Previous | | Next | | E-Mail | | Contents | | V&FT
you have put off the old man
with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Colossians 3:9-10 "Look to Abraham your
father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased
him." |
I am a new man in Christ
|
|||
At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha,
which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds
which she did. Acts 9:36 He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given. Proverbs 19:17 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for
him who will pity the poor. "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than
one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their
right hand and their left; and much livestock?" "you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing
floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall
give to him. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who
leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their
deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes
thanksgiving through us to God. They glorify God for the obedience of your confession to
the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who
sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. |
I am concerned for the poor, the widow, the orphan. I devote
my resources (money and time) to the oppressed and needy. I share my skills,
my habits, and my optimism with them. I understand the economic structures which cause poverty. I vocally oppose them at the gates of the City. In my own life I avoid all practices which contribute to a climate of inflation (debasement) and oppression. I do not consider His gifts to be "my property" to be guarded and hid, but His property to be managed according to His Law, even when others might consider such a distribution to be "wasteful." Whenever an acquaintance suffers the trials of Job, I give him Scriptural counsel and assist him economically. At all times, toward all men, I am anxious to share the bounteous I do not assume guilt, but rather innocence. I construe the words and actions of my opponent in a way most favorable to his interests. I assume a need for further understanding on my part. My family sees me becoming more and more thoughtful. My generous habits are an asset to my community. Those I work with are delighted that I am becoming more and more unsparing. I am not afraid to be pitying in a "survival-of-the-fittest" culture. My conscience knows the value of unselfish love. My desire to be unselfish pleases God. I am committed to becoming more and more loving. The Spirit empowers me to be bountiful. I often think about how I can be more comforting. I appreciate liberality. My spirit reverberates with agape love. I have a natural affinity with the sorrowful and heartbroken. I am at home with the liberal and humane; I do not fellowship with churls.
Being charitable is a real passion with me. Those who live and work near me know me to be:
|
|||
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by
Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. |
||||
Just a few traits of a son of Abraham This isn't that New Age "Positive Thinking" stuff, is it?? |
||||
|
||||
Vine & Fig Tree |