You Can Never Outgive God
Memory Verse: Luke 6:38
I. Introduction: What comes to mind when you consider your personal finances? Perhaps you think about investments or debts. You might reflect on your progress toward monetary goals. But few people think about how much more they could give away.
Why is giving so important? What we do with our wealth demonstrates in a tangible way how well we trust, love, and honor God. Christians fully committed to Him will give generously to the work of the Lord.
There is also a practical benefit to our generosity: it unleashes the Father’s provision (Luke 6:38). This scriptural principle is as changeless as the law of gravity. Those who give generously can expect God’s blessings in their lives and eternal rewards in heaven.
II. What does Scripture teach about our possessions?
A. God owns it all (Ps. 50:12). We are simply stewards of what He has given. The parable of the rich man is a powerful illustration of how foolish we are to think anything belongs to us (Luke 12:16-21).
B. We should give the first portion of our income to God. Malachi 3:8-12 explains the nation of Israel was cursed for their failure to tithe.
C. We are to give cheerfully. As 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, our giving should be filled with joy.
III. Why should we give?
A. To provide for His work: giving supports the work of the gospel, not only locally but also around the world.
B. To prove His faithfulness: when we are generous givers, God promises to provide for us.
C. To provide for the needs of others: we should share food and clothing with the needy but above all, we are to remember that humanity’s biggest need is for the gospel.
D. To honor God: as we give to others, we demonstrate His kindness to the world.
IV. What is God’s plan for giving to us?
A. God’s greatest blessings come to those who live obediently before Him. In other words, disobedience has consequences, which can include financial struggles (see Hag. 1:5-7).
B. God provides for His children. So if Christians don’t have the basic things they need, they should prayerfully evaluate their lives.
V. What promises can we claim about financial provision?
A. Malachi 3:10: “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse . . . and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’”
B. Proverbs 3:9-10: “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty.”
C. Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you . . . For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
D. Second Corinthians 9:6: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
E. Second Corinthians 9:7-8: “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that . . . you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
F. Mark 9:41: “Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ . . . he will not lose his reward.”
G. Matthew 19:29: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life” (see also Luke 18:29-30).
VI. Conclusion: Would you describe yourself as a cheerful and generous giver? Whether or not you would, I challenge you to ask the Lord, “How much more do You want me to give?” Your generosity opens the door to His abundant blessing in your life—not just financially, but in every other area too. My friend, you cannot outgive God. Be generous, and allow Him to demonstrate His amazing ability to provide.
2) The 30-Day
Reading List That Will Lead You to Becoming a Knowledgeable Libertarian by
Robert Wenzel
The Freedom of
Association
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
It seems incredible that in the last days, a fundamental right of the whole of humanity, the freedom of association, has been denounced by the New York Times and all major opinion sources, even as a national political figure was reluctant to defend his own statements in favor of the idea, and then distanced himself from the notion. Has such a fundamental principle of liberty become unsayable?
Or perhaps it is not so incredible. An overweening government, in an age of despotism such as ours, must deny such a fundamental right simply because it is one of those core issues that speaks to who is in charge: the state or individuals.
We live in anti-liberal times, when individual choice is highly suspect. The driving legislative ethos is toward making all actions required or forbidden, with less and less room for human volition. Simply put, we no longer trust the idea of freedom. We can't even imagine how it would work. What a distance we have travelled from the Age of Reason to our own times.
Referencing the great controversy about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Karen De Coster put the issue to rest by turning Rachel Maddow's question on its head. She demanded to know whether a white businessman has the right to refuse service to a black man. Karen asked: does a black businessman have the right to refuse service to a Klan member?
I don't think anyone would dispute that right. How a person uses the right to associate (which necessarily means the right not to associate) is a matter of individual choice profoundly influenced by the cultural context. That a person has the right to make these choices on his or her own cannot be denied by anyone who believes in liberty.
The right to exclude is not something incidental. It is core to the functioning of civilization. If I use proprietary software, I can't download it without signing a contractual agreement. If I refuse to sign, the company doesn't have to sell it to me. And why? Because it is their software and they set the terms of use. Period. There is nothing more to say.
If you run a blog that accepts comments, you know how important this right is. You have to be able to exclude spam or ban IP addresses of trolls or otherwise include and exclude based on whether a person's contribution adds value. Every venue on the internet that calls forth public participation knows this. Without this right, any forum could collapse, having been taken over by bad elements.
We exercise the right to exclude every day. If you go to lunch, some people come and some people do not. When you have a dinner party, you are careful to include some people and necessarily exclude others. Some restaurants expect and demand shoes and shirts and even coats and ties. The New York Times includes some articles and excludes others, includes some people in its editorial meetings and excludes others.
When business hires, some people make the cut and others do not. It is the same with college admissions, church membership, fraternities, civic clubs, and nearly every other association. They all exercise the right to exclude. It is central to the organization of every aspect of life. If this right is denied, what do we get in its place? Coercion and compulsion. People are forced together by the state, with one group required at the point of a gun to serve another group. This is involuntary servitude, expressly prohibited by the 13th amendment. One presumes that a freedom-loving people will always be against that.
As Larry Elder says: "This is freedom 101."
What about the claim that government should regulate the grounds of exclusion? Let's say, for example, that we do not deny the general right of free association, but narrow its range to address a particular injustice. Is that plausible? Well, freedom is a bit like life, something that is or is not. Slicing and dicing it according to political priorities is exceedingly dangerous. It perpetrates social division, leads to arbitrary power, mandates a form of slavery, and turns the tables on who precisely is in charge in society.
In fact, for the government to presume to regulate the "grounds" of any decision-making is chilling. It presumes the right and ability of government bureaucrats to read minds, as if they can know the real motivation behind every action, regardless of what the decision maker claims. This is how banks in the last decades came to give out mortgage loans promiscuously: they were trying to throw off regulators looking for any sign of racial discrimination.
And, of course, this mind-reading trick is not arbitrary. It is dictated by political pressure. It is hardly surprising, then, that since the Act passed in 1964, the grounds that the regulators say they can discern and thereby forbid have proliferated and are now completely out of control. Has this strategy really increased social well-being, or has it exacerbated conflict among groups that the state has exploited to its own ends?
But do we dare let property owners make such decisions by themselves? From a historical point of view, the injustice against blacks was perpetrated mostly by governments. Private business does not go in for race-based policies, because it means excluding paying customers.
And this is precisely why racialists, nationalists, and hard-core bigots have always opposed liberal capitalism: it includes and excludes based on the cash nexus and without regard to features that collectivists of all sorts regard as important. In the imagined utopias of the national socialists, the champions of commerce are hanged from lampposts as race traitors and enemies of the nation.
That's because the market tends toward an ever-evolving, ever-changing tapestry of association, with patterns that cannot be known in advance and should not be regulated by federal masters. In contrast, government's attempts to regulate association lead to disorder and social calamities.
As Thomas Paine explained: "In those associations which men promiscuously form for the purpose of trade or of any concern, in which government is totally out of the question, and in which they act merely on the principles of society, we see how naturally the various parties unite; and this shows, by comparison, that governments, so far from always being the cause or means of order, are often the destruction of it."
This is precisely why libertarians were right to oppose these provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. They strike at the heart of freedom, and with an extremely high social cost. One is not surprised that thoughtless and anti-intellectual organs of opinion would seek to deny this. But what has surprised me is the speed with which supposed libertarians, especially in the ambit of DC, have been quick to distance themselves from the principle of the freedom of association. I take this not as a measure of intellectual bankruptcy, but as a sign of the fear that so many have, in an age of despotic control, of speaking truth to power.
June 1, 2010
Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. [send him mail], former publications editor to Ludwig von Mises and congressional chief of staff to Ron Paul, is founder and chairman of the Mises Institute, executor for the estate of Murray N. Rothbard, and editor of LewRockwell.com. See his books.
3) Roger’s
Rangers Rules or Plan of Discipline by Major Robert Rogers
Rule
#23
23.
When you pursue any party that has been near our forts or encampments, follow
not directly in their tracks, lest you should be discovered by their rear guards,
who, at such a time, would be most alert; but endeavour, by a different route,
to head and meet them in some narrow pass, or lay in ambush to receive them
when and where they least expect it.
4) 52 Weeks to
Preparedness by Tess Pennington
Week 37 of 52: Essential Baking Needs
By
Tess Pennington
When I first began prepping, I had just bought all of the recommended items for a short-term food supply. After carefully stocking the items on our storage shelf, I sat and looked admiringly at our meager supply imagining all the ways it was going to pull us through a hard time.
