Each morning I wake up and have my coffee with the Lord and it's the very best part of my day. He always brings up something interesting and relevant to think on and talk to Him about. Invariably, when I'm actually awake and studying His word a little later, no matter where my reading plan takes me that day, He finds a way to include His subject in what I'm studying. It's kind of funny now because I almost expect it and it's like a race to see if I can finish my study without Him finding a way to sneak it in, or if He can sneak it in when I've finally put it out of my mind.
Today it was about giving. He knows this is a subject dear to my heart as I've told Him that I want to be like David who "gave willingly, rejoicing with great joy at the privilege." But that wasn't exactly what He had on His mind. Instead, He showed me in Nehemiah how the stronger people are in their faith, the more they give and that they give feeling joyful for the opportunity. And of course the opposite was also shown there, that the more carnal, or worldly the people became, the less they gave and the less joy and willingness they felt to do so.
When I'd been thinking on the subject this morning, it made sense to me because the first thing that came to mind was “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). When we start to decline spiritually, pulling away from the Lord and the church (the body of Christ), our main interest, desire, or treasure, is no longer the Lord and His kingdom, instead it's us. I guess we could use our giving like a spiritual thermometer of our walk with the Lord. It can be a measure of our spiritual temperature, and knowing it can help us get it or keep it where it belongs.
I saw a great quote about this today too (of course lol) “Giving to others is one secret of staying alive and fresh in the Christian life. If all we do is receive, then we become reservoirs; and the water can become stale and polluted. But if we both receive and give, we become like channels; and in blessing others, we bless ourselves.”
Whenever we talk about giving, the first thing we all generally think of is money, and money is certainly a big part of it. But it's not the only thing we give. Giving also involves giving of our time to others in the body of Christ. It could be visiting with others who don't get out much. I'm not speaking of making a duty call, but of actually giving of yourself to them. Becoming their friend and spending time with them regularly. In that way you're giving two things really, yourself and your time. Giving could also be giving time and abilities to the body of Christ; perhaps if you can paint it would mean spending time painting a room or the sanctuary, or the whole building, or perhaps, another members home. You could provide yourself, your time, and possibly even the paint. What a tremendous gift that would be!
There's many, many ways we can give to the Lord. Everything we have, and everything we are comes from Him, so really we're only giving it back to Him, when we give money, time, talent, abilities, etc. to help the Church, or any member of the body of Christ. We know the Lord tells us that when one member is hurting, that it effects all of us and that we're to care for each other like the family He has made us into. (1 Cor 12:26; Rom 12:15; Gal 6:2; etc)
As far as money goes though, I'd asked the Lord who I should give to. Who He wanted me to give to. When I originally asked Him this question, He brought me to Gal 6:6 which tells us that we're to share with the pastor/teacher/person who instructs us in His Word. But how much are we to give? Personally, I prefer to ask the Lord what He wants me to give each time, instead of just automatically pulling out 10% like the OT Jew's did. We're told in 2 Cor 8 that God wants us to give according to our means, and according to what we have, not what we don't have or wish we had. Again in 1 Cor 16 He tells us that it should be in keeping with our income. Mark 12:41–44 tells us of a widow that only gave what amounted to less then a penny, but it was all she had, and she gave it not because the law demanded it, but because she wanted to give it, and she did so with joy. God isn't interested in how much we give, He's interested in what's in our hearts when we give it.
Obviously if we give to the person who instructs us in God's Word, for most of us that means giving to our local church. But is that all we're supposed to do? Is that the only place we're supposed to give? I don't think so. I think the Lord calls us to give whenever the opportunity presents itself. It might be to someone we see on the street or in a store, or to a need we've been made aware of about someone at our church or in our community. It doesn't even have to be to another Christian, for the Lord calls us to be kind and giving to unbelievers as well to show them His love for them. If we ask the Lord to give us opportunities to give, or to make us aware of the opportunities around us, He will, and we will find many opportunities to show the Love of the Lord to others and give back to the Lord some of what He's given us so generously. I've got to share one last quote the Lord surprised me with today. I thought it was great and it made me laugh too: “The world is full of two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. The takers eat well—but the givers sleep well.”
The Lord continued to teaching me about this the last few days too and really got right to the heart of the issue I've been having concerning giving. Since Bruce got laid off, I've felt that I needed to first pay my fills before I gave to an organization to spread His Word. I told myself that God tells us that we're to pay our bills and not to let debts remain outstanding so that's what I've tried to do. I desperately wanted to give for the Kingdom, and frequently asked the Lord about it but felt I wasn't getting an answer beyond what I'd just said. I got frustrated with articles and sermons that spoke about it because none of them seemed to address the issue of what to do when you either barely made enough to pay the basic survival bills or didn't quite have enough to pay them. They all seemed to assume that everyone had enough to do that. But I have the answer now and it all revolves around one verse, a verse we're all very familiar with. Matthew 6:33 —But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. * The light bulb finally went off in my mind and I realized that I'd been seeking my home above His Kingdom! I thought I was doing right by paying my bills first, even though I knew that He would provide the money we needed. I thought I was being a good steward of what He gave me. Those were all just excuses though. Excuses to hide behind so I wouldn't have to face the fear that if I gave to further His Kingdom that I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, since we barely have enough to do that, and sometimes don't have enough to do so. I've often told Him that I sincerely don't want to be rich, but would just like enough money to pay our bills in full and on time each month and be able to give back to Him. I had it backwards. I needed to give to Him for the Kingdom first and then pay my bills! Thank You Lord!
