Speaking on the biblical feasts or appointed times the Lord says that three times a year all men (believers) should appear before the Lord at the place he chooses and that no one should appear before the Lord empty-handed! But the Lord also says this in the next verse --> Deuteronomy 16:17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. Think about that for a moment. We dont show up empty-handed because God is our Father who provides for his children! This is why we should give in proportion to how he has blessed us. Yes, thats going to look different for everyone and this is why giving should be done in secret so we wont compare or look down on others. Ive seen this sort of shaming about giving and how much you give being done in churches and I wish it would stop because it goes against the Lords word Heres the other thing though, everything we offer/give to the Lord must cost us something. I learned this from King David and happened to stumble upon it this morning as I was reading. I urge you to read the whole story but heres what he says about sacrificing/offering to the Lord in 2 Samuel 24:24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” Giving has to cost us something! Its easy to give left-overs or something that youre going to throw out anyways--there isnt much effort or personal sacrifice in that. To give something that costs you something, well thats different, thats a sacrifice . . . Thats what Jesus did, arent we supposed to be Christ like? So what if Im broke and dont have anything to give? Thats a lie because we all have something to give, whether its money, time, talent-we have something to offer the Lord. To say we have nothing is to say God isnt a good Father, isnt a provider. The Lord has lovingly rebuked my I dont have anything attitude and my perspective has changed for good because of it. One last thing, I think of Jesus and what he said to his disciples about the widow who gave what she had left and it definitely cost her everything --> Mark 12:43-44 “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” . . . May we give to the Lord like that widow did, Blessings
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 18:47:09 +0000
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