All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
God Loves a Cheerful Giver!
"But there are those who are conscious before God that they are rich. And, doubtless, some among you are of the number. You have more of the goods of this world than is needful either for yourself or your family. Let each consider for himself. Do your riches increase? Do not you understand that plain expression? Have you not more money, or more of money's worth, than you had ten or twenty years ago, or at this time last year?" ~ John Wesley
"Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God." ~ Brennan Manning
There are very many forms of giving from the heart. Financial giving is only one of them.
I have been blessed with an opportunity to give direct financial support to a servant of God who works to spread the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in an very underprivileged third-world country where the harvest is ripe and plentiful. I am privileged, through the internet, to personally know of several poor and struggling bretheren in foreign lands who have devoted their lives to sharing the love of Jesus with the lost, and to profiting the Kingdom of God. However, in their service to Christ they live with their sweet families in one room apartments in slums, struggling each day for their basic needs, their loved ones sharing the affliction of their extreme poverty as the price of their devotion to lead the lost to Jesus.
"The next best thing to being a missionary in a foreign land is to help support one who is." This is a truth I've held in my heart for many years. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are so few!
I believe that the truth about the requirements of our giving today can be found in the New Testament which applies to all of us reborn believers as much now as it was then, and the two commandments Jesus gave us upon which hang all the law and the prophets - the spirit of the law of Christ rather than merely the letter of the old law that Christ fulfilled!
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
In studying the New Testament, I see the evidence of the believers in the early Church which I firmly believe is the exact model we are to follow today as well, beginning in the book of Acts, when they gathered each week to give of their abundance to distribute to the needs of the saints. They cheerfully gave of their abundance. Many, I'm sure, cheerfully gave ALL of their excess above their own basic needs (which God has promised us He will always supply).
10% tithes given purely out of a sense of obligation and a fear of "robbing God" and being punished by Him is, in my opinion actually an abomination unto the Lord, a clanging cymbal.
Whatever we give cheerfully and abundantly out of love, rather than giving out of fear, we cannot possibly outgive our loving Father in Heaven! I believe He will always give us more than we can cheerfully give away in love.
God loves a cheerful giver. Jesus commanded us to "Love your neighbor as yourself." Wouldn't that mean to bless the underprivileged needy with the financial blessings we ourselves enjoy in abundance?
He lovingly gave us many more ordinances to follow for the sake of our own abundant Joy in this life on earth, one of which is "Whatsoever you do for the least of my bretheren, that you do unto me."
Does that mean that whatever I give to anyone out of love, including to our poor bretheren carriers of the Gospel in other lands, I give directly to Him? Yes, it does! It is a miracle immediately available to every one of us that is beyond our own imaginations!
To think that I am actually able to bless Jesus Himself personally with my own abundance, the abundance I've originally received from His own hand! Do I love the opportunity to love my Lord Jesus by sacrificing my riches directly into His own hands? You bet I do!
I read the black-and-white examples of the life of Jesus Himself, and of Paul His faithful servant and the other Apostles, the greatest examples of love the world has ever known, who purposely had nothing in terms of earthly riches for themselves, and trusted our Father completely and whole-heartedly to always meet their needs daily, which He never failed to do.
For example, I am convinced that if every born-again believer in Christ in America alone gave only half of the excess they enjoy, excess past having their very basic needs met, there could be enough orphanages built and funded to house, protect, and provide for all the innocent and terribly exploited orphan children under the age of 18 not only in our own country, but also in the whole rest of the world!
I pray our Father in Heaven that the eyes of all the financially blessed and privileged members of Christ's Body here in America and around the world, including my own, be fully opened to these truths, and that they will forsake their own earthly riches and give plenty of their excesses to the needy through Christ's true servants, for His name's sake, for the sake of God's innocent children on earth, and even for their own sakes, however they may be prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so.
I know I am confirmed to pray this in full accordance with God's perfect will for all, even for the sake of the givers, knowing that those who give lovingly, cheerfully and abundantly will one day find the eternal treasure house of riches that will be stored up for them in Heaven where moths, rust, and theives can never destroy!
These are the last days. Soon, our opportunities to minister to others financially for His name's sake will be closed forever. We members of the Body of Christ are His hands and feet in the world while we are here.
Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt to be able to heal the blind, sick and crippled, and free people from demonic posession, and even raise loved ones from the dead on the spot with only a spoken word? Have you ever wished you could do that? Can you imagine what pure Joy that must have given Him? Can you imagine what pure joy is immediately available to us in relieving others of their financial afflictions, even if only temporarily?
And I know that saving my excesses to ensure my own financial security now and in my old age, only displays my lack of trust in my Father to always amply meet my needs. Yet, I haven't quite found the courage and abandon to "sell all you have and give it to the poor, and come follow me" as Jesus told the wealthy young man who asked, "What must I do to enter the kingdom of Heaven?"
However, lately I've been trying to trust and honor Jesus more in my giving. I have found that in giving to those much less fortunate than me, I immediately receive back a hundredfold, not only in eternal treasures which moths, rust, and thieves cannot destroy, but also in the riches of Joy in my heart right now, knowing how much more the money means to them than it does to me! Even a mere hundred dollars that, though it is still very significant to me I can comfortably do without, can be an immeasurable blessing to one who has nothing above their most essential needs barely being met!
This, I'm sure, is why God's Word says that "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And yet, my own needs are still more than amply provided by my Father. I've never once since my salvation had to wonder what I will eat or what I will wear today, even when I've been at my "poorest" financially, no matter how much I've given away in His name.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that all God's orphaned children around the world will be loved, protected, and provided for safely. I also pray that all our impoverished brothers and sisters spreading the Gospel abroad are in the Truth and persevere in the Truth for His name's sake, and that God will abundantly bless their true service to Him for the sake of His Gospel, to profit the Kingdom of God beyond measure!
"The church's concern for and identification with the poor are sure signs of its faithfulness to the Kingdom and are often signs of fundamental renewal." ~ Howard A. Synder
"Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God." ~ Brennan Manning
There are very many forms of giving from the heart. Financial giving is only one of them.
I have been blessed with an opportunity to give direct financial support to a servant of God who works to spread the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in an very underprivileged third-world country where the harvest is ripe and plentiful. I am privileged, through the internet, to personally know of several poor and struggling bretheren in foreign lands who have devoted their lives to sharing the love of Jesus with the lost, and to profiting the Kingdom of God. However, in their service to Christ they live with their sweet families in one room apartments in slums, struggling each day for their basic needs, their loved ones sharing the affliction of their extreme poverty as the price of their devotion to lead the lost to Jesus.
"The next best thing to being a missionary in a foreign land is to help support one who is." This is a truth I've held in my heart for many years. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are so few!
I believe that the truth about the requirements of our giving today can be found in the New Testament which applies to all of us reborn believers as much now as it was then, and the two commandments Jesus gave us upon which hang all the law and the prophets - the spirit of the law of Christ rather than merely the letter of the old law that Christ fulfilled!
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
In studying the New Testament, I see the evidence of the believers in the early Church which I firmly believe is the exact model we are to follow today as well, beginning in the book of Acts, when they gathered each week to give of their abundance to distribute to the needs of the saints. They cheerfully gave of their abundance. Many, I'm sure, cheerfully gave ALL of their excess above their own basic needs (which God has promised us He will always supply).
10% tithes given purely out of a sense of obligation and a fear of "robbing God" and being punished by Him is, in my opinion actually an abomination unto the Lord, a clanging cymbal.
Whatever we give cheerfully and abundantly out of love, rather than giving out of fear, we cannot possibly outgive our loving Father in Heaven! I believe He will always give us more than we can cheerfully give away in love.
God loves a cheerful giver. Jesus commanded us to "Love your neighbor as yourself." Wouldn't that mean to bless the underprivileged needy with the financial blessings we ourselves enjoy in abundance?
He lovingly gave us many more ordinances to follow for the sake of our own abundant Joy in this life on earth, one of which is "Whatsoever you do for the least of my bretheren, that you do unto me."
Does that mean that whatever I give to anyone out of love, including to our poor bretheren carriers of the Gospel in other lands, I give directly to Him? Yes, it does! It is a miracle immediately available to every one of us that is beyond our own imaginations!
