Do Unto Others

Hi everyone!  In the Spirit of Giving now has two authors!  Please welcome our new blogger, Lee Rollett, as this is her first post!

Another cold, blustery day in the heart of Hoosier land!!  I have a blazing fire going  while my children are starting to work on their schoolwork and I ponder what to get accomplished first.  I live a blessed and abundant life.  Unfortunately, there are those who are not so fortunate.

Every year, during the Christmas season, I always have good intentions of doing for others and not taking anything I have for granted.  Usually, what happens, though, is that I get so busy with all the other activities that I put "others" on the back burner. This year, I have made it a point to step up and do something for others.  

I am not a cook.  I hate it with a passion!  But my family has to eat, so I usually make something in the crock pot.  However, I love to bake!!  (Yeah, baking always includes more calories for me!)   So, this year, I have decided to give my neighbors baked goods for Christmas.  Some of them have lost loved ones, some have no children, others have a full house.  There is actually a couple who live on our street that don't even speak to anyone.  They are also on this list.   I am actually pretty excited about this endeavor!  I want to give not because I will get something in return (I do have great neighbors who are very giving, though!), but because it feels good.  

There is a lesson to be learned by this attitude and it's taken a long time for me to get it.  If we put ourselves in a place to serve others, our wants and needs diminish.  We lose a little bit of that selfishness that holds each and everyone of us in bondage.  We become a blessing to others, maybe even a prayer answered. There is nothing like giving a gift to others and watching to see the transformation in them take place. A frown is turned into a smile, a tear shed is replace by laughter.  Even the most frozen person can begin to thaw out.  What a wonderful thing!

So, during this Christmas season, my prayer for each of us is to overlook the bad attitudes, frowning faces, and frantic displays of rude shoppers, and begin to get back to the spirit of giving...and loving.  Merry Christmas and God bless you all! 

Giving Mercy/Forgiveness

     Okay, so we've all experienced it.  The bitterness, the hurt, and the desire to get revenge on the person who caused us so much pain.  We've all been there, and we can all relate to this.
     It used to be that I constantly struggled with bitterness and the constant need for revenge.  I wanted to search out ways to make that person feel bad about themselves and what they did.  The thing is, even if I did hurt that person, it didn't make me happy, or even satisfy my desire for revenge.  In fact, it rather made me miserable.  I would think about that person constantly and all the things they had done to me.  I'm sure you've been there too.
     But what does God say about it?

"Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy."-Romans 11:31

"For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment."-James 2:13

     So, according to these verse, not only will we suffer judgment for being merciless, but, if we have mercy on them for what they did to us, then it could very well lead them to obtain mercy and be merciful themselves.
     Jesus Christ is the best example of this.  There He was, bleeding to the point where only water poured out, and wearing a crown of thorns on His head.  Yet, in the midst of His pain and suffering, He cried out, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".  Now, we could argue with that point and say that they knew exactly what they were doing.  But the truth is, they didn't.  Those soldiers and people had no idea what they were actually doing to themselves by crucifying Jesus.  That's why He cried out for God to forgive them.
     If we could only see things the way Jesus would see them, we wouldn't become so bitter all of the time.  No, you may never know why that person borrowed money and never paid you back, or why your parents constantly threw insults at you as a child.  But if you could just forgive them and offer the gift of mercy, you would find that it doesn't matter as much.  When you forgive, you set yourself free by setting them free.
     So, I'm begging you to forgive them, if not for them, then for yourself.  Whoever it is, whatever they did, forgive them.  Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

     May God Bless,
     Lizi

P.S. To go along with this, I highly recommend that you listen to "Forgiveness" by Matthew West and read the story behind it.  It's very inspiring, and will touch your heart, I'm sure.

P.S.S. Merry Christmas!  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!  May God bless you and your family during this time of the year, and may all of your Christmas wishes come true.

