Tag: CheerfulGiver

Posted on

Love to Give

What is it that gives you joy? I mean, what do you really like to do?

I love to cook, bake, be in the kitchen and I love to share what I make with others. It’s what I do.

This morning Paul is talking to the Christians in Corinith about what they love to do. Give.

“Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 As the Scriptures say,

“He gives generously to the poor; his goodness will continue forever.”

10 God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness. 11 God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.

12 The service you are offering helps God’s people with their needs, but that is not all it does. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God. 13 This service is a proof of your faith, and people will praise God because of it. They will praise God that you freely share what you have with them and with all people. They will praise him to see you following the Good News about Christ that you openly accepted. They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all people. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this way because of the great grace that God gave you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to describe.” II Corinithians 9:7-15 ERV

Giving should be done because we love to do it not because someone has made us feel guilty or coerced into it. When we give from what we have we bless others and bring glory to God.

Our gift is a seed that brings a harvest and provides more for future giving. Don’t be grudge the size of the gift. To someone who has nothing a gift of a $1 is great; to someone with little an extra $10 seems like a fortune.

I remember a time we were given a freezer full of ground beef by a local dairyman. We had more than our freezer could hold so I called a friend to see if they would like some beef. I wanted to share our blessing.

She was nearly in tears. I put some meat in the car and headed to her place. She had been praying for some meat for dinner, so we were both blessed by a gift and blessed by giving.

Let the Lord show you today what you have to give and then if He prompts you, give it from a cheerful heart.

God has given us SO much it’s a joy to give to others on His behalf!!

Posted on

Generosity Is God’s Gift

I have to admit that I struggled with generosity for quite some time. Not that I was selfish, I just didn’t think that the “little” I had could make a difference in someone else’s life. And then I realized that giving is a gift to the one giving as well as the one receiving.

Generosity and trust go hand in hand.

Some people are stingy and miserly because they are afraid they won’t have enough for themselves. Others react that way because they feel everything they have is a result of “their” own hard work and so they have no desire to share.

But a truly generous person realizes that everything they have is a blessing from the Lord and that they can trust God to provide ALL their needs. When the Lord instructs us to give He provides!

I was really challenged by the story of Elijah and the widow woman of Zarepath this morning. Oh, I’ve read it many times – many times but this morning I was challenged.

“There was no rain, so after a while the stream became dry… 9 “Go to Zarephath in Sidon and stay there. There is a widow there that I commanded to take care of you…Elijah said to her, “Would you bring me a small cup of water to drink?” 11 As she was going to get the water, Elijah said, “Bring me a piece of bread too, please.”

12 The woman answered, “I promise you, before the Lord your God, that I have nothing but a handful of flour in a jar and a little bit of olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather a few pieces of wood for a fire to cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”

13 Elijah said to the woman, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you said. But first make a small piece of bread from the flour that you have and bring it to me. Then cook some for yourself and your son. 14 The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”

15 So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And Elijah, the woman, and her son had enough food for a long time. 16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord said through Elijah.”
I Kings 17:7-16 ERV

Here we have a widowed woman in a town who is down to her very last morsel of food. And she is presented with a life and death challenge. This preacher walks into town and requests some bread.

She has a choice – obey God and feed the prophet or make her bread, feed her son and starve. I’m sure she struggled a bit in making her decision. Maybe her struggle came when the Lord first spoke to her or maybe it was when she was confronted by the prophet. A mother who has already seen her husband die and now she knows the life of her son is in danger – her instinct is to protect her child.

She chooses to obey God! Struggle over – victory comes.

What are you struggling with today? Has the Lord asked you to be a blessing to someone – maybe even a stranger? Be obedient, follow the Lord’s instruction, His provision is always enough!

Posted on

Fall Harvest

The fall harvest isn’t something we really get to see and enjoy here in southern Arizona. There aren’t many opportunities to enjoy the changing leaves, the vegetable gardens rendering their bounty or workers in the fields.

