Sunday, August 12, 2012

Running Over...

Luke 6:38
"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."

Giving is a part of who I am. I don't mean that in an arrogant way, or as a pat on my back. I believe that as Christians we are supposed to give as we are able to give, and sometimes we should give even when we don't feel like it or think that we can.  I also believe that Luke 6:38 is true. I experienced that this weekend...

Friday night I went on an overnight trip with several ladies from church. When I first started planning this trip I secured hotel rooms in Knoxville with certificates that we sometimes trade with other hotels. As our group of attenders grew it ended up that one room was going to have to be paid for, but only at the employee rate which is really cheap. I decided that rather than going back and telling the ladies that the rooms were going to cost, I would just pay for the one room no big deal. Then it ended up that I drove some of our group to the event. Really, these two things were no big deal to me. As the leader of our GNO life group, I wanted to do it. I wanted to ensure that everyone had a great time without worry about details. 

But true to His word, the Lord blessed me with more than just the message that Beth offered. At dinner Friday night one of the ladies paid for my dinner. Later that night while trying to check in one of the ladies heard me trying to explain to the desk clerk about paying for one of the rooms and later she put money in my pocket for the room saying, "this is non-negotiable". When the conference was over the next day another member of our group presented me with a beautiful devotional journal by Beth Moore as a token of appreciation for planning our trip. Then when we stopped for lunch another lady paid for my lunch. 

I did this, I give, without the expectation of anything in return. I do it because I believe I am supposed to and because I often  feel it is the Lord leading me to do so. I pray for opportunities for the Lord to use me to be a blessing to other people. These ladies were a tremendous blessing to me and really proved that God will bless us in our obedience to Him. They proved that you cannot out give God. 

I hope they know that the gestures that were done for me over the weekend were not in anyway expected, but are greatly appreciated. I even argued with a couple of them, and then got the lecture about just saying "thank you". I want each one of them to know that  they are a far bigger blessing in my life than I may ever be to them, I cherish their friendship, and look forward to all that God has in store for us.

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