Mommies Magazine

Giving

Posted on 25. Nov, 2006 by Rev. Kimberly Dreiman in Rev. Kim's Devotional

Giving To The Lord

In today’s society people do not realize that everything in this world belongs to the Lord and so should be given back to the Lord with a cheerful unselfish heart. The Bible gives us direction as to how money should be given. Here are some scriptures about giving: Matthew 6:1-4 “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But, when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”This scripture is about the heart. If you are truly giving from the heart-no-one including the Pastor will hear about how much you have given. You will simply give the gift to the correct person or place it in the offering and never mention it again. This is truly secret giving. Proverbs 28:27 “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.”This scripture is about giving to the poor. There will always be poor and the Lord expects those who have more to help them. 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”This scripture points out that God wants a cheerful giver instead of someone who gives and then grumbles and complains. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” This scripture points out God must come first in your life and you must trust him to provide for your needs. I Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”This scripture points out that a sum of money should be set aside to give in the offering or sown as a seed in a ministry. Luke 21:1-4 “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. I tell you the truth, he said, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”This scripture points out the importance of giving – no matter how small the amount may be. As the Christmas season approaches-people will be more in the mood to give. So, when you give keep these scriptures in mind and remember everything you have belongs to the Lord anyway!