The Blessed Life: Heart Transplant

THE WARM-UP:
Is it better to give or to receive? Why do we have fences and alarm systems or even door locks?

READ Deuteronomy 5:29, Deuteronomy 15: 9-10 &14-15, Proverbs 16:2, Luke 6:38 & James 4:3
In the second part of James 4:3 God tells us that we don’t get what we ask for because we ask with wrong motives. Those wrong motives are so that we can spend what we are given on our own pleasures. We all like certain things, and we all have needs. God promises to care for our needs! When He gives to us beyond our needs, He expects us to share with others. Our attitudes toward possessions have a powerful ability to expose the true nature of our hearts. One key to having right motives is to renew our minds and to understand that selfish thoughts are more than just unkind; they are wicked. (Deut15:9) Think about a time when you lost some money. Maybe it was in the stock market, or a misplaced wallet or you made a bad purchase. What did that experience tell you about the importance of money in your life? Some people, have something similar to buyer’s remorse. We will call it “giver’s remorse”. If we give with expectations that God or the people we give to are going to act in a certain way, and then they don’t do what we expected, we are likely to experience “giver’s remorse”. That is why we must give with a cheerful heart and no strings attached.


THE TEAM WORK-OUT:
1. What is something you can do in advance of making a gift or offering to prevent “giver’s remorse”?
2. What are ways to make sure we are giving with right motives?
3. Now that we are halfway through this series, do you have any testimonies of how God has made changes in your life?