The Sharing Church

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 4:32-36

TO CHEW ON: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:32

It was only weeks after Jesus had returned to heaven. But the people who believed in Jesus lived with Holy Spirit power and amazing things happened. The Apostles - Peter, John and others - preached boldly. Signs and miracles happened everywhere. As a result thousands believed in Jesus.

These new followers of Jesus spent a lot of time together - meeting in the temple courts, praising God and boasting about what He had done. They even ate their meals together.

"The Apostles preaching" - Artist unknown

Another thing they did was share – everything they had. In fact, people were so generous, they sold their things and brought the money to the leaders to help pay for the needs of those who didn’t have enough. Not one of those early Christians needed to beg, use food stamps or go to the food bank.

"They shared what they had" - Artist unknown

How do you feel about sharing? Is it hard for you to let others use, borrow or have your stuff? Has anyone ever shared with you? Which do you find easier, to share your things with someone or to take when someone shares with you?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to willingly share my possessions. Amen.

MORE: Share Your Stuff- Go through your closets, drawers and shelves.

- Collect, in a bag, all the things you no longer need.

- Deliver it to the Salvation Army, your downtown mission or any place that helps people in need.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Fish!

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 5: 1-11

TO CHEW ON: "He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat." Luke 5:3

Would you lend it?

~ Your friend asks to borrow your bike to deliver papers.
~ Your sister needs to use your markers to finish her homework.
~ Your mom needs to borrow change from you for the parking meter.

Would you lend these things? Your answer will probably show if you’re the kind of person who easily shares your things or likes to keep them for yourself.

Simon must have been a sharer. One day Jesus got into Simon’s boat, asked him to row it a way from the shore and then used it as a platform for teaching the people. Never once did Simon say: “Why should I let you use my boat?”

"Jesus teaching from a boat" - James Tissot

Later, after the people went home, Jesus thanked Simon in an amazing way. Though Simon and his partners hadn’t caught any fish the night before, Jesus told Simon to try fishing again. What happened when they let down their nets now? (Luke 5:6) ________________

"The calling of the first disciples" - Artist unknown

Simon, James and John were shocked at the number of fish they caught when Jesus was with them. Now they had proof Jesus was no ordinary person. They decided to stop being fishermen for a while. They left their boats to be with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to let You use me and my things as You like. Amen.


SUPERSIZE IT: Fishing
What’s your favorite kind of fish to eat?

How many ways can you think of to catch fish? List them.

ANSWERS


Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Stealing From God

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Malachi 3:6-12

TO CHEW ON: “'You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'” Malachi 3:9,10

“You are robbing God!” Malachi’s words got the peoples’ attention. But how could he say that? They weren’t stealing from the temple.

“You are stealing from God by keeping the tithe for yourselves instead of giving it to Him,” Malachi explained.



A tithe is one tenth. Years earlier God had commanded the people to give one tenth of what they earned and grew (their harvest and their herds of animals) to God. They were to do this whether they were rich or poor and whether times were good or bad. Giving to God in this way showed that they trusted God to supply what they needed. It was also a way of saying thank you for all He had given them. And when they did this, miraculously they always had enough.



Now instead of giving God His tenth, they were spending it on themselves. This was the reason they were having problems with crop failures and pests, Malachi explained. But if they would again give God a tenth, He would bless them with plenty.

Does God still expect us to tithe today? We don’t follow the other laws God gave the Israelites, so why should we tithe?

Though it’s true we no longer keep the Old Testament laws, giving one tenth of all we get to God is still an excellent thing to do.

To whom do we give it? Many Bible teachers agree that we should give our tithe to the place we get our spiritual food – the church we attend. We give the tithe because God promises to bless us if we do. But we also give it because it is a physical way to show that we trust God and are thankful for all He gives us.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to make it a habit to give You a tenth of all I get. Amen.


MORE: Tithe math
How much is one tenth? Calculating the tithe is easy. It simply means dividing the amount of money you’ve received by 10, or moving the decimal point one place to the left.

