1232AFC081012 – Are you full of it?
John 15:11 – “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
God’s Goodness is everywhere. It totally surrounds you in every person, place, and thing. It is inside of you as well. The Goodness of God fills the Earth, contains the Universe, and connects you to everything and everyone encompassing his Goodness. God’s Goodness is a tasty reminder of his awesome power as in “Taste and see the Goodness of the Lord.” In Psalm 118:29 we read, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” And Paul told the Philippians (4:4), “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” And David gave us this instruction: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, (Psalm 103:1-2 ESV)
For the last few weeks we have been thinking about showing our gratitude to God through good stewardship of his gifts. We have taken stock of what it means to have an attitude of gratitude. We’ve thought about what it would be like to be grateful for everything all of the time. We have touched on the difficult issues of trials, burdens, and setbacks and how these can also be blessings for us. We have looked at ways to identify our gifts. We have examined the importance of acknowledging those gifts and then also using them in ways that help others while glorifying God because the gifts are not for us to hoard or hide. They are ours to share, to give away as freely as we received them. We know we must share our gifts responsibly. Imagine a person who has been given the gift of music, but refuses to put in the time and effort to practice so s/he has the ability to make the best use of that gift! Or consider someone who claims to have the gift of prophesy, but creates biased predictions for self-aggrandizement. God expects us to accept his gifts, use his gifts, and honor his gifts by using them honorably.
Today I am asking you to think about the preceding messages in this series. Was there something that stood out for you, something your mind has returned to more than once as we share these messages together? If so, I would like you to go back and look at that point again, pull it out and let your heart and mind focus on that for a few moments each day – meditate on it. If there’s more than one thing, meditate about what binds the two or more things together. Try to visualize it as if you were trying to open the curtains and let the light stream onto that subject. What Gift is waiting there, waiting for you to acknowledge, unwrap, and put to good use? With whom and with what should that gift be shared?
Early on we used the oft-repeated phrase, “Time, Talent, and Treasure.” Your faith community uses those Gifts to sustain the community. This is the point where one usually hears, “We need your Time, your talent, and of course your treasure.” I am not going to go there. Here is what I want you to know – the secret behind this series: YOU need those gifts from your faith community. You need to be willing and able to accept the gifts freely received and freely given by others in your faith community. Why? Well, they do need someone to whom they can give those gifts, and you’re available, right? Why not help them out and let them share their gifts with you? And just to help you feel better about that, you can offer them your gift of gratitude. And why not go all the way and share that gratitude with God for the wonderful way these gifts have blessed you and brought you closer to him and to the other folks who have so generously given of their Time, Talent, and Treasure. If you can, try to exceed their generosity with your gratitude. When you do that, you will find that your growing attitude of gratitude is a good way to use your own gifts of time. If you take more time to be grateful, you’ll have less time to be grumpy or spiteful. That is certainly a gift worth sharing. Being grateful is something that can be learned, one’s learning can be improved, and that means it is a skill which can be used to help others – like those in your faith community, your workplace, your home, your whole life. You will have a positive effect on others, and that is a gift worth sharing.
As you share these growing aspects of your inner life, you will come across other aspects of your character that are prewired, as it were, for growing and sharing. These are the gifts of your Talents. You can invest them and make them grow. You can bury them and keep them safe. Do you remember the parable of the Talents? One guy got 10 and made 10 more. One guy got 5 and made 5 more. One guy got one talent, and he buried it so no one could steal it and probably so he couldn’t spend it either. And what happened to his one talent when his boss came back? He had to turn it over to the guy with the 20 talents! What does that have to do with your gifts? If you don’t give them to your faith community, your family, or your job, or even just someone, will they get taken away? That seems quite likely doesn’t it? If you don’t share it – put it to good use – you’re going to lose it. Hmmm. Use it or lose it. If you do lose it, you also lose the joy of sharing it. And remember this: You gather the harvest only where the seed was sown.
You are designed to be filled with Joy. Jesus gives you his JOY! God fills you with HIS Goodness. You are meant to be full-to-overflowing, and the measure you measure out is multiplied by the same measure 30, 60, or 100 times over. (See Matthew 7:2, Luke 6:38, Mark 4:24, and Matthew 13:8) Your cup should “runneth over” all the days of your life. All of that begins anew every time to accept the Time, Talent, and Treasure given to you directly by God and indirectly by God’s generosity to others. If you pick any one of those “others” you will immediately realize from that person’s point-of-view, you are one of the “others” in their world-view. Everything you measure out as part of “the others” is a precious blessing to the one who receives and the One who Gives.
