We can be born black, white, rich, poor, southern and northern, but one thing we all have to learn is how to be generous.  One of the first words from a child’s mouth is “mine.”  Parents are often heard encouraging their kids, “Now, share that with your sister.”  Just getting older doesn’t mean we have this trait perfected.  Generosity is something that must be learned and practiced for it to be engrained in our lives.

Our culture plans for random acts of kindness and giving, but true generosity is more than random.  Truly generous people order their lives around generosity.  It’s interesting that Jesus said, “Happy” or “Happier” will be the result of generous living (Acts 20:35).

It’s truly not a matter of income either, because you’ve met wealthy people who aren’t generous and poorer folks who are.  The key is: it’s more about being than doing.  Doing implies an action, as in a one-time event, while being carries the idea of consistent behavior.  It’s who you are.  Being is about the heart.

So, if you want to be happier, live more free from worry over money, and then set your money free with generosity.  If you do, you’ll find you don’t care when pastor’s talk about money, when someone is asking for money outside the grocery, or a sympathetic ad comes on about a charity.  A generous person already has a plan for generosity and so they can say “no” to certain things, because they’ve already said “yes” to things that grip their heart.  We’ll talk more about that this weekend.

If you get a generosity plan, you will be happier, give more, save more and consume less.  I hope you’ll join me on this generosity journey and make the world a better place.

Last weekend, during my introduction, I mentioned reading several books on my recent break and that one of them focused on change.  I thought I would take some time to unpack some of the thoughts from Change Anything.

One of the initial factors identified, concerned itself with interrupting your impulses by connecting with your goals during crucial moments.  Another way that I have talked about this is “pre-deciding” before the time you have to decide.  In other words, before you get in backseat of the car with him, before you pull out your credit card, before you order your food, you decide ahead what you will do.

You say to yourself, “When it comes time to order, I won’t get what sounds good, I’ll order what’s healthiest.”  Now, this doesn’t mean there won’t be a struggle and challenge to do the right thing, but it does give you extra strength going into the situation because you have an inner resolve.

Growing up in church we used to sing, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.”  It was like we were saying, “I am not going to turn around now matter what comes my way.”  So, whether you sing it, speak it, spray it, play it, or display it, be sure to decide ahead what results you want.

I have decided some things about today, I will move forward in faith, grow in my knowledge, stay pure, live a healthy lifestyle and serve my Jesus!  I’m ready for a great day, how about you?

I can remember learning about the people who picked up and moved their lives to the western part of the United States.  They did this in order to explore new territory and built a settlement for themselves and those who would come behind.

All of that is proactive, energetic, risk-taking and exciting.  Settling is totally different.  The person who settles is someone that is lazy, compromising, has low self-esteem, and small goals.

Nowhere is settling admired.  We don’t look up to people who could have achieved more but chose not to.  Nor do we applaud people who quit simply because it got to be too tough.

If settling is not a virtue to aspire to, then why do so many choose it?  For followers of Jesus, I think one thing it comes down to a lack of faith in you and even more in God.  If we really believed in ourselves and God, then we wouldn’t dream of settling.  We would know that we were made for more, formed for a destiny that is greater than us, and unable to allow ourselves to stoop.

If you are single, don’t allow yourself to settle for less than what God has for you, wait for God’s best.  If you are married, don’t accept a mediocre marriage; inspire your partner to greater days.  Whatever you current situation, don’t settle for anything less that what God has destined for you.  Settlers are adventurous, brave and bold to lay claim on their future.  It’s okay to be a settler, just never settle for less than God’s best.

It seems like so much of life is about the simple things.  I heard recently that if a person gets seven or more hours of sleep per night they will be more productive and positive in life.  Yet, the average American only gets somewhere around six hours of sleep per night.

We know that when a family takes time to share meals together that it builds connection and communion within the home.  But, many schedule their lives so that meals consist of grabbing something on the way to the next event.

Many of us are aware that reading God’s Word can feed our soul, encourage our hearts and allow for God to speak.  We recognize that attending church services fills our spirits, touches our lives and inspires us for the week.  Yet, many of us get busy with other things and leave off the ones that matter for eternity.