Suppose you earned an allowance of $5.00 and you want to tithe it. How much would you give?
$5.00 ÷ 10 = $.50 (or 50¢)
What is the tithe of:
1. $6.60

2. $10.98

3.$78.00

4. $150.00


ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Champion of the Poor

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Amos 8:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land .... I will never forget anything they have done." Amos 8:4,7

In Israel King Jehu was followed by his son and grandson. They were all evil. Now a new king, Jeroboam II, was ruling Israel. Outwardly everything was going well. Crops had been good. Many people were getting rich. They loved their beautiful homes and their lovely things. Some people were poor. But they didn’t matter, did they?

With that attitude, the rich were secretly cheating the poor. When they sold grain to them, they didn’t put the full amount in the bags, but raised the price. Sometimes they put the sweepings or the garbage from the bottom of the wheat bin into the bag and charged for that too.

God saw this unfairness. He called a shepherd named Amos. He sent Amos to be a prophet to Israel.


Amos boldly spoke about what was going on. He told the people in Israel to get back to obeying God’s Word. In the law, God had listed many ways for the Israelites to look after poor people. They were to measure fairly, charge fair prices and even leave some grain unharvested in their fields so poor people could gather it for themselves.

Amos warned them that if they didn’t again obey God’s words and turn back to Him, God would send a famine. This famine wouldn’t be a lack of food, but a famine of God’s words. When they needed God, He would be silent.

Do we have poor people in our land? Maybe there are homeless people who live on the streets of your city. Other people may have homes but don’t have money for food, clothes and medical care. God wants us to care for the poor just like in Amos’s time. We make Him glad when we do whatever we can to help them.

PRAYER: Dear God, Please give me your love for the poor. Help me to do all I can to help them. Amen.


MORE: Helping the Poor
1. Find out what’s happening in your community to help the poor. Can you add more things to the list?
- Is there a Foodbank?
- Are there thrift stores?
- Are there soup kitchens?
- Are there homeless shelters?

2. What can you do to help the poor? Here are some ideas. Can you think of more?
- Volunteer to help at a soup kitchen with your family.
- Help serve Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at a mission,
- Donate food to the food bank.
- Donate blankets to a homeless shelter.
- Donate clothes and toys to a thrift store.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Death In Shunem

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 4:27-37

TO CHEW ON: "He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord." 2 Kings 4:33

Elisha and his servant Gehazi did a lot of traveling. One day they went to Shunem. A rich woman there invited them for a meal in her house. Then, knowing Elisha often traveled to Shunem, she and her husband fixed up a room for Elisha and his servant. Now every time they came to town, they had a place to stay.

One day Elisha asked the woman, “After all you’ve done for us, what can we do for you?”

“I have everything I need,” she said.

“She doesn’t have any children,” Gehazi said to Elisha after she had left.

“Right,” said Elisha. “Call her back.”

When the woman came, Elisha said to her, “By this time next year, God will give you a son.”

Sure enough, a year later, she had a baby boy. She had never been happier! But one day, when the little boy was with his dad, he got sick. “My head! My head!” he cried. Servants carried him home. But a little while later he died.


Immediately his mother saddled a donkey and went to find Elisha. If anyone would know what to do, he would. When she found him, she persuaded him to go back with her.

When Elisha got to the house in Shunem he went into the room where the little boy lay.

He was still and cold. Elisha closed the door and prayed to God. After a while, he lay on top of the little boy. Slowly Elisha felt him grow warm. Finally he sneezed, seven times, and then opened his eyes.

Elisha called the Shunamite woman in. He gave her little boy back to her, alive again. She couldn’t thank Elisha or God enough for the miracle of her dead little boy – come back to life.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for Your power over death. Amen

MORE: A Promise
Has someone close to you died – a grandparent, uncle, friend, brother, sister or parent? Perhaps you prayed before they died that God would keep them alive. Maybe you prayed after they died that God would make them live again.