Reflect on this series, and carefully listen for God whispering with your own voice inside your head, “Feel the greatness of my JOY in you. You are full of it, and I love you for that!” God already loves you more than you can understand, but when you are filled to overflowing with him and his gifts, he loves you even more because that is why he made you in the first place. Ah, Beloved! When our spirits dance together before the Lord between now and the Resurrection, I will be so delighted I have had the opportunity to be blessed by your Time, Talent, and Treasure. Gosh! No wonder I love you so much! “Do you love me now that I can dance?” Way cool! The Throne awaits. Pick up the beat! I’m ready for, and with (!), another dose of Triple-T.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
Share-A-Prayer
Big list this week. First we have had many requests for persons with cancer, so please remember to pray for all our family, friends, and MBN members with cancer. And we ask for special remembrances for TW and HFP now in hospice. For HFP the family asks that she will be able to fully participate in her Sacrament of Reconciliation as she moves toward eternal life.
This group of request from AT:
BW writes: “It has been a long five months since my hip was removed. Most of you know my three tests for infection were negative so now we can prepare for surgery to replace the hip. The doctor said it is going to be a tough surgery because my leg has shortened so much (about 4 inches), and he still has some cleaning to do in the femur. He said it would take about 4 hours so it is going to be difficult to even get it scheduled. So it won’t be for at least two more weeks. Will keep you posted. We continue to appreciate your love, support, and prayers.
AT: Also another friend’s daughter C., about my daughter’s age, received the diagnosis of an aggressive breast cancer last week. She will undergo chemotherapy before surgery is possible. Prayers for her please. (AZ)
My next door neighbor C. went through extensive chemo, radiation and surgery for colon cancer a couple of years ago. Now he has a large rectal cancerous tumor. He is having surgery Thursday [8/9/12]. Without the surgery they told him 3-4 months but we all know that is really up to God. He needs our prayers. His wife suffers from MS so we should include her as well. (AZ)
A high school friend of BW, her husband, and me has also received a cancer dx. Not sure of his status. His initials are FB. (VA)
And one last one…B., my cousin’s husband, is receiving initial treatment for 90 days before he begins proton therapy in Houston for prostate cancer, 11 of 13 biopsies positive on the Gleason scale at 6-7. (SC)
Continue praying for the victims of mass murders here in America and for the victims of war around the world. Pray for Peace everywhere, and let it start in your heart.
1232AFC081012 – Are you full of it?
John 15:11 – “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
God’s Goodness is everywhere. It totally surrounds you in every person, place, and thing. It is inside of you as well. The Goodness of God fills the Earth, contains the Universe, and connects you to everything and everyone encompassing his Goodness. God’s Goodness is a tasty reminder of his awesome power as in “Taste and see the Goodness of the Lord.” In Psalm 118:29 we read, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” And Paul told the Philippians (4:4), “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” And David gave us this instruction: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, (Psalm 103:1-2 ESV)
For the last few weeks we have been thinking about showing our gratitude to God through good stewardship of his gifts. We have taken stock of what it means to have an attitude of gratitude. We’ve thought about what it would be like to be grateful for everything all of the time. We have touched on the difficult issues of trials, burdens, and setbacks and how these can also be blessings for us. We have looked at ways to identify our gifts. We have examined the importance of acknowledging those gifts and then also using them in ways that help others while glorifying God because the gifts are not for us to hoard or hide. They are ours to share, to give away as freely as we received them. We know we must share our gifts responsibly. Imagine a person who has been given the gift of music, but refuses to put in the time and effort to practice so s/he has the ability to make the best use of that gift! Or consider someone who claims to have the gift of prophesy, but creates biased predictions for self-aggrandizement. God expects us to accept his gifts, use his gifts, and honor his gifts by using them honorably.
Today I am asking you to think about the preceding messages in this series. Was there something that stood out for you, something your mind has returned to more than once as we share these messages together? If so, I would like you to go back and look at that point again, pull it out and let your heart and mind focus on that for a few moments each day – meditate on it. If there’s more than one thing, meditate about what binds the two or more things together. Try to visualize it as if you were trying to open the curtains and let the light stream onto that subject. What Gift is waiting there, waiting for you to acknowledge, unwrap, and put to good use? With whom and with what should that gift be shared?
