Bible League: Living His Word The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.— Proverbs 11:25 NKJV I want to be like the soul in our verse for today. I want to be a generous soul. I don't want to be a greedy soul. The generous soul is a soul that blesses other people. They may not only bless with money. They bless them in all sorts of ways. It's as if their souls are so full of the blessings of God, so full of the Holy Spirit, that they overflow upon other people. It's a good thing to hang around a generous soul. They give of themselves plenteously and cheerfully. They give of themselves not because they feel some sort of external obligation, but because they have a sincere generosity of spirit (see 2 Corinthians 9:5). Although money is not necessarily the mode of their blessing, generous souls do give of their money. As our verse for today says, they water people. Like a flowing water fountain, they satisfy those who are thirsty. They give money and resources to those who are needy. They always have cash on them for the beggar on the street. Waiters and waitresses are happy to see them come in the door. They have checkbooks at the ready for those who ask them for help. Those in need can count on the generous soul. Although they give of their money and resources, the generous soul does not become poor. Indeed, it's just the opposite. They become rich. They water others and, as a result, they are watered themselves. God sees to it. It's a law of His kingdom: "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:38). It's not that way for the greedy. There's another law for them: "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly" (2 Corinthians 9:6) and "there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty" (Proverbs 11:24). It doesn't benefit to be a greedy soul. Now that you know the way it is in God's kingdom, take your pick. Do you want to be a generous soul or a greedy one? Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 41, 42 Ezekiel 41 -- The Measures, Parts, Chambers, and Ornaments of the Inner Temple NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 42 -- Chambers for the Priests NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Peter 1 2 Peter 1 -- By Faith and Works, Make Your Calling Sure; Eyewitness of the Apostles and Prophets NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Because God's children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.Insight Christ's death and resurrection set us free from the fear of death because death has been defeated. Every person must die, but death is not the end; instead, it is the doorway to a new life. All who dread death should have the opportunity to know the hope that Christ's victory brings. Challenge How can you share this truth with those close to you? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Exodus 35:8 Spices for anointing oil.Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and that which it represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we would serve the Lord acceptably. Without his aid our religious services are but a vain oblation, and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry is without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! nor are the prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians one jot superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of piety, its absence the most grievous of all calamities. To go before the Lord without anointing is as though some common Levite had thrust himself into the priest's office--his ministrations would rather have been sins than services. May we never venture upon hallowed exercises without sacred anointings. They drop upon us from our glorious Head; from his anointing we who are as the skirts of his garments partake of a plenteous unction. Choice spices were compounded with rarest art of the apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how rich are all the influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless consolation, infallible instruction, immortal quickening, spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other excellencies in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich, or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O Lord, anoint thy servants. Daily Light on the Daily Path John 16:31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?James 2:14,17 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? • Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; • it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." • He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. James 2:21,24 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? • You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 1:25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. Matthew 7:20,21 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. • "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. John 13:17 "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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