Though God has the power to raise people from death, He often doesn’t. And so we experience death. It is a sad, sad time.

But Jesus has won the final war over death. And we know that someday, because of Jesus, we will again see our loved ones who have died. It’s a Bible promise you might want to memorize.

"For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,* and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:52.

* ‘imperishable’ means a body or form that won’t decay or die. It will last forever.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Amazing Flour and Oil

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 17:7-16

TO CHEW ON: "Elijah said to her, 'Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land." ' ” 1 Kings 17:13,14

After Elijah had lived by the brook for a while, he noticed a change. The hot sun was drying it up. It no longer flowed fast. Soon it was only a trickle. One day there was no water left in the brook at all.

That day God spoke to Elijah again. “Go at once to Zarephath in Sidon. A widow there will feed you.”

So Elijah walked to Zarephath. It was a hundred mile trip through scorching dessert, over rugged hills and through mountain passes. When he finally got to the Zarephath gate he was covered with dust, famished and very thirsty. “Could you please give me a drink of water?” he asked a woman who was gathering sticks. As she left to get the water, Elijah called after her, “And could you get me some bread too.”

“I don’t have any bread,” she replied. “I was just now gathering sticks to bake the last bread I can make with the flour and oil I have left.”


“Don’t worry,” Elijah told her. “You do that. But first, bring me a little bread. Because God has told me your flour and oil won’t be used up until He sends rain again.”

So the widow did as Elijah asked. She made bread that day and gave some to Elijah and her family. And she made bread for Elijah and her family the next day, and the next and the next. It was wonderful and strange. Even though it looked like there was just enough flour and oil for one more baking, it never got used up. Because she believed the promise that Elijah gave her and was generous to share all that she had, God supplied all her needs.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be generous with the things I have, and to trust You for the things I need. Amen.



MORE: Zarephath Bread
The bread the Zarephath widow made Elijah was different than the food we know as bread. It was probably more like flatbread or crackers. Try the recipe below and get a taste of Zarephath bread:

What you need:

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon oil
1 large egg
⅓ teaspoon salt
2 ⅔ tablespoons water (or milk)

What you do:
Combine flour and salt. Combine egg and oil. Beat. Then add egg mixture to flour. Add water and beat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the batter into an 8 inch greased pan. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A Kept Promise

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 9:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “'Don’t be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.'” 2 Samuel 9:7

One day after David had been king for some years, he remembered a promise he had made. Years earlier he had promised his friend Jonathan that he would save and protect his family. Now he wanted to keep that promise – but how?

He asked around and discovered that Ziba, a former servant of Saul, was still alive. David called Ziba to the palace. “Do you know if any of Saul’s family is still alive?” David asked.

“There is Mephibosheth,” Ziba replied. “He is the son of Jonathan and is crippled in both feet.”

Immediately David called Mephibosheth to the palace.

Mephibosheth was frightened when he heard King David wanted to see him. It was the custom in those times that a new king would kill the whole family and all the servants loyal to the old king. In fact it was the day that Saul’s family ran from the palace after hearing Saul and Jonathan had been killed, that Mephibosheth, who was then only five, had fallen from his nurse's arms and hurt his feet.

Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.


Now he came to David shaking with fear. What did David want? Was he going to finish the job of doing away with Saul’s family by killing him?

But David’s voice was kind. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Long ago I promised your father I would be kind to his family. Now that I’ve found you, I can keep my promise.”



Then David gave Mephibosheth all the land that had formerly belonged to Saul. Since Mephibosheth was crippled, David asked Ziba to look after it for him. David also invited Mephibosheth and his family to live in the palace and eat meals at the king’s table.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep the promises I make. Amen

MORE: Light promises
Do you keep all your promises? It’s easy to make promises lightly. We promise things for many reasons.

- Sometimes we promise things to stop people from bugging us.

