Lessons They Taught Me On Generous Liberal Giving_Part 3

It was the second day of shopping. My first son was driving. The previous day, we did two shops in a record time. My son is a shoot the bull’s eye shopper—go in, pick the stuff on your list and head to the cashier. Typical shopping tactics of most men. It was the same on this day. It took the joy out of shopping for me but I dared not complain, my son was becoming support-fatigued.

The last one month had been packed with several back-to-back events, and I was directly involved in organizing them. The next one was in two days. I depend heavily on my family to support me in executing every activity I commit myself to and they know I don’t do half-measures.

We picked up my second son from school on the way home. And that began a discussion between the boys on how much Mum takes on. At the end of the last event I organised, they had asked me why I had to take the lead in every event that needs to be organized. My mother responded while I was still thinking of an appropriate answer, “When God gives you a gift, you have to use it to bless others.”

“Hmm! But why does it have to be Mum all the time?” he asked his grandma.

I responded this time, emphasising that we are expected to use the gifts, skills and talents God gave us to serve others (1Peter 4:10). But I heard him loud and clear. Each time I commit myself to something, I commit my entire family, sometimes over-committing them and requiring some sacrifice on their part. So on this occasion I knew where the discussion was going, or so I thought.

As we discussed the plans for the coming days and what I would require of them, they did not ask the same question again, they simply stated, “Mum is involved in so many things.”

“I am a Proverbs 31 woman,” I chipped in. That’s who I aspire to be.

“And we are compelled to be Proverbs 31 children without a choice.”

Whoops! I caught my breath. I thought carefully before going further. “Well, whatever we do, we must do as unto God. God loves a cheerful giver, so I really pray that you will also be cheerful Proverbs 31 children. God doesn't owe any man, He will surely reward your labour of love.”

My children were learning another hard lesson on sacrificial giving of self in the service of others, this time not of their own volition, but imposed on them by their mother’s passion to go the extra mile to be a blessing to others.

As I write the concluding part of Lessons They Taught me on Liberal Generous Giving today, my sons are uppermost on my mind. Noting that as we relentlessly pursue the goal of liberal generous giving, it will come at a cost. Not only for us but also for the significant people in our lives. Therefore, they need to be on board with us so that it does not become a drudgery for them. They also need to know that the seed of the righteous shall be blessed.

Giving, cheerfully and generously with a willing heart, has to be a way of life for the Christian who understands the grace of God. The person, who understands like David, that everything we have comes from God and that his life does not consist of what he has, will be a liberal giver. We are merely giving back what He first gave us. We know that for us to dwell in the full dimension of grace, where God causes all grace to abound to us, we must be willing to abound in good works as well, which requires generous, liberal, and often sacrificial giving.

David:

Before became King over Israel and while he was still running from Saul, David exhibited the ability to be a generous and considerate giver. In 1Sam 30, we observe that David recognized that it was God, Who gave him victory and the ability to recover all he lost without fail and with interest, he was therefore willingly to graciously share of the plunder (vs. 25). He also remembered those who ministered to his needs during his season of wandering. This is the dictate of a grateful heart—to remember your helpers.

David affirmed in 1Chronicles 29:14, that all things come from God. He and his people considered that they, who were once slaves in Egypt and in poverty, had attained such affluence that they had liberal hearts and willing spirits to give in such a noteworthy manner, because all they have was given to them by God. They acknowledged God as the Fountain of goodness. David then prayed that God will keep this generous spirit alive forever in his people with their hearts firmly set on God (vs19).

It is my earnest prayer that God will keep alive a generous, liberal and willing spirit in us and our children always.

Barzillai:

When David, in his bid to escape from Absalom, came to Manahaim. Three chieftains took care of him and his men. Barzallai was one of them. They said, “The people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert… (2Sam 17:27-29). And they provided them with beddings, pottery and diverse kinds of food. They recognised a need and responded to it.

Another point to note is that Barzallai was an infirmed and very old man with great wealth. He considered it an honour to be of service to the King at his time of need. I learnt from him that old age or infirmities are no barriers to generous and liberal giving.

He proved that no one is too old to give, just as the young boy who willing gave his lunch of five loaves of bread and two fishes in John 6:9, proved that no one is too young to give sacrificially. This young boy gave his lunch for five thousand men to be fed with left over. I imagine that he must be one of those who went home with one of the twelve baskets left over.

