Luke 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

When you read that verse, what is your main focus?  Be honest here because God already knows and no one else can hear your answer anyhow. Are you looking at it thinking of what you will gain by giving or are you interested in being all God has called you to be in the “giving area” of your life?

Let’s begin with this question:  How are you doing right now, are you excited about this time of year because you have the opportunity to do so much good for others or are you miserable because you can’t seem to get your eyes off yourself?  Are you spending the majority of your day feeling sorry for yourself for some reason and that is your underlying mood, or are you looking for ways to honor Jesus this time of year by looking for ways to bless others?  It is very easy to get caught up in a pity party feeling sorry for ourselves if we allow Satan that opportunity – yes, I mean Satan because that is who you are talking with when you spend your time feeling sorry for yourself.  He wants you to focus so much on your miserable self that you don’t have time to be fully used by God!  If that is you today – Stop it!  Take a look around you and see all the good you can do for others and focus on it and watch how all of your problems seem to fade into the background.

God has a plan for you, he sees how you are hurting and He will take care of those hurts and He will bring about all that He has promised but in the meantime while He works on it allow Him to use you to bless others.  Take the time right now to pray and ask God to show you how you can be used by Him this holiday season to show His love and ask Him for the strength to focus on Him and others.  Ask Him to pour His love out on others through you!  There is nothing that will make your day better than doing something for someone else and watching their face light up!

Maybe you are not struggling with being miserable, maybe you are out there enjoying the season and helping others, may I encourage you to see if someone you know needs an encouraging word to help them out of the pit they are feeling they are in.  Include them in what you are doing and give them opportunity to serve along side you.

God has promised in this verse to pour into you as you pour into others – “give and it shall be given to you”, so focus on the needs of others and allow God to focus on you!  Not much gets accomplished when you focus on you instead of allowing God to work in and through you!

Now, something I would like to do that is simple and it is a gift we can all give ourselves and others is to pray for each other.  I am going to begin posting a prayer blog once a week so we can pray for each other.  If you have a request you would like to share please email it to me at [email protected] and put prayer in the subject line, please just email your request along with your first name and I will post it so others can be praying for you as well.  If your request is confidential and you don’t want me to share it with anyone else please make sure to let me know that as well.  I look forward to praying for all of you and I pray you all will as well!  There is nothing more powerful than an army of prayer warriors all coming together to pray boldly for each other.  I look forward to watching how God will change our lives.  It will only cost you a minute of your time to read it and pray and it gives each of us the opportunity to focus on each other instead of just ourselves.  I will be posting this on Thursdays every week and I will remind you but feel free to send your requests anytime.

Quote:  “Life begins when you do.”  Hugh Downs