- Sometimes we make promises because we pity people and feel sorry for them. When our strong feelings grow cool, we forget all about the promises we made.

- Sometimes we promise to do something because we know it’s what the person asking wants to hear – even though we have no intention of doing what we said.

In Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus told a story about a boy who made a promise he had no intention of keeping. It is not our promises that please God, Jesus told the people, but our actions.

1. What promises have you made and kept?

2. What promises have you made and not kept?

3. How could you turn those unkept promises into kept ones?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Peacemaker

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 25:14-20; 32-35

TO CHEW ON: "David said to Abigail, 'Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgement and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.'” 1 Samuel 25: 32,33


Many people loyal to David began to join him in the cave where he was hiding. Eventually David and his men moved from caves to the desert. While they were there, some shepherds, the servants of a man named Nabal, were herding sheep nearby. David and his men made friends with the shepherds. They protected their flocks from wild animals and bandits.


After the shepherds had taken the sheep home, David heard that Nabal was going to throw a party for his servants. This would be a good time to get a meal from Nabal in payment for protecting him, David thought. He sent one of his men to Nabal with a polite note, asking if he and his men could come to the party.

Nabal, who was very rich, but also very selfish, answered David’s servant roughly. “Why should I take the food I make for my servants and give it to any old person?” he asked.

When David heard what Nabal had said, he was furious. He and his men strapped on their swords and set out toward Nabal’s ranch. They would make him pay for his selfishness!

Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants had heard the way he talked to David’s messenger. He went to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, and told her what happened. “I’m worried,” he said. “The way Nabal treated David, I’m sure David will try to get even.”

Abigail set right to work. She collected a lot of food – bread, wine, sheep, roasted grain, raisins and figs. Then she loaded them on donkeys and set off down the road.

Soon she met David and his men. Sure enough, they were red-hot angry and eager to make Nabal pay for insulting them. Abigail got off her donkey, bowed politely, then asked David to take the gifts of food she had brought. She also begged him to spare her life and the lives of her husband and their servants.


As David listened to this beautiful, wise woman, his anger cooled. “Praise God that you came,” he said. “If you hadn’t, not one male person on your ranch would have been spared. Today you kept me from doing a bad thing.”

PRAYER: Dear God, please give us the wisdom, humility and courage to be peacemakers. Amen.

MORE: A peace harvestChoosing to be a peacemaker instead of fighting may feel like a sissy way to respond to threats and insults. But God calls making peace between enemies a wise thing to do. James 3:17,18 talks about peacemakers.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.


According to this verse, what does a peacemaker need to be like? You may want to memorize this verse to help you remember how to be a wise peacemaker.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Bethlehem Food Bank

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ruth 2:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12

The first thing Naomi and Ruth had to do when they got back to Bethlehem was figure out where to get some food. So Naomi sent Ruth to the food bank, right? Well, not exactly. But she did send her to a place where food was free.

In those times, farmers harvesting their crops were supposed to leave a little behind for exactly this reason - to feed the poor. People who needed food were allowed to go to harvested fields and pick up what was left over. This was called gleaning.

I wonder what Ruth’s thoughts were as she went out to her first gleaning job. Perhaps she wondered if there would be any grain left to glean in the fields. Maybe she worried that people would find out she was a foreigner and make fun of her or chase her away. In spite of any anxious thoughts, Ruth went out, as Naomi asked her to.

Ruth gleaning in the field - Artist unknown

On her first day of work, Ruth happened to go to the field of a rich farmer named Boaz. While she was working he came by. Immediately he noticed this foreign woman. He had never seen her before.

He asked around and found out she was Ruth, the daughter-in-law to Naomi. Then he went over to her.

Boaz talks to Ruth - original by Paul Hardy

"Eat lunch in the shelter and have a drink of water any time," Boaz continued. "I’ve heard how kind you were to Naomi. May God reward you for staying with her and putting your trust in Him by coming to live here.”

