Your Identity in Christ
• In Christ, I am blessed abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that I need, I can abound in every good work, being generous on every occasion, resulting in thanksgiving to God.
While not all Christians are called to full-time church work, all are called to a full-time life of discipleship.
Ask yourself: Am I a worker in my field who happens to be a disciple or am I a disciple who happens to be a worker in my field? Am I a parent who happens to be a disciple or am I a disciple who happens to be a parent? How you see yourself makes a huge difference on how you live out your life.
Seeing yourself as a disciple of Jesus naturally moves into seeing all that you have and all that you experience as enhancement for your life of discipleship – of following Jesus. Everything God puts at your disposal enables you to – at all times, having all that you need – abound in every good work. “At your disposal” has the inference of intended to be disposed of. For Christians this means disposing of in a godly way. And when you dispose of things in ways that God desires, being generous on every occasion, the result from those who benefit is thanksgiving to God. So Paul tells the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 9:10-11
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
While it is great to help all kinds of people, one of the first places discipleship and giving and is impactful is at home. The Apostle Paul teaches his protégé Timothy that
1 Timothy 5:8
anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever
and King Solomon taught that "a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children" (Proverbs 13:22).
Easily overlooked at first, but God is pleased to see his children take care of their families. That includes physically and spiritually – now and for the future.
Prayer
Father God, supply and increase my store of seed and enlarge the harvest of my righteousness. As You enrich me in every way, inspire my generosity across the board so as to awaken thanksgiving to You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Micro-Meditation Scripture
Psalm 95:1-11
- Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. - Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song. - For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods. - In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. - The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. - Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; - for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice, - “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, - where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did. - For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, they area people whose hearts go astray,
they have not known my ways - So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’
Micro-Meditation
Teaching or Command of God
Psalm 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
Isaiah 41:13
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Micro-Meditation Pondering Point
"The sea is his, for he made it" surmises that creating something equates to owning it. It’s not a reach to make the claim that all people are His too. His hand formed you too – not just dry land. In fact, the first man himself was formed from dry land (Genesis 2:7).