Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4)
In the previous two blogs, we've learned that everything belongs to God and that we should give back to Him at least a tenth of what He blesses us with, so that the teachers of God will not have to worry about their needs being met, and in turn they can have the resources available to help meet the needs of others and intercede to God on their behalf. We who are the church, the body of Christ have many members. No member of the body should remain in a condition of being without, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. (I Corinthians 12:25, in context I Corinthians 12:12-30) This is one of the greatest blessings of being a part of the body of Christ, each of us caring for one another, in a real way that manifests itself in this world as a true witness to others: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
But not only should we give tithes, we should also give firstfruits and offerings. This is to go above and beyond the minimum requirement of a tenth. “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth,... (Deuteronomy 8:18) Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10) Yet again, obdience to God results in being blessed beyond expectation. No, not everyone will be rich, but we all can be wealthy, which means to have all our needs met. And how do we have true wealth, having all our needs met?
As Jesus explains in the parable above, the poor widow gave all she had - what a sacrife and a profession of faith! It's easier to give 10 from 100, when we know we will have 90 left. But if we only have 10 and give the whole 10 to God, what is the reason or the purpose behind doing so? To prove to ourselves that we know we are not in control of our lives, but that God is first in our lives and we trust him completely to take care of all our needs: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ..., O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 12: 22-34) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
"You Can't Beat God's Giving" by the Caravans
You can't beat God's giving, no matter how you try.
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The more you
give, the more He give to you,
but keep on giving because it's really
true
that you can't beat God's giving, no matter how you try.
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