So, allow me to challenge you to get to bed more regularly, eat meals with your family more consistently, read your Bible each day and attend church services every week.  You’ll be more productive, positive, better connected, encouraged and inspired, so, who doesn’t want that?  Here’s to a sweet ’16!

What version of the Bible did you first begin reading on your own?  For me, it was the Living Bible paraphrase.  I think the main reason why I stuck with it and actually read the entire Bible through, was because I felt like I could understand it.  Growing up in church, we didn’t have many translations, mostly everyone read from the King James Version.  Although it had some beautiful poetic language, kind of like Shakespeare, the meaning would often be difficult to glean because of the language barrier.

Today, there are a lot of translations, so it’s more of a question of “Which one of these should I pick?”  Here’s my first impulse, pick the one you will read.  I really don’t care as much about which version you’re reading, just so long as you are reading.  The Bible is only as important and powerful as when you read it, not when it sits on your nightstand.  I do really like the NLT for most people and the NIV is what I read from most on Sundays.

So, I’m thinking of challenging our church once again this New Year to read the Bible everyday.  I’ve done this every year since we started the church in one format or another.  Here’s the various ways we used: The One Year Bible; a printed Bible reading guide; a New Testament reading guide; emailed Scriptures; and promoting online YouVersion methods.

What has worked for you, or what is your preferred method of reading God’s Word?  Again, the method and version is not as important as the habit.  If you have a method of reading God’s Word consistently, then I like it.

Motivational speakers are good at providing energy for doing things with excellence.  Sports teams will hire guests to come in and provide a pep talk to the squad about reaching a new dimension this season, achieving our potential and winning a championship.  Businesses pay big dollars to send employees to seminars that will inspire them to hit sales goals they’ve never reached before.

I applaud anything that inspires people to go further in their lives than they would on their own – bring it on!

A motivator for achieving personal excellence is the good that will come into your life and the lives of others as a result.  However, if you are a Christ follower, the Bible shares another reason to reach for your best effort:  God’s glory.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Therefore, in addition to all the great personal reasons to live life with excellence, keep in mind that we are giving an opportunity for glory to go to God.  And, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

You may not be into fitness, but experts say that you’ll be better off as you age by investing in your core.  What exactly is core training?  It is building up the muscles that support your spine and help with balance.  Two very important areas.  The idea is that you build up the entire area that supports the spine, so that the burden of supporting your body weight isn’t just placed on your bones.

Besides our physical bodies, what are some other core areas where we need to be paying attention?  Faith, family, our minds, spirits, soul, thoughts, finances, marriages, and ministries are some I thought about.

So, just like there are core exercises to strengthen your physical core, what are some things you can do for these other areas?  Read the Bible, meditate (on Scripture), pray, eat dinner as a family (without devices and only dialogue), listen to worship tunes, attend church regularly, work a plan for getting out of debt, establish a regular date night, discover, develop and deploy your spiritual giftedness, build margin in your life.

Hope this got you thinking about ways to invest in your core – in all areas.  Make it happen!

There are things we talk about more than do.  Here’s some examples:  exercise, diet, eating healthy, getting involved, volunteering, investing, prayer.

I want to suggest something – pick one today and put some action behind it.  Stop talking about it and just do it.  You probably can already think of a thousand reasons why you should.  So, take your own advice, pick one off of this list or one you’ve created, and start today.

Think of how much better this week could end if you put your actions where your mouth is.  Let’s do this!

The early followers of Jesus would occasionally make requests of Him.  Probably one of my favorites is when they requested, “Increase our faith!”  This appeal is found in Luke 17:5 on the heals of a conversation on forgiveness in which Jesus suggests that if someone comes back to you seven times a day to be forgiven, then you do it.

Now, I don’t know how it works with you, but if someone sins against me seven times in one day and asks forgiveness each time, I need Him to increase my faith too.  Jesus goes on to explain how faith works like a seed and can actually grow.

So, here’s my point, you may not have the faith you wish you had, but instead of being discouraged, let it grow.   If you do, then a year from now, your faith will be bigger and greater than it is today.  Begin to water it, fertilize it, and weed it, then just like growing crops in a garden; your faith will get stronger day by day.