Then, a thought crept into my mind: I began to wonder how on earth was I going to use all these supplies. Who uses a pound of yeast? Or two pounds of baking powder? Folks, this was the moment that sealed the deal for me. This was when I realized that I didn’t have to use two pounds of baking powder for baking, I could find another way to use it! And for that matter, I bet that a lot of other items that I had purchased could be used in ways other than their original purposes. That was when I got my hands on every book and website I could find on alternative uses for these items. Inevitably, this is when I went loco for prepping!
Our preps are our lifeline and we must know how to get the most use out of them. Since most of us have limited shelf space, it is only logical to find products that will perform multiple jobs for us. The following is a list of kitchen staples that deserve a space on your emergency food shelves. Keep in mind that in an extended emergency, these items may be very useful in a bartering situation. Remember, to print out or save any pertinent information to put in your preparedness binder.
Baking Soda
- Natural antacid
- Dental care
- Electrolyte powder
- Emergency antiseptic
- Natural cleaner
- Cleans off rust
- Can be used in treating scalding,
to prevent blistering and scarring. Cover the scalded area with a liberal
layer of sodium bicarbonate and water paste and seek medical assistance
- Can be applied to skin irritations
that occur from poison oak, poison ivy and sumac
Baking Powder
- Eliminates odors
- Natural cleaning agent
- Draws out insect stings and jelly
fish venom
- Keeps ants away from the house
Salt
- One of the top bartering items
- Eliminates odors
- Natural cleaning agent
- Sea salt has
antibacterial and medicinal properties
Yeast
Baking Yeast
- Leavening agent
- Currently being studied for a natural cure for cancer
Brewers Yeast
- Making alcohol
- Nutritional supplement
- Assists diabetics in controlling
their blood sugar level
- Helps control high cholesterol
level
- Is a natural flea control for pets
Vinegar
- Soothes sunburns
- Eliminated bad breath
- Natural facial toner
- Can be used as a fabric softener
- Is a natural hair cleaner/conditioner
- Cleaning product
for the home
- Possess medicinal properties
Corn Starch
- Great for use as a dry shampoo
- Burn treatment
- Treatment for insect bites
- Deodorant
- Gets grease out of fabric
- Cleans windows
- Thickener for soups, sauces and
gravies
Powdered Milk
- Milk
- Cheese
- Sour cream
- Whipped topping
- Substitute for milk
- Facial wash
Click here to learn more about these essentials and their many uses
Our ancestors’ philosophy of “make due or do without” transferred into many avenues of their life, and they were on to something. They knew the versatility of their supplies and made sure they had enough of them to get by.
We also want to get by. Some of these items may even provide a semblance of what our normal life was. And how great is it that these items are low-cost, multi-functional and readily available at practically any grocery store? Start stocking up on these items in quantity and gathering knowledge on your own on other uses for these items.
Preps to Buy:
[In Quantity]
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Yeast
- Salt
- Vinegar
- Evaporated Milk
- Powdered Milk
- Corn Starch
Action Items:
1.
Get
smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources
in your diet.
2.
Further,
research how versatile this food source can be for your food pantry and for
your overall survival.
3.
Use
the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator
to find out how many essential baking items you need to add to your storage
supply.
4.
Bear
in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how
many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
5.
Those
with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more nutrition
and calories daily, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
6.
Learn
how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
7.
Store
your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to
natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies.
Week 38 of 52: Emergency Communication
By
Tess Pennington
Consider, for a moment, how drastically your life would change without the continuous flow of energy the grid delivers. With the increase of natural and man-made disasters paired with an aging infrastructure, experts from the private and public sector warn that we are just one major catastrophic event away from an incident that could take down the grid….causing a complete meltdown of life in America as we know it today.
According to James Rawles, author of How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It, most radio and TV stations have enough fuel to run their backup generators for only a few days. Ditto for the telephone company central offices (COs). If that is the case, then what will happen when those generators run out of power? As he points out, “there will be an acute information vacuum.”
The best way to to prepare for this serious situation is to equip yourself with the knowledge and with the tools for communication. Communication in a grid down scenario is going to be vital in order to listen to events unfolding around you, talk with loved ones, and protect and keep order in your community or surrounding area. Because many of us are not familiar with the vast array of emergency communication devices, the following list is recommended in How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It, (p.193-198) as well as a brief description of how they operate:
Shortwave Receiver
Shortwave radio is a type of long-range radio transmission that bounces signals off a layer of the atmosphere (the ionosphere) to be received in another part of the world. Unlike AM and FM radio, shortwave radio frequencies can bounce off of the ionosphere and be heard many thousands of miles away.
