How much more?

Think of a granpa who loves to play pranks on his grandchildren. What seems to be a piece of candy turns out to be a frightening explosion when unwrapped. What looks like a friendly handshake turns out to be an electric shock. What appears as an invitation to his favorite chair becomes an embarrassing experience with a whoopie cushion! Perhaps the occasional prank is funny, but if used repeatedly, grandchildren will learn not to trust their grandfather. They learn what kind of man he is.

Do we know what kind of God we pray to?

Is He a deceptive God who gives only tricks? Is He a hard-hearted God who gives begrudgingly? Or is He a loving God who gives more than we can ever ask? Matthew 7:7-11 answers the question: God is a Father who gives “good gifts to those who ask him” (v. 11). God is generous in giving; He also gives what is good for us.
We can look to human parents as examples. If a son is hungry, a father does not hand his boy a stone or snake (vv. 9—10), things that may appear as answers to the request but in reality are only deceptions. The point is clear: God is no prankster who delights in fooling us; rather, He is a generous Father who gives us what we need. If even sinful humans know how to provide generously for their children’s requests, how much more will our heavenly Father lavish upon us all our needs (v. 11)? Knowing, then, what kind of God we petition brings new light to the first verses of the passage: ask, seek, knock (vv. 7—8)—all ancient metaphors for prayer. If God is a generous Father, then we can take our needs to Him and ask. We can seek Him, confident that He will provide for us. Persistence in prayer on our part is done not in desperation toward a stingy or deceptive God, but in hopeful anticipation that our heavenly Father knows our needs and will generously provide the best for His children.

Truth or Consequences

Why are we sometimes "Emotional Basket Cases"? I think it's because we don't base our perceptions on reality, rather, we think about what things are going to be like, based on our own preconceptions instead of on actual facts. Frankly, that's the problem with most people who are depressed. They are locked into the error of emotional and physical bondage. Realizing, then, how important it is to be able to discern truth from error, how can we learn to tell the difference?

We might compare the problem to a banker who, knowing that there is counterfeit money circulating, wants to teach his tellers how to distinguish between the real and the phony. The method he cooses is not to focus on the counterfeits. Rather, he provides them with so much exposure to real dollar bills that when a counterfeit bill slips in, it's obvious.

Likewise, Christians have one defense against erroe. That is to become so familiar with truth, as revealed in God's Word, that when they are confronted with error, it is easily discerned. But if we are not steeped in truth, we become gullible and vulnerable to all sorts of error.

The war between truth and error has raged for thousands of years. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they didn't commit adultery. They didn't steal or break any the other Commandments. It all began when Adam and Eve believed a lie instead of the truth. God made only one decree to Adam, that he not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Agreement with that one law meant Adam acknowledged that God and God alone determins what is right and wrong. The day Adam chose to eat of that tree, he became like God in the sense that he determined for himself right from wrong and good and evil.

From the day of the fall, man has continued to say, in essence, "I know more than You, God, about what's right and wrong. I don't need You to tell me the truth. I can discover it for myself." That's error, the ultimate error- the lie against the Truth.

SEND US YOUR SEED MONEY!

Pastor Ray Stedman told the story of a man in Houston who received a letter from a Christian radio station seeking contributions. The station calculated that it needed $76 from each listener to stay on the air. The letter promised that God couldn’t be “out-given”—thus contributors could be assured that their $76 would come back to them three-fold. The man wrote back to the station suggesting that they send him the $76 first. That way the station would receive back three times the amount they needed to stay on the air!
Many people believe that giving is like a cosmic investment plan—give a certain amount and it will come back, with interest! At first glance, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 seems to support this thinking. Yet a deeper look shows a much different principle.
In the ancient world, like now, no farmer would sow grudgingly or sparingly, knowing that a little seed in the ground meant little fruit at harvest. So, just as farmers sow generously, God’s people should also give generously. Paul followed this proverbial saying with a key principle.

God gives to us first so that we can be generous.

The order here is key.

We don’t give first so that we can receive a blessing.

This is where the radio station got it wrong.
Knowing that God gives first encourages us that there’s never a time when we can’t be generous. This also encourages us that when we receive a little extra, it’s not so that we can spend it all on ourselves. Instead, material blessings enable us to give even more to others.
Our generosity is a practical means of sharing the gospel, because others will see obedience linked with our verbal profession of Christ.

What comes back to us is a spiritual, not material, blessing—namely, others praying for us (v. 14). Ultimately, giving brings us right back to where it all begins—God’s indescribable gift of Christ.

Do you ever feel like God has forgiven you but you can't forgive yourself?

Why do you feel such condemnation?

Don't mistake the conviction of the Holy Spirit with the accusations of the devil, and if you can't tell the difference, you are in one viscious, hopeless cycle. Condemnation can destroy you.

What's the Secret?

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13

I was in a store recently when the checkout lady asked me, “Have you got your lottery ticket yet? The jackpot is $33 million!” So I said, “I don’t need $33 million” and she looked at me kind of funny. I explained, “It wouldn’t make me any happier.” The girl beside her said, “It’d make me happier,” to which I added, “or more miserable.”

Our dialogue reminded me of how many people live in a perpetual state of hunger for more. “If I could just get more . . . ” I wonder how many people are going to have to drive over the money-doesn’t-make-you-happy cliff before they figure out this truth.

Contentment is where the real satisfaction comes from.

Content in what I have. Psalm 62:10 says, “If riches increase, set not your heart on them.” Happiness is not in the having, it’s in the acceptance of what God has given you.

Content in whom I’m with. “I wish my wife was a little more . . .” “If my husband would just change . . .” Sure, you can focus on your spouse’s shortcomings and stay miserable if you want, or you can choose to concentrate on the good. Read Philippians 4:8 to discover the joy.

Content in whose you are. Listen to this promise in Hebrews 13:5: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

You may say, “I can do a couple of those, but I don’t think I can ever be content in all those areas, all the time.”

Do you want to know how you can be content? Before he closes his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul lets us in on a huge secret. “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need, [here’s the secret] I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”(Philippians 4:12-13). Through Christ! That’s the Christian life-it’s Jesus living His life through me.