Our Christmas Focus
Gratitude from a root of love.

Ac 20:35b
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Jesus

“It is more blessed to give”...what, though?
- Thanksgiving
- Time & energy
- Love & forgiveness
- “You!”

“the fruit of righteousness” - Php 1:11
Being righteous (thinking/doing what’s right in God’s eyes) is the wellspring of blessings. God desires so much that we are blessed, He disciplines us when we veer off path to guide us back to, “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb 12:11).

“hate” vs love
Jesus uses the relative term “hate his own father...” to emphasize how love for Him trumps all other loves, supremely so. This is in conjunction with “[bearing our] own cross”, which gives love, itself, context. Love is both the motivator and the blessing.

God’s Economy
God fills our cup with love (by grace) and our love overflows into the laps of others (by grace).

“not as a command”
Paul didn’t command the Corinthians give to the ministry. He, like any good shepherd, tried to lead them to the blessings of giving that are realized to the giver’s account. His motivation was never money; rather, it was that the sheep be blessed.

“this benefits you”
Paul was teaching the Corinthians that giving was to their benefit. Likewise, giving to the ministry is to YOUR benefit. If you think with human rationalism, you arrive at the opposite conclusion, thinking giving is to the receiver’s benefit, primarily.

Mt 10:8 [NASB]
Freely you received, freely give.

Jesus Christ is the “inexpressible gift!”

A Christmas Blessing

Blog - 12/25/20

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How Long Does Gratitude Last?

Blog - 12/18/20

A grateful person is a giving person.

How Long Does Gratitude Last? - Blog
It is good to live a life of gratitude. We are blessed by it and God is glorified.

Is my family godly?

Love

Heb 10:24
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Heb 13:1
Let brotherly love continue.

1Jn 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1Jn 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Is my family godly?

Love