Ecclesiastes 12:10

  People love the holidays. Some people a little too much. I mean really do we need to put our trees up before Thanksgiving? This year I heard Christmas music before Halloween! Yet those early birds don’t seem to put much of a damper on things. Why do people love this time of year?   Well, some of it is obvious. Family, faith, and fun. People seem more joyous. Even in the coldest dreariest weather, there is something special in the air.   There are parties. Kids are excited about Santa. People singing. Things are decorated. Yet maybe there is another reason. We give gifts.   Wait, that the worse part right? The chaotic shopping, the commercialization, the cost. However, let’s consider a statement Paul quotes from Jesus in Acts 20:35 'It is more blessed to give than to receive” . We might get caught up on how many presents we have under the tree but true joy, real happiness is found in what we give. For some, this is the only time of year they show charity...

There is an old joke about a man who was determined to take it all with him. So before his death, he converted his entire estate to gold and found a contraption that would transport it all with him to the afterlife. Somehow he arrived at the pearly gates trying to drag in his suitcase full of gold. The angel at the gates stopped him since he had never seen someone with luggage. After some thought and investigation, he let the man pass.  His entrance caused quite a stir, so his higher ups called the angel up to see why he had let the man in.  He responded; "Well, I didn’t think it would be such a big deal, if he wants to haul around a suitcase full of road pavement, who was I to stop him. "    You know, earthly wealth will be absolutely meaningless in the life to come .  Proverbs 11:4 tells us:   “ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. ”    No matter how much treasure we amass it's not going to be ...

            Ask anyone that has done benevolent work and they will have a story for you.  The woman that complained about the grocery given to her because it wasn't name brands.  The couple that threw a fit because the Christmas basket they received from the church had less than the one given to another family member.  The man that told a story that pulled at your heart strings so you gave him money, only to find out he is a con.  The lady that is now badmouthing to anyone that will listen about the “heartless” church that won’t help her, when you know good and well the church has been supporting her for years.   They are the stories that make us jaded and bitter .  Make us suspicious and hesitant to help others.  These experiences can make serving others hard and cause us to become weary of doing good.             These ty...

Dan West was serving as relief worker during the Spanish Civil War. His job was divvy up the rations of powdered milk to hungry families. Each day he was forced to decide who would receive the limited rations and who wouldn't – literally, who would live and who would die. The same starving children came everyday asking for help and there would never be enough to go around. This kind of aid, he knew, would never be enough. Then a simple idea hit him; Give them a cow not a cup . So when he returned home he started by sending seventeen cows to malnourished children in Puerto Rico. The idea was to end hunger permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they "could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children.”  Each family would be given cow with only one catch . When each animal gave birth, the first newborn cow had to go to another family. The gift had to continue. So an idea grew. An idea that is now estimated by the ...

Some units of currency were well worn and about to be taken out of circulation. As they sat together pondering their lives, the hundred dollar bill spoke up, “It was a good existence, I traveled the world, I was spent in some the finest shops and restaurants. I was used to buy the best items, attend premier events and gain access to the things few will ever experience. What was it like for the rest of you?” The twenty dollar bill responded, “I was constantly spent but I never travel far from my hometown. I was used to take care of the day to day things. I bought the groceries, visited the hardware store, and paid the laborers. It was me that filled the car with gas, paid the bills and got dinner for the family. Finally, the lowly one dollar spoke up and said, “That all sounds great, All I ever did is go to church, go to church, go to church.” There might be some truth in that old joke. But Jesus told us a very important truth in Matthew 6:21. “ For where your treasure is, there your he...