For All The Right Reasons

TOPIC: Giving

SCRIPTURE: "He who gives to the poor will never want, BUT he who shuts his eyes will have many curses." (Proverbs 28:27)

OBSERVATION: When you give especially to those who are truly in need you will never be left with less. Unless of course, you turn a blind eye, and then, what you have, will eventually be taken from you, in one way or another.

APPLICATION: As I was doing my reading, the word GIVE seemed to leap off the page at me. With that on my mind, I went into our staff prayer time and it "just so happened" that the main focus of our time together centered around the issue of the poor, more specifically GIVING and more specific than that, certain types of giving:
Tithing
Giving offerings which are over and above the 10%
& then
Sacrifical giving.

If you have been attending our services recently you know that Pastor Jim just led our church through a series entitled "In The Zone"which focused on giving. The issue of sacrificial giving is the aspect of giving that I felt the Lord wanted me to begin to focus on (And I am NOT just referring to this blog).

This type of giving is going beyond anything you've probably ever done before. It's giving in such a way that if God doesn't come through you are in trouble.

So

Have you ever REALLY given sacrificially?


Be sure to begin seeking the Lord about this type of giving.

Don't be surprised if He tells you to give it ALL

And I mean ALL



**Being Spirit-led is critical when it comes to a decision like this.

***DON'T BE PRESUMPTUOUS when it comes to this type of giving. Here is what I mean, let's say you hear this testimony of how God told someone esle to give away EVERYTHING THEY HAVE and they obey and then God turns around and blesses them 10 fold for doing that.
After hearing a testimony like that, you might be tempted to go and give everything you have away, thinking, that God is going to do the same thing for you, when in all actuality, He never instructed you to do that. Thus, it is not His responsibility to bail you out, now that you have nothing.
So begin seeking the Lord about sacrifical giving
but
if in doubt
I encourage you to also seek wise counsel.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for bringing this aspect of giving back to the forefront of my mind. And thank you for using repetition to keep it there.