Early on we used the oft-repeated phrase, “Time, Talent, and Treasure.” Your faith community uses those Gifts to sustain the community. This is the point where one usually hears, “We need your Time, your talent, and of course your treasure.” I am not going to go there. Here is what I want you to know – the secret behind this series: YOU need those gifts from your faith community. You need to be willing and able to accept the gifts freely received and freely given by others in your faith community. Why? Well, they do need someone to whom they can give those gifts, and you’re available, right? Why not help them out and let them share their gifts with you? And just to help you feel better about that, you can offer them your gift of gratitude. And why not go all the way and share that gratitude with God for the wonderful way these gifts have blessed you and brought you closer to him and to the other folks who have so generously given of their Time, Talent, and Treasure. If you can, try to exceed their generosity with your gratitude. When you do that, you will find that your growing attitude of gratitude is a good way to use your own gifts of time. If you take more time to be grateful, you’ll have less time to be grumpy or spiteful. That is certainly a gift worth sharing. Being grateful is something that can be learned, one’s learning can be improved, and that means it is a skill which can be used to help others – like those in your faith community, your workplace, your home, your whole life. You will have a positive effect on others, and that is a gift worth sharing.
As you share these growing aspects of your inner life, you will come across other aspects of your character that are prewired, as it were, for growing and sharing. These are the gifts of your Talents. You can invest them and make them grow. You can bury them and keep them safe. Do you remember the parable of the Talents? One guy got 10 and made 10 more. One guy got 5 and made 5 more. One guy got one talent, and he buried it so no one could steal it and probably so he couldn’t spend it either. And what happened to his one talent when his boss came back? He had to turn it over to the guy with the 20 talents! What does that have to do with your gifts? If you don’t give them to your faith community, your family, or your job, or even just someone, will they get taken away? That seems quite likely doesn’t it? If you don’t share it – put it to good use – you’re going to lose it. Hmmm. Use it or lose it. If you do lose it, you also lose the joy of sharing it. And remember this: You gather the harvest only where the seed was sown.
You are designed to be filled with Joy. Jesus gives you his JOY! God fills you with HIS Goodness. You are meant to be full-to-overflowing, and the measure you measure out is multiplied by the same measure 30, 60, or 100 times over. (See Matthew 7:2, Luke 6:38, Mark 4:24, and Matthew 13:8) Your cup should “runneth over” all the days of your life. All of that begins anew every time to accept the Time, Talent, and Treasure given to you directly by God and indirectly by God’s generosity to others. If you pick any one of those “others” you will immediately realize from that person’s point-of-view, you are one of the “others” in their world-view. Everything you measure out as part of “the others” is a precious blessing to the one who receives and the One who Gives.
Reflect on this series, and carefully listen for God whispering with your own voice inside your head, “Feel the greatness of my JOY in you. You are full of it, and I love you for that!” God already loves you more than you can understand, but when you are filled to overflowing with him and his gifts, he loves you even more because that is why he made you in the first place. Ah, Beloved! When our spirits dance together before the Lord between now and the Resurrection, I will be so delighted I have had the opportunity to be blessed by your Time, Talent, and Treasure. Gosh! No wonder I love you so much! “Do you love me now that I can dance?” Way cool! The Throne awaits. Pick up the beat! I’m ready for, and with (!), another dose of Triple-T.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
Share-A-Prayer
Big list this week. First we have had many requests for persons with cancer, so please remember to pray for all our family, friends, and MBN members with cancer. And we ask for special remembrances for TW and HFP now in hospice. For HFP the family asks that she will be able to fully participate in her Sacrament of Reconciliation as she moves toward eternal life.
This group of request from AT:
BW writes: “It has been a long five months since my hip was removed. Most of you know my three tests for infection were negative so now we can prepare for surgery to replace the hip. The doctor said it is going to be a tough surgery because my leg has shortened so much (about 4 inches), and he still has some cleaning to do in the femur. He said it would take about 4 hours so it is going to be difficult to even get it scheduled. So it won’t be for at least two more weeks. Will keep you posted. We continue to appreciate your love, support, and prayers.
AT: Also another friend’s daughter C., about my daughter’s age, received the diagnosis of an aggressive breast cancer last week. She will undergo chemotherapy before surgery is possible. Prayers for her please. (AZ)
My next door neighbor C. went through extensive chemo, radiation and surgery for colon cancer a couple of years ago. Now he has a large rectal cancerous tumor. He is having surgery Thursday [8/9/12]. Without the surgery they told him 3-4 months but we all know that is really up to God. He needs our prayers. His wife suffers from MS so we should include her as well. (AZ)
A high school friend of BW, her husband, and me has also received a cancer dx. Not sure of his status. His initials are FB. (VA)
And one last one…B., my cousin’s husband, is receiving initial treatment for 90 days before he begins proton therapy in Houston for prostate cancer, 11 of 13 biopsies positive on the Gleason scale at 6-7. (SC)
Continue praying for the victims of mass murders here in America and for the victims of war around the world. Pray for Peace everywhere, and let it start in your heart.