The Wealthy Shunamite Woman:

She had a lifestyle of giving and hospitality. She willingly opened her door to the Prophet of God and displayed sensitivity to his needs. She went the extra mile to provide for his comfort.

She taught me to be on the lookout for those who might be in need of my support.

The Queen of Sheba:

Another wealthy woman. She blessed Solomon in his abundance. She sowed liberally the seeds of abundance into his life. And she did not return home empty-handed.

She taught me that I can be a blessing, not only to those in need but also to those who have abundance, in a way that will impact their lives.

“Those who consider God as the Giver of their abundance will dispose of it with fairness and liberality.”

The Proverbs 31 Woman:

She is very generous. She opens her hands to the poor and reaches out her filled hands to the needy. She works very hard to have enough to give to others.

This is the woman I want to be. She is a woman after my heart.

Hallelujah! How blessed is the man, how blessed is the woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish His commandments. Their children shall be robust (successful) on earth. And the homes of the upright shall be blessed. Their houses brim with wealth. And a generosity that never runs dry (Ps 112. The Message paraphrased). There is a blessing and reward awaiting liberal generous givers and their children after them.

All for God’s glory:

God must receive the all the glory for all the gifts He blessed us with, including the ability to be liberal and generous, the grace to be a giver. Everything we have and everything we give, we have received from God’s generous hands, these we must give back cheerfully and with a willing heart

Dear Friends, it has been illuminating for me to share with you these lessons I am learning on generous and liberal giving. I have been given a second chance at life. By the grace of God, I want this precious gift of life to make a resounding impact on lives to the glory of God.

My charge to you:

“Make your gift of a life count by deliberately choosing to live an extraordinary life, such that the world resonates with the echo of your impact.”

(From 2014 Return of the Helper’s Conference Facebook page)

I encourage you to live an extraordinary life of generous and liberal giving that never runs dry but keeps going on and on. It is a lasting legacy that will last forever, setting up your children for God's blessings.

This piece is dedicated to my two sons who selflessly and sacrificially give their energy and time to support me to fulfil my calling and live my dreams.

Ose and Ehi, your sterling and solid qualities shall impact lives for good always, in Jesus name.

The Promise Of A New Thing

It was Monday morning and I found myself musing about some things that used to be a part of my life that I now see no more. The more I thought about these events, the more I found myself outlining them as a chapter for the book I am writing.

I remembered those days when I spent several hours each day coughing and bringing up ugly, dirty looking and horrible tasting secretions from my chest. I suffered from a lung disease called bronchiectasis and as a result had chronic chest infections, which necessitated intravenous antibiotic treatments that lasted for 21 days each time, several times in a year. The cough was so bad that it always left me in respiratory distress, with accompanying pain in my chest.

Countless number of times, I cried out to the Lord to deliver me from the cough and everything it represented. One day, I sat on the floor by my bedside, exhausted from the coughing. Before I knew it, the secretions started coming up, it came so fast and was so profuse that the tissue could not contain it. I had to collect what was coming out in my hands. It was at that moment that something broke inside of me. First, anger welled up in me against the bacteria which the doctors said had colonized my lungs. They told me it was difficult to get rid of it because of the state of my lungs despite the frequent antibiotic treatment.

Then, I looked at the secretions in my hands and started shouting as I struggled to get up to go to the bathroom; “You, Egyptians that I see today, I will see you again no more forever” (Exodus 14:13). I knew the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent takes it by force. I determined in my heart that I was not going to allow the devil to cheat me out of the promise of life and good health God has given me. So I decided to make the efforts, time and pain of coughing and clearing secretions from my lungs, count for something. Each time I brought up the awful secretions, I looked at it and I spoke the word of God to it, and declared; “It shall come to pass and I will see you no more forever.” The coughing and secretions thus became a reminder for me to speak the word of God to my situation and to remind me of what God has spoken concerning the situation.

To the glory of God, today, I surely see the secretions no more and I hear the rib-cracking cough no more. I outlived the vicious bacteria. My joy overflowed just to realize and to note that God heard my cry and took it all away. He gave me a brand new life free from the incessant harassment of the cough and all it represented. The old conditions and former order of things have passed away, Hallelujah! In accordance to God’s promise, the reproach of the cough was taken away from me.

http://monyawatson.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” This is the promise of God to His children in Isaiah 43:19. It is also the word of assurance God gave me while I was in the hospital undergoing respiratory rehabilitation in November 2010. This promise is being fulfilled every day in my life. I can testify that I am experiencing a new thing in different spheres of my life, which is beyond what I can share in one blog post.

