Abundant New Year!
Ray and I have seen lots of “free breakfasts” at chain hotels. There was a time when they seemed like a real treat to us and our kids. Since we have started traveling so much for Notgrass Company, they don’t have the appeal they once did. We just can’t stay healthy on Danish pastries, waffles, and orange juice. Many mornings Ray and I sit at a table in a breakfast bar eating our food on their plates after using their hot water to make our herb tea that we brought from home.
Though breakfast fare at most of the hotels where we stay is pretty similar, one breakfast bar does stand out–not because it was particularly good, but because the experience could be described in one word–stingy! A hotel employee stood guard with a utensil in hand to dole out one doughnut and one small glass of juice. Now, that’s stingy and chintzy!
Our generous heavenly Father is not like that. Think about the last snowfall you saw. Can you imagine how many snowflakes are in a scene like this?
God’s blessings are beyond what we can count or even imagine. When He created the seas, He didn’t fill them with a handful of species; He said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures” (Genesis 1:20).
When God made His promise to Abraham, “He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be'” (Genesis 15:5).
Last weekend our minister had laryngitis. On Saturday he asked our friend Gary to give the lesson the next day. During the sermon, Gary said that he had made a commitment several years ago that whenever he was asked to share a lesson, he would say yes. What a generous attitude.
For his text, Gary chose John 10. Our generous friend reminded us of Jesus’ generous words:
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
My New Years’ prayer for each of you is that God bless you with abundant life, a generous heart, and a hunger to teach your children to live and enjoy the abundant life that Jesus came to give each of them. Abundant New Year! That’s even better than a happy one!