However, there is a harvest for the soul and it’s called Thanksgiving!

“Make everyone praise you and shout your praises.6 Our God has blessed the earth with a wonderful harvest!7 Pray for his blessings to continue and for everyone on earth to worship our God.” Psalm 67:5-7 CEV

Our God has blessed us…pray for His blessings to continue. Oh yes, yes He has.

I want you to look back at this past year. Can you name three unexpected and wonderful blessings? Now, go beyond those three and add three more blessings from last week. Pick three more of your most cherished moments from the summer – and another three from the spring.

If memories are your harvest and your heart is the wagon that contains them, you now have a dozen praise-worthy blessings to fill it.

I’m sure if you thought a little longer your harvest would increase and your heart would be overflowing with God’s goodness. So, what do you do with the overflow?

God isn’t wasteful and He has a plan for our “wonderful harvest” that the psalmist wrote about.

“When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of your fields and don’t pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the Lord your God!” Leviticus 23:22 CEV

When the Jewish people went into their fields to bring in the harvest they were instructed to leave some at the edges of the field. What they left was for those who were less fortunate.

Look around. Who do you know that has had a rough time recently? Who could benefit from the abundance of your blessing?

I remember a time when our cupboards were nearly bare. When there was very little and really nothing to share but share we did. We never ate the last of the groceries by ourselves, we invited friends to dinner. We had a night of joy and laughter and we praised God for good health and His love.

Each time, I specifically remember, each time we were in such a situation there would be a knock on the door the next day and someone would come by who had just butchered a hog or a beef, someone who had harvested their garden or a dairyman who had extra butter, cheese and a gallon of milk.

These were people who had let us share in their harvest, all without knowing that we were in need but God did and He provided.

Ask the Father if there is someone who needs you to share your bounty. If He doesn’t put anyone on your heart immediately just stay open to when He does. However, if the Lord impresses you with a face and a name, follow through. It could be a blessing of food, time, money, encouragement, or help.

Give generously because the Father has given generously to you!

Posted on

A Plentiful Harvest

For a number of years Dave and I spent our summers in Iowa when the farmland was bursting with corn stalks. Did you know that an ear of corn has an average of 800 kernels per ear and that one corn stalk only has an average of two to three ears per stalk? Think about that. One kernel of planted corn seed produces, on average, 2400 new kernels to replace itself.

Amazing!

God has placed seed within everything He has made. All of nature is created to be productive…

The Apostle Paul taught about harvest when he wrote a letter to the Christians who were living in Corinth. He was talking to them about sowing seeds of finances to help another group of Christians who were facing a rough time. Look at what He said:

      “Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop… God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. 8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon…This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.” II Corinthians 9:6-11 MSG

Everything in our lives comes by planting seeds. This need required a seed of financial help and Paul said that it would be returned to them according to their heart’s intent. He instructed them not to give because they were coerced, instead he wanted them to give cheerfully and generously. When we give with this attitude God replenishes the seed and gives us more.

Whatever it is we sow or give should be done with a  generous attitude. We can plant any number of seeds. I particularly like to plant seeds of joy, encouragement, understanding, helpfulness, tolerance, peace, and love. As these seeds grow, I bring in a harvest and can share it generously with those around me and that brings glory to the Father.

The seeds that Jesus sowed everywhere He went were the seeds of reconciliation or renewed relationship with the Father.

      “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues, and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:35-38 NLT

We get to help with the harvest of reconciliation. The seeds of forgiveness and new life are sown by God’s word and we are chosen to bring in those whose lives are changed.

      “… And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!” II Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT

Farmers do not receive medals like the soldiers or the victor’s crown that athletes are awarded, their reward for diligence is the harvest. When we assist Christ in the harvest, we receive a crown and so do those who grow to relationship with Christ because of the seeds sown.

Join me in planting seeds of reconciliation and forgiveness, joy, love and understanding. The harvest is amazing!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress