Generosity…..the key to joy!

Nancy Rupli

Generosity…..the key to joy!
I love the Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of “GENEROSITY”: “Free in giving or sharing.” What I love about it is the word “free”. There’s a great element of freedom when we adopt generosity into our hearts and our lives. When we hear the word generosity we immediately tend to think in monetary terms but there are so many more ways to give.  Many stirring situations will move us to a place of generosity but what is it that keeps us from a LIFE of generosity?

GENEROSITY AND OUR “STUFF”
Our money and our things! Jesus talked about true riches when He mentioned that everything we have on this earth can be stolen…it can get broken…it can get rusty…it can get moth-eaten. But the “treasures” we lay up towards eternity are simply that…eternal. Freedom lies in taking pleasure in our possessions but taking joy in the things that money can’t buy. I once heard someone say that just the right amount of money was “enough so as not to worry about your needs and not so much as to worry what to do with it!” There is no greater joy than giving! It gives us an entrance into the workings of God! How exhilarating it is to “feel lead” to give to someone and hear the words “I’ve been praying for that exact amount!”

Sometimes as Christians we confuse stinginess with being good stewards. I was so distraught to hear the story of a pastor who was irate when a restaurant automatically added the 15% tip to his bill. He scrawled on the receipt, “ I GIVE GOD 10%; WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU 15%??” Sadly the picture of the receipt was posted on the internet and it went viral. The waitress not only received no tip but lost her job. It’s my personal opinion that the pastor is the one who should get fired…for gross misrepresentation of his Superior (a kind, loving, GENEROUS God). I always say,” If you’re not going to leave a big fat tip then don’t publicly pray and bless your food!” (so, tell us how you really feel, Nancy!)

GENEROSITY AND OUR TIME
My Mom will be 90 years old soon and is very healthy except for one thing…her mobility. To transport her from one place to the next is an exercise in patience. Not only does she move VERY slowly but she stops every four steps to chat. She lives with my sister and to help out I try to take her to most of her appointments.
No matter how patient I pretend to be she would always say, “I’m sorry I can’t move any faster; I know I’m frustrating you.” Now the last thing I want to do is to make my dear sweet mother feel like she’s frustrating me! I finally realized that the bottom line is that deep down I can be very stingy with my time. I made a decision to GIVE MY TIME GENEROUSLY to my Mom. FREEDOM! Free to enjoy my time with my Mom without thinking about all the things I have waiting for me to do. I’m grateful to God that He made this adjustment in my heart so that I’ll have joy remembering the last years with my Mom. Sometimes we can embrace the feeling that we’re being imposed upon as if our time is the most precious thing.
We lose our freedom to give and to share.



GENEROSITY AND OUR EMOTIONS
In the book of Romans Paul says we’re to “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice”. We aren’t free to rejoice over someone else’s blessings if we’re focused on ourselves – what we are or are not getting. That focus will lead us down the path of envy which according to Proverbs is “rottenness to the bones.” Joy comes to us as we generously rejoice and celebrate the good things in the lives of others.

Notice that the scripture says that when someone is weeping the best thing we can do is to weep with them. We really make it harder than it is. We try to give explanations, prescriptions, and lofty words but when it comes right down to it the best thing we can do is cry together and say “I’m so sorry.”
Generosity is freedom …. If I’m weighing out a “should I or shouldn’t I” give this or do that, I pray I’ll err on the side of generosity. Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

More than a Facetime app... Why we gather!

Ok… clearly, ALL religions meet, gather, assemble…do ritual attendance in some scheduled fashion or another.   So… big deal, right?  Why would we ‘Christians’ be any different than all other man-made endeavors to gather under the name of whatever ‘god’ they believe in?   Grrreeat question!  As we’ll soon see from a closer look into the New Contract, we Christ-followers are certainly to be mindful to meet… but Why?   I believe further investigation will shed some incredible light on our ‘assembling-togetherness’ for Jesus… that it was never intended to be ‘just another religious-groupie-gathering’.   :)

Alright, we’ve hopefully pricked your curiosity-bug, so let's  get into ‘the gist’ of this topic.  If we crack open a New Testament, we see in Hebrews 10, that by Christ’s totally completed work at Calvary- we gain some astounding, unshakeable new realities.  What are they?  Check this out… 3 BIG REASONS WHY WE B(r)OTHER to MEET:

numero Uno:   

“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again (yaawwn), year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship… But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.  For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  (Hebrews 10:1,  NLT)

Pretty clear, huh?  The rinse & repeat-cycle of Moses’ Laws, just couldn’t finish the job God wanted done… to ‘TAKE AWAY SINS’ - and produce a whole new species of ‘Righteous Family’!  And, for our sake, who wants to just ‘go to church’ and then be slapped upside the head every week, always reminded of how ‘sinful’ and ‘unholy’ you are?  (Which is a now a totally religious non-truth, as we’ll soon read below! ;)

numero Dos:

“Every (Old Testament) priest stands offering time after time the same sacrifices, (‘gotta make the doughnuts’) which can never take away sins;  but Jesus, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering... He has perfected...for all time...those who are sanctified.  (see Heb. 10:11-14)

Whoa, Nelly! Did we just read that right?  I’m quite certain it stated that J-E-S-U-S was absolutely THE...LAST... SACRIFICE...EVER NEEDED...to  PERMANENTLY deal with ‘sin’… FOR ALL (TIME).  And that by offering His own body to be slaughtered, we who believe it, are (already) sanctified… umm,  “perfected for all time” in God’s holy sight -from the vantage point of Jesus’ cross!  

Wow!  Sooo… if we don’t gather to continually rehearse (and slobber over) ‘all our sins’, and ‘cuz Jesus was the “all-time-quarterback” who threw them faaaaaaaaar away into the eternal end-zone (far as East is from West!),  what DO we meet for?  Let’s keep reading…

numero Tres:

“Now where there is forgiveness... there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, (bruthas/sistahs), since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way... let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,   (Hebrews 10:18-24, NASB)

Read those power-filled verses...again...slowly.  Like so many, I’ve often read those verses and think, “Wow, I am so thankful for what Christ has provided... for me!”  Rightly so, but closer inspection reveals words such as “we, our, brothers, us, ourselves, one another” are all in-play.  Words that signify the practice of a more plural, shared togetherness:  a brand new entity, ALIVE through Christ’s own resurrected body.  Due to the intensity of the Blood of Jesus, we can now all gather, under the mighty Grace, total Love, and supreme Lordship of our Christ...to (daily) live out what is called:

'not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.'      (Hebrews 10:25, Amp.)

Finale:

While that might sound a little simplistic to those who have “done the church thang” for years on end... in real-time, with unveiled faces, transparent hearts, and a deep Love burning for our brothers/sisters, let’s be truly assembled together. (no ‘fake it till we make it' here ;) If we can embody even a bit of this present reality- “stimulating one another TO LOVE & TO GOOD WORKS” -spending our time together can take on needed, new dimensions.  The Head-exalting, one-anothering, ‘some assembly required’-sort of gathering: as we urge, warn, encourage, and admonish each other more faithfully.  To my eyes, that’s a little different take than just “attending a service”.  

Darrin McCormick

I... need you… You... need me...We... need each other... and just as importantly, the Head Architect needs all parts -fully functional- and actively contributing to the ongoing assembly-line!  

We are overwhelmingly thankful for what our Master has provided… by His blood:  a “squeaky-clean” conscience... that allows us to freely love, gather, worship and grow (up) into a healthy Body, with reproducible maturity IN CHRIST!   Now... I’m really ‘into’ that kind of New Testament church!      -Hbu?