Category: Giving

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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!!

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Good Gifts

We recently celebrated Dave’s birthday with all the kids and grandkids! It was a great time. Love, joy and presents.

They blessed Dave with a new smoker/grill and all the accessories! He was so surprised and thrilled.

Giving gifts to those we love just seems to come naturally. They don’t have to be big and expensive; simple and handmade gifts are meaningful too. It’s the fact that gifts come from the heart that makes them so special.

It’s probably not your birthday today but I have found some wonderful gifts chosen specifically for you.

“Christ gave each one of us a special gift. Everyone received what he wanted to give them. ” Ephesians 4:7 ERV

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ERV

“You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.” Ephesians 2:8-9 CEV

“ Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing.” James 1:17 CEV

It didn’t take Dave long to begin to tell his friends about what the kids had given him. Yes, he was bragging on them. I think our heavenly Father likes it when we brag about His goodness.

“With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! 2 With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4 and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads.” Psalm 103:1-4 CEV

“…you still know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11 ERV

“Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because now you know God and Jesus our Lord. 3 Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.” II Peter 1:2-4 ERV

God’s gifts are called blessings. From the very beginning of time our Father looked for ways to give. He gave Adam and Eve a garden and filled it with all that was good. He gave the people of Israel a promised land filled with good things. He gave His promises and He never breaks His word.

He gave us His Son and a new life. All of these are very good gifts and worth bragging about!

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Receiving and Giving

Several years ago, I wrote a book for the Advent Season. It is a 30-day devotional centered on the many gifts God has given us. He is a father who truly loves giving the best to his children.

“But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Deuteronomy 5:10 NLT

However, He isn’t a selfish Father. He wants us to share the blessings we receive with others.

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:38 NLT

Dave and I love to give. God has planted that in our hearts in a marvelous way but there was a time we had nothing to give, we had to learn to receive. Friends brought a trunk full of groceries and gifts to our door just before Christmas. They said “we were just in the neighborhood”. That wasn’t completely true, they lived over 45 miles away, but their hearts were linked to ours and they followed the Lord’s leading and gave.

When we learn to receive from the Father, we are then enabled to give according to the Father’s heart. He gives unconditional love. He gives safety and protection, He promises to provide our every need. He gives us joy unspeakable, freedom from fear and worry.

“How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.” Psalm 31:19 NLT

Never despise the size of your gift, thinking it’s too small or insignificant. To someone with an empty pantry two cans of beans is a feast. For someone who has only a dollar left to their name a ten-dollar bill is a huge blessing. Someone who has lost their life’s partner and are having their first Christmas alone will be blessed to join your family’s celebration.

“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” II Corinthians 9:7-8 NLT

Give generously, not only at Christmas but all year through. Give what you have so graciously received from the Father. The blessing comes in giving what we have received!

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A Different Perspective

Today’s Thanksgiving memory takes me back over 40 years. Our oldest daughter was not quite a year old. We had gone to the grocery store to get the things we needed for our Thanksgiving dinner.

She was in the grocery cart, smiling at the grandparent-type people passing by. One older man was startled when she reached out to touch his hand. He scowled at her and made a grumpy comment. Her face puckered and she was on the verge of tears when an older woman and her husband stepped up. They told her how pretty she was, and the smile returned to her face.

May I say here that not everyone is happy about Thanksgiving. Theirs is a different perspective.

Maybe it’s there first year to be alone; no family will be around their table or maybe their spouse is ill. It could be they are just grumpy.

Today we’re going to look at thankfulness in another way – how do we treat the unthankful? I’m glad you asked. Jesus gave this instruction to his disciples.

 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:35-38 NLT

Jesus’ instruction was clear – we are to be an example of God to those we deal with each day. We were all sinners by nature but Jesus freely gave His life so that we could have eternal life and be brought into right relationship with God the Father. He gave freely and so should we.

Look at the second phrase in today’s verses, lend without expecting to get anything back. What have we lent, our time, friendship, our assistance, tools, car, money, our love, our compassion, our attention and genuine interest? When we lend without expecting to get things back then we’ve really made them a gift and in giving we’re an example of our heavenly Father.

Let’s look for an opportunity to give to someone who is by nature unthankful. Maybe they were raised to be skeptical and feel that anytime someone gave something there was a hidden agenda.

Give today, genuinely give. Give because God has given freely to us. Who knows, we may be the one God is using to bring out an attitude of gratitude.

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Debt Free

For years Dave and I were like a lot of people, we struggled financially. We knew we needed to be better stewards of what God had given us.

Finally, we came to that place where we are debt free, almost. It’s an amazing thing to watch how God has moved. We don’t have millions but we have more than enough. There is one area of debt that we will always have, let me explain.

Have you ever put together a profit and loss statement? Listing your assests and liabilities can certainly be worthwhile in determining how you should spend your time and your money.

Get down to the bottom line. What do you owe? That’s the question the Apostle Paul was addressing this morning as I read Romans 13.

“You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. 9 The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.” All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

11 I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. 13 We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. 14 But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.” Romans 13:8-14 ERV

Owe no one anything…nothing except love!

The desire to live debt free is admirable and is one worth pursuing. An even greater goal is to live a life of loving people, not with a human selfish love but with the same love that Jesus shows us. That is the debt we will always carry.

So, let’s look at that bottom line of our Profit/Loss statement again. What do we owe?

May love be our daily debt!

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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!

