The world tells us that we need the things on the left to be satisfied. The Bible tells us that only God can satisfy. God told the Israelites in Isaiah, The Lord will always lead you and satisfy your needs in dry lands. He will give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring that never goes dry (Isaiah 58:11). This promise came with a condition though. God told them that if they looked after the poor and needy then he would satisfy them. Even though this verse is talking about satisfying our physical needs, God also satisfies our spirit and soul, as well as our bodies.
In Mark 12 Jesus says, Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself. You hear a lot about self-love at the moment - looking after yourself, being kind to yourself, spoiling yourself etc. This is important but we are to love others as well. You might love yourself by taking a long hot bath, with a bowl of your favourite ice cream, by buying yourself some nice clothes... How do you love others? And God is not just talking about our friends and family, he is talking about those that are hard to love.
You might think you're nothing special, but God has something special planned for you. Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared good things for us to do in advance - that means he made you on purpose, for a purpose. He might intend for you to be a missionary overseas, to teach underprivileged kids, to write, sing or perform for him, to teach Sunday School, to create, to help those who are poor, to encourage young Christians, to speak... Ask God what he has planned for you and then listen. You might not get an answer right away, but he will let you know when it's time. God told me in the middle of a song at church that he wanted me to create this blog.
Life is like gardening - if you plant a lot of seeds, you will grow a lot of plants. Paul was encouraging people to be generous when he wrote 2 Corinthians 9. The Cambridge dictionary defines generous as willing to give money, help, kindness, etc., especially more than is usual or expected. Money isn't the only thing you can be generous with - you can also be generous with your time, patience, love, kindness, compliments, smiles, hugs etc. If you are generous, then you will be rewarded - you my have to wait until heaven though. Matthew 16:27 says, For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
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About UsShort and sweet inspirations for Christian teen girls. Archives
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