To think that I am actually able to bless Jesus Himself personally with my own abundance, the abundance I've originally received from His own hand! Do I love the opportunity to love my Lord Jesus by sacrificing my riches directly into His own hands? You bet I do!
I read the black-and-white examples of the life of Jesus Himself, and of Paul His faithful servant and the other Apostles, the greatest examples of love the world has ever known, who purposely had nothing in terms of earthly riches for themselves, and trusted our Father completely and whole-heartedly to always meet their needs daily, which He never failed to do.
For example, I am convinced that if every born-again believer in Christ in America alone gave only half of the excess they enjoy, excess past having their very basic needs met, there could be enough orphanages built and funded to house, protect, and provide for all the innocent and terribly exploited orphan children under the age of 18 not only in our own country, but also in the whole rest of the world!
I pray our Father in Heaven that the eyes of all the financially blessed and privileged members of Christ's Body here in America and around the world, including my own, be fully opened to these truths, and that they will forsake their own earthly riches and give plenty of their excesses to the needy through Christ's true servants, for His name's sake, for the sake of God's innocent children on earth, and even for their own sakes, however they may be prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so.
I know I am confirmed to pray this in full accordance with God's perfect will for all, even for the sake of the givers, knowing that those who give lovingly, cheerfully and abundantly will one day find the eternal treasure house of riches that will be stored up for them in Heaven where moths, rust, and theives can never destroy!
These are the last days. Soon, our opportunities to minister to others financially for His name's sake will be closed forever. We members of the Body of Christ are His hands and feet in the world while we are here.
Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt to be able to heal the blind, sick and crippled, and free people from demonic posession, and even raise loved ones from the dead on the spot with only a spoken word? Have you ever wished you could do that? Can you imagine what pure Joy that must have given Him? Can you imagine what pure joy is immediately available to us in relieving others of their financial afflictions, even if only temporarily?
And I know that saving my excesses to ensure my own financial security now and in my old age, only displays my lack of trust in my Father to always amply meet my needs. Yet, I haven't quite found the courage and abandon to "sell all you have and give it to the poor, and come follow me" as Jesus told the wealthy young man who asked, "What must I do to enter the kingdom of Heaven?"
However, lately I've been trying to trust and honor Jesus more in my giving. I have found that in giving to those much less fortunate than me, I immediately receive back a hundredfold, not only in eternal treasures which moths, rust, and thieves cannot destroy, but also in the riches of Joy in my heart right now, knowing how much more the money means to them than it does to me! Even a mere hundred dollars that, though it is still very significant to me I can comfortably do without, can be an immeasurable blessing to one who has nothing above their most essential needs barely being met!
This, I'm sure, is why God's Word says that "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And yet, my own needs are still more than amply provided by my Father. I've never once since my salvation had to wonder what I will eat or what I will wear today, even when I've been at my "poorest" financially, no matter how much I've given away in His name.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that all God's orphaned children around the world will be loved, protected, and provided for safely. I also pray that all our impoverished brothers and sisters spreading the Gospel abroad are in the Truth and persevere in the Truth for His name's sake, and that God will abundantly bless their true service to Him for the sake of His Gospel, to profit the Kingdom of God beyond measure!
"The church's concern for and identification with the poor are sure signs of its faithfulness to the Kingdom and are often signs of fundamental renewal." ~ Howard A. Synder
Tags: financial, giving, kingdom, missions, needy, opportunity, orphans, saints, tithe, wealth
Comment
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Comment by Terry Scerine on November 10, 2009 at 6:20am - Thank you Evard, your comments are insightful and inspiring!
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Comment by James Lindquist on June 22, 2009 at 2:37am - Very good Terry. Enjoyed the read. Not only can we give of our finances but of our service, time, and self. I believe that God honors that type of giving also. Many do not have the finances to give. Of course neither did that widow in Mark 12:42, 43. But what she had, she gave it all. Keep writing Terry
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Comment by Terry Scerine on June 18, 2009 at 3:17pm
- "The church's concern for and identification with the poor are sure signs of its faithfulness to the Kingdom and are often signs of fundamental renewal." ~ Howard A. Synder
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Comment by Tusinguzi Evard on June 18, 2009 at 6:06am -
Praise God my brother Terry!