When Trials Come

Ephesians 5:20: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Hebrew 13:15: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

     Okay, so not every day we live is going to be great and happy.  In the past month, I have had several days that felt like nothing was going right.  After losing a loved one in the beginning of August, it just seemed like nothing was working out in my favor.  I struggled with why it all had to happen this way, but I continually served God, even though I couldn't understand Him.
     Oftentimes we, as human beings, refuse to give God the rightful honor and glory just because life isn't working out in our favor.  And, even though human logic says we have a right to do that, we really don't.  Whether we believe so or not, God is good continually, even when life doesn't go the way we planned.  We often clam up and wince at the thought of giving God any praise for what He'd done.
     But what we don't realize is that, no matter what, life is going to throw curveballs.  What you do with that curveball, however, determines the outcome of your situation.  You can choose to be bitter and never truly get past that trial, or you can praise God through the storm and allow Him to pull you through it.  One saying you may be familiar with is "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain".
     If we look at the book of Job, we will see a great example.  Job lost everything: his children, his wealth, and his friends.  His own wife told to curse God and die!  Yet, what did Job do?  He said, "...the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord".  The Bible says that in all of that he did not charge God foolishly.  Now, Job could've cried and pouted, and he could've cursed God for taking everything away, but he didn't.  And later we found out that God not only restored what was taken from Job, but He gave him DOUBLE what he had before.
     One thing I learned from reading the book of Job is that sometimes our trial is setting us up for a bigger blessing.  It may seem like your trial is pointless and you can't understand why God is allowing all of this to happen to you, but every hardship you go through is just a set up for a bigger blessing, greater honor, or an increase where you once lacked.  Don't worry when you're going through tribulation.  God hasn't forsaken you.
     So, in closing, I challenge you to thank God each and every day for the blessings He has given you.  Even when your heart is broken and you can't see God's hand in your life, just say thank you.  He'll get you through it.  Don't spend your time worrying and charging God foolishly with things.

May God Bless,
Give, Love, Serve

P.S. The winner of Beyond Hope's Valley is Pete Mitchell.  Congratulations, Pete!  Please email me at lizijones474@gmail.com.

My FB Page

Hey everybody, I just realized that I forgot to put the name of my Facebook page on my last blog post, and I wanted to say that I am so sorry about that!  My Facebook page is Elizabeth Jones, and it should say in the description that I am the blogger of In the Spirit of Giving.  All you have to do is like my page, and you are automatically entered into this contest.  Like I said, so sorry about that.  It won't happen again.  Love you guys!

May God Bless,
Give, Love, Serve

A Cheerful Giver

2 Corinthians 9:7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

     Often we give, not because we can or because we want to, but because we feel like we have to.  However, as the verse above states, that isn't the right attitude to have when giving.  God wants us to give even when we don't have to.  After all, Jesus Christ Himself gave His life for us, even though He could have sent a thousand angels in His place.
     So how should we give?  Should we give money to charities?  Should we donate clothes to our local homeless shelter?  Is that the only way we can give?  Yes, these are good ways to give, but no, they are not the only ways.  A cheerful giver is willing to fill in whenever needed.  They are willing to give an encouraging word when they feel led to.  They are willing to help others even when they don't have to.  They constantly have a smile on their face for someone else.
     We like to make ourselves feel better because we donate things to other people, and, like I said before, yes, these are good ways to give, but we need to give more.  I know that sometimes it feels like the world is weighing you down, and that you can't give a smile to that homeless person walking down the street.  Or you can't give an encouraging word to the woman with cancer because you had a bad day.  But when we see it this way, how selfish of us it that?
     Once again, let me go back to the cross.  Jesus Christ, the God of the Universe, suffered a painful and horrific death.  Yet, while on the cross, this is what He said:

Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment and cast lots.

     "Father, forgive them."  Even though He was bleeding out, nails piercing his hands and thorns poking his head, He offered forgiveness for the very people that crucified Him.  How much more should we be willing to give a smile or a word to somebody that needs it?  If we truly are the body of Christ, then how much more should we willingly give whenever and wherever we can?
     I hope this may open your eyes as to how much we can truly offer in our everyday lives.  I know it has opened mine. 
     Also, to celebrate the gift of giving, I have decided to give away a copy of Beyond Hope's Valley by Tricia Goyer.  She is a really great author, and I thought you might enjoy a copy.  All you have to do is like my Facebook page, and you're automatically entered into the drawing.

