Pouring Ourselves Out

We were meant to pour ourselves out. We are to give of ourselves to others, for we were created to serve one another. Again I ask, who are we? We are vessels created by the Lord to show forth His power and goodness. One of the ways He can use us to do this, is to continually give of ourselves to others.

Jesus did this. He continually poured out Himself to all around Him, so that the Father may be glorified. He told His disciples that He came not to be served, to serve (Matthew 20:28). The thing I came to realize about this, is that Jesus gave Himself to all and yet received very little if anything back from them. Think about this for a second. Jesus did many amazing things while He was here. Everywhere He went, people followed to hear His teaching and to be blessed and healed by Him. Yet When Jesus was arrested, His closest friends abandoned Him. When He was on trail, only two defended Him. When the crowd was given a chance to free Him, they all condemned Him. Peter denied Him, Judas betrayed Him, the crowed mocked Him. He poured Himself out for them all, even unto death, and received nothing from them in return.

Jesus' example is so important to learn! There are, at times, where we feel like we have nothing left to give others. We are worn down from constantly giving of ourselves and receiving little if anything in return. So we want to quit. We want to shrink back and hide. But as Christ constantly poured out Himself for the church, so should we constantly pour out ourselves to others. This was how Jesus showed us the Father. This is how we can show others Christ.

It is also important to note here, that the Bible mentions so many times that Jesus met with the Father daily. This is how He was able to continually pour Himself out. What He received from the Father He gave away. What we receive daily from Christ, we are to give away. This is how we are able to continually pour ourselves out to others.

So let us continually pour ourselves out. And let us do this without expectation. We serve others because Jesus first served us. We constantly give of ourselves to all, because the Lord is constantly giving of Himself to us. And because Christ lives in us and us in Him, we are never empty. Soli deo gloria: Glory to God Alone.

Amelia the sparrow

Amelia was a little sparrow who lived in a big and beautiful tree right outside of a beautiful but old, country home. She was a friendly sparrow, always talking to those who passed her way. The Master of the home was her dearest friend. Every morning and every evening, He would sit on the porch with His hands wide open, full of grain for her to eat. She would happily sit in His hands, eating the grain, talking to him. And how they talked! They talked about everything.They would talked late into the night and when she would fall asleep in His hands, He would gently place her back into her nest. He was an amazing man and she loved him deeply.

Amelia was friends with another sparrow named Sam who lived in the nest next to hers. Like the Master, he too, was her closest friend. Every day they played together and sang together. One day Sam did not return home as usual. At first she thought he was just late, gathering bugs and all that sparrows do. But in the morning when he still was not there, she began to worry. She flew over to the Master of the home and told Him her worries. When she was done, He gently picked her up and looked into her eyes. "Amelia, do you trust me?", He asked. "With all my heart", she replied. "Continue to trust me. I will find him, I promise." So she flew back to her nest and waited. A couple of days passed, and Sam still had not returned. Every night the Master of the home returned and Amelia would fly over and sit in His hands and eat. When she asked if He had found Sam, He always gave the same reply; "Trust me," He said, "I will find him." Days dragged into weeks, and weeks into months. Still Sam did not return. Amelia was beside herself. She trusted the Master. If anyone could find Sam, it was He. But she did not think it would take this long. Why was it taking so long? Where was Sam?

One day Amelia decided she had had enough. When the Master returned, she greeted Him as she always did, but instead of landing into His open hands, she perched herself on the tree right outside of the window. "Amelia," He said. "Why will you not come and eat from my hand as you always do?" "I am tired", she replied. "I am tired of waiting, I am tired of trusting, of hoping, that you will find Sam. He has been gone much too long, and You still have not found him. I just want some space and some rest and I simply do not feel like eating from your hand today." The Master looked at her gently. "Space from me is a dangerous thing, Amelia. And not eating what I provide for you will make you weak. Only in my hand will you be able to rest. My hands comfort, heal, provide, and protect. Do not forget that it was I who planted the tree so that you might live in it. It was I who planted and harvested this grain so that you might eat it. It is I who gently places you into your nest every night. Trust me, Amelia. Trust me." Amelia looked at the Master with sad eyes, but flew over into His hands and slowly ate the grain. As she did, she began to cry, but with each tear she felt strength return to her. Then the Master did something He had not done before - He sang to her. His song was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. And though she did not know the song, somehow her heart opened and the words poured in. Soon she was happily singing with Him, and they sang late into the night.

