GIVE MORE THAN WHAT THEY BEG

GIVE MORE THAN WHAT THEY BEG
Acts 3:1-10

Giving someone will not change the world but it will change someone’s world.

We can’t give to everyone but everyone can give to someone.

This is what we want to achieve the goodness within us ripples until it becomes a miracle.

Is it not a miracle to see everyday people living happy and content because there is abundance and no one is lacking not because everyone is rich as Warren Buffet; but because everyone discovers the joy and principle of sharing?

There is greater joy in giving that God is teaching this to us. The joy the giver have is more than the joy experienced by the recipient.
That the blessings of someone who gives are far greater than the one who receives.

IS IT A RECKLESS DECISION?

We learned that giving is not a reckless decision at all.
Because we understood that it is in giving that the more we received.

There is more joy in giving than in receiving alone.

OUR PRESENCE is our PRESENT

We can give without loving but we cannot truly love without giving.
We cannot consecrate our all by giving our treasures alone.

Because sometimes, God and other people don’t need your money but they need your time.

Sometimes, our time is better than any dime; our presence is the best present we can give to a person.
Our presence cannot be replaced by any material things.

For those OFW with family miles away, we usually equate our presence with our dear ones with material things. We translate our love for them with goods, gadgets, and comfortable life.

But there are times that they don’t need our money, they long for our presence, tangible love.

Good that in this digital era, we can fill the gap of our absence by the use of social sites through FB, Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, IMO, and skype. Our presence with them becomes virtual.

But no matter how it is, the effort of making ourselves available to them cannot be discounted.

PETER HADE GAVE MORE

In the reading of Acts 3:1-10 12, Peter and John on the third hour of the afternoon for prayer, going up to the temple a man lame from birth begs them for money. Peter looked straight at him and did John, said to the man “Look at us! Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
A poor beggar received more than what he expected.
Because Peter and John, have given more than what the man asked.
They had given what they only have, their TIME and Jesus who is in them.

In this part of the talk, we will share how & why you have to give more than what others beg of you:

1. GIVE THEM RELATIONSHIPS NOT OWNERSHIP
If we want to improve our relationship with others, even if it’s your spouse, your children, your parents, or other people; we need to spend quality time with them.
Because you cannot replace our presence with material things.
Sometimes, people don’t need our money.

They need our time.
Because the time we devote to others sends a message that they are important to us.

The time devoted by Peter and John to a beggar on the street helps the man to understand that respect for oneself is more than a small coin he can receive.

The sense of touch and sight was felt by the beggar when he looked at the disciple’s eyes and that feeling flowed when Peter reached out his hand to the man.

This power of touch and sight is missing in a virtual and digital relationship.

I wonder about seeing couples in a cozy restaurant, dining together but they don’t look at each other their eyes were hooked on their own phone.
Leave that gadget behind for a while and start a good talk, look at each other’s eyes and connect.

This is what the lame beggar felt when he looked at Peter and John.

Connection.

Our time spent sending a clear message that you are near and available on time that they need us.

Another act of good deed is by the Good Samaritan. A businessman and a traveler where time is gold; he dared to spare his time to carry the man to his horse and brought him to care in a hotel and paid for it.

2. GIVE THEM OUR GOD NOT YOUR GOLD

We cannot truly consecrate by giving what we really have by giving our treasures alone because it is not enough.

Share to them our God when we give.

Let them know that we are just a channel of God’s goodness; that every blessing we share with them is not from us but the fruit of God’s goodness and generosity to us.

We let them realize that God is alive through us. We become Jesus to someone.

We become a living manifestation that God is real because they can sense, they can feel that He is working through us.

The reason why many desperate people don’t believe that God cares is that they don’t experience that sympathy, that empathy from people who were blessed.

The ultimate purpose of our blessing is that we become a blessing to someone who is in need.
Because all the things that we have, time treasures, and talents all come from Him alone.

Let them realize that what they receive does not come from us, but we are only sharing the blessing that we received from God.

Don’t ask them to repay you, but let them do exactly what you did to the next person with the same experience and situation.

Ask them to do other what you did to them, let that goodness ripple and daily we will see miracles. The goodness they received shall be the same goodness they will share.

Giving our God to them is empowering them to stand in their own faith and relationship with God.
By sharing with them our God, let them discover a wonderful relationship with our Master and let that relationship be intimate and personal with God.

3. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY REALLY NEED

Sometimes our intention to help is good. However, in the long term, we don’t help but rather let them be lazy, lame, and selfish.

We teach them to be too much dependent on the moment that it paralyzes them and kills us as well.

The problem sometimes with us, we let them paralyze their thinking because every decision should be coming from us. We limit their ability to think for themselves.

Don’t give them the fish but teach them how to fish.

You can empower them by teaching and sharing with them what you know and how they could be able to maximize their time and resources.

Give to our children what they only need. Don’t just give our children the taste of our wealth but teach them what made us wealthy. Don’t just give them your riches, show them how you did it. Teach them your passion, your vision, your mission, the right character, and outlooks in life so that they could have their own.

I think it’s not right that we only give food to the beggar to eat, it is hard work but we need to transform them to be a better part of our society. They need to regain their identity and integrity so that they could somehow be contributors to the common good of the community.

We should give them a chance instead of giving them a label that reminds them of their inability to be part of the community.

4. GIVE THEM MOTIVATION AND NOT DISSUASION

Some people give but they let that opportunity to judge them and blackmail people, their relatives, or even their kin.

They don’t need our judgment.

We should not use our giving to let others look stupid or use them for our own propaganda of being self-righteous.

5. GIVE THEM LOVE NOT PITY

What people need from us is not our pity but our love.

We can only strengthen their belief in themselves if we show them our trust and belief that they can do it alone.

The more we pity them, the more we let them stay in their miserable conditions.

You give not because you expect to receive but because you love.

Like the Good Samaritan, what he had given is the best out of his love and kindness without expecting any form of return.

Some people make friends because they have a vested interest in you.

Do we want to partake in a Mission of God to mankind by giving our time, treasure, and talents?

Do we want to have that happy and fruitful relationship?

Do we want to experience deeper peace of mind with God?

It is not that we are giving our time to God and man but actually, we are seizing that time we spent in our favor to experience His immense and glorious presence.

GOD’S EYE ON THE GIVER

Our giving cannot be hidden from the eyes of God. He is observant.
Every second, every time, every giving that we are doing is known to the Lord.

That is why we give our time and talent with joy.
He knows how much we give and the more, He knows how we value every act of giving we are doing.

May you always become Jesus to somebody,

Mikesendon

DESIRE FOR ONE THING

DESIRE FOR ONE THING

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house and test me now on this,” says the Lord of Host, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and POUR OUT A BLESSING until it OVERFLOWS.

Is it unusual that we are looking for so many things yet the answer of God could be found in only ONE THING?

Is it amazing that we try to do so many things to please God but the basic secret of doing this is to have ONE FAITH?

Hebrew says that “without faith, we cannot please God”.

Remember that God is not counting how many we are in our community, or how many we are in our ministry because we may be many yet He wants that we are ONE.

We may have different languages, dialects, cultures, and traditions, and we may be having different attitudes and behavior, but let us all set aside all of this as God is looking only for one language, one praise, one attitude and that is being ONE IN HEART, One in Voice.

Though we are many, let us make ourselves ONE in spirit to Worship ONE GOD.

ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED

We are so busy and troubled by all the worries and trivial things of this world but Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10:41 “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered in so many things; but ONLY ONE THING IS NECESSARY, for Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set the seal.”

When we received His Words, we received Jesus. We received God.

Because Jesus is the testimony that God is true. Jesus’ testimony set the seal that God is true. (John 3:33)

That ONE CHOICE to believe in the Son of God give us ONE GREAT REWARD, it’s the ETERNAL LIFE.

THE POWER OF ONE CHOICE

We are what we are because of the choices we made in the past.

We become what we want to be by the CHOICES we make today.

If we are in that failure today because we had those poor choices in the past.

If we are miserable today because we choose to be.

If you want to be successful in your life, what is the choice you do today to achieve that goal?

If we desire to possess ETERNAL LIFE, is our choices and action leading us to receive God’s wonderful promise?

In this world, we are laid and offered so many CHOICES but in the end in we have to decide between two choices.

To be holy or to be folly.

To eternal life or eternal death.

THE POWER OF ONE DECISION

When a man found a field with treasure, he chooses to sell his properties to buy that piece of land.

In the parable of a man who found a pearl, he decided to sell everything to possess the pearl.

In life, to possess the true treasures we have to decide.

Are you willing to deny yourself, sell everything you have and sacrifice to possess that ONE THING?

It is not easy because selling everything is denying yourself. You have to put your life into it in exchange for something good.

