Be Blessed and Be a Blessing

 

Here I sit in the middle of Hurricane Harvey, high and dry in my house.

Work is cancelled and school too. What to do, what to do.

I see the news filled with people blessing others. I am so proud of my community.

I feel antsy just sitting and watching...

How can I use my time and not waste it?

How can I give back?

I know the Word of God,

I have an abundance of inspiration and creativity,

(Sometimes too much and time is too little!)

AND God has given me the time in this rainy week.

 

 God blesses us with gifts, talents and time?

Do you have a boat? Go rescue storm refugees.

Do you have extra clothes? Go give to the wet ones.

Do you bake? Make cookies for your flooded neighbor.

Do ALL THIS in the Name of Christ!

 

Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

If God gives you talents, do not bury them in the dirt to keep them safe out of fear.

Invest them, use them, be brave to put them out there.

For if you use what God has given you, he will be happy with you.

^" For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance."

 

DONT IGNOTE WHAT GOD GIVES YOU TODAY!

or it can be taken away...

This was told to the rich fool that stored away all his harvest for the future,

instead of trusting God to provide him with daily needs.

When he finally had time to use it, he was gone.

See Luke 12:13-21

We cannot take our "harvest" with us, so share it today.

 

YOU ARE BLESSED!

It's not by Luck of Chance or some changing thing that you have the good things you have.

 

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Hebrews 13:16

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

 



Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

 

 

Matthew 5:40-41

And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

(Go the "extra mile")

 

IN your good works and deeds, do not expect earthly praise.

Let your Father in Heaven clearly see your work.

For he is the only one that needs to know.

At times this is hard because people may be around you when you work,

for instance: what if you are a preacher or helping flood disaster.

How can you do that in secret? You cannot.

The most important thing in these circumstances is to bring glory to your Father in the act.

For example, "I give you these cookies in Jesus's Name" or put a note on the cookies that says,
"In Christ's Love". Basically, put the spotlight on HIm and give HIm the glory. He is what the blessing came from in the first place, you are just giving it back.

 

Matthew 6:1-2

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

 

I hope these illustrations will stay in your heart and be an inspirational reminder to you that

YOU ARE BLESSED!

God wants to give you more and wants to see you share it with your

Brothers and Sister in Christ.

When your kids share the things you give to them, doesn't it make you proud?

Does it not make you want to do it more?

Be Blessed this week.

Using you gifts to give back to the World...

I remember when I first truly came to know of God's love, all I could do was share my experience with everyone I knew. I felt like a volcano that just had to burst out and spill God's love over the world. I was unstoppable and on fire! I strongly believe that when we are filled up with something from the Lord, that He wants us to use what we were filled with and spill it out to others as a testimony of His love. The lord will fill us up to overflowing! Psalm 23:5 says that our cups runneth over and God provides us with more than we need. He does this out of love for not only us, but in hopes that we will use what is running over to give to others. He gives us more than we can contain in our own life, wanting us in turn to spill out to others what He gives. When we are done, dry, and thirsty... He fills us again. God has an unending supply of His love and is waiting for us to just open up our mouths and ask! Psalm 81:10 says that if we open our mouths wide He will fill it. (John 4:14, John & 6:35) If we let His blessings sit inside ourselves selfishly, they become stagnant, useless, and harmful. James 2:17 says that when we have faith in God and experience and know His love, but do not act upon it by working for and sharing with others, our faith is dead. God's love itself should make us automatically want to give and share what we have been given. 1 John 3:19 says that we love because He loved us first. It is an automatic response to His touch. Everything good in our lives is from God. His word says so...James 1:17.

God gave us all a light. We are supposed to use out light to shine to others to help them see the way to His love. Our talents can be our light! We can use what he has given to help others see Him more clearly through what we create and our actions. Love moves, it acts, it sings, it jumps, it sews, it cooks, it cares, it mends, it is NOT sitting stagnant!

Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let you light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven."

Use your gift and talent to glorify God, not glorify yourself. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace... In everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
If your audience does not appreciate or understand what you are trying to communicate, God knows our  hearts and theirs too. Just do it anyway! So, whatever you gift or talent is, "work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be pain back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality," Colossians 3:23

2 Corinthians 8:8-9 

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

all Artwork below by Tabitha Seaton

Whether you create music, a theatrical scene, a dance, art, a feast... whatever, 

create for your Creator. 

Colossians 3:23

If you are working for the Lord, whatever it is that you are doing will be blessed.

Read More about this art here...

http://thelostsocklife.blogspot.com/2013/03/lord-bless-work-of-my-hands.html

 

In order to receive the fruit of His love

We should be willing to shake the tree...

Read more about the above and below art here on my art teacher blog...

http://tabithaannthelostsock.blogspot.com/2012/04/keith-haring-semiotics-posters.html

Also see these related topics...

What is the difference between talents and spiritual gifts...?
To summarize the differences between spiritual gifts and talents: 1) A talent is the result of genetics and/or training, while a spiritual gift is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit. 2) A talent can be possessed by anyone, Christian or non-Christian, while spiritual gifts are only possessed by Christians. 3) While both talents and spiritual gifts should be used for God’s glory and to minister to others, spiritual gifts are focused on these tasks, while talents can be used entirely for non-spiritual purposes.
Answer found here..
http://www.gotquestions.org/difference-talent-spiritual-gift.html#ixzz2WLTmPm9j
How Can We Develop Our Talents?

There are certain things we must do to develop our talents. First, we must discover our talents. We should evaluate ourselves to find our strengths and abilities. Our family and friends can help us do this. We should also ask our Heavenly Father to help us learn about our talents.

Second, we must be willing to spend the time and effort to develop the talent we are seeking.

Third, we must have faith that our Heavenly Father will help us, and we must have faith in ourselves.

Fourth, we must learn the skills necessary for us to develop our talents. We might do this by taking a class, asking a friend to teach us, or reading a book.

Fifth, we must practice using our talent. Every talent takes effort and work to develop. The mastery of a talent must be earned.

Sixth, we must share our talent with others. It is by our using our talents that they grow (see Matthew 25:29).

All of these steps are easier if we pray and seek the Lord’s help. He wants us to develop our talents, and he will help us.

Info above found here...

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=321b7befabc20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=198bf4b13819d110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD