Daily Bread - NOV/30/07

Luke 6:38 - Give and good measure will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over they will give into your bosom; for the same measure that you measure will be measured back to you.

God's people must always maintain a disposition of giving. God is the biggest most unselfish giver that exists and He wants us to be just like Him. He is the one that causes the sun to rise upon the evil as well as the good and sends rain on the unrighteous and righteous alike (Matthew 5:45). Our heavenly Father wants us to act just like He does so that we may be called His children. Jesus even goes so far as to command us, in this context, to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). If we are going to accurately represent our heavenly Father then we must be willing to give generously and not withhold from anyone no matter how we feel about them.

The generosity of our heavenly Father overwhelms us with so many benefits and blessings every day. It is essential that we do not take them for granted and forget all of His benefits and become unthankful and stingy (Psalms 103; 68:19). Of course, the greatest gift that He gave us was His only begotten Son who counted our lives more precious than His own and gave Himself as a ransom for our sins. Oh, we must not let our souls forget to bless Him for all of the gifts that He daily loads us up with; all these wonderful things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

When we consider all that He gave to us when we were alienated from Him by wicked works how much more can we now expect Him to do for us as His sons and daughters? Our faith should rise up with a shout of thanksgiving and a cry of praise for all that God has done and continues to do (Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 2:12).

In that we have been given so much we must also freely give. However, if we do not freely receive what is given then we will not freely give. If we have received forgiveness then we are empowered to give forgiveness just as generously. God who is so generous in His nature requests that we show forth His glory with the same generosity. God reveals to us that through cooperating with His generosity we will discover a realm where men themselves will also rise up and give to us, heaping their things into our bosoms (Isaiah 60:17). The Lord Jesus tells us here in this passage some of the things that He wants us to give. He wants us to love our enemies, do good and lend and expect nothing in return, not to judge nor condemn, to be merciful, to forgive, and to give. The Lord Jesus is asking for us to give in every respect of life. We must understand that, in every dimension of our lives, the way we give is the way that we will receive. The way that we judge is how we are going to be judged (Matthew 7:2).

The way that we sow mercy is how we will receive mercy. In whatever measure we give - whether good or bad - is the measure that we will receive multiplied back again (Mark 4:24). If we sow to the flesh we will reap a whirlwind, and if we sow to the Spirit we will reap everlasting life (Gal 6). If we sow sparingly then we will reap sparingly, and if we sow generously we will reap generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). If we will forgive 490 times in a day we will also be forgiven as much (Matthew 18:21-35). Therefore, if we are willing to be generous even as our Father in heaven is generous then we will be overwhelmed with even more than can be imagined by the one who will cause all grace to abound in our lives so that we may have all sufficiency in all things (Ephesians 3:20; Psalms 40:5; 2 Corinthians 9:8-11).

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org