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Ouch – That Hurts!

This morning I got up with a sore foot. I’m not sure what caused it but it hurts. As I sat here I rubbed on it and it began to feel better. Good.

A couple more sips of coffee, feet raised with the recliner and faces of friends and family began to come to mind. Some of them are hurting I know, they’ve shared their pain with me. As I lifted them in prayer, I asked the Father to ease their pain.

Just like my foot I wanted to alleviate their discomfort, their heart ache, their pain.

“…But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it. 25 God did this so that our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part is honored, then all the other parts share its honor.

27 All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body.” I Corinthians 12:24-27 ERV

This is how the Father wants us to be when we relate to other Christians, we are all members of the body of Christ.

My head told my hand “Rub your foot, it’s sore and tired, if you rub it for a little while it will feel better” and it did. I saw this as a perfect example of how we are to care for those around us who are hurting.

My foot didn’t ask for help, it was just sore and left unattended I’m sure it would be hurting more and that would make me grumpy. We all have experienced grumpy people and they can be irritating. Maybe we should be asking, “are they hurting, do they need a helping hand”. Coming to their aid with love and compassion may be the best medicine for a hurting soul.

“Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 ERV

This morning’s teaching isn’t deep or profound, but I do believe it is a teaching we can all embrace, it’s part of our mandate from Scripture to love one another.

So, from my foot to your heart be on the lookout for hurting people and lend a helping hand!

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Love in Practice

Oh my! When I opened my Bible this morning the words literally jumped off the page!

Love in Practice! Amazing thought, godly teaching.

“If you see a cow or sheep wandering around lost, take the animal back to its owner. 2 If the owner lives too far away, or if you don’t know who the owner is, take the animal home with you and take care of it. The owner will come looking for the animal, and then you can give it back. 3 That’s what you should do if you find anything that belongs to someone else. Do whatever you can to help, whether you find a cow or sheep or donkey or some clothing.” Deuteronomy 22:1-3 CEV

Now granted, in our day and age we don’t see too many cows or sheep wandering around lost so before you say these verses really don’t apply to me let’s look at the concept. The instruction that Moses was giving to the nation of Israel was to look out for one another, even if you don’t know that person.

God desires that we would act like Him, remember?

“Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. Let love be your guide.” Ephesians 5:1 CEV

Living rurally as we have there have been a number of times, we would come down the road to find a cow or a calf on the wrong side of the fence. A time or two we would wrangle them back through the gate that had been left open and secure it. But at others we would stop at the ranch house we would simply alert them that the cattle were out so they could get them penned up again. Not something you normally find in the city.

However, I have to tell a story on us. We had a neighbor who never took care of her yard. When we got ready to sell the house it concerned us that this would be a detriment to any potential buyers. We griped and complained to each other, alot, and even voiced our complaint to a few neighbors and family members. Then one day we were convicted about our complaining and when we listened to the Lord’s heart, we knew that we had to do. Dave went and talked to the neighbor and said he wanted to hire someone to clean up her yards.

He found a local handy man and sent him over to look at the job. We were through complaining and ready to put Love In Practice.

While we were in the mountains this summer it was common practice to ask the other campground workers if there was anything they needed when we headed to town. Most of the time there wasn’t but occasionally we would be asked to bring back a couple bags of ice, milk, coffee, fresh veggies and even a bag of birdseed.

We could switch this morning’s title around to say “Practice Love”. We don’t always get it right the first time, so we need to keep practicing.

Do the neighbors need a helping hand, a babysitter, a lawn mowed or groceries delivered? Do they need someone to take in their trash cans when their gone or water their plants? Practice love!

So, the next time you see a cow or a sheep walking down the road, (or someone in need) take the time to stop and put Love in Practice!

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What We Do for Love

This morning I’m starting my day without coffee…the coffee maker works fine and I’m not turning over a new leaf with no caffeine. But, our six-year-old grandson is sleeping on the couch and he’s a light sleeper and startles easily…so no coffee because the coffee maker would wake him.

It’s what we do for love.

We make sacrifices. You know the kind – giving up the last piece of pie so someone else can enjoy it. You skip the Hallmark movie so they can watch sports or a travel show. They give us their coat because we said we wouldn’t need one and now we’re cold…I’m sure you have your own list of little and big sacrifices that you make for the people you love.

It’s what we do because we love.

I’m so glad that Jesus was willing to sacrifice because of His love for us. Yes, the sacrifice of giving His love for ours is almost inconceivable but look at the hundreds of other little things He did.

First, He left heaven – get that, heaven. He came to earth where things are dirty and messy. He left a perfect relationship with the Father to be surrounded by some fishermen and tax collectors who were always in competition as to who was Jesus’ favorite. He dealt with constant ridicule and scrutiny. People were always coming to “get” something from Him and not to just be His friend. Why?

It’s what He did because of love.

“…If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. 27 And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest. 28 The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.” Matthew 20:26-28 CEV

Because of love, Jesus came with forgiveness and compassion. He went without sleep and missed meals; he brought healing, peace, release from guilt and expected nothing in return. He gave it all…it’s what we do when we love!

“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

That’s what He did for love. Now, what do we do in return?

“ We love because God loved us first. ” I John 4:19 CEV

“We should be grateful that we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect.” Hebrews 12:28 CEV

We love Him and we show Him our gratitude with our honor and respect.

It’s what we do for love! It’s what we do to be like Him!

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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!

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