Rawles suggests that your receiver be a compact, portable general coverage AM/FM/weather band/CB/shortwave receiver.
Popular brands are Grundig, Sangean, Eton, Kaito, Sony
Transceivers
A transceiver or transmitter/receiver is a device that combines transmission and reception capability on shared circuitry. In regions where digital coverage is spotty, a transceiver may be equipped for analog to ensure that there will be no loss of signal. Transceivers can handle analog or digital signals, and in some cases, both.
Ham radio transceivers, for example can broadcast and receive transmissions for over 50 miles, and some can let you talk with people from the other side of the planet. Conversations on a ham radio are not secure or private, so ensure that you do not broadcast any personal information over the airwaves.
The top brands include MURS (Multi Use Radio Service), Yaesu VX-3R VHF/UHF, Handheld VHF 2 Meter Amateur Radio Tranceiver 5watt, TYT TH-F5
CB Radio
CB radio or Citizens’ band (CB) radio is a communication device that allows people to talk to each other using a radio frequency. The CB radio user has 40 channels to choose from and uses an 11 meter band or 27 MHz. CB radio was originally intended for use by government divisions such as the military, and in the 1960s, it was mainly used by taxi firms and tradesmen.
Top brands include an Cobra 148GTL, Midland 1001Z, Cobra 75 WX ST
Field Telephones
Field telephones are mobile telephones designed for military use, and have the capability to withstand wartime conditions. They can draw power from their own battery, from a telephone exchange (via a central battery known as CB), or from an external power source. There are some that are sound-powered telephones, and do not require a battery. James Wesley Rawles believes that having reliable field telephones is essential to coordinate retreat security in a post-TEOTWAWKI world.
For semi-permanent installation, ensure that you buy cable that is rated for underground burial (UB), to conceal and protect all of your lines. Burying your lines will also prevent both intentional and unintentional lines cuts and breaks. He goes on to further suggest buying extra field phones, so that you can run communication wire to your neighbors and coordinate with them as well. To purchase field telephones, look on eBay, at Army surplus stores, or emergency supply stores.
Top brands are TA-1042 DNVT, TA 838, TA-312
Table Radio
Essentially table radios are contained radio receivers and can mostly be found on eBay. Many can run on battery power, thus making them useful as emergency radios. Because some table radios still use the vacuum-tube technology, they are virtually EMP proof. Rawles suggests finding a radio with shortwave bands, such as a Zenith TransOceanic H500 and to purchase a redundant comm gear (headsets, antennas, etc).
Top suggested brands include: Zenith TransOceanic H500, Drake R8B
To learn more about how having emergency communication devices is vital in a post-emergency situation at Ready Nutrition, click here.
During emergencies, our total dependence on communications becomes all too clear. If the emergency is severe enough, the communication could be limited, if not non-existent for an extended amount of time. We have all read enough survival books to know that the “comm down” scenario is a very real threat, and happens more often than not. So, when we are on our own, will you have your own communication devices set up to communicate with others or will you take a gamble and stay in the dark?
Preps to Buy:
- Short wave radio that is compact,
portable, general coverage AM/FM/weather band/CB/shortwave receiver
- Transceivers such as a Ham Radio
and MURS walkie talkies
- CB radio with SSB capability
- Field telephones with extra
communication wire
- Table radio with shortwave bands
- Extra communication gear (i.e.,
headsets, antennas, etc.)
- Extra batteries
Action Items:
1.
Read
the full instructions on your emergency communication device.
2.
Determine
whether you need licensing to operate your emergency communication device.
3.
Learn
alternative emergency communication sources, such as Morse code.
4.
Practice
using your emergency communication device regularly in order to feel
comfortable using it.
5) 110 Rules of
Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation by George Washington
#67 - Detract not from
others neither be excessive in Commanding.
#68 - Go not thither,
where you know not, whether you Shall be Welcome or not. Give not Advice
without being Asked & when desired do it briefly.
#69 - If two contend
together take not the part of either unconstrained; and be not obstinate in
your own Opinion, in Things indifferent be of the Major Side.
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