16:1 Now concerning the contribution for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come.
6:38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
3:23 Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, 3:24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.
3:8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How are we robbing thee?' In your tithes and offerings. 3:9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you. 3:10 Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 3:11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.
9:6 The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 9:7 Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 9:8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.
6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
19:29 And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
We came across these verses last night at study and I wanted to share them. It has really been on my heart.
5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, 5:21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 5:26 Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone, from the beginning ... to the end.
He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. (1934-1998)
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth... and now only those who loved her, know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own, the cars...the house...the cash, what matters is how we live and love, and how we spend that dash.
So think about this long and hard... Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left, that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives., like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile... remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash... Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?