May God Bless,
Give, Love, Serve

"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul." -Psalms 66:16
"For we cannot speak but the things which we have seen and heard."- Acts 4:20


     For everyone that has been saved, healed, or delivered, you know that God is capable of great things.  Only you know entirely what He has done for you.  For those that don't know about Him, they don't know how great He is.  Isn't it our job to tell them?
     Lately, I have been feeling a call to outreach.  I have many different ideas running through my head on how to reach the lost.  The thing about it is, I've always been a thinker, but I've never gone out and carried out my plans.  But it has been coming more and more to my realization that, this isn't an option.  We HAVE to reach the lost.  We HAVE to tell them of the great things God has and can do.
     This is one of the greatest things to share:the love of God.  If you have been baptized in Jesus' name, and have been filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:1-4;38), then you have God's Spirit in you, and you have the ability to love others like Jesus loves them.  And this hurting, broken world needs that.
     Only you can do it, though.  Oftentimes, we think that it is someone else's job to witness to others, so we back out and carry on with our lives.  We back out of something that could not only bless someone else, but could bless us.
     As I have learned recently, there are three major tactics the devil tries to use to keep us from witnessing:
     Fear- We are so afraid of people rejecting us, and the message we bring, that we talk ourselves out of it, saying things like "They probably don't want it", "I'm sure they're doing just fine.  They don't need this right now" or "Someone else will come along and witness to them.  It doesn't have to be me".  But what if they do need it?  What if that person is going through a tough divorce or is on the verge of suicide?  What if the message you bear is exactly what they've been looking for?
Self-consciousness- We fear how people will view us.  We feel too inadequate and are afraid that people will reject us.  We fear that people will look at us oddly, that the person we witness to will think we're completely nuts.  You have what they need.  They aren't going to care about who you are and what you can't do.
Prejudice- This is a big one.  Not only does this hinder us from witnessing to others from different countries, but it also hinders us from witness to others outside of our social, financial, and education levels.  If we see a homeless man on the street, we are very likely to walk past him.  Why?  Because we have already made up in our heads who he is.  We judged him before we even got to know him.  The same goes for those of a higher status than us.  We may assume that they are snotty, stuck-up, and don't need our help, but is that really what they are?  Or could it be we judged them too soon?  We need to lay aside our judgments and let God lead us.  You never know, maybe that 'rich, stuck-up' lady from your workplace is crying out for God to send somebody to her.  And maybe that somebody is you.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged."-Matthew 7:1

     Pray that God would touch your heart, and show you the things that really are, instead of allowing yourself to be blinded by your own thoughts and fears.  Pray that He would open doors and opportunities for you to witness.  I promise you, if you'll step out in faith, you won't be disappointed.
     And always remember that God is with you, even when it feels like your fears are too much.  He will give you the words to speak.  Just trust Him.


May God Bless,
Give, Love, Serve

"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."-Romans 5:5

God once came into the world, dressed in dirty, human flesh.  He had no crown or glory, neither did He have any riches.  Yet He was and is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  And the reason he gave all of that up?  Because He loved us enough to die.
Way too often in our society, relationships are ruined by bitterness, anger, or some other destructive emotion.  But why is that?  After all, the Bible says that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.  I think way too many of us are caught us in our own selves to actually experience true love.
Love is patient.  Love is kind.  We have all heard it.  But do we truly know what true love is?  The kind of love God has for us is agape, meaning a love that is wholly selfless.  Romans 5:5 says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.  So, if God's love is agape, and we have His love in our hearts, then why are we still considered one of the most selfish generations ever?
I pray that you will think on these things as Easter comes rolling around.  After all, what are we really celebrating on Easter?  Jesus's resurrection, yes, but also, His love for us.  The love that caused Him to be on that cross in the first place.
Also, I wanted to announce the winner of last month's drawing.  And the winner is...

                                                             Hannah Rollett

Congratulations to the winner!  Thanks to everyone that entered!  I'll be posting another contest soon, so be looking out.  Happy Easter!

May God Bless,
Give, Love, Serve