{"id":3303,"date":"2021-02-20T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=3303"},"modified":"2021-02-16T12:27:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T17:27:43","slug":"commitment-will-make-you-joyful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2021\/02\/20\/commitment-will-make-you-joyful\/","title":{"rendered":"Commitment Will Make You Joyful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3304\" width=\"376\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.20-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 376px) 100vw, 376px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Daily Reading: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Leviticus+4-5&amp;version=GW\">Leviticus 4-5 GW<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Corinthians%208&amp;version=GW\">2 Corinthians 8 GW<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commit to Christ, experience His joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul is talking about the suffering believers in Jerusalem experienced.&nbsp; The Macedonia church was poverty-stricken. Famine covered the land, family members disowned them, and they could not make money.&nbsp; On top of all that, Jewish and Roman authorities were double-taxing them.&nbsp; From a worldly perspective, life sucked.&nbsp; But they were all in with God; His priorities were theirs.&nbsp; Generosity flowed freely from them, even though they had little to give.&nbsp; With joy, they gave willingly.&nbsp; Godly perspective is different from worldly perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our worldly status doesn\u2019t define our freedom in Christ.&nbsp; Generosity doesn\u2019t require perfect conditions.&nbsp; I wrote my first tithe check when I was on unemployment.&nbsp; Five months passed before God blessed me with a permanent job.&nbsp; My new tithe amount was greater than my entire unemployment check.&nbsp; Generous giving comes from a heart grounded in Christ.&nbsp; Tithing isn\u2019t a money issue; it\u2019s a heart issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Christ-centered hearts are generous.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why I love tithing, it\u2019s a heart check.&nbsp; If I\u2019m struggling to give, I know I\u2019m placing my bank account over my love for Jesus.&nbsp; Remembering, all I have comes from above reminds me; it\u2019s not mine anyway.&nbsp; None of what we have is truly ours.&nbsp; God gives, and He takes away.&nbsp; What we have today, we might not have tomorrow.&nbsp; No guarantees exist in this world, but Christ guarantees our eternal world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever suffering you\u2019re enduring today, look to Jesus.&nbsp; Ask Him into the situation.&nbsp; Place your faith in His plan.&nbsp; Let your heart overflow with joy as you gain new perspective through Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Three-Word-Prayers-Everyday-Living-ebook\/dp\/B09JT3B6CW\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18UKNZFIIDIEA&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=three+word+prayers&amp;qid=1635775169&amp;sprefix=three+word+prayers%2Caps%2C69&amp;sr=8-2\">Check out my new release on Amazon<\/a>. Learn how I used prayer to control my emotions and develop healthier relationships in my life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lord, You rock!&nbsp; Thank You for letting us live in America, Land of the Free.&nbsp; Forgive us for taking our freedoms for granted.&nbsp; Help us today remember those less fortunate than ourselves.&nbsp; Give us generous hearts as we focus our gaze on You.&nbsp; Whatever sufferings we\u2019re experiencing, allow them to draw us closer to You.&nbsp; Let this prayer start a conversation with You that lasts all day. Fill our hearts with joy as we join You in Your work.&nbsp; IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Question for reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">How committed are you to Jesus today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2 minute read. Daily Reading: Leviticus 4-5 GW; 2 Corinthians 8 GW Commit to Christ, experience His joy. Paul is talking about the suffering believers in Jerusalem experienced.&nbsp; The Macedonia church was poverty-stricken. Famine covered the land, family members disowned them, and they could not make money.&nbsp; On top of all that, Jewish and Roman&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2021\/02\/20\/commitment-will-make-you-joyful\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Commitment Will Make You Joyful<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3390,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions\/3390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}