Prayer ~ Lord God, when I look at myself, I see a weak person in need of wisdom from You. In Your mercy, please generously lavish knowledge, insight, and understanding for me that I would bring You glory and honor in all that I think, say, and do. You have generously blessed me—show me how and when to be a blessing to others.
The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights
in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for
the LORD holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have
never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. The godly
always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing. Psalm
37:23-26
Meditate. How can you graciously help others?
Do you see God as generous? That would mean that He
is a gracious and liberal giver. Generously, in the Thayer Greek lexicon (574),
mean simply, openly, frankly, and sincerely. Yes. I think that does describe
our God. He expects us to be like Him in this regard as He had Moses instruct
the Israelites before they went into the Promised Land. He wanted generosity
and compassion among the Israelites, and thus we can assume it includes
instruction for us as an extension of His adopted family.
There should be no
poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is
giving you as a special possession. You will receive this blessing if you are
careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.
... But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the
land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted
toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. ... Give
generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in
everything you do. Deuteronomy 15:4-5, 7-8, 10
God was giving this guidance on how to treat other
Israelites. Can we also assume this is how He wants us to treat all other people? Jesus Himself
said to treat others the way we want to be treated. It is known as the Golden
Rule—
Do to others
whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is
taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
Manito Park, Spokane WA
May your life overflow with
love, wisdom, and generosity...
like this fountain.
Go and do likewise. Love your neighbor as yourself. Be
merciful, generous, kind, and compassionate to others. One day you may find
that you need help…and you can trust our generous and wise God to see that you
are treated the way you have treated others.
Verses of Salvation ~ Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't
take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and
make me willing to obey you. Psalm 51:10-12
Memory Verse of the Week ~ If you need wisdom, ask
our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for
asking. James 1:5
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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