I have been reading and checking in the bible to learn more about the blessing in giving cheerfully and i read on some scriptures that i felt that i should share them with you and see what you are saying about them.( Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.1 Timothy 6:17-19 )How can you understand those verses and what can you say about these verses? I have found that it is true that what ever you give/share to a brother or a sister who is in need of it,is not lost but you will gain it and it is well protected. and again that it is not good to put your eyes on the things or treasures of this world.
Be blessed my brother and keep on preaching the gospel of helping one another in our needs and in supporting the work of God.
We love your teachings and i pray that may God use you to change many people's minds to the truth of God.
Be blessed and i wish you all God's blessings in Jesus name.
Evangelist Evard from Uganda.
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Comment by Tusinguzi Evard on June 16, 2009 at 5:29am
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Dear brother Terry!
You are a wonderful servant of a living God and i believe that God will bless you so much in everything because of the yearn you have in your heart for God's work in helping his true servants.It is true,God loves a cheerful giver and he blesses them both on earth and in heaven(Psalms 41:1-)It even says that he also protects him in all of his or her ways and he is ever remembering him or her all times(Heb 6:10).And the another thing i discovered is that the one that preaches the gospel is blessed the same as the one that supported him in all way.For example one man was preaching about standing in the gape for the work of God and he gave a testimony on what God shown him one day that"He was preaching some where and God took him to the crowns that he had prepared for his servants,he gave the crown to the old lady who has never stood on the pulpit to preach.So he asked,why are you giving that big and best crown to that old lady yet i was the one preaching?God answered him that As you were planing to go to preach,this lady was on her knees praying for you which she did a big work than yours"
My question is,If God gave the big crown to the old lady that was just praying,what about to the one that touched in his pocked to transport/support the preacher.
My God bless you my brother for that blog and i pray that may he help and open eyes of all our brothers and sister on this site to stand in the gape for the servants of God.
Be blessed.
Evangelist Evard from Uganda.
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Comment by felixpadua on June 15, 2009 at 6:12pm - hello terry!
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Comment by Terry Scerine on June 14, 2009 at 8:00pm
- And what a true friend you are, Barbara! Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Love you! Terry
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Comment by Theresa on June 14, 2009 at 5:19pm -
Terry,
God loves a cheerful giver and God loves you.
I am thankful to God today for your encouragement. Please know that I feel God's presence and annointing on all your writings.
God bless you my friend.
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Comment by Terry Scerine on June 14, 2009 at 12:22am
- Well, Therese, you've brought the other perspective. It made me feel like erasing the whole post at first, but instead I erased the worst of it. Thank you for your gentle corrections. Your comment has sharpened this post even moreso, causing me to delete the rough edges. Thank you, Therese.
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Comment by Theresa on June 13, 2009 at 10:43pm
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Terry,
Amen, God loves a cheerful giver. This is my conviction, the tithes belongs to the Lord and when we give God the tithes, we are not giving Him really anything, we are returning what belongs to Him in the first place, it is not ours to keep, actually all 100 percent belong to Him and all He is asking 10 percent. Tithing is a faith issue and love relationship, we do it because we love God and we trust His Word to be true. Once I give to God, it is not my business to tell Him what to do with it, it becomes His business.
I am forever grateful for an organization like the 700 club, God used them to save me and save so many people. I am forever grateful for TBN because God is using them to bring the Word to so many hurting people.
This is my conviction again, America is an awesome country and the generosity of the Christian American people is way beyond anybody comprehension. Gideon, American organization gave my family bibles in Arabic, I have no doubt that maybe one of the Christians Americans prayed for me when I was a little girl.
This is me again and hopefully I am not the only one that feels this way. The Holy Spirit gently guide me to pray for preachers like Pat Robertson, Joel Osteen, Billy Graham, Crefllo Dollar and my local church and so many other more, I pray for their protection from the evil one and that they will not fall in sin. Jesus says that we will be hated like they hated Him and it is so sad to hear the slander and gossip against these people of God.
I am not arguing with you Terry, God forbids. I simply love America, I think the American people are the most generous people ever. Satan is trying to choke this country with hitting us financially and turning us on one another, especially in the body of Christ because he is the accuser of the brethren. I am in a agreement with you on loving God and loving others, giving to the poor.
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