Are we willing to delayed gratification to accomplish our purpose and our mission?

We forsake something temporary for a life that leads to eternity.

We forego trivial to possess and achieve what is eternal.

Being successful requires your life into it.

The road to success is not a straight path. But rather it is complex, but with knowledge, guidance, and perseverance, nothing is impossible.

Our success depends on the severity of our desires.

God says, delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the DESIRES OF YOUR HEART.

THE POWER IN ONE

Understanding the power in one can unleash the floodgates of blessings in our life.

Understanding God’s work is important.

God created men from His single creation. From one man, He formed his wife. They became two.

But God said that when a man and woman joined together they become ONE FLESH; not two but ONE.

God created the plants but He doesn’t need to recreate them every now and then rather, from ONE SEED it becomes a TREE, and from one tree it can create a forest.

We ask God for so many blessings, but actually, we need only a blessing because out of that blessing God can overflow it that we don’t have room to store.

THE FLOODGATES OF HEAVEN

When God blesses you, you don’t need many blessings.

What we need is ONLY a blessing.

In Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test me now on this,” says the Lord of Host, “if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and POUR OUT A BLESSING UNTIL IT OVERFLOWS.”

To access God’s blessing is to know the key to UNLOCK the floodgates of heaven.

In Mt 7:7 Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened

Because in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called in my name will humble themselves and pray and SEEK my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

NO ROOM TO STORE

Are we ready to receive a blessing that there is no room to store?

You don’t need blessings you need only a BLESSING.

Because God can give one person, one event in your life, one opportunity, one call, one smile that can open the doors to lead to more blessings.

Just declare that you’re blessed and say it “I AM BLESSED”

Blessing is not a SITUATION but it’s a DISPOSITION.

When I have an I-phone I am blessed. When I have a car, I have a job I am blessed, I have clothes am blessed but when my phone is gone, my job is gone I am still blessed because the things that are in me do not determine my blessings but the God that I believe and trust.

You are blessed when in spite that you have a migraine, you are sick you’re still alive. In spite that you have no job, despite all your affliction, you are still alive because we are blessed.

God is about to bless you where have no room to store.

DESIRE TO BE A BLESSING

The ultimate purpose of blessings is for us to be a blessing to others.

God is about to bless you that you will be a blessing to others.

The sick that you will be touch shall be healed.

Those whom you will minister shall be blessed.

Don’t search for blessings because if you desire to be a blessing, your blessings will be full.

Blessings will follow if you walk not in the path of the ungodly but his delight is the Lord.

He will give you ONE PERSON. Like Naomi to Ruth; Like Boaz to Ruth & Naomi, like Elijah to Elisha, like the butler to Joseph; like Moses to the Israelites. Like Coach Roach to Manny Pacquiao. Like PRRD to Senator Bong Go.

God will bring one person that will influence your life and leads you to your destiny.

He gives you a person to bring you to your next blessings that will open a door to your destiny…

I and my wife desire to be an investor and our prayer are to have a mentor, then a friend of mine invited us to attend a seminar and that event was another door that opens to a new venture of knowledge and knowing other positive-minded investors.

One lock to open the door, but we need only one master key to open everything.

God will release one thing in your life that affects the whole thing…

One message, one inspiration, one word…could change the trajectory of your life.

One decision that shall turn the event of our life.

ONE STEP COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE

One step will make a difference.

Like Peter when he step out of his boat, he experienced what no other people had experienced; walking on top of the water.

Every journey always begins with a single step.

We may not experience the abundance of the blessings that are prepared for us because we fear stepping out of our boat of the comfort zone.

Your fear is holding you back from stepping out of your past.

Your fear is holding you back from stepping entering into a new relationship after the break-up, new investment, and business venture past set back.

Sometimes, our blessing is not on our boat.

Sometimes our destiny is not on that boat and for us to reach our destiny is to take that one leap.

If we continue to hold on to that boat and sleep comfortably on the bottom deck, God can use storms to destroy that boat and even throw us to be swallowed by a fish only to accomplish His purpose in our life.

Never grieve on the broken boat but pick up whatever is left as God has prepared something new for you. Be ready to step out of your boats.

ONE SAVIOR, ONE CHANCE

The sin of one man tainted all the next generation with original sin. But with one man, He redeemed the bondages of many.

We have One Jesus, one Cross that saves millions of lives.

One savior, one God, one Redeemer.