Based on this experience, I can with full confidence declare that the adverse and challenging situation you may be going through right now will not always be there, because the faithful and unfailing God we serve has promised us that He will do a new thing in your life. God specializes in doing new things in our lives: “I am making everything new” (Rev. 21:5). He causes old things to pass away and make all things new when come to Christ. He gives us a new heart and put a new spirit in us. He turns our captivity and we are like them that dream.

The One Who brings about changes in our lives is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He wants to do new things in our lives every day. His eyes goes through and fro the earth seeking to show Himself mighty in on our behalf. He promised to call us a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

For many years, I was referred to as “the woman with the cough,” even to my hearing. During a hospital stay in 1998, while I was practically coughing my lungs out, one lady shouted from across the ward: “this cough will not kill you.” Well, praise be to God, I am delighted to say that I am still in the land of the living declaring the goodness of God and the cough is no more. God has changed my name from “the one with the cough” to “Kept by the Hands of God” and “Grace in motion.”

The new thing God is doing in my life and in the lives of my loved ones, is just beginning to unfold. Now, it shall spring forth. Indeed, I am persuaded that testimonies will abound in our lives this year as we see the fulfillment of God’s promise and the display of His glory in our lives. I am believing God for new opportunities to do great exploits and fulfill my calling, new level of walk with God, new manifestation of God's glory in my life, new and extraordinary blessings, and newness in all my relationships.

This promise of a new thing is valid for you too. You can appropriate it to your life and to your situation. You can trust in God to bring His promise to pass in you as you depend and rely on Him, and as you speak His Word to your situation.

May God’s grace continue to abound in your life and  bring you to your promised land.

Compelled to Do Good

“What is the worth of my life if it is not a blessing unto others?”

Earlier in January, I stumbled on a letter I received in January 2004, exactly ten years ago, while rummaging through some old documents. And I found the above statement written at the back of the letter.

The letter was written by a lady I got to know when I was living in Tamale, Ghana. It brought back a load of memories of my time there. I attended the Lighthouse Chapel International during my stay in Tamale from 2001 to 2003, and became very close to the Pastors of the Church, Pastors Patrick and Joy Bruce. Not only was I welcomed with open arms and made to feel at home in a strange environment, these two became truly a blessing of God to my family and me. I will put this in context shortly. I also had the opportunity of befriending many young ladies (some preparing for marriage) and many young couples. I still maintain contact and a good relationship with some of these people.

I had to leave Tamale hurriedly in a critical health situation. I was evacuated first to Accra and eventually to Geneva for medical attention. It was the Pastor and his wife who took care of my children before they could join me in Accra en-route for Geneva. They, along with other members of the church, helped to pack my personal effects for the trip and took care of my house until I could return back to Tamale three months later to tidy up my affairs and prepare for my departure from my duty station. I had an already established home in Geneva, having all these young ladies and couples in my life provided me the opportunity to bless others with the household items I had acquired in Tamale. The writer of the aforementioned letter was one of the recipients of the items I gave away.

In her letter, she reminded me of a message I shared during a Sunday Service and how God used that message to minister to her later at a time of need. She also wrote that when she received the items I left for her, she thought it was a mistake because she did not think I knew her name until she saw it pasted on the items. She noted she had spent her first salary learning how to bake so that she can have an additional source of income. Receiving the baking tins was an answer to her prayers.

I was overwhelmed reading the letter again even after 10 years. It was a joy to note that when we follow God’s leading, we can be used by Him to meet specific and targeted needs. I don’t know at what point I wrote the message behind the letter but reading both together was what trigger the blogs posted in the last three weeks on compelling motivations. The question on my heart as I read and re-read the letter and message was, why do we do the things we do?

Here is the rest of the message I wrote behind the letter:

“If you live your life based on what people think or say about you, your life will be very limited and shallow. It is God Who sees and judges the intent of the heart. It is His reward and medal that you want not those of men.

In the ministry of blessing and reaching out, you will be misunderstood, judged wrongly and your motives will be questioned. But all these will not matter as long as you are motivated by the desire to do the will of God and by the desire to do what is right simply because it is right to do so.”