Today it was about giving. He knows this is a subject dear to my heart as I've told Him that I want to be like David who "gave willingly, rejoicing with great joy at the privilege." But that wasn't exactly what He had on His mind. Instead, He showed me in Nehemiah how the stronger people are in their faith, the more they give and that they give feeling joyful for the opportunity. And of course the opposite was also shown there, that the more carnal, or worldly the people became, the less they gave and the less joy and willingness they felt to do so.
When I'd been thinking on the subject this morning, it made sense to me because the first thing that came to mind was “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). When we start to decline spiritually, pulling away from the Lord and the church (the body of Christ), our main interest, desire, or treasure, is no longer the Lord and His kingdom, instead it's us. I guess we could use our giving like a spiritual thermometer of our walk with the Lord. It can be a measure of our spiritual temperature, and knowing it can help us get it or keep it where it belongs.
I saw a great quote about this today too (of course lol) “Giving to others is one secret of staying alive and fresh in the Christian life. If all we do is receive, then we become reservoirs; and the water can become stale and polluted. But if we both receive and give, we become like channels; and in blessing others, we bless ourselves.”
Whenever we talk about giving, the first thing we all generally think of is money, and money is certainly a big part of it. But it's not the only thing we give. Giving also involves giving of our time to others in the body of Christ. It could be visiting with others who don't get out much. I'm not speaking of making a duty call, but of actually giving of yourself to them. Becoming their friend and spending time with them regularly. In that way you're giving two things really, yourself and your time. Giving could also be giving time and abilities to the body of Christ; perhaps if you can paint it would mean spending time painting a room or the sanctuary, or the whole building, or perhaps, another members home. You could provide yourself, your time, and possibly even the paint. What a tremendous gift that would be!
There's many, many ways we can give to the Lord. Everything we have, and everything we are comes from Him, so really we're only giving it back to Him, when we give money, time, talent, abilities, etc. to help the Church, or any member of the body of Christ. We know the Lord tells us that when one member is hurting, that it effects all of us and that we're to care for each other like the family He has made us into. (1 Cor 12:26; Rom 12:15; Gal 6:2; etc)
As far as money goes though, I'd asked the Lord who I should give to. Who He wanted me to give to. When I originally asked Him this question, He brought me to Gal 6:6 which tells us that we're to share with the pastor/teacher/person who instructs us in His Word. But how much are we to give? Personally, I prefer to ask the Lord what He wants me to give each time, instead of just automatically pulling out 10% like the OT Jew's did. We're told in 2 Cor 8 that God wants us to give according to our means, and according to what we have, not what we don't have or wish we had. Again in 1 Cor 16 He tells us that it should be in keeping with our income. Mark 12:41–44 tells us of a widow that only gave what amounted to less then a penny, but it was all she had, and she gave it not because the law demanded it, but because she wanted to give it, and she did so with joy. God isn't interested in how much we give, He's interested in what's in our hearts when we give it.
Obviously if we give to the person who instructs us in God's Word, for most of us that means giving to our local church. But is that all we're supposed to do? Is that the only place we're supposed to give? I don't think so. I think the Lord calls us to give whenever the opportunity presents itself. It might be to someone we see on the street or in a store, or to a need we've been made aware of about someone at our church or in our community. It doesn't even have to be to another Christian, for the Lord calls us to be kind and giving to unbelievers as well to show them His love for them. If we ask the Lord to give us opportunities to give, or to make us aware of the opportunities around us, He will, and we will find many opportunities to show the Love of the Lord to others and give back to the Lord some of what He's given us so generously. I've got to share one last quote the Lord surprised me with today. I thought it was great and it made me laugh too: “The world is full of two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. The takers eat well—but the givers sleep well.”
The Lord continued to teaching me about this the last few days too and really got right to the heart of the issue I've been having concerning giving. Since Bruce got laid off, I've felt that I needed to first pay my fills before I gave to an organization to spread His Word. I told myself that God tells us that we're to pay our bills and not to let debts remain outstanding so that's what I've tried to do. I desperately wanted to give for the Kingdom, and frequently asked the Lord about it but felt I wasn't getting an answer beyond what I'd just said. I got frustrated with articles and sermons that spoke about it because none of them seemed to address the issue of what to do when you either barely made enough to pay the basic survival bills or didn't quite have enough to pay them. They all seemed to assume that everyone had enough to do that. But I have the answer now and it all revolves around one verse, a verse we're all very familiar with. Matthew 6:33 —But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. * The light bulb finally went off in my mind and I realized that I'd been seeking my home above His Kingdom! I thought I was doing right by paying my bills first, even though I knew that He would provide the money we needed. I thought I was being a good steward of what He gave me. Those were all just excuses though. Excuses to hide behind so I wouldn't have to face the fear that if I gave to further His Kingdom that I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, since we barely have enough to do that, and sometimes don't have enough to do so. I've often told Him that I sincerely don't want to be rich, but would just like enough money to pay our bills in full and on time each month and be able to give back to Him. I had it backwards. I needed to give to Him for the Kingdom first and then pay my bills! Thank You Lord!
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