We are all sinners, we have all inequities, we are slaves and bondage of our sins and we need only one sacrifice, one Jesus to free us from where we were and from where we are.

Justice says your curse but mercy is your chance, if you have been given ONE chance will you accept Him today.

May God blesses you with that ONE THING,

Mikesendon

FOOD FOR OUR BODY AND SOUL

Food for Our Body and Soul

Luke 9:11-17

Jesus feeding the five thousand men is another miracle He did to show us what He could do.

The feeding of the five thousand was Jesus’s visible nature of compassion for the needy.

But God is not only concerned about the food that we can eat physically but something greater, a food that will sustain us spiritually.

A food that brings life eternally.

The Physical Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body.

Normally of plant or animal origin, it contains essential nutrients which provide us energy, maintain life, and stimulate growth.

All living creatures cannot survive without feeding on food as this is one of the necessities of man aside from clothing and shelter.

The Need for Food

Men understand to survive, work so hard to always put food on the table, till the land, plant the seed, cultivate and harvest.

For so many, we need to strive and earn a living to have food at least three times a day.

This is the cause of worry for most of us, where we will get our food to eat.

This makes more anxious so Jesus in Mt 6:25 said “For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat and what you will drink; nor for your body as what to put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

God knows that we need food when we are hungry.

In our gospel today, Jesus was so compassionate that even though he was too tired and needed rest, His attention and concern were for the people who were also tired and hungry.

He asked His disciples to give them something to eat.

Provisions in a Desolate Situation

The disciple approached Jesus to send the crowd away so that they may go to find food and lodging as they are in a desolate place.

They were in the wild; in an isolated place where there were no sources to buy food nearby.

Is it not that in the time that we are in our desolate situation, God always provides for our needs?

If the birds eat their meals in time, how much more that we have a Heavenly Father.

Our heavenly Father knows what we need (Mt 6:32)

Remember how God feeds Prophet Elijah by sending daily his sustenance.

1 King 17:6 The raven brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening….

As God can send His provision in a desolate situation, the same God will send your blessings way ahead of DHL.

The Manna in the Desert

Deserts resemble a place of no life, a life of emptiness, a life of hopelessness.

The Israelites were in their desolate situation and for forty long years, God’s provision never failed.

His blessings are always new and fresh every morning.

Never so focus on your desolate situation that you cannot see God’s provision.

The manna and meat were daily given to them.

Food for the Soul

God’s provision in the desert sustains the physical need of the Israelites.

But God wants us to understand that man shall not live by bread alone but also by the Word that comes from the mouth of God.

There is something more and greater than what we could receive aside from the food of our physical body.

We become what we eat. If you eat more sweets and food rich in carbohydrates, you become diabetic. If your intake food rich in bad cholesterol, you tend to be likely to become hypertensive and increase your chance to have a heart problem.

The more we intake food for our soul gives life, the more we listen to the Word of God, and the more we become Christ-like.

The problem we have today is that many people tend to eat and eat as they want.

We treat ourselves to a fine restaurant and buffet of unlimited food then we wonder why become fat.

We cannot just be healthy from the outside but malnourish on the inside.

Never deprive our soul of the food it needs to become healthy spiritually.

The Real Manna from Heaven

In John 6:51 “ I am the living bread that came down out of heaven, if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

Jesus clearly said that He is the Bread of life, he who will come to Him will not be hungry and he who believes in Him will never be thirsty.

The manna that God gave to the Israelites in the Old Testament was a bread that sustains their existence in the desert. The bread for physical.

This manna in the New Testament became real when true manna from heaven came down to give eternal life. The bread that brings eternal.

In John 6:32 Truly, truly I say to you, It was not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.

The Bread of Life in the Holy Eucharist

The blessed body of Christ becomes real in the Holy Eucharist.

When we partake in the breaking of the bread, His real presence becomes alive as He is with us.

In John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God has set the seal.

For many, this is difficult to believe but he said that He said that he who believes has eternal life. John 6:47-48

In John 6:53 “I am telling you the truth: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man & drink His blood, you will have no life in yourselves“.

For my flesh is the real food and my blood is the real drink.

This teaching may cause us to depart from our faith and that was what many have done because they cannot accept this teaching but blessed are those who believe.

This teaching was not accepted by some of his followers and they departed away from Jesus. So Jesus asked His disciples if they will do the same but Peter courageously said “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the Word that gives eternal life”.

May your soul be satisfied,

Mikesendon