My greatest heart desire is to be a conduit of God’s blessing to as many as God will bring my way. I desire to be an inexhaustible dispenser of good based on God’s charge to Abraham: “Be thou a blessing.” See related blog post: Be Thou A Blessing

Sometimes we can be a blessing to others out of abundance and sometimes it is simply because it is right to do so, even if it means denying ourselves to enable us meet the needs of others. Sometimes it is out of convenience but most times, it can be simply inconveniencing. So whatever the circumstances under which we respond to God’s leading in our heart to be a blessing and even when we are misunderstood and our motives questioned, what is critical and most important therefore, is our motive for wanting to be a blessing and to do good to others.

What therefore should be our irresistible moral justification for being a blessing or for doing good to others?

First, we are commanded to do so in the Bible: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10 KJV). The Holman translation of this verse says that as we have the opportunity we must work for the good of all people, especially those of the household of faith. Proverbs 3:27 admonishes us not to withhold good from those it is due, when it is in our power to act. So we do good to all men out of obedience to God’s command. Because he that knows how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17).

Secondly, as I indicated in my blog post, Compelling Motivations; “A truly grateful heart will long to demonstrate its thankfulness by pleasing the One Who has been kind and generous to him.” We position ourselves to be a blessing to others out of sheer gratitude to God for His awesome goodness to us.

Be Generous

Our generosity must extend to all men, not just to our friends and relations. As long as we have the ability, we are encouraged as the occasions presents itself, to respond to the needs of those around us. There are many blessings promised to those who are generous, they will be enriched in every way to continue to be a blessing to others; he that shares his food with the poor is blessed (Prov. 22:9). Also, our generous giving causes praise and thanks to be given to God by the recipients (2Cor. 9:11).

Our time here on earth is a seed time, we will reap an everlasting harvest when we sow well. We are encouraged to persevere in well doing so that we can receive a good reward.

Heart Check

There have been many times when I have asked myself why I like giving things out to people and blessing them with gifts, which I pray would be useful to them. I asked what my reasons and motives are, and what I hope to accomplish by doing this. Sometimes, I had to be hard on myself about clarifying this, because the last thing I want is to get a man’s reward. As much joy as it brings me being a blessing to others, I want to be sure in my heart that it is God that I am looking up to for reward and appreciation. It cannot, at any time be, for the purpose of being labelled by anyone as a generous woman.

While it is good to do such heart checks as often as possible, it is important to note that this must not become a barrier or a limitation to doing what you know strongly in your heart that God has called you to do. If we are guided by what men think of us, we will be limited and restricted in responding to God’s leading and doing His will.

At What Cost

The will of God will never lead us to where His grace cannot sustain us. I have been guilty in the past of putting a strain on our family finances in my bid to bless people. I have since learnt that there is a right way of doing the right thing and there is also a wrong way. The end does not justify the means.

Since I cannot afford to jeopardize the lives of the significant people God has bless me with in a bid to be a blessing, I must therefore take time to listen to God for leading and direction on how to carry out His will and assignment for me. If I try to do it in my own strength and wisdom, it will exert a huge cost on not only me but also on those close to me. That will not glorify the name of God.

So, dear friends, in what ways are you fulfilling the charge given to us to do good to all men? What challenges have you had along the way? How did you overcome these challenges? Share with us and encourage others.

It requires a definite decision and concrete actions to be a blessing to others. I encourage you to make that decision and take that concrete step today. You are blessed beyond measures.

The Incredible Potentials of a Seed

Today's blog post takes its leap from the blog I posted last week:  Connecting Lives Beyond Imagination (click on the link to follow). I was overwhelmed by the way God used one man’s act of obedience to set in motion a series of reactions, interactions and connections which is providing opportunities for open doors for many, and enabling us to pursue our dreams and the fulfillment of our destinies.

Through these series of connections and linkages, I am coming to a deeper understanding that God sees and knows the great potentials of our ordinariness or the things we consider to be ordinary.

A Seed:

Mustard Seed

The black mustard seed, which was the smallest seed grown by the first century farmer in Ancient Israel, is known to grow to the heights of 3.7 meters (12 feet). The seeds of the orchid flower are like minute dust particles, so tiny that it cannot be seen by unaided human eyes, yet it grows into the beautiful orchid plants which blossoms in the forest, in our gardens and homes.

