MONDAY
Who is God? God is generous.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. – James 1:16-18
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. – John 1:16
Our God is generous. The gifts of life, love, His presence, and EVERY good and perfect gift have been given by our Heavenly Father. He lavishes us with grace upon grace. Our world belongs to God and He generously shares His world with us.
Reflect:
Take ten minutes or longer to let this truth settle into your heart. Spend some time thanking God for His generosity! What might God be trying to teach you by reminding you that He is a generous God?
Respond:
How does this truth transform your relationship with God? Write down in a journal all that you are hearing and learning from the Lord, and some next steps for how to live it out.
TUESDAY
What has He done? He generously gives Himself.
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace, he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:3-7 (NLT)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
Yesterday, we let our hearts listen to the truth that God is generous. Today, we rejoice in the good news that our God gives Himself to us generously. The Father gives the Son on our behalf, the Son willingly lays down His life, and generously gives us the Holy Spirit to fill, lead, and empower us. Wow!
Reflect:
Take ten minutes or longer to let this truth settle into your heart. What might God be trying to teach you through today’s verses?
Respond:
What would it look like to daily remember the generosity of God? Write down in a journal all that you are hearing and learning from the Lord, and some next steps for how to live it out.
WEDNESDAY
Who are we? We are generous!
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
This week, we have been learning that our God is generous and He generously gave us His Son. Today, we embrace the truth that, because our God is generous and we belong to Him, we are generous! The early church responded to the generosity of the gospel and the generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit by living lives of radical generosity with one another. They shared all that they had, met each other’s needs, and did it all with glad, generous hearts. This was not under compulsion but under a new identity. We get to be freed to be generous!
Reflect:
Take ten minutes or longer to let this truth settle into your heart. What might God be trying to teach you by reminding you that in Christ you are generous?
Respond:
How could your relationship with the world change by realizing that God and the gospel have made you generous? How can you grow in living out this part of your new identity? Write down in a journal all that you are hearing and learning from the Lord, and some next steps for how to live it out.
THURSDAY
How do we live? We live out of contentment and generosity.
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. – 1 Timothy 6:6-10
This week we have meditated on the truth that God is generous and in Christ we too are generous. Today, we look to respond to this truth by growing in contentment in Christ. We are to fight the fleeting promises of wealth, materialism, and the lie that we always need more, and replace it with the joy of Christ being enough. As we grow in contentment, we find ourselves freer and freer to live lives of radical generosity!
Reflect:
Take ten minutes or longer to let this truth settle into your heart. How is God calling you to grow in contentment?
Respond:
Where might God be showing you that you are looking for more outside of Him? How might you be able to take new steps in living generously? Write down in a journal all that you are hearing and learning from the Lord, and some next steps for how to live it out.
FRIDAY
True Gratitude: Rejoice in the Lord!
Memorization:
Once again, we will focus on the passage below as we grow in practicing thanksgiving, contentment, and celebration. It is a beautiful passage and this is a great opportunity to practice memorization.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:4-9
Today we rejoice in all the truth and promises we learned, received, heard, and saw in Jesus these past ten weeks! We give thanks for the truth of God, the gospel, our new identity, and the freedom to trust and obey the One who gives life.
Thanksgiving & Adoration:
Take time today to think of all you have to thank God for and thank Him for it. Write these in your journal, pray them out loud, and praise Him for the truths that have transformed you even this week!
Thanks for journeying with us these past ten weeks! We pray that your love for God has grown as you’ve spent time meditating on these truths about who God is, what He’s done, and what that says about who we are. You may have seen that start to affect how you live as you are freed and changed by Him. We pray that the good news of Jesus continues to overwhelm you and spill into every part of your heart and life, eventually flowing out into all you think, do, and say.
Looking for more resources to grow in intimacy with Christ and let the gospel spill out into your everyday? Check out:
- Growing in Christ Together
- Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt
- Gospel Clarity: A Personal Study by Brad Watson
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