Yesterday we defined worship as giving worth to God, or in other words, acknowledging he is at the center of our lives, or we want him there if he isn’t.

Worship is about practicing God’s Presence.  We can forget God is there in our busy lives, and something tangible can help.  A friend of mine mentioned Elf on the Shelf on Facebook.  Elf on the Shelf is a small elf doll that parents are supposed to hide somewhere in the house every night, claiming he is a “scout elf” who reports back to Santa.  The elf becomes a visible symbol for small children who might forget that Santa is watching.

Worship is meant to be a visible symbol for those of us who might forget God is watching.

In the busyness of our everyday lives, we cannot always remember that God is with us.  In spite of our best intentions we may find ourselves living and acting without regard to the fact that God is present in every aspect of our lives.

Sometimes we think something in our lives is coincidence, but God is actually doing something incredible.  Sometimes we will find resources are suddenly supplied that we needed, and will think it was luck or our skills, when it was in fact God’s provision.

We want to develop an increasing sensitivity to God’s presence with us. We know that we develop skills and get better at things by practicing: an old saying reminds us practice makes perfect.  It would be more truthful to say that practice reinforces, but in this case reinforcement is good enough. We need a way to reinforce our awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

Question: When have you seen God working in the last week?  What seeming coincidences were there?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - April 22, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Generosity

This week, we take an honest look at our motivations for giving and helping others. Charities know people like to be honoured and recognized for the good, generous people they are. More likely to give, if they know they’ll be honoured. A Dutch study of church offerings of cash for outside charities. Baskets & Bags. When using baskets, attendees can see the contribution made by their direct neighbours as well as the total amount already gathered. Givings Increased 10% when baskets are used. Not just money. Owners of the environmentally friendly Toyota Prius were polled about why they drive a Prius. #1 answer was this it makes a statement about me. Higher fuel economy and lower emissions in third and fifth place! Our concern for what others think can clearly motivate us to give and do good...a fact many charities use to their advantage to raise money! Question: How have you benefited from giving to others in the past? Think about both tangible and intangible ones, intentional or not. How do you feel about receiving these?

Discuss the Daily Challenge

More Messages Associated With "Generosity"...

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