"I Give Up: All Else is Worthless"

I know a family that experienced two house fires within 5 years (in fact, they are a reader).  One pretty much destroyed everything they had, the other, only partial.  Most people that experience house fires only get to go through that once in their lifetime.  I have not experienced it yet, and hope that I never do!  However, could you imagine how you would react to this type of tragedy and loss?  Imagine your belongings no longer being around because of a fire that destroyed everything.  I've often wondered what inanimate object(s) I would want to take out of my house, if I ever experienced a house fire?  Have you thought about it or made a list/plan?

Whatever you took out of your house would only be a fraction of what would be left to burn.  All those tangible memories would be gone.  All the heirlooms, gone.  All the toys, gone.  All the clothes, gone. Not a pleasant thought.  That is why there are a few things that are more important than things.  One, being family - biological and spiritual, and, two, your faith.

Giving up things can be difficult, but it may make you appreciate more.  Yesterday, we continued with our "I Give Up" series where we are trying to think about what we can give up so that we can maybe understand what it took for Christ to give up for us.  Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Examine Yourself ~ Paul, the Apostle, made mention in this text, of all the different things he had done in his life, but considered them not even close to as important as what he had found in Christ.  Think about things that you may put on a resume to cause other people to be impressed.  Then, humbly consider them all as unimportant compared to your faith.  Press on toward Jesus, not things!
2. Lose Something ~ There are all kinds of things one could give up for this short period of time (3 more weeks) that would cause you to miss it, so that you get a hint of the sacrifice that Jesus went through for you and me.
3. Gain Something ~ When you lose you also gain.  Losing weight may cause you to gain confidence, for example.  Losing a habit or time you normally spend, may cause you to gain appreciation or take advantage of the time spent, which you never realized you had.  You may gain a new perspective on life.

Giving something up is simply about discipline.  In this particular lesson it is about realizing that nothing is more important than "gaining Christ".  Paul testified that he had given up all these good things because they weren't even closely as important as what he had found "in Christ".

How about you?  What have you thought about giving up for the sake of gaining Christ?  For some, this is not having Christ for the first time (aka becoming a Christian), but I want you to gain Christ in a way that draws you a bit closer as you seek to experience giving up something of yourself, like He did for you, me, and everyone.  Just give it up...for Him!

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Give Light

Giving. A word that gives definition to this time of year. We give monies to charitable causes, we give of ourselves as we help others, and we give gifts to those we care about. Generally, when we give, we do not get back what we gave. The money spent is gone. The time devoted will never come back. You may receive a "good feeling" of helping out someone, but it still holds true that those things are never going to return.

This week's quote made me think about that concept. Something that is given, but doesn't lose a thing in return. The quote also made me think about this time of year as the days are shorter and the weather is cooler. Here is this week's quote...

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. ~ Erin Majors

Isn't that an interesting concept? Here is something that is "given" away, but yet, doesn't lose anything.

A "candle" may be a host of things, which you can define what it is. It should mostly be defined as something that warms someone up or gives light to their dark path.

As this time of year brings about shorter days and cooler weather, give light to someone so that they can enjoy something that you have to give them.

Giving light...

E-mail Encouragement: Don't Lose Character

The week is coming quickly to a close. How has your week been? Have you had any "surprises" that God sent your way? If so, do you like to share?

Being lost or losing something is almost always a negative concept. That is no different with today's quote. Hopefully when you lose something or have been lost, you learn a lesson for any "next times". That is the positive result - learning the lesson. Certain things that we might lose are more important than other things. Some things are replaceable, whereas others aren't. That brings us to today's proverb...

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost!
~ German Proverb

Character, similar to trust, may take a while to develop, but seconds to lose. Look at celebrities - be it a singer, actor, athlete, etc. - they may have lots of money and/or good health, but none of that matters if they have a bad character. Pete Rose, a very talented baseball player, hasn't made it into the Hall of Fame due to poor decisions which defamed his character. The list could go on and on with people who lost character by making different decisions that were poor ones.

We can learn a lesson by other's mistakes which will help us not lose our character. As Christians we are going to be looked at through a looking glass. So if our character is marred, then our influence for Christ will be marred.

Among other things in life that are important, do everything to maintain a good character!

Have a great end of the week!

Peace & Grace ~