Luke 21:1-4 (NLT)

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. 3 "I assure you," he said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."

This no doubt is talking about money, yet when I read it this morning I thought about my life. It is so easy to give to GOD when I need Him to do something for me, or when I have "an extra moment". But you know what I am finding, the more time I spend with Him in prayer, and reading the Bible, the more I want to continue to talk to Him. It gets fun and I desire Him. When I walk through a hospital, or when I drive in my car, I am so aware of Jesus I can't stop thinking about Him.

I think it would be COOL if GOD would make me like this woman, who to her, nothing was more important than Jesus, she gave Him everything.

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being."- Matthew 16:13-17

Who do you say God is?
So often we have an unrealistic picture in our minds of who god is. Some people might describe Him as a "sniper in the sky" kind of being, who takes away all your fun and beats you up when you do wrong. Other believe He doesn't exist, or that if He does exist, He doesn't care about you.

Others believe that God is the Creator of the universe, the One who gave His son to die for your sins. They believe He loves you no matter what, and wants to forgive you for anything you've ever done wrong. Maybe you believe that, and all of that is true, but that doesn't answer the question.

Who do YOU say God is?
Do YOU have a relationship with YOUR creator? Maybe you've grown up in church, done all the "right things", and know for sure that you're going to heaven, and that's awesome! But there's so much more than that. Who do you say God is? Is He just some being taht you sing about on Sunday morning? Is He just what gets you out of a tough situation? Or is He the motivation behind everything you do, your strangth to make it through tough days, the One who you don't only turn to when you need help, but the One whose life you want to base your life on?

Is He just your Saviour? Or is He your Lord?
Who do YOU say God is?

Posted by Karen Bennett of ONEeighty.

In the midst of this season, people either get excited or stressed. Excited about the fun of giving and receiving or not being able to. Maybe even no one to share the season with. Why? Are you excited because someone is going to give you something, or you can give to others? Are you sad because you feel obligated to participate and can't.

What if the joy or depression are both synthetic, not real? The joy not real because the giving and receiving will end soon and it will be back to everyday life, or the burden not real because we were never supposed to be obligated in the first place.

What is real? Jesus. He came, He died, He forgives, just ask. Then whether you give, receive, or can do neither, YOU CAN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. You can have ultimate eternal peace with GOD because what makes you right lies only in what HE has done for you. That's Real.

So ask Him for a relationship as soon as you finish reading, and experience reality like never before.

But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:13

How many times do we come in contact with people who have needs? Do we think of it as opportunity to be like Jesus?

Proverbs 3:28 (nlt) If you can help your neighbor now, don't say come back tomorrow and then I can help you.

In John 18, a blind man heard Jesus walk by and cried out, "Jesus, have mercy on me." Jesus healed the man of his sight. When we come in contact with people who are sad, broken, lonely, or lost, we have a chance to share the love of Christ, to make a difference. How often do we join "the crowd" in mocking the "different" people?

They have a need, we can help. Next time we see a person in tough times, let's stop and share Jesus with them. It could be a prayer, could be our friendship, could just be acknowledgment. Just like Jesus healing the blind man, people will be changed for-ever.