Following God

The Life of Abraham

How to make all your

relationships better.

So far. . .• Following God means

embracing uncertainty.• Even though you don’t

know the whole route, you usually know what the next step is.

• Don’t stop half-way.• God wants to bless your

socks off!

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and

you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and

whoever curses you I will curse;

and you can keep this blessing to yourself. Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)

I will bless those who bless you, and

whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed

through you. Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and

you will be a blessing.

Purpose:You are

blessed to be a blessing.

How to:You find

blessing by blessing others.

If your first concern is to look after yourself,

you’ll never find yourself. But if you

forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and

me. Matthew 10:39 (MSG)

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back,

but not merely given back—given back with

bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets

generosity.Luke 6:38 (MSG)

Think of yourselves the

way Christ Jesus thought

of himself.

He had equal status with God but didn't

think so much of himself that he had

to cling to the advantages of that status no matter

what.

Not at all. When the time came, he

set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!

Having become human, he stayed human. It was an

incredibly humbling process. He didn't

claim special privileges.

Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life

and then died a selfless, obedient

death—and the worst kind of death at that:

a crucifixion. Philippians 2:5-8

(MSG)

Those who had expressed materialistic aspirations as freshmen—that is, making money was their primary goal—were less satisfied with their lives two

decades later.

Yet most people still report that “more money”

would definitely enhance the

quality of their lives.

Since 1967 an annual study called the

American Freshman Survey has probed the attitudes and

plans of freshmen all around the United

States.

In its last year—2005—263,710 students at 385 colleges and universities responded. A record high number of freshmen,

71 percent, said it’s important to be “very well off financially,” compared with 42 percent in 1967.

Said it’s important to be “very well off financially.”

1967 20050

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

42 71

Psychologists interviewed some

lucky individuals who had won between fifty thousand and

one million dollars (in 1970s dollars) in the Illinois State Lottery.

Strikingly, less than a year after receiving the potentially life-changing

news of winning the lottery, they reported being no more happy than regular folks who had not experienced the sudden windfall.

Over the next few years we found that the happiest people

take pleasure in other people’s successes

and show concern in the face of others’

failures.

What scientific research has recently

contributed to this agelong principle is

evidence that practicing acts of kindness is not

only good for the recipient but also good

for the doer.

It may be ironic, but being kind and good,

even when it’s unpleasant or when

one expects or receives nothing in return, may

also be in the doer’s self-interest.

“If you want to be happy,

practice compassion.”

“True happiness consists in

making others happy.”

For example, we know that happier people

are more likely to describe themselves as

doing frequent altruistic acts (e.g., shopping for sick

friends or stopping to help strangers),

to spend a greater percentage of their time

helping others, and to perform behaviors at

the office that go beyond the call of duty (e.g., helping colleagues

with work problems despite their own heavy

workloads).

Kindness can jump-start a cascade of positive social consequences. Helping others leads people to like you, to

appreciate you, to offer gratitude. It also may

lead people to reciprocate in your

times of need.

Surveys of volunteers, for example, show that

volunteering is associated with diminished

depressive symptoms and enhanced feelings of

happiness, self-worth, mastery, and personal

control—a “helper’s high.”

Toward the end of his life, Aldous Huxley said, in a lecture,

“People often ask me what is the most effective technique for

transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after

years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say

that the best answer is—

Toward the end of his life, Aldous Huxley said, in a lecture,

“People often ask me what is the most effective technique for

transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after

years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say

that the best answer is—just be a little kinder.”

You can safely say—and scientific research confirms it—that kind people are healthier and live longer, are more popular and productive, have greater success in business, and are

happier than others.

You are blessed to be a blessing.

If you want to be blessed, give yourself to

blessing others.

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