New Year coming

It seems like yesterday when we began 2010 and here it is just about to end. I don't know about you but I feel like I could have done more this year. I just needed a plan to get it done. This week I plan on taking some time to pray and see what God would have me do this year in the various areas of my life. This past Sunday I handed out some worksheets to help people look at their lives and puts some God directed goals on paper for the year. I encourage you to do this. If you would like a copy of the goals then send me an email at jhoffecker@gmail.com and I will shoot you over a copy. Have a safe and happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

I have been thinking a lot this year about what Christmas should mean to those who follow Jesus Christ. Our society and even many churches have made the holiday about things that really don't matter. Giving and receiving gifts are nice but not what Christmas is about. Parties and spending time with family aren't quite it either. Time off from work or school isn't what it is about. Christmas is about taking time to remember what we should think about every day. The God who created all things, the ruler of all that is seen and all that is unseen loved His creation so much that He sent His son so that we could know God. He loves us more that we could ever know. And God gave us the most incredible gift. The gift of Himself. Let's keep that in mind on Saturday morning and throughout every day of our lives. Merry Christmas!

2 Corinthians 9:7

2 Corinthians 9:7 says "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (NIV)
I have heard this verse used in many ways over the years and rarely in the way that I believe Paul intended it to be used. It says that each should give what he has decided in his heart to give. Not what he has then thought about with his or her head to give but with the heart. Because the heart if it is yielded to God has the desire to give. It is when we start to think about it and not go with the prompting of our heart that we feel reluctant to give or almost like we are being forced to give. You shouldn't be made to feel guilty to give to God. And God doesn't want you to give out of compulsion. I have heard it said that if you can't give cheerfully then you shouldn't give at all. I hate it when we use scripture as an excuse to not be faithful and obedient to God's word. All throughout scripture there is the command to give to God. Give off the top, to give generously. Yet we use this one verse to excuse our disobedience. We say that if I can't give cheerfully then I shouldn't give. But that disregards the rest of scripture and doesn't really speak to what this passage is saying. Paul is telling the Corinthian believers to give from the heart and to do it cheerfully. If you can't do it cheerfully, then you need to stop and figure out why. Why can't you do it? It doesn't say don't give if you can't do it cheerfully, but we should examine our hearts to see why we aren't cheerful about it. Maybe our money has too much of a hold on us and we need to give it away to break that hold so that we can be cheerful about it. God wants you to be a cheerful giver, but He also commands your obedience as His follower. We should not use a feeling as an excuse to disobey God. So learn to give cheerfully, ask God to show you why you have trouble giving but be obedient at the same time.