Live Your Assignment

​“My job is to get people to say: thank you Jesus.”
 
I was recently at a training about planned giving and one of the trainers said the above quote. I thought how interesting! Even though this gentleman’s job was really to act as a Christian Giving Counselor, his self-proclaimed purpose was to help people recognize where their gifts really come from. 

SINFUL HUMANS CAN BE SELFISH
 
In this world, it is so easy to get caught up in ourselves, our life, our actions; what WE did. Success always seems to be internalized as something WE accomplished. Let’s address the other extreme – blaming God for our misfortune. What an interesting change of heart! I think we all can recognize how easy it is to praise our fortunes as our own, but blame our bad luck on God. Don’t let yourself become infected with self-pride, but rather be a humble servant of Christ.
 
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (Romans 12:3). 

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OUR GIFTS BLESS OTHERS
 
God has entrusted us each with our own gifts and talents according to our abilities. In essence, we are stewards of grace-gifts from God and we are to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s graces in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). Our blessings are not meant to be platforms for gaining self-esteem and significance, but rather to be a gift to others.
 
This is a two-way blessing, in that God provides us with an opportunity to not only humble ourselves by the gifts He has given, but also bless others with those gifts. How cool is that?! We each have the opportunity to use the blessings God has given us to bless others and sanctify ourselves. Thank you Jesus!

LIVE TO THANK JESUS!
I am sure that not many of us have thought of our life as an assignment from God. But God tells us that we are all called for His purpose. Ah yes, Romans 8:28 may be coming to mind now… (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose).
So let’s ask the WELS question: What does this mean? 

​LIVE YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Whether your talents and gifts are money, time, or a specific talent, use it to glorify God and His purpose for your life. Ultimately, use your gifts to bless others, but never forget to say, “Thank you Jesus”!
Do you have a gift or talent that you could use to serve the mothers and babies at New Beginnings? 

Brianne Hansen is the Executive Director at New Beginnings. She grew up in Marshall, WI and graduated from Lakeside Lutheran High School. Brianne has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. In her free time, she enjoys singing, camping, refurbishing furniture and spending time with her husband, Daniel.  

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