How happy and relieved Ruth must have felt. God had seen her kindness to Naomi. He was taking care of her through the gleaning food-bank and kind Boaz.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for providing the things we need in many ways. Amen

MORE: Caring for the poor
Food banks are one way we care for poor people. What are some other ways poor people are cared for:
- by your country, province or state?

- by your church or school?

- by your family?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A Job Well Done

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 40: 1-16, 34, 35

TO CHEW ON: "Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34,35

After Moses had cleaned up the golden calf, God rewrote the smashed tablets of stone. Then Moses asked the people to collect things for building the tabernacle. People brought gold jewelry, beautiful cloth, colorful thread, dyed animal hides, gem stones, spices, incense and oil. Soon there was enough.

Israelites bring treasures for the Tabernacle - Artist unknown

Next God told Moses which talented artists and builders to put in charge of building the tabernacle. They organized and taught volunteers who made all the parts of the tabernacle and its furniture and tools.

Finally the tent church and all its furniture was built. On the first day of the first month God told Moses to put up the tabernacle. He also told him exactly where to put each piece of furniture along with each utensil and tool.

God told Moses to dress Aaron and his sons in the special priest clothes. As they stood before him, Moses poured oil on their heads (anointed them) as a way of setting them apart to be priests who would always serve God.

Anointing Aaron as High Priest - Treasures of the Bible (Moses)

How exciting that day must have been for Moses. After months of only imagining how the tabernacle would look, it was all coming together. I wonder if Moses ever worried, during those months of building and making. Perhaps he asked himself, did I really hear God right? Did the workmen follow all the instructions? Will God be pleased with His tent church?

He didn’t have long to find out. No sooner was the last piece in place than God’s presence came down! His glory cloud filled the tabernacle. It was so awesome and wonderful and terrifying that Moses couldn’t go inside.


Do you ever get instructions from God and yet while you’re doing them you wonder, did God really tell me this? Is He pleased with what I’m doing? Will He bless my work?

If you are doing what God has told you to do, be like Moses and stick with the job until it’s done. Then watch how God fills what you did with His power and glory. You will be amazed!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You use people to accomplish what You want to do. Please use me today. Amen.

 MORE: When you don’t quit
God doesn’t often show that He is pleased with a glory cloud. Some ways that we sense God is happy with us may be:
1. He answers ‘yes’ to our prayers.
2. We get encouragement from unexpected places.
3. We read, in the Bible or a different book, words that give us courage and keep us from quitting.
4. A friend accepts Jesus.

Can you think of more?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

First Choice

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 13:1-17

Abram and Lot - Artist unknown

TO CHEW ON: "So Abram said to Lot, 'Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me.... Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.'” Genesis 13: 8,9

Abram did take one member of his family along – his nephew Lot. Lot also had flocks and servants. Soon their servants were fighting over the same pastures. Abram didn’t want fighting. He had a meeting with Lot. “I think it’s time for our families to part,” he said.

Abram was the leader and the respected older person on this trip. He could have told Lot to graze his cattle on the scrubby hills while he (Abram) took his cattle to the green valley. Instead Abram let Lot have first choice about where he’d go.

What an easy decision for Lot. Of course he picked the lush green valley for himself. Besides being the best pasture land, it was near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where his wife could shop and he could get supplies.

If Abram was sorry about his decision to let Lot pick first, it wasn’t for long. After Lot left, God met Abram again. He told him that even though Lot had picked the best, God would someday give Abram and his family all the land he could see in every direction.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to put others first. Amen

SUPERSIZE IT: Generosity in Action

• Here's a Bible verse about being generous. You might want to memorize it. Then you will have God's promise to generous people at your fingertips next time you're tempted to be selfish.

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38.

• Try this:
Next time you’re tempted to choose the biggest and best for yourself– STOP!
- Let someone else have first choice.
or
- Choose the dessert that’s smaller, the bottom bunk, the back seat in the car or whatever tells the other person you’re giving them the best.














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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.