My wife and I have been recipients of the generosity of hundreds of people over the years. Ministry and missions has been our work for all our adult lives, so we’ve had a team of personal and ministry supporters. We try to make it a point to thank every person who has contributed. We couldn’t serve without them.

But some people don’t want to be thanked. They remain anonymous.

The most dramatic anonymous gift arrived in the most unusual way. Hear the whole story in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

“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.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

My dad practiced “inside out” generosity. Inside out generosity is the kind that flows from the heart, not forced from the outside.

Inside out generosity looks for opportunities to give. It doesn’t withhold, but is open-handed. It blesses. Instead of squeezing out a tithe to God, inside out generosity pours out much more to the Lord. I find it interesting that my dad had so little growing up but gave away so much as an adult. I can only explain it by saying that he had a heart of generosity.

How can we have a heart of generosity. It flows from our relationship with God. Let's discuss that with God in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Psalm 50:7-12 (NIV)

“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel:

I am God, your God.

I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices

or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains,

and the insects in the fields are mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

How about having fun giving? Like when unexpected funds arrive. Or beyond that, how about always having fun giving? Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. He defines this person as one doesn’t give “reluctantly or under compulsion” (2 Cor 9:7 NIV). Today, we'll explore six ways to have fun giving.

KEY PASSAGE:

1Corinthians 9:6-12 (NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Here’s an exercise to try when impatience creeps into your life.

Take a look at the trigger that’s setting you off.

• A child disobeys.
• You’re waiting for someone.
• You can’t figure out how to make something work.

Whatever it might be at the time, call it out and lay it on the table. Then stop for a minute and give it a score from 1-10, depending on how critical the trigger is. In the big picture, is your trigger a 3 or is it a life-threatening, scoring 9 or 10?

Today, we'll learn more about triggers and patience.

KEY PASSAGE:

James 3:3-6 (NIV)

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

How in the world can we be a patient parent? Seems like a contradiction. Those two words don’t exist together.

Hats off to those moms and dads who have this quality mastered. What’s your secret? Tell the rest of us!

My wife was one of those patient parents. Now she’s a patient grandparent.

Her patience showed up often when he gently explained things to the kids. While I would bark, “Stop it!” she took the time to share the why with the what. Spending an extra minute, she taught them, speaking to them as individuals, rather than giving orders.

Today, we learn how to be patient parents on our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 (NIV)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

We fail most at patience with the ones we love. Our spouses pay a price for our impatience when they experience it over and over again. We let our guard down and don’t extend grace.

Think about the grace God extends to you every day. It started with the cross and hasn’t stopped since. When you get ahead of the Lord, does he stop loving you? Does he hammer you? Does he humiliate you? No! His love endures.

Let's explore how we can extend patient grace in our audio devotional today.

KEY PASSAGE:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it hurt? You went to the extent of pleading with God for a new car, the dream job, a boyfriend or girlfriend, your child’s award, your sister coming to Christ, financial support for a mission trip… you add to the list.

Whether it’s spiritual or material, we can get pretty worked up about the thing we have our sights set on. A life of peace has been replaced by a life in pieces.

Then there are those situations you want to escape from. A horrible work environment, bad home life, constant financial distress, a church that you can’t stand anymore… again, you fill in the blank.

This where you can experience God's supernatural peace. Let's see how in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Proverbs 16:1-3, 9 ESV

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Fear has a way of playing with our emotions. It can rattle us, paralyze us.

Fear has a way of amplifying small, negative thoughts that creep into our minds. We even project things that aren’t likely to happen. Most of our fears never come true.

In the Old Testament, God sent 12 spies into the land of Canaan, which he was going to give Israel. He stated it so clearly to Moses, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israe.” (Numbers 13:1 ESV).

The spies went in and saw the land flowing the milk and honey, truly God’s wonderful gift. But they observed that the people living there were strong and lived in fortified cities. Out of fear, they reported back, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height” (Numbers 13:32 ESV).

We'll examine that story today in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

1 John 4:15-18 (NIV)

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com