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Thoughts Archived > Prove Your Love Is Real....Give Well....To The Kingdom of God


29 Sep 2013

                                    

 

September 29, 2013

Prove Your Love Is Real....Give Well....To The Kingdom of God 

Luke 21: 1- 4

 

Luke

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box.  Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies.  "I assure you," he said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.  For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."

 

 

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Thoughts.....

 

What do you give to the Kingdom of God?  What should you give to the Kingdom of God?

I can hear you now saying, "Pastor, are you shaming us right out of the shoot...at the very beginning?" 

If you feel shame, my friends, then you are not giving what you should.  You may not be giving at all. 

'In the beginning'....there was such a thing called a 'Temple Tax'.  All were required to give to this fund to help build more Temples and secure/maintain each of those built.  Today, Christians call them churches.  Monies were also collected to 'pay the preacher'.  It is the expected norm today, as well.  Scripture is clear in the New Testament that we are to still tithe to the church and pay the preacher.  Tithe is ten percent of your income which goes to the church.  According to historical documentation, the pastor, preacher, priest, rabbi, minister, is to be paid an additional amount.

But it is also clear about paying into the Kingdom of God....beyond what should be given to the church to maintain it and the pastor who teaches from it.  The Kingdom of God is comprised of all those who profess God as their Creator, creator also of heaven and earth.  When you pay into the Kingdom of God, everyone benefits.  The world is round. 

Let me convey something I learned recently from a new friend.  My new friend is an older Christian lady.  She has a couple health issues, nothing life threatening.  We've been chatting a bit and she relayed she was disconcerted that her son had called her a 'user'.  That having to deal with people, not drugs.  She is an eloquent speaker, devout in her Holy Spirit baptized faith, can sing the old Gospels and knows the Word....probably better than I....having been brought up immersed in the Word from birth through life. 

I was saddened with her that her son would use this term, as I had found her, at the onset, to be one of giving from her heart via her words.  Ah, but then I learned of her actions.  She relayed to me that a gal from her church had been at her home most of yesterday doing deep cleaning and even cooked a meal for her, as well as insured there were leftovers for her.  I thought this very commendable.  My friend indicated that the gal said she would come weekly to clean for her.

Holy Spirit then directed me to ask my friend if she paid the gal for what she had done.  It most certainly was not my business and I wasn't sure what Holy Spirit's intentions were, but I asked as directed.  My friend's response, "I gave her some gas money."  Hmmmm....I get why her son called her a 'user'. 

The gal helping my friend gave of her heart, her strength, her time, her gas money, her intentions, her skills, her talents....I'm sure the list goes on.  And my friend thanked her with gas money.  This is where the drummer makes the tha-dump noise after a bad joke. Okay, I can see doing that for nothing the first time as a gift into the Kingdom of God.  So, gas money might have been a nice 'gesture' in return.  But the fact that the gal is going to come back and do it weekly causes me to feel that more than gas money is warranted in return for all she will be doing for my friend, who can afford more than gas money.  Perhaps she cannot afford weekly services.  But surely she can give every two weeks for what God is giving her through this woman who will come to help.  And how thankful was my friend?  She seemed in telling me the story to be very grateful.  So why didn't she pay a reward with a heart of thanksgiving?   

My friend was not devalued when she worked in the world.  I wonder why she feels she can devalue another....in the Kingdom of God.  I will present her with these thoughts to see if she will now understand why her son may have called her that. 

I did ask her the other day if there was something she did not want to see....she is having vision difficulties in one eye.  Perhaps this is part or all of 'why'.

She has indicated on more than one occasion that she gives more than the ten percent tithe.  But what is that to God?  That goes to the church.  What goes to the people of the church?  The people in the Kingdom of God in the world?  What goes to the whole of God's Kingdom?   We are taught to 'love your neighbor as yourself'.  If I put that this way, 'love my neighbor as myself', does it personalize it any better for you or give you better meaning for your heart's intention of giving?  I have to wonder if the gal who did the work will be satisfied week in week out with 'pennies' for a great deal of labor.  I also have to wonder if my friend will be satisfied upon meeting Jesus when the last trumpet sounds.  Will any of us?  Listen closely folks, and act responsibly.

Perhaps the only gift the gal has is herself, her talents, her skills to give to the Kingdom.  But what is my friend giving in thanksgiving to the Kingdom for what she has received from this gal?  Did she really give of what she had, or did she toss pennies to assuage any guilt, or in an attempt to cover her caboose at heavens gate, or to not appear to be a shrew in church next Sunday?  And what about you?  What do you give in return for the Father's love shown through others?  Lest you think I am tossing judgment around, this is not lost on me, I can assure you.  Every lesson that goes out from me, goes through me to get to you.  This is yet another lesson I do not want to ignore.  

Although in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul speaks to the churches in Macedonia, it applies to us today as well.  From the New International Version Life Application Bible it reads thus:

'And now, brothers [and sisters], we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.  Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege [SAY PRIVILEGE] of sharing in this service to the saints [all those in the Kingdom of God].  And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.  [They gave more than expected.]  So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace [SAY ACT OF GRACE] on your part.  But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving [SAY EXCEL IN THIS GRACE OF GIVING].

