Welcome to Gaia! ::

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:10-14

DEWEY THE DOG trotted away from the butcher shop, humming a little tune in his gruff little dog voice. His teeth gripped a meaty bone, snatched from the floor of the butcher shop.
He trotted down the lanes and streets of the town, snarling occasionally at any animal that eyed his prized bone too long or too hungrily. Finally, he reached the low footbridge that marked the halfway point home. He paused for a moment, artfully shhifted the bone's position in his mouth, and peered into the slow-running stream below the bridge.
What he saw shocked him.
There, in the water, was an image of a dog. And that dog, like Dewey, held a bone in his teeth. Dewey's lip curled at the sight; his eyes narrowed. The dog in the stream didn't look tough at all - and the bone in his mouth looked even bigger than Dewey's bone.
Finally, after a few moments of growling and baring his teeth at the dog in the stream, which had returned every growl and every snarl. Dewey made his move. He opened his mouth and snapped at the other dog, attempting to grab his bone. But his attack touched only water, for the other dog was his reflection. And his own bone, which he had carried all the way from the butcher shop in town, slowly sank to the bottom of the stream.
That story's, a retelling of one of Aesop's fables, illustrated what greed usually gains: nothing. If Dewey had been content with his prize, instead of greedily fighting for more, he could have gone home and enjoyed a long gnaw on a nice bone. Instead, he lost his own bone because he dropped it in his attempt to get more, and he lost the "other" dog's bone because it was only a reflection in the first place.
Greed gains nothing because the greedy person is never satisfied. But the generous person gains back far more than he gives away, because generosity blesses the giver more than the one receiving the gift. Seems odd, doesn't it? But it's true-it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Reflect:

Today's Bible verse says, "He that loverth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase this is also vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

*Do you think that's true?
*How much money do you think you would need before it would be "enough"?
*Do you tend to be more generous or greedy with money? With your possessions? With your time? With compliments?
*In what areas will you try to practice generosity today?

I think I'm going to do today's devotion if that's ok with you, Misty

Letter From Satan Part I
Hey, Christian!

I saw you yesterday as you climbed out of bed and started your daily routine. You began the day without praying. I kept watching you-expecting you at least to pray for your meals-but you didn't. You didn't even make time to pray before you climbed back into bed at the end of the day! I like the fact that you're so ungrateful. I can't tell you how proud I am of you for not changing your way of living since you started going to church.

You stupid idiot! You're mine . . . and you don't even know it! You think you're a Christian, but I have you fooled. You and I go way back. We've been going steady for years . . . and I still don't love you. As a matter of fact, I never will. Ha! I hate you! Do you realize that? I hate you, because I hate God. I'm only using you to get even with Him. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay Him back.

You're so stupid! You don't even realize how much God loves you; that He has great plans in store for you. Ha! You've yielded your life to me, and I'm going to make your life a living hell.

And the best part about this relationship is that you don't even realize you've yielded to me. I love it! You're such a moron. You don't get it, do you? That by not giving your all to Jesus Christ, you end up following me by default. And you know what's really funny? Most of the time I have you convinced that I don't even exist!

Thanks to you, I'm showing God who's really boss in your life. We've been having some great times, haven't we? I love watching those dirty movies with you, cussing people out when they cut in front of you on the road, lying, being hypocritical, messing around sexually, gossiping, telling off-color jokes, stabbing people in the back, disrespecting stupid adults and moronic leaders.

I'm relieved that you don't want to give this up. We're having a great time, aren't we? And what's really funny, is the fact that you don't have a clue I'm doing all this to destroy you! Ha! You think we're just having fun. But I have eternal plans for you!

Know It!
Satan will do anything to get your attention off of Christ. Remember . . . you can't be spiritually neutral. You're either living for God, or you're following Satan by default.

Read It!
Luke 10:18; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8.

Pray It!
In the name of Jesus Christ, pray that Satan will get behind you, and use your authority in Christ to overcome temptation.

yes no problem

A Letter From God
My dear, dear Child.

Oh, how I love you! I long for you to spend eternity with Me. I've been diligently preparing a place for you in My perfect Kingdom. You'll love it. You don't have the capacity to even imagine what it's like, but someday you'll be living here with Me in person. That is . . . if you let Me have total control of your life.

I know you can't comprehend how very much I love you, but I'm hoping you'll know that My death was specifically for you. That's right. Even though you've heard that I died for the world at large, I want you to understand it was really for you! You see . . . if you had been the only person in all the world, I still would have chosen to leave the glory and splendor of heaven to come to earth and experience the torture I endured . . . just for you. I love you that much.

You are my pride and joy! I dream such big dreams for you! I want to do extraordinary things with your life. But, my child, I need all of you. I won't force you to give Me your life. I love you too much to control your decisions, but I yearn for you to trust Me with your all.

My child, I am perfect, and My Kingdom is perfect. Therefore I cannot allow sin into My Kingdom. Knowing, however, that you were born with sin, I gave Myself-in the form of My Son-to pay the price for you, so you could spend eternity with Me. It's My ultimate gift to you. You can't earn it, and you can't buy it. I simply want to give it to You. But again . . . I won't force you to accept it. You have to make that decision on your own.

Please choose to follow Me, My child. I love you more than life itself. And I'm working diligently on our eternal home.

Your heavenly Father,

God

Know It!
God is crazy about you and has gone to great lengths to let you know it. How will you respond?

Read It!
Psalm 19:1; Jeremiah 31:37; Jeremiah 32:17; John 3:16.

Pray It!
Give God your all and ask Him to help you begin living in radical obedience to His Lordship.

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

[ Message temporarily off-line ]