This coming Sabbath we will be exploring God's generosity. In the passage from Exodus, this generosity is present even in the face of grumbling and false accusations against God's appointed leaders ("...you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."). Such generosity has always been part of God's nature. It is His generous grace and mercy that made it possible for Paul to write, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) As you begin your week, look for ways in which God's generosity is extended to us in spite of our tendency to grumble and be ungrateful for His goodness. If you wish, you can share them here as a testimony to the generosity of God.
"When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’" (Matthew 20:11-12). Grumbling in the face of God's generosity has a long history, as we witnessed yesterday from our passage in Exodus 16. Here the workers in the parable grumble against the generosity of the landowner even though he gave them exactly what they were promised. How often we are surrounded by God's promised blessings, and yet find ourselves blinded to them by the "unfairness" of others doing well! We are tempted to resent the blessings God chooses to bestow on those around us, but in doing so we reveal an ungrateful heart. We are called instead to "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:1-4) Who will you tell of God's wonderful acts today?
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." (Philippians 4:11) The opposite of grumbling is contentment, and God calls us to be content. Which is too bad, because grumbling is easy; contentment is hard. Our culture is set up to encourage us to want. We confess with our mouths that the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want (that is, lack for anything), but a great deal of our time seems to be spent on pursuing more. Of course, we dress it up by claiming we just want something better for our spouse or our children. We tell ourselves that we need the very best because it lasts longer or holds its value better. We claim that our clients have certain expectations and we have to meet them in order to complete. Often, however, those are just words we use to mask our discontent. But again, God calls us to be content; to neither grumble over what we do or do not have nor covet what others have. This is a tall order for many of us. So, what have you found to be the key to contentment? How has God helped you to be satisfied with what you have?
Great topic, we do often forget God is generous,just allowing us to live another day. The material things are nice, but they don't last, they leave you felling empty.
In Psalm 105 the author sets out to "proclaim [God's] name." We are then taken on a whirlwind tour of all the ways in which God provided for His people during their Exodus from Egypt. That proved to be a long and difficult journey not because God wasn't with His people, but because they struggled to walk in obedience. But the Psalmist reminds us that the reason God blessed His people as He did was so that they that they "might keep his precepts and observe his laws." (Psalm 105:45) God always equips His people for obedience. He always provides what we need in order to bring Him glory, for that is our goal. We are to "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:1-4). Our thankfulness for what the Lord has done for us is an act of obedience which is meant to glorify God for His goodness. That is why thankfulness is so important. It not only makes us grateful; it makes God's name great.
These passages remind us that gratitude, like grumbling, is a choice. God does not force us to be grateful, but He does provide us with what we need in order to choose gratitude. When our focus is on what we do not have, we can find ourselves overlooking or even rejecting what we do have. Our focus on our feelings of emptiness closes us off to the fullness God has for us. In the end, I am most likely to find what I am looking for. If I am looking for what I lack, I am sure to find it. If I am looking for how I am loved, I am sure to find that as well. What are you looking for today?
This coming Sabbath we will be exploring God's generosity. In the passage from Exodus, this generosity is present even in the face of grumbling and false accusations against God's appointed leaders ("...you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."). Such generosity has always been part of God's nature. It is His generous grace and mercy that made it possible for Paul to write, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) As you begin your week, look for ways in which God's generosity is extended to us in spite of our tendency to grumble and be ungrateful for His goodness. If you wish, you can share them here as a testimony to the generosity of God.
ReplyDelete"When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’" (Matthew 20:11-12). Grumbling in the face of God's generosity has a long history, as we witnessed yesterday from our passage in Exodus 16. Here the workers in the parable grumble against the generosity of the landowner even though he gave them exactly what they were promised. How often we are surrounded by God's promised blessings, and yet find ourselves blinded to them by the "unfairness" of others doing well! We are tempted to resent the blessings God chooses to bestow on those around us, but in doing so we reveal an ungrateful heart. We are called instead to "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:1-4) Who will you tell of God's wonderful acts today?
ReplyDelete"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." (Philippians 4:11) The opposite of grumbling is contentment, and God calls us to be content. Which is too bad, because grumbling is easy; contentment is hard. Our culture is set up to encourage us to want. We confess with our mouths that the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want (that is, lack for anything), but a great deal of our time seems to be spent on pursuing more. Of course, we dress it up by claiming we just want something better for our spouse or our children. We tell ourselves that we need the very best because it lasts longer or holds its value better. We claim that our clients have certain expectations and we have to meet them in order to complete. Often, however, those are just words we use to mask our discontent. But again, God calls us to be content; to neither grumble over what we do or do not have nor covet what others have. This is a tall order for many of us. So, what have you found to be the key to contentment? How has God helped you to be satisfied with what you have?
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, we do often forget God is generous,just allowing us to live another day. The material things are nice, but they don't last, they leave you felling empty.
ReplyDeleteIn Psalm 105 the author sets out to "proclaim [God's] name." We are then taken on a whirlwind tour of all the ways in which God provided for His people during their Exodus from Egypt. That proved to be a long and difficult journey not because God wasn't with His people, but because they struggled to walk in obedience. But the Psalmist reminds us that the reason God blessed His people as He did was so that they that they "might keep his precepts and observe his laws." (Psalm 105:45) God always equips His people for obedience. He always provides what we need in order to bring Him glory, for that is our goal. We are to "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:1-4). Our thankfulness for what the Lord has done for us is an act of obedience which is meant to glorify God for His goodness. That is why thankfulness is so important. It not only makes us grateful; it makes God's name great.
ReplyDeleteThese passages remind us that gratitude, like grumbling, is a choice. God does not force us to be grateful, but He does provide us with what we need in order to choose gratitude. When our focus is on what we do not have, we can find ourselves overlooking or even rejecting what we do have. Our focus on our feelings of emptiness closes us off to the fullness God has for us. In the end, I am most likely to find what I am looking for. If I am looking for what I lack, I am sure to find it. If I am looking for how I am loved, I am sure to find that as well. What are you looking for today?
ReplyDelete