12/18/13

From Ben Fronczek... Generosity

Be Generous

Generosity 

By Ben Fronczek

More than any time, this is the time of the year when most of us become a tad bit more generous. We think about buying Christmas gifts for those we love. Some donate to Toys for Tots. Some even help needy families have a nicer holiday by stepping in adopting a family for Christmas.
If there is one thing I am proud about being a Christian is the fact that through the ages Christians have notably been some of the most generous people ever.

We have been taught by our Lord Jesus Himself how truly important it is. I like the story he tells in Luke 10:25-37  (Click on verses to Read)

This is one of the most well known and loved stories that Jesus told. In it Jesus is teaching all of us, the kind of people that God’s wants us to become. In the story we probably have a Jew that is attacked while he travels and the only one that stops shows mercy on him is a Samaritan, someone most Jews turned their noses up to.

In the story we see a couple of key component that are lessons for us to learn:

First of all, this man who stopped to help overlooked any particular prejudices he or this Jew may have had. It did not matter whether this guy was black or white, Jew or Chinese. The man was hurt and needed assistance and he was going to help him.

Second, he was willing to stop and make the time to help, and he was also willing to get his hands dirty. The other two Jews that had passed by did not want to do either. They did not want to take the time out of their day, nor did they want to get their hands dirty and patch this guy up.

And third, we see that this Samaritan was not only willing to show mercy, we also see that he was generous; he dug down deep into his pocket to help this guy which he did not even know.
And so, how did Jesus end the story? By telling His audience, “Go and do likewise.”

Generosity is one of most prominent marks of Christian, or at least it should be… but even non-Christians can be very generous.

 And I believe the reason for this goes back to the fact that in Genesis and the creations account it tells us that we were all made or created in the very image of God. At our best we can imitate our Heavenly Father because He created us that way.

Like our Heavenly Father, He created us so that we can be generous, loving, merciful, just, and holy just like He is. But unfortunately having a free will, there are times when even the best of us choose a different path. At our worst and when we are least like our Heavenly Father, we are selfish, unloving, mean, prejudice, unmerciful, abusive and sometimes evil. Even though we are capable of acting like this, it is not the way God wants to see us act… just like we don’t want to see our own children portray these negative traits.

As a matter of fact, when we portray these positive God like traits by being generous, we are told over and over in scripture that great blessings will accompany such behavior.

I bring up the topic of being generous today because our church has decided to donate today’s collection along with money from our checking account  to the CHURCH OF CHRIST DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM  which is part of the relief effort going on in NJ and southern NY, which is helping in the aftermath the hurricane Sandy disaster.

Like in the story of the Good Samaritan, there are many people who are still hurting and need a lot of help. Even though many of us are not able to travel to that area and get involved in a hands-on way, we can at least show some generosity and send some money to help those who are already there.

What I find interesting is how the church quite literally began on a generous note; and was blessed for it as a result. In Acts 2 we read that after the first 3000 were baptized for the forgiveness of their sin and were added to the church, those early Christians began to share with one another right away.

Read Acts 2:41-47    

 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

What a special time this was, where people were taking care of the needs of one other, and happy to do so.

At this point in history the Church was growing by thousands. Here in Acts 2 we read that 3000 had been baptized. Then in Acts 4:4 we read that the number increased to 5000 men, not including all the women who believed.

At this point they seem to stop counting, but one thing the text does mention is the fact that they continued to be generous and care for one another’s needs. 

Read Acts 4:32-37      

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

Even later on in the New Testament we read how Christian churches would support one another in times of famine and disaster. At one point we read that the apostle Paul is going from one church to another trying to raise funds for Christians in Jerusalem because they were in great need because of a famine.     

Read 1 Corinthians 16:1-4  

“Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.”

Then in his second letter to them Paul addresses this same issue again and how others were giving:   

Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9

“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Paul continues to talk about this subject in this letter but then he gives them some God given principles to encourage their giving: 

Read 9:6-15 

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. 9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their giftsto the poor;     their righteousness endures forever.”
10 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. 11 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.
12 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. 13 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. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Now there are some tremendous Principles seen here in this text regarding being generous:

1)    If you sow sparingly you will likewise reap sparingly. If your sow generously, you will reap generously. This implies that these is going to be some kind of return when you give and share with others. It may not be a fianancial gain, but God promises to bless your abundantly if you are generous with others.

2)    You should only give what you feel good about giving. Don’t give if you don’t want to, or if your feel pressure to, because…

3)    God loves a cheerful giver! Why, because that’s how He designed you!

4)    When you give in this manner, Paul tell us that God will somehow multiply what you have and will bless you even more abundantly so that you have even more to give.

5)    When you are generous and help others, this will cause more people to praise God because of what you have done in His name.

6)    Verse 15 says that being generous and giving is a gift in itself. I believe it is a gift from God Himself to share in His in some of His attributes.

