Day 110 Great Gains

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:6-10


When we commit our lives to Christ, we give up our rights to doing our own thing (which usually doesn’t work out so well anyway). Jesus does a total make-over on us over time. It doesn’t mean being a do-gooder or “holier than thou.” Rather, we grow in humility, generosity, patience, wisdom, joy, etc. We become good stewards of the new life we have in Christ. What are you eager for God to develop in you?

God, give Sarah a heart for the things that please you and make her more fully alive!

Day 109 Sew, Sow, So...

"...whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8:

God says He blesses you abundantly so that you will have everything you need at all times and in all circumstances. Wow! God, bless Sarah with a cheerful attitude like yours.

Day 108 Woot!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever! Psalm 107:1

Day 107 Training Pants

"Show me your ways, O Lord,
Teach me your paths;
Guide me in your truth
and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 25:4-5

Day 106 Arrrgh! Aye, there's treasure!

“...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Your identity is something you gather in a lot of different ways … from your parents :), your friends, your beliefs and values. As you seek to grow in Christ your identity is being formed in Jesus. That means that more and more what you value--your “treasure”--reveals who you really are.

Jesus wants your identity to reflect who He is and who He made you to be. What you treasure helps you know who and what you value--and being aware of that helps you see how you need to grow and move forward to find your true value and identity in Christ.

Today and every day, let knowing you be the most powerful desire of Sarah's heart. Reveal to her more and more where her treasure is and help her to continually realign what she values to the things that are of value to you. May loving you and loving others be her greatest treasure. Amen.

Day 104 Waiting List

Are your praying for someone or something but God has not answered? Are you discouraged and want to stop asking? Jesus taught us to not give up because God is good and He knows how to give good gifts. Remember the verbs "ask, seek, and knock" are present tense verbs in the Greek and this means to do this continually and habitually. Put your faith in God and keep asking for surely He will answer in His time and His answer will be good! He has not left us alone in our waiting, but His Holy Spirit lives within us and He gives us courage, strength, and patience to keep asking in faith.
 
Help Sarah to be persistent in prayer and remind her that you are always good. Give her your presence and comfort as she prays, and help her not to lose hope and to continue to ask for your help when you say wait!

Day 103 Occupy What?

Jesus said that people cannot serve both God and wealth (Mammon), and based on his teachings, I think we must also ask whether we can serve both people and money.

I hope those within OccupyWallStreet stay focused on people and emphasize that money is at most a tool, an object to be used for the good of the many and not a goal in itself because then the quest for wealth subordinates and destroys human lives.

All of us, regardless of our social locations, can try to be more like Zacchaeus and less like the hard king who reaps where he does not sow. And as we’re seeing so clearly, we can organize, re-think the system so that it prioritizes people (especially those most in need), modify our own behavior as needed, and influence policy so that the highest are brought lower a bit and the lowest are brought up a lot.

Hopefully, it can transform from occupations of Wall Street and beyond to elected occupations of executives and legislatures where wiser policies and practices can be implemented.