Intro:
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword . We have been talking about how we can love more like Jesus, and going over the seven main characteristics of a loving person. I hope you are beginning to exhibit these seven: Kindness
Patience
Forgiveness
Courtesy
Humility
Generosity
And Honesty
So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life through generosity. Be encouraged today! We can make a lifelong impact on our world by loving others by having a spirit of generosity.
This week we will be talking about the amazing foundational principle of generosity that accompanies a loving life. Whenever I think of the most loving and giving person I know, I can’t help but think of God himself. What a giver He is! We serve a giving God. Because He is Love, His whole nature is to give. Giving and loving definitely go hand in hand. As we look at generosity this week, I want us to consider ways that we can give ourselves to others. Generosity involves money, but it is much more than just money. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your compassion, or your money freely to others. When we think about how much we have freely received from God (Matt 10:8), we can be a conduit that continues the cycle, and show God’s generosity to others. So how can we give of ourselves to others. One of the greatest ways to begin being a more generous person is to begin developing a spirit of generosity in every area of your life. When given the opportunity to give, determine to contribute what you can. That could mean opening your heart to the needs of others. Begin looking at your own stuff, and notice extras that are excess, or just take up space. One of the easiest places to do this is in your closet. Do you have something that you don’t ever use that could be a blessing to someone else? Our Ladies of Grace clothing sale this week is a great place to be generous. What you don’t love or use can benefit someone else! Another area is in our garage, or storage unit, if you have one. Why do we store an extra couch, or whatever, when someone we know might need one right now. Generosity does involve developing a giving spirit, but it also means we develop a heart for helping and serving others. What God has given to me, can be a blessing to someone else. The one foundational scripture that probably all of us can quote that gives us the best example of the love/generosity connection is John3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son…….. God so loved, that he gave. We can show love, and sow love, by giving. Let’s keep our eyes open, and let’s expect our hearts to be enlarged as we develop a spirit of giving.
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