Receive - II

Receiving or exchanging?

MEMORY VERSE

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

REFLECTION

As hard as it can be to give away things that we value, the concept of giving is straight forward and easy to understand, much easier than receiving. Receiving a blessing is hard to do.  The humility it takes to truly receive is, well... hard and humbling. Sometimes we think we are receiving when we are actually exchanging.  We receive a pay check. We receive someone's hand in marriage. We receive an award. But in each case, we have done or acquired something in exchange.  We hate 'owing' someone so instead of actually receiving, we exchange. In a book about a sailboat race that went very bad due to a severe storm, the author commented about how many sailors call out to God in perilous times, making all kinds of promises of what they will do if God spares them.  Is this receiving or exchanging? God has blessed us with so much which we hardly notice and simply take for granted. How about that breath you just took. Or the sun that rose this morning. Or the Kingdom of God? What can you do or give to pay those back?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

What are the things you received from God when you became a follower of Christ?

What are the things you have received from God today?

What is the appropriate response when you think of these things?

ACTION STEPS FOR THE WEEK

Rejoice, sing, praise, laugh, dance, give thanks to God that out of the fullness of His grace you have received one blessing after another and that there is nothing that you can do or give in exchange for His goodness!

Receive - I

How Can We Receive Instruction?

MEMORY VERSE

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James 1:5

REFLECTION

Think for a moment about some of the most familiar passages and stories in the Bible: Creation, Adam and Eve, Joseph, Jonah, the birth of Christ, Paul on the Damascus Road. Consider a time when you heard someone from a different culture or with a different life experience speak about one of these passages? Did you find yourself seeing a perspective you had never before considered?

As we follow Christ, we can make the Gospel small when we fail to acknowledge that our cultural preferences can skew our interpretation of God’s instruction. Ultimately, the theological principles we take from God’s word should have relevance in the inner city of Los Angeles, the suburbs of Cape Town, the boardrooms of Tokyo and to the ends of the earth. If what we learn from the word of God is only relevant to a particular audience, then we have failed to truly grasp what God is teaching us through the Bible.

God has, in His immense grace, given us instruction through His holy word. As we receive this precious gift, we have a responsibility to ask Him for wisdom—wisdom to understand His scripture, wisdom to look past the lenses of our own particular experience or culture and drink deeply of the all-encompassing word of God.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Can you think of a time that you heard someone explain Scripture or saw them obey Biblical teaching and it opened your eyes to what the passage was really saying?

How did this expand your understanding of God’s word and your ability to fully receive His wisdom?

ACTION STEPS FOR THE WEEK

Pray that God would give you wisdom as you seek to know Him more through studying scripture.

Who are your friends from other cultures and life experiences who are followers of Christ? Next time you are together, share with them what you are reading in the Bible and ask for their insights. Listen and receive.  

Give - II

Are there better ways to give?

MEMORY VERSE

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  Matthew 6:3-4

 

REFLECTION

 Moses Maimonides is regarded by many as the greatest Jewish philosopher of the Middle Ages. This is his teaching on giving called The Eight Levels of Charity: 

1) The first and the lowest level is to give, but with reluctance or regret. This is a gift from the hand, but not from the heart.

2) The second is to give cheerfully but not enough to meet the need of the suffering person.

3) The third is to give cheerfully and enough to meet the person’s need but not until you have been asked.

4) The fourth is to give cheerfully, enough to meet the need and even without being asked, but to put it in the needy person’s hand, causing him to feel shame.

5) The fifth is to give in such a way that the distressed person may receive the gift and know the giver, but the giver does not know who received it.

6) The sixth is for the giver to know the person who will receive the gift but the person has no knowledge of who gave it to him.

7) The seventh is to give in such a way that the giver does not know the receiver, nor does the receiver know the giver.

8) The eighth and greatest of all is to prevent the need by assisting the person heading for trouble either by a considerable gift, or a loan of money or teaching him a trade or helping him start a business so that he may earn an honest livelihood and not be forced to hold out his hand for charity. This is the highest step in the golden ladder of giving.

 

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How do you generally go about helping people in need?

Is there anything in these eight 8 levels of charity that motivates you to change the way you give?

ACTION STEPS FOR THE WEEK

Keep your eyes and ears open for people in need and opportunities to share. 

Listen to what God might be asking you to do to respond.