The ability to give and help others is an amazing grace which first began with the Father. The greatest gift He has given us all beside life itself was the life of His one and only Son to redeem us and purify us of sin. But like any other gift you have to choose to accept this very special gift from Him. It’s like sending money to this relief effort and them sending the check back with a note saying, “No thank you, we don’t want your money.”  No one is obligated to accept God’s gift of Grace. We are not forced to accept Jesus. No one is obligated to enter the waters of baptism where we are told that this is the time and place where Jesus removes our sin (according to Colossians 2:11-13. No one is obligated to become part of God’s family, the church and enjoy the fellowship, camaraderie and hope that we have in Jesus.

Challenge:  My challenge for you this day; first is to accept this special gift of God, His Son and the salvation He can give you. I also would like to encourage you to be a truly generous person. It’s ok to be wise with your time, money, and possessions but don’t become unmerciful and selfish. There are those out there who need you, and God wants to use you to funnel His blessing through you, to them.

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... "They do that all the time."

"They do that all the time."

I received a remarkable picture. It was of a tiny developing human (Samuel), still inside the mother’s womb, but his hand is reaching out of the womb and grasping the finger of a surgeon. The growing little human’s hand is fully developed and as the story via the link below will tell you, the surgeon tested the strength of the grip by trying (not too hard) to shake Samuel off but Sam would have none of it.

The sequence of pictures is absolutely riveting and in and of itself says more than the twisted tale that surrounds the surgeon (Dr. Bruner) and LIFE magazine (as Michael Clancy tells it). The story that LIFE magazine would have offered would have been marvellous enough. It purposed to write a story of medical brilliance and progress and intended to use a posed photograph of a marvellous operation to help a little developing human with spina bifida to make that point. They were going to use the picture of a 24 week-old tiny human but journalist and photographer Michael Clancy was hired by USA Today to cover the event involving a 21-week little human. He was astounded when he saw the uterus, untouched by anyone, shake and then an arm burst through and then withdraw, until only the hand was showing. At that point the surgeon offered his finger to Samuel and he grabbed it and held on.

Makes the heart leap! We have no reason to wonder at the skill and dedication of many in the medical profession—thank God for them! But doesn’t it take your breath away just to think of the drive for life in that tiny little human, 21 weeks old? Pay special attention to what the surgical nurse told Clancy when Sam burst through the uterus!

Maybe I should leave it at that and just let you wonder as you look at the pictures as I did. But maybe it’s important that you get a sense of how greed and a hunger for acclaim can slither into even moments like these. 

You must read Clancy’s entire account of what happened and see what you think of his account. See


For a lovely "sequel" to it all see also

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... A Prayer Requested, A Prayer Rendered (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5)

               "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS"

             A Prayer Requested, A Prayer Rendered (3:1-5)

INTRODUCTION

1. On several occasions already, Paul has expressed prayers on the
   behalf of the Thessalonians...
   a. That they might increase and abound in love - 1Th 3:11
   b. That the Lord might establish their hearts blameless in holiness
      - 1Th 3:12
   c. That God might sanctify them completely - 1Th 5:23
   d. That God might count them worthy of His calling - 2Th 2:11
   e. That the name of the Lord might be glorified in them, and they in
      Him - 2Th 2:12
   f. That Jesus and the Father might comfort their hearts and establish
      them in every good word and work - 2Th 2:16-17

2. That preachers prayed for their brethren was not an uncommon
   practice...
   a. Paul prayed for his brethren often - cf. Col 1:9-11
   b. Epaphras also - cf. Col 4:12-13

3. Preachers need prayers also, and Paul did not hesitate to ask his
   brethren to pray for him...
   a. He asked those in Rome to pray for him - Ro 15:30-33
   b. He asked those in Ephesus for their prayers - Ep 6:18-20
   c. He asked those in Colosse to offer prayers in his behalf - Col 4:
      2-4

[As we continue our study of 2nd Thessalonians, we find Paul making a
similar request for prayer...]

I. A PRAYER REQUESTED (1-2)

   A. FOR THE WORD OF GOD...
      1. That the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified
         - 2Th 3:1a
         a. Paul wanted the gospel to spread unhindered
         b. He believed the Lord could "open doors" for the Word
            1) As He had done in the past - cf. 1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12
            2) As Paul hoped He would in the future - cf. Col 4:3
      2. As it was in their case - 2Th 3:1b
         a. Paul's coming to them had not been in vain - cf. 1Th 2:1
         b. They had received the Word - cf. 1Th 2:13
         c. Indeed, the Word resounded from them into other areas - cf.
            1Th 1:8
      -- As preachers seek to spread the gospel, we need to pray that
         the Word will "run swiftly" (i.e., have free course)

   B. FOR THE MEN OF GOD...
      1. That they be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men - 2 Th 3:2a
         a. Paul had his share of such men, especially in Thessalonica
            1) Who forced him to leave town - Ac 17:5-10
            2) Who followed him to other towns - Ac 17:13
         b. For this reason, Paul beseeched his brethren to pray in his
            behalf:
            1) For deliverance, where possible - 2Th 3:2
            2) For boldness, when necessary - cf. Ep 6:19-20
      2. For not all are believers - 2Th 3:2b
         a. Not all believe the Word of the Lord
         b. Of those who don't, some mock, others persecute
      -- Preachers often bear the brunt of resistance and persecution in
         reaction to the gospel; such men are not super heroes (cf.
         1Co 2:3), they need our prayers!

