I usually write about interesting facts that I have found or scriptual discoveries about which I have read. However, I have come to realize that many Christians do not receive the blessings the Lord is willing to give because they do not apply a basic Bible principle to their lives.

As Believers we have no problem accepting the principle of receiving the results of certain actions. We accept that if you smoke enough, the result is emphysema or lung cancer. We accept that if you practice promiscuous sex, the result could be syphilis, gonorhea, or perhaps the HIV virus. We accept that if you murder someone, you probably are going to prison. This is, after all, a Biblical principle stated over and over. "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7)

If we accept negative results of our actions, why then do we have a problem accepting the positive side of this Biblical principle? If we do kind deeds, they will be returned to us. If we give generously to others, we will receive generous blessings.

The same principle applies to churches as well as individuals. The church that looks outward to help missionaries, to start other churches, to help the "widows and orphans" will be richly blessed. This is a fact.

I will say no more, but let God's Word speak. Read the following passages, apply them to your life, and be blessed:

• Job 4:8 - As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
• Psalms 112:5 - Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
• Proverbs 3:9-10 - Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
• Proverbs 11:24 - One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
• Proverbs 11:25 - A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
• Proverbs 22:9 - A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
• Luke 6:38 - 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.”
• Acts 20:35 - In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
• II Corinthians 9:6 - Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

It is impossible to "out give" God.