“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

Many believers who have known the Lord for years face spiritual stagnation. They say, “I’ve been a Christian for so long. I know the Bible so well. I go to church every week. What’s wrong with me?”

I can tell you what’s wrong. They need an outlet for their inlet. If you don’t have an outlet for what you are taking in, then you will stagnate. The truth of God’s Word was not designed to be hoarded, but to be shared. And the more you give out, the more God gives to you.

Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” The Bible is saying that if you want a full soul and a rich life, then give freely of what you have…be it time, talent, or treasure.

It’s a radical thought, and it flies in the face of what we hear today—especially in our touchy-feely, narcissistic culture in which we’re all trying to help our wounded inner child and build our self-esteem.

Jesus was saying, “Want to find life? Then lose it. Deny yourself.” This means we stop focusing on ourselves and start thinking about other people and their needs. Then we will find what we’ve been looking for all along—not by searching for it, but as the byproduct of a life that is properly aligned with God