Giving
I love the New Living Translation. I would like to quote a portion of scripture from it for you today. It applies to giving and says it so beautifully that I cannot improve on it. Listen-----------
2 Cor. 9:6-15
Remember this ---- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop.
But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give.
Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure.
For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.
And God will generously provide all you need.
Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
As the Scriptures say,
Godly people give generously to the poor.
Their good deeds will never be forgotten.
For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat.
In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.
And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God.
So two good things will happen ---- the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God.
You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts.
For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.
And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you.
Thank God for his Son ---- a gift too wonderful for words!
Our greatest example of giving is our Heavenly Father. What a giver. He gave His only Son so that we might live forever and walk in a life of freedom with our sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus. God so loved the world that He gave. We must so love the world, the people in it, that we give. And we can only give freely through the help of the Spirit of God. He causes us to be selfless rather than selfish. He is our example for all time. He so loved that He gave. We so love that we give.
What we give to others we will receive in abundance. Giving must come from a heart of love with no strings attached. That is the way the Lord gives and teaches us to give. Today, ask Him who you can give to and what you are to give. The life of giving is a life worth living. It produces such a sense of completion and peace in our lives when it is given from a heart of God’s Love. Love must be the motive. The Holy Spirit must be the director. Ask Him what you can give today. It may be something as simple as a smile to a person in the grocery store or something as huge as a big financial gift or a big portion of your time devoted to helping someone. Whatever it is, when God is in the middle of it, it is wonderful.
Practice the life of giving. Be like your Father. And remember to learn how to receive also. Be on both the giving and the receiving end with God. It is a delightful life, one worth living.
2 Cor. 9:6-15
Remember this ---- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop.
But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give.
Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure.
For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.
And God will generously provide all you need.
Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
As the Scriptures say,
Godly people give generously to the poor.
Their good deeds will never be forgotten.
For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat.
In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.
And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God.
So two good things will happen ---- the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God.
You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts.
For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.
And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you.
Thank God for his Son ---- a gift too wonderful for words!
Our greatest example of giving is our Heavenly Father. What a giver. He gave His only Son so that we might live forever and walk in a life of freedom with our sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus. God so loved the world that He gave. We must so love the world, the people in it, that we give. And we can only give freely through the help of the Spirit of God. He causes us to be selfless rather than selfish. He is our example for all time. He so loved that He gave. We so love that we give.
What we give to others we will receive in abundance. Giving must come from a heart of love with no strings attached. That is the way the Lord gives and teaches us to give. Today, ask Him who you can give to and what you are to give. The life of giving is a life worth living. It produces such a sense of completion and peace in our lives when it is given from a heart of God’s Love. Love must be the motive. The Holy Spirit must be the director. Ask Him what you can give today. It may be something as simple as a smile to a person in the grocery store or something as huge as a big financial gift or a big portion of your time devoted to helping someone. Whatever it is, when God is in the middle of it, it is wonderful.
Practice the life of giving. Be like your Father. And remember to learn how to receive also. Be on both the giving and the receiving end with God. It is a delightful life, one worth living.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:17 PM
<< Home