Praise the
Lord for the new day. It will be one of the ten best days of October. The fall
foliage is still brilliant around here, as we had our first frost few days ago.
Though many trees have shed their leaves, others are breaking out with brilliant
plumage. We have had abundant Autumn rains. The trees of the fields and the
hills and the meadows look sharp with brilliant colors.
We will
meet for our Wednesday Gathering this evening at 6 PM for food, fellowship, and
study, followed by the choir practice. We are studying the series by Bruce
Wilkerson, "The Life God Rewards". The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation
to a life of JOY. It is a life that expresses itself in generosity. There is
a story of two business men who were flying to a conference overseas. The small
plane they were in developed engine problems and they had to crash land on a
deserted island. One of the men began to cry stating that he will never get to
see his kids grow up and never tell his wife how much he loved her. The other
man simply leaned against a palm tree and fell asleep. His friend woke him and
confronted him – “How can you sleep? Don’t you care that we are going to die on
this island?” At this the calm companion said, “I am not worried at all. I
make $500,000 a year and I always faithfully give ten percent to my church. I
know my pastor will find me!”
Growing a generous heart involves understanding that giving without expecting something back is means of eternal investment. Paul expresses this in the verse: “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (Philippians4:17).
Randy Alcorn said, “You can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead.” If our hearts are in the right place we will have an eternal perspective about having a generous heart. It’s like the story of the sailor who was shipwrecked on a South Sea island. He was seized by the natives who carried him to their village and set him on a crude throne. They treated him as royalty. Soon he learned that their custom was once each year to make a man king, king for a year. He thought this was a pretty good deal until he started wondering what happened to all the former kings after their year was up. He found out that after the year, the king was banished to a deserted island where he starved to death. That worried him, but he was a smart king, so he put his carpenters to work making boats and his gardeners to work transplanting fruit trees and other crops to the island where he would be banished. His carpenters built a nice home there. So when his year was over, he was banished, not to a barren island, but to an island of abundance.
The point of the story illustrates a spiritual truth: what we do now with our earthly goods has eternal consequences for our eternal rewards. The greatest treasure is having a relationship with Jesus. Giving to others here and now shows that we want that eternal relationship with Jesus. Money that is given to help others is called fruit. Our gifts to others are encouraged by God, noticed by God and greatly desired by God.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21).
Someone has said, “God raises our standard of living so we can raise our standard of giving.” The act of giving isn’t only for the benefit of the recipient. By our giving we show God that our hearts are rich toward him. We show that we trust him with what he gave us in the first place. Giving is evidence of spiritual maturity as we grow into the likeness of Christ.
Growing a generous heart involves understanding that giving without expecting something back is means of eternal investment. Paul expresses this in the verse: “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (Philippians4:17).
Randy Alcorn said, “You can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead.” If our hearts are in the right place we will have an eternal perspective about having a generous heart. It’s like the story of the sailor who was shipwrecked on a South Sea island. He was seized by the natives who carried him to their village and set him on a crude throne. They treated him as royalty. Soon he learned that their custom was once each year to make a man king, king for a year. He thought this was a pretty good deal until he started wondering what happened to all the former kings after their year was up. He found out that after the year, the king was banished to a deserted island where he starved to death. That worried him, but he was a smart king, so he put his carpenters to work making boats and his gardeners to work transplanting fruit trees and other crops to the island where he would be banished. His carpenters built a nice home there. So when his year was over, he was banished, not to a barren island, but to an island of abundance.
The point of the story illustrates a spiritual truth: what we do now with our earthly goods has eternal consequences for our eternal rewards. The greatest treasure is having a relationship with Jesus. Giving to others here and now shows that we want that eternal relationship with Jesus. Money that is given to help others is called fruit. Our gifts to others are encouraged by God, noticed by God and greatly desired by God.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21).
Someone has said, “God raises our standard of living so we can raise our standard of giving.” The act of giving isn’t only for the benefit of the recipient. By our giving we show God that our hearts are rich toward him. We show that we trust him with what he gave us in the first place. Giving is evidence of spiritual maturity as we grow into the likeness of Christ.
In
Christ,
