

The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. 

Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out. 

The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”

Psalm 10:1-18

Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:12

Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him…..

1 Samuel 25:25a

The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 28:19

When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. I

Job 9:24a

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1:6

Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:1-2,7

 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin. 

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright. 

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. 

The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness. The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight. 

The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

Proverbs 15:6-9,26,28 

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

Ezekiel 18:27,31-32

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Dysfunctions….

 Dysfunction….

I have heard that some people aren’t interested in the Word because it doesn’t address “real” life, “it has no help for me”,  and other similar opinions…

From beginning to end there are real people going through real life situations…there are

Prideful…

Murderers…

Adulterers…

Drunks…

Self-centered…

Doubters…

Thieves…

Jealousness…

Prostitutes…

Wicked…

Liars…

Cheaters…

Etc…

Etc…

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21 (written about 50 AD)

Centuries before the Ten Commandments addressed some of the same issues…

Just like today’s population…we really haven’t changed, just some new names on old situations…

Families today are going through the same dysfunctions that have happened for centuries…”nothing new under the sun”.

The words of encouragement are still the same now as then…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

Against such things there is no law. 

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 

If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 

Each one should test their own actions. 

Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. 

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 5:22-6:6,10

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24 

Thank YOU that You have made a way…for all who seek You…

Notes on shoeboxes, Operation Christmas Child…written in 2018

 Notes on shoe boxes....November, 2018

Notes for Samaritan’s operation Christmas child shoeboxes....

This week is collection week for millions of Operation Christmas Child boxes...some thoughts about them.....

Reminds me of song...

 Song " thank you for giving to the Lord"  

“Thank You



I dreamed I went to heaven


And you were there with me


We walked upon the streets of gold


Beside the crystal sea
We heard the angels singing


Then someone called your name


You turned and saw this young man


And he was smiling as he came


And he said friend you may not know me now


And then he said but wait


You used to teach my Sunday School


When I was only eight


And every week you would say a prayer


Before the class would start
And one day when you said that prayer


I asked Jesus in my heart



CHORUS
Thank you for giving to the Lord
 

I am a life that was changed


Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am so glad you gave



Then another man stood before you
And said remember the time


A missionary came to your church
And his pictures made you cry


You didn't have much money


But you gave it anyway


Jesus took the gift you gave


And that's why I'm here today



CHORUS (repeat)

One by one they came


Far as the eyes could see


Each life somehow touched


By your generosity


Little things that you had done


Sacrifices made


Unnoticed on the earth


In heaven now proclaimed



And I know that up in heaven
You're not supposed to cry


But I am almost sure


There were tears in your eyes


As Jesus took your hand


And you stood before the Lord


He said, my child look around you


For great is your reward



CHORUS (repeat)

I am so glad you gave”

Quote " you can't put a dollar value on generosity "

"What is Operation Christmas Child?

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization. Our mission is to provide local partners around the world with shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, and school supplies as a means of reaching out to children in their own communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We ship these simple gifts outside the United States to children affected by war, poverty, natural disaster, famine, and disease; and to children living on Native American reservations in the U.S.

Why shoebox gifts?

Shoebox gifts are a way to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ."

*******

Sometimes we may think a shoe box gift or gifts in shoe box are of little consequence ...we put in our balls, pencils, tablets, toys assembly line style from our abundance...but these are just temporal/tangible things...the heart of each box may be the intangible....

What can we possibly find in a shoe box?

    1. Love....john 3:16.  For God so loved...

    2. Laughter....walking and keeping and praising God...

    3. Wonder....amazement...

    4. Sharing...giving In our abundance to those in need...

    5. Playing.....fellowship...

    6. A livelihood.....crafts, a screw driver, a fishing kit...

    7. Help in schools with supplies...basic education supplies

    8. Help for young women/ men in personal hygiene

    9. The very Word of the Creator on the universe ....a chance to study God's Word...

    10.  A means to present the gospel

    11. An invitation that has the power to change lives in generations for eternity

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17

    12. Church planting, a potential to start a fellowship in a new area of the world

    13. Opportunity to bring people from various cultures together

    14. The gift of giving which can change the givers life....A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great....Proverbs 18:16

    15. Opportunity for all ages to give and receive...all ages can give and receive...

    16. Touching someone's heart

    17. The potential to build dreams

    18. A new path in life...because of the gospel

    19. A new song....He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.....Psalm 40:3-5

    20. A new life

21. Desert to lushness...

22. Dry to water...fulfills a thirst

23.  Hardness to brokenness and freedom through Christ...

24.  Death to life...

25. Darkness to light...

26. Unknowing to knowing Christ...

27. Hopelessness to hope...

28. Anger to joy....

29. Neglect to care ....

30. Frowns to smiles...

31. Hate to love...

32. Bad to good...

33. Transformation of a soul, family, village, country....the world...from a small gift given in love...prayers guiding that gift to the heart of the receiver...

Jesus' prayer for believers to come...

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

John 17:20-26

Paul's prayer for the Ephesians---

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Thank YOU for making such a difference in your world ....with a little shoe box....

I will go…

 

I will go….

Three simple words spoken by a young woman ages ago, leaving the comforts of home with a stranger, moving to an unknown land, to marry an unknown man…obedience…to join in the lineage of the Messiah…

Decisions we make may have lasting effects…just looking down through the ages at people who were obedient to God’s call…and I know I left some out…they heard and obeyed…some questioned …but obeyed…

Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 6:22 

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Genesis 12:1,4

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Genesis 22:5 

And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”

Genesis 24:58 

Exodus,  Moses and Aaron obeying what God has commanded…

Deuteronomy 28…blessings of obedience… cursings of disobedience…

Gideon…Samuel, David…Solomon, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Isaiah 6:8 

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” 

They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 1:4-5,7-10,19 

Each of the prophets…

Mary, mother of Jesus…Joseph, 

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,

Matthew 1:24

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38 

The disciples…

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Matthew 9:9

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

Paul…Ananias, Peter, Cornelius…

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Acts 9:10 

 But the greatest obedience…Jesus…

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,  being born in the likeness of men. 

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 

As believers now, we have the Holy Spirit to guide, to call, to speak truth…do I listen and obey, do I question, do I rely on His Word to my heart and soul…how fast is my obedience….

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 14:26 

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 16:13-15 

Do I readily say, “ I will go”? Or “here am I”?  What level is my obedience? My attitude?….

Thank YOU for the reminder, the truth spoken in Your Word…