Seeds have great potentials and when nurtured, they produce abundance, greatness and significance. Seeds multiply. Every seed sown by the sower has the potentials to produce many more seeds. One little tiny seed has the potential to multiply itself up to 10000%. Each time I hold a cob of corn in my hands, I attempt to count the number of the grains as I nibble them off the rows. I am simply amazed that all of them came from just one seed of corn. And each stalk of corn has multiple cobs on it. The multiplication is simply exponential. Every farmer knows this truth.

Seeds carry the power of continuity because each grain of corn on the cob is a potential seed with the potential for multiplication and to continue the spread of the corn beyond the point where it was first planted.

No seed is ordinary no matter how tiny or invisible to human eyes as it may be. Every seed is a seed of destiny because it has the capacity to influence destiny. Every seed is a seed of significance because it has the potential to make a difference. Every seed is a seed of promise, because it carries a promise to bring about a bountiful harvest.

Something of great and immense significance has been infused by God into the DNA of a small tiny seed.

You are a Seed:

In Genesis 9, God pronounced on Noah and his sons a blessing, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” One man and his three sons are to multiply until the whole earth is filled. Awesome! What a great potential for multiplication and fruitfulness this is?

God also promised to make Abraham exceedingly fruitful and to multiply him greatly, and make him father of many nations (Gen. 17: 2). He had placed in Abraham a seed that will bring forth many nations, though for almost a hundred years the seed laid dormant. One man, but in him lives the seed from which many people and many nations would arise.

Our God is a God of exponential increase. He made a great and mighty nation of one man. Kings were birthed from him because God said of Sarah that Kings of people shall come from her.

We also, the seed of Abraham, and like seeds, we have stored in us the potentials for greatness and significance. God has placed in us the seed of greatness and the seed of significance. For the moment, that potential may be dormant. And we may not know what exactly this potential stored up in us is or what we have been called to do. Nonetheless, it is worth waiting patiently for it to be revealed and for us to discover it. Be assured that you have the potential for significance hidden within you. There is something unique and only-you-can-do that God has gifted and equipped you for. You can depend on the help of the Holy Spirit to find it and to act upon it.

The Seeds We Sow:

We as the children of Abraham are blessed to be a blessing and an inexhaustible dispenser of good to others. We can indeed be the conduits of God’s answer to someone’s prayer.

When we sow seeds of mercy and kindness into the lives of those God bring along our way, and this seed is nurtured by the grace of God, it affects and changes the hearts and lives of the receiver, bringing forth a spiritual harvest of eternal value.

We can sow the seed of words of encouragement, our time, our energy, and our resources into the lives of others. We can be the ones God can use to open doors of opportunities to others. It only requires our willingness to listen and to obey the leading of God, and a desire to make a difference in every sphere of influence God has given us. We sow seeds into the lives of people when we make the effort to invest in them.

The seed we sow into the lives of people God brings across our path may seem unimportant and inconsequential. As long as we are following the leading of the Holy Spirit, the God of exponential multiplication and great harvest, will multiply that seed beyond our wildest imagination to the glory and honour of His Holy name.

Do not despise, scorn or make light the days of small beginnings or the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10) in your life and in the lives of those around you. God often uses the weak and unlikely instruments to bring about great things. It is an act of unbelief and ingratitude to scorn humble beginnings. It is an evidence of pride to despise the days of small beginnings in the lives of other people.

Little deeds of kindness can snowball to touch lives of many for good and become a spring board to launch others into living in their God-ordained destiny. You never can imagine how far God can use one act of kindness. Little seeds of mercy sown into lives can grow to reach many more lives across many continents.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” – Luke 16:10. Can God trust you and me to sow these tiny little seeds of kindness, mercy and compassion into the lives of His precious ones?

Often, a seed has to wait for many months before it gets the opportunity and the right environment to begin to germinate. It may appear that the seeds we have sown have remained dormant. Be patient. At the right time and at the right place with the right set of conditions, your seed will begin to multiply as it is meant to and it will bring forth bounteous harvest to the glory of God.

As we approach the end of the year and with the festive season in the offing, it is a great opportunity for us to consider how we can be used of God to be a blessing to many far and near. There is something God has placed in your hands, a seed, which you can sow into lives this season. I encourage you to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to guide, lead and show you how you can and what you can sow into the lives He will lead you to.

There is great joy and reward in being a blessing. It is an act of gratitude and obedience, a wonderful way to express our appreciation to God for His marvelous works in our lives.

You are blessed exceedingly beyond your imagination. Believe it, dear friend!