Experience God's Blessing

Day 16: Experience God's Blessing

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 28:1–8, “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.”

Thought:
Wow! I want to live in this kind of blessing. I want my children and grandchildren to experience the same. Furthermore, I desire our church to experience this kind of blessing. The good news for us is that God is a God waiting to pour out His benefits upon His people.

Almost all religions work to gain their gods’ favor and blessing through rules, idols, and beautiful architectural structures. Throughout the Buddhist and Hindu dominated world, people offer sacrifices to please their gods and obtain favor. While in India, I noticed that almost every home had some kind of altar on the lawn. When I enquired about them, I was told that fruit, vegetables, and gifts were left on the altar to please whatever god might be passing by, hoping that the god would leave behind a blessing. The foundation of their faith is based on their ability to satisfy.

God’s requirements are different and found in the first verse: “fully obey,” and “carefully follow.” At first glance, it sounds similar to other religions, but there is a distinct difference, just like healthy parents who want to bless their children. Children don’t try and make the parents want them; they know they are loved. However, the children’s obedience makes it a joy for the parents to be generous.

If we want to experience the blessings of God, we must follow Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is not a case for works-based theology; it is merely a statement of relational surrender.

People who understand blessing have a different outlook on life than those who do not. They are more grateful because they believe God is viewing them with pleasure. Their view of God’s view is a joyful thought. A.W. Tozer once noted, “the most important thing about a person is what comes to mind when they think about God.“ (The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961).

The God of the Bible does not wish to withhold from us; in fact, he takes joy in blessing us. When we look into his nature and character, we see someone who loves us and is passionate for us.

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Reflection:
In what ways have you experienced God’s blessing?
What is meant by "relational surrender?"
Why is it so difficult to believe that your Heavenly Father has wonderful things in store for your life?
In your opinion, how is obedience linked to blessing?

Decision:
Based on what you read, and what God is saying to you, what decisions do you need to make?

Prayer:
Lord, give us a different perspective when it comes to blessing. Help us to grasp how much you love to bless us, and help us recognize your blessings in the smallest of ways as well as the more obvious ones. 


For further study, read the rest of Deuteronomy 28. What insight can we gain concerning obedience and blessing?


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Exhausting and Exhilarating

On Monday, April 23rd, 10:00 PM, I arrived home in Virginia; back from a two week trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Esther and I taught at the beautiful campus of Instituto Biblico Rio de La Plata (IBRP), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Esther and I taught over 30 hours and preached 7 times. We taught discipleship, generosity, family life, church leadership, evangelism, coaching, and music (Esther only). Most of our down time was spend in preparing for the next thing they asked us to do. However, we were able to spend a day in town with Rocky and Sherry Grams, our missionaries and hosts. They are very special people to Centerpointe Church. 

It was an amazing trip filled with ministry and encouragement. You can review our video highlights here: 

Esther and I were introduced in every setting, and Rocky tells the students of the gift we gave in 2013 of $100,000, which paid to complete the dormitory that now houses many of the students. That gift goes down as a watershed moment for Centerpointe Church, the school, and thousands of future pastors, evangelist, missionaries, and teachers who will live in those dorms; growing, learning, and developing as leaders. This is a humbling experience because I am receiving thanks on behalf of our people's generosity. I did not make this decision alone; the entire membership gave out of the generosity of their hearts.

I remember someone saying at the time, “We could keep this for our building in the future which will add to our church; or we could give it to IBRP and it will be used immediately to complete their project and those students will reach multiple thousands around the world.” That statement was not only a statement of faith, but it has proven to be a prophetic word.

The school has over 300 resident students and another 500 that come on Saturdays to be trained for Christian leadership. They are sending missionaries around the world and and leaders all throughout Latin America. Romi is now in Paraguay, Aby is in Brasil, Gomez is in Peru, Romi is in Turquia, Adrian is in Espana, Betu is in Colombia, Cony is in Thailand, and the list goes on. Several students we met this week are heading to the northern countries of Africa. This is a place of calling as well as preparation.

The best words I have for this place are "passion" and "hunger." The students, pastors, and professors, are passionate for God, His Work, and His Word. They are also hungry for a new wave of revival in Argentina. 

Thank you Rocky and Sherry for one incredible trip.

I can't wait to go back!

Soooooooo Goooooood

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Leaving a Legacy of Generosity

When God wanted the Israelites to build the tabernacle, a visible place for Him to dwell in the middle of their community, He instructed Moses to receive an offering to pay for it. This was an offering of gold, silver, bronze, fabric, ect. The instruction for the offering is found in Exodus 25:1,2 and Exodus 35: 4,5. The interesting thing about this offering is that it had to come from people with “willing hearts.” One translation says, “generous hearts”. This was not a tithe, or tax or an offering that was cohered. No, this offering came from willing and generous people – people who believed in the project. In fact they were so excited to give that at one point Moses had to ask them to stop giving.

If you would like to hear my recent message on generosity, just click here. 

Generosity takes giving to a whole new level. It comes from a place of joy.

I love hanging out with generous people. They are contagious and they have a positive disposition.

This is what I know about generous people:

1. They have open eyes. They see the world from a different perspective. Their vision is higher than their circumstances and looks beyond the present.
2. They have open hearts. They not only a need, they are moved to respond.
3. They have open lives. There is room for one more in their relationship circle and are invested in what they give to.
4. They have open hands. They are simply conduits of God’s blessings. I heard someone say once, “Some people won’t let go of what is in their hand because they are afraid that God won’t let go of what is in His.” Think about this, in light of God’s hand, how small is your hand compared to His? The problem with a clinched fist is that nothing can get in either.
5. They have open ears. They have a global positioning unit hardwired into their ears and the voice that is giving them directions is God. Several years ago, Esther felt impressed to give a struggling couple the next check that came in our mail. Little did we know that the next check would be the check from her parents to help us pay our mortgage that month while we were in grad school. Convinced it was the Lord’s voice, we gave it anyway, and guess what, we still made our mortgage payment. The Lord not only used us to provide for someone else, but he provided for us. We have so many of these stories just like all generous people have.

There are two types of generosity. First there is the planned generosity. It is reflected in people’s giving above their regular giving. So many in our congregation not only give to the church, but they also give to missionaries and special projects on a regular basis. It is built into their budget every month. This kind of generosity speaks to the person’s passion. It tells us what we really love.

Secondly, there is spontaneous generosity. This reflects a person’s compassion. Sometimes it is an emotional response, but it’s usually much deeper. When a person is listening to God, He shows us places to give with sometimes little notice, but God wants to use us to respond to different needs and critical situations.

The reality of generosity is that sometimes we miss the mark and feel like someone is taking advantage of us. This will happen at some point and we have to be ok with understanding that we were obedient to God’s voice and we are giving to Him.

Generous people have a trust in God. Recently I received a phone call from a investment broker. He was convincing enough and he talked me into the next part of the conversation. He asked me if I wanted to see my kids go to college and have money when I retire and have money to travel. If course I wanted all of those things until it dawned on me that I had no idea of who I was talking to. I stopped him and said, “Wait, I have no idea who you are. If I am going to invest, I want to at least know the person I am investing with.” I hung up before his next sentence.

Generous people understand the “Big Shovel Principle.” We have a giving shovel in our hand. When we use it to bless others, God also begins to shovel. And guess what, God’s shovel is a whole lot bigger than yours. He is waiting to bless people who generously bless others. I can tell you without a doubt that every time we have been asked to give financially, God has moved in a miraculous way.

Proverbs 11:24-28, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. Whoever trust in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

Leaving a Godly Legacy

Everybody has a family tree and they come in all shapes and sizes.

Some are large and complex.





Others are simple and somewhat cartoonish.



Either way, we all have them. Some of us want to protect parts of our family tree while seriously pruning other parts. 

I believe that for all of us we want to protect parts of our family tree while pruning other parts of our family tree. While you may not be able to do anything about the people in your family tree who came before you, you can change what your family tree looks like in the future, and we all want something better for the following generations. I have never heard someone say, “I want my kids to be worse off than I had it growing up. The fact is that all of us do leave a legacy; the only question is what legacy do we leave and what fruit do you want your family tree to bear?

When thinking about a legacy, the first thing we need to think about is a good name. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” Think of the names that are passed on in history. Many of them come from the Bible, like John, David, Samuel, Mary, Ruth, Elijah, Jacob, etc. These names are passed down because the name represented some kind of goodness. You never hear someone giving the name Jezebel, Bathsheba, Judas or Ebenezer Scrooge to his or her children, and for good reason – they do not represent the goodness they want for their kids.

Here are a couple of thoughts about a good name:

A good name is built one day at a time. 

This takes intentionality and daily work. William S. Burroughs (American novelist) said, “Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful — be concerned with doing good work and make the right choices and protect your work. And if you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency."

Everything you do every day contributes toward building a good name. As a society, we are obsessed with the immediate. We are on an intense quest for the quick fix, but we must diligently manage our life one day at a time over a log period of time. Eugene Peterson says that the key to discipleship is “Long obedience in the same direction.” This is also applied to building a good name.

A good name is built on Godliness – the ability to honor God. 

If you are a Christian, your name ultimately reflects God’s name. This is about your spiritual legacy. Just like the first commandment sets up the others, “You shall have no other God’s before me.” Making God the center of your life takes care of everything else. A Godly legacy is the most priceless gift you can pass on to your children and grandchildren and it is imparted over the course of a lifetime.

A good name is built on gratitude – the ability to say “Thank You.” 

Gratitude is expressed in many ways, but it begins with two simple words, “Thank You.” Take time to reflect on all the people who have invested in your life.

Here is a quote from a recent Facebook post:

I'm starting a new series "A Legacy Journey" and the focus will be on what we leave our families. Since my dad left me no legacy, I had to look to my cousin's dads. I am one fortunate person to have grown up with so many Godly male influences around me. Brother Beahm, Uncle Jim, Uncle, Ed, Uncle Dave, Uncle Harris, Daddy John, Uncle Harry, Uncle Marvin, Uncle Tom, my Father-in-law, a bunch of professors and mentors, etc. I have many times thought about writing a book and dedicating a chapter to each of them and what they taught me. I know so many guys who have never heard "I'm proud of you." Although few of my uncles could actually express it in words, they showed it by including me in their lives. Although I hope to be able to pay some of it forward, I am so in debt to their generosity and love that I will always live in debt to their investment. Well... that's what I was getting at.

A good name is built on generosity – the ability to look beyond ourselves. 

Generosity is an intentional benevolent act of kindness that serves the benefit of others and reflects the Great God that we serve. It is a learned character trait that involves both attitude and action. Generosity is not a random idea or haphazard behavior but rather, in its mature form, a basic, personal, moral orientation to life. As generosity matures, it becomes who you are, not random. Proverbs 11:24-25 says, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”