Giving Grows Your Faith

[Giving Grows Your Faith]( Current Teaching Series [The Habits of Happiness]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Giving Grows Your Faith]( By Rick Warren — 07/01/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” Philippians 2:4-5 (NLT) Every time you show generosity out of a loving heart, you strengthen your faith and become more like Jesus. That’s because every time you’re generous, a change takes place in you. Every time you give, your heart moves another notch up the dial toward God. You become more loving. You become more like Jesus. Philippians 1:11 says, “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God” (NLT). God wants you to learn that you can give without loving—but you cannot love without giving. You say, “I really love my kids!” But do you give them your time? You say, “I really love my wife.” But do you give her your attention? This is what love is all about. You become more loving—and, therefore, more like Jesus—when you become more generous. What we’re talking about here is extremely countercultural. Society does not tell you to give; our culture constantly tells you to get. It’s an “all about me” world—me, my stuff, my needs—me, me, me. But when you’re generous, it takes the focus off you so you can think about others. Philippians 2:4-5 says, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (NLT). Showing generosity also strengthens your faith. When you use your resources to help others, instead of using them on yourself, you have to depend on God to help you. When you choose to help a friend who’s having a tough time paying his bills, you have to learn to trust God to provide for you. When you use your time to help your neighbor, you have to trust God to make it work so you can get your stuff done too. Your faith is strengthened when you depend on God in those situations and trust him. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (NLT). Once, during a time of special giving at Saddleback Church, before I had written any books, God led Kay and me to give away our salary over a three-year period. For those three years, we had to trust God to somehow provide income. And he did. Each time God tested us, and we remained faithful, our faith became stronger as we saw God provided faithfully. God will do the same for you when you give generously. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What have you learned about God as you have become more generous? - When have you had to trust God to provide for you as a result of your generosity? - How has another person’s generosity drawn you closer to Jesus? Have you trusted Jesus with your life? The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot earn your way into heaven: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). If you’re ready to confess your sins and to trust Jesus with your life, start with this prayer: “Dear God, you have promised that if I believe in Jesus, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. “I confess my sin, and I submit to Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Jesus, I want to follow you and serve you. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Giving Grows Your Faith]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get The Habits of Happiness Scripture Cards when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Scripture memorization is a powerful tool to help you remember God’s promises, principles, and the purposes he has for you. That’s why Pastor Rick created The Habits of Happiness Scripture card set, with 52 key verses from his Habits of Happiness teaching series that will help you discover God’s path to true and lasting happiness. These colorful, eye-catching cards make it easy to memorize the Word of God so you have it when you need it most. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Habits of Happiness. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Grow Healthy Relationships Message 2: How to Be Happy No Matter What Message 3: The Humble Path to Happiness Message 4: How to Keep Your Heart Happy Message 5: Happiness Can Be Learned Message 6: Five Daily Habits for Happiness Message 7: How to Keep from Stressing Out Message 8: God's Promise to the Generous [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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