The next morning she watched the Master of the house leave. As He passed her nest they looked at each other. At that moment she knew that He was capable of everything and anything. If anyone could find Sam, it was He, so she would wait and trust. And wait and trust she continued to do, safely and gently in His hands.

Money (Part Two)

It took me three hours to write my last blog. I never imagined that I would write about money. But today, something was said that just made me want to write something about it. Something I struggle with in the church, is that I feel like the church knows that we won't do something unless it benefits us. And sad to say, we are such selfish people, that this tends to be true. When it comes to tithing or giving, we are told that if we tithe or give that the Lord will bless us. This is true, I have seen this first hand, but I feel like we are missing the point.

What we must realize is that the Lord owes us nothing. Again we exist because of Him. He does not exist because of us. He gave us everything that was good, and we turned away from it. It was us, who rebelled against Him. Yet, God in His amazing greatness and goodness still loved us and redeemed us by His Son. When Jesus died on the cross, that was the first time in History that the Son was separated from His Father. It was our sin that separated us from God. When Christ died, He took on our sin which caused His separation from His Father. This is how we were redeemed, by the blood, the pain, the anguish of another who did not deserve it. Again, God owes us nothing, but we owe Him everything!

So the point I feel like we are missing when it comes to tithing or giving, is that we should do so simply because the Lord asks us too. To walk in obedience to Him is one of the greatest joys that we could ever ask for. He asks so little of us, and yet we still look to Him and say "sure, I'll do it, but whats in it for me?" Has He not already given us more than we deserve?And amazing enough, He does continue to bless us and reward us when we obey Him. What a God!

So let us remember that He owes us nothing, but we owe Him everything. And let us tithe and give in joyful obedience because of the God He is. Soli deo gloria: Glory to God Alone!

...Money...

What is the purpose of money to a Christian? I have heard so many heated discussions on this topic. And upon hearing these discussions, I have started to realize that a lot of Christians fear money. They fear wealth. I can understand why. Money tends to be the root of many problems in the church, in a marriage, in a family, in a lot of places. I have done a lot of thinking about what money means to me and I have come to realize that money in itself is not be feared, but how we let it control our lives.

One thing that I have come to understand is that money offers a false sense of security. Money pays our bills, it provides us with what we want and need. When you look at your bank account, there is a comfort there to see that what you have worked hard for, is building up. It gives you a sense of security and pride. Not saying that this is bad. But we must be careful not to look at money as our security but instead see it as a blessing from the Lord who is our security.

Money, I think, should be used to help others, to give away. This is something that the Lord has really, and I mean really, taught me. I use to buy so many things, because I was insecure about who I was and how I looked and I truly believed that if I bought this one thing, it would be all that I needed. But soon I would tire of it and I would be on the search for something greater. I learned the hard way, that buying things contributes absolutely nothing to the hearts capacity for joy. Actually, nothing contributes to the hearts capacity of joy except the Lord. Our spouses, our families, our homes, our occupations. This is something that some of us do not realize until everything we thought that fulfilled us is stripped away. Only then do we see that none of it truly fulfilled us. Because our fulfillment doesn't come from money, things or people. It really does come from knowing the Lord and the Lord knowing us. Andrew Murray said "The giver is more than the gift; God is more than the blessing. And our being kept waiting on Him is the only way for our learning to find our life and joy in Himself."

With all of that said, I am not saying that we should just give all of our money away and never have any. I think it is wise to invest, to save, to build up and to spend a little. But what we shouldn't do is invest, save, build up and spend INSTEAD of giving away. Invest and give, save and give, build up and give, spend and give.

John Piper wrote: "Why does God bless us with abundance? So we can have enough to live on, and then use the rest for all manner of good works that alleviate spiritual and physical misery. Enough for us; abundance for others..."

I think this is how we should view money as Christians. We should not fear it, but be joyful when we are blessed with it, for we are able to help and give to others. We are vessels created by and for God, to show forth His power and goodness. And I fully believe that one of the ways He does this is by blessing us, so that through us, He can abundantly bless others. Soli deo gloria: Glory to God alone.