[Certainly if Paul, called by God and commissioned by Christ Himself,
felt incomplete and inadequate without the prayers of his brethren, how
much more should preachers today!  Yet as Paul continues, we see that
preachers should also be praying for their brethren...]

II. A PRAYER RENDERED (3-5)

   A. FIRST, AN EXPRESSION OF CONFIDENCE...
      1. In the faithfulness of the Lord - 2Th 3:3; cf. 1Th 5:24
         a. Who would establish them
            1) As Paul prayed previously - 2Th 2:17
            2) As Peter prayed in his epistle - 1Pe 5:10
         b. Who would guard them from the evil one
            1) A wonderful assurance for the Christian - cf. 1Co 10:13;
               2Pe 2:9
            2) For which we should diligently pray - cf. Mt 6:13; Jn 17:15
      2. In the Lord concerning them - 2Th 3:4; cf. Php 1:6
         a. That they do the things he commands them
            1) As evidenced by their growing faith - cf. 2Th 1:3
            2) As illustrated by their abounding love - cf. 2Th 1:3
            3) As demonstrated by their enduring patience - cf. 2Th 1:4
         b. That they will do the things he commands them
            1) Their past performance gave Paul confidence regarding
               their future faithfulness
            2) Just as the Philippians' conduct gave Paul confidence
               - cf. Php 1:6-7
      -- Knowing the Lord's faithfulness to provide for His own, the
         faithfulness of Christians provides great confidence regarding
         their future!

   B. THEN, A PRAYER FOR THEM...
      1. That the Lord direct their hearts - 2Th 3:5a
         a. It is not enough that we seek to aim our hearts in the right
            direction
         b. We ought to seek God's assistance in this regard
            1) As David prayed for Israel and Solomon - cf. 1Ch 29:
               18-19
            2) As Solomon prayed for himself and Israel - cf. 1Ki 8:
               57-58
         c. We definitely need the help of God even in our desires to do
            good - cf. Php 2:13
      2. Into the love of God and the patience of Christ - 2Th 3:5b
         a. Into the kind of love God has for them
            1) Which God had taught them - cf. 1Th 4:9
            2) Which God demonstrates through Jesus - cf. 1Jn 4:9-11;
               3:16-18
         b. Into the kind of patience Jesus displayed
            1) Which He endured the cross - cf. He 12:1-3; 1Pe 2:21-23
            2) Which they continued to need in light of their
               circumstances - cf. 2Th 1:4
      -- Certainly every Christian needs to have a God-like love and
         Christ-like patience; this should be the prayer of every
         preacher for the souls with whom he labors!

CONCLUSION

1. In "A Prayer Requested, A Prayer Rendered", we are reminded of the
   need for prayers

2. Preachers need our prayers...
   a. That the gospel may have free course
   b. That preachers of the gospel not be hindered by the world

3. Preachers need to pray for their brethren...
   a. That the Lord will direct them in their spiritual growth
   b. That they will grow in love of God and patience of Christ

Happy is the church where both preacher and congregation do not hesitate
to say to one another:

                  "Brethren, pray for us." - 1Th 5:25

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011


From Gary... A grand sight, indeed

























This morning I found myself viewing a lot of ads on the net about the new movies that are out for the holiday season.  And there are some good ones!!!   When I saw NASA's picture of the day, this morning, I associated it with floodlights that you might see at a "grand opening" of some sort.   These "pillars" are natural occurrences (although somewhat rare) that happen when flat ice-crystals are close to the ground and the weather is cold enough to prevent them from melting.  If you would like a more exact explanation, feel free to go to the following link and see how a professional astronomer describes this...  http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html.  Anyway, these "pillars" remind me of searchlights that are used at the beginning of some movies.  Given the date on the calendar, my thoughts turned to the Gospel of Luke...

Luke, Chapter 2
 8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.  9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.  11 For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”  13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying, 
  14 “Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.”

  15  When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said one to another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.  17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.  18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. 

Many people feel that Jesus was born on December 25; personally I believe Jesus was on Rosh Hashana four years before the year "zero".  This was traditionally the time that great kings were said to be born.  Whenever Jesus was born, it was a time of great celebration for the world and one of great hope as well.  Were there great signs in the skies? Probably, based on the passage from Luke's Gospel. This much is certain: God did send his son, and his child was faithful even unto death, AND BECAUSE OF THIS WE HAVE THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE-- (IF WE OBEY HIS COMMANDS).  For those of you who do celebrate the 25th of December as Christmas, I wish you the very best of the season and a very merry "Christmas".  For those who still haven't obeyed the Gospel- There is still time.  Why do you wait?  As the apostle Paul said:

16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 22:16



FYI... More information on Rosh Hashana can be found at...

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm