Give And Expect

Many of us are familiar with the Apostle Paul stating "It is more blessed to give than to receive." in Acts 20:35. However, I'm realizing my thinking needs to expand to align with how God thinks as evidenced in Romans 8:15 (MSG) "This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?"" The reality is that I've received so much from God in my new life, that as I give out of that blessing, I MUST expect to receive more from God. We can look at this in one of two ways: a container being refilled, or a pipeline being supplied. I lean more towards the pipeline, but scripture easily supports the container. Bottom line: both have a source - God.

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)
Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--

Erwin McManus writes in "An Unstoppable Force": “The Spirit of God moves like the wind, leaving a still silence where He once blew, and beckoning us to where He now stirs. The church must raise her sails and move with the Spirit if we are not to be left behind. It is not enough to simply hang on; we must boldly move forward.”

The mindset in which I give to others plays hugely in how I give to others.  Papa, where do I go next?  To whom will I give next?  What will I give next?  You are my Source ... I have nothing without You ... I am nothing without You ... I can do nothing without You.

30 Minutes or 30 Years?

Sandy and I were talking about life and such things the other night. As a part of that conversation, we started talking about how we would live our life if we knew when we'd pass from this life to eternity with Jesus.

Questions ran through my head: What is the source of my pleasure and sense of success? What am I pouring my passion into? If spending time with my children was my sole priority, am I doing this now, or am I thinking that I have time? If it were my job, then all of my time and energy would go into that.

Knowing that my life on this earth is limited and that I have many things tugging at my time, I am faced with making these choices on a moment by moment basis. We talked about the movie "Last Holiday" in which Georgia Byrd (played by Queen Latifah) was informed that she has three weeks to live. She totally changed her life priorities and did things that she hadn't even considered doing before, living a life of brevity rather than longevity. I enjoyed the movie, however, it doesn't reflect my own attitude about the way I'm living my life.

I had to stop and think about all of this before I arrived at the conclusion that I should be living my life the same way even if I were going to pass on in the next 30 minutes or if I passed on 30 years from now. Am I? I believe for the most part I am … however, I'm open to God for further clarification and guidance. So, my prayerful attitude is: Father, help me know what You want me to do. Echoing the words of Apostle Jim Durkin, these have had a spiritual influence in my life:

I cannot please everyone who puts a demand on me, therefore I choose to please God, and, whomever that pleases, I must assume I am to work with them.

I cannot do everything that can be done, therefore I choose to do what God wants me to do. If I do this, I know I will meet every reasonable goal for my life.

I will blame no one for where I find myself. I will accept the blame, if any, for my own choices. If others have wronged me, that is their problem, but I am where I am by my choices.

I run no more. I will stand and fight Satan where I am. If I need to change, I will do it where I am. I will stay and stand until I win, and leave when I can walk out with my head held upright.

By putting God first, I believe I will have all the time needed for my family, friends, business, self-growth and leisure. I believe God has so made life that a man has time to finish what God has called him to do.

Clay Containers

To begin, know that everybody has a belief system. A belief system is basically how you view, process, filter, and structure information you take in.  A belief system can have its basis in science, philosophy, business, and religion for example.

I submit to you that people carry their belief system in the container of their experiences. If life experiences dictate an adjustment to the container, then the contents of the container are adjusted as well. In other words, the belief system conforms to the newly adjusted shape of the container. Of course, metaphors could abound here - the use of water or oil would work for the belief system, as either quickly conforms to its container. If something stressful happens in our life, we could even experience a crack in our container or even have it shattered entirely. The contents of the container (belief system) escape and may well be impossible to recover.

Let's talk more about the container ... long before clay is fired and hardened, it is turned and shaped (aka thrown - interesting concept term, I think, but I digress). That shaping takes place in the potter's hands so it results in whatever the potter desires it to be. Once the potter is satisfied with the shape, s/he is ready to fire the work. Now, the temperature for firing done in the typical kiln could range from 1700-2100º F. That's warm!  The heat "matures" the clay (melting it at a molecular level) and the resulting container is suitable to the purpose for which is was shaped.  It is strong, tough and in some ways very similar to stone.

Clay stays malleable until it's fired and it can be reshaped over and over again. An apparent downside though is that, once it's been fired, it cannot, using normal human processes, be reshaped. The best reuse that we can come up with, it seems, is that the container would need to be crushed and then used as a filler or some such thing. Definitely, a lesser use than the original container the potter had designed it to be.

The world treats the broken clay as a cheap commodity ... a filler, of little value.  God, however, sees that broken or crushed material as something to work with. He is able to take something that is broken and of little or no use and supernaturally transform that old, broken, crushed, clay container into something that is malleable once again. Nothing less than a miracle!!  He is restorative and makes that container useful again.

Now, back to the water or oil (belief system) which leaked from the cracked or broken container ... God, again, being the True Miracle Worker uses His Creative Power and creates something out of nothing and refills the container with a fresh belief system. A belief system that is based on His ideas, values, and views. A belief system based on Life and not death, that is renewed and able to influence others.

Are you broken?  Have you felt people have cast you aside as filler?  Look to God for restoration, Life, and a fresh and new belief system based on His ideas, values, and views. He will make you into something that is useful for His purpose. He provides that pathway through His Son, Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if you don't know Him yet, or if you've known Him for years. The solution is still the same.