'I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others [SAY COMPARING IT WITH THE EARNESTNESS OF OTHERS].  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

'And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter:  Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.  Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.  For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

'Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equalityAt the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.  Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'  

This last line reads from the 2 Cor 8:15b NLT: "Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough."  Please note that the term 'gathered' is not in the Greek translation, which means in this reference, it's meaning is understood, not literally actual.  The point remains the same.

Have you not heard that Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"?  Acts 20:35  Surely the gal who cleaned for my friend will be blessed for giving of herself....what she had to give.  But will my friend be blessed....by God....for what she gave in thanksgiving for what she received?  Did she give in thanksgiving, or just give?  What choices have you made in the past?  What will be your choice in the future?

What are you thankful for today?  Yesterday?  Have you thanked the giver or the sower....God?  Did you give grudgingly or with sincerity?  Did you give of your heart, or your miserly mind?  Did you give all you could or only part of what you could?  Will you be valued by God in the Kingdom?  Shouldn't you value others, gratefully....gracefully....giving to them for what they bring to your life? 

Are you financially poor?  Give your gifts, time, talents, skills to the Kingdom and to those who have given to you.  Are you financially comfortable?  Give some money and gifts, time, talents, skills.  Financially sound?  Give financially.  Then also give gifts, time, talents and skills. 

'Give whatever you can according to what you have.  If you are really eager to give, it isn't important how much you are able to give.   God wants you to give whatever you can according to what you have, not what you don't have.'  NLT 2 Cor 8:12b   But give enthusiastically....willingly....be really eager in your giving!  In this way, God sees your sincerity and will help you further in his Kingdom. 

'Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity.  For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more.  And they did it of their own free will.  They BEGGED us again and again for the GRACIOUS PRIVILEGE of SHARING IN THE GIFT for the Christians in Jerusalem.  Best of all they went beyond our highest hopes....."  2 Cor 8:2-5a NLT.

Have you gone beyond God's highest hopes in giving....giving back....giving thanksgiving?  Not only for what you have received, but for what you are receiving, and what you will receive?  Have you, like the widow, given everything you had?  Or have you only given a tiny part of your surplus?

In [in the midst of] everything give praise and thanksgiving!

Give well....that God may see the sincerity of your heart.  

Prove to God your love is real.  2 Cor 8:8b NLT                

 

 

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 Let Us Pray   

 

As every lesson given, today is no different, all are valuable in the Kingdom of God.  Thank you, Father God, for so richly blessing me with life....and offering me life everlasting.  Thank you for giving me keys to the Kingdom....lessons for the journey.  Now, I need to apply them to reach you.  Father God, I know you are a forgiving God.  I ask you to forgive me for not applying what I know, and reminding me of what I have known, to give me a chance to make amends, if I have not given as you've called, directed, taught, so that I may face you on that day when the last trumpet sounds.  So that you will receive me into your loving arms, that I might hear you say, 'Thank you, good and faithful servant.'   'I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.'  Phil 3:14  Thank you, Jesus, for making it possible for me to have eternal life, if I but obey.  Salvation is free....forgiveness of sins.  Eternal life requires you see my heart, that I obey you, so that you can separate the chaff from the grain....those who've said they have accepted you versus those who have gone on to love and obey you with praise and thanksgiving.  John 15  Oh, my Lord, that I may live in heaven eternally, I so seek to do well and give well in the Kingdom of God.  Holy Spirit, thank you ever so much for carrying me, leading me, guiding me, and directing me on the paths of righteousness for God.  Yea tho' I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil....okay....so I'll try earnestly not to fear evil.  I do know you are with me.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.  I pray I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Oh, that I may give well and sincerely, having received your grace.  Thank you.  I love you.  Amen. 

 

 

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Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

 

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'.

 

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation. 

'All who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him.  There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.  For you are all Christians - you are ONE in Christ Jesus.'  Galatians 3: 27

 

  It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!

 

Teach tolerance....reach in acceptance....worship as one!

 

Embrace....Respect....Encourage!

 

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It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, or animals, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart.  

    

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    One last thing....

 

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

 

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

 

   Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

 

And the people said,

"Amen."

 

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.  I encourage you to pray your own prayers as well.

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  Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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NOTE:  I said it long ago, but let me say it again.  If you are wanting to lead a group, start a church, or are confined in an institution, or live in a country where the Gospel is not preached, and you don't know what to say or how to say it, and yet feel led to share, teach, or preach, besides just reading straight out of the Bible and sharing what God puts on your heart, please feel free to share any or all of what I've written, if it will help you, as long as you include where it comes from, due to copyright laws.  Jesus gave God's love and healing freely, as well as his message.  Our responsibility is to get the Word out to those who need to hear it.  If what I've written....by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit....or what he has said through me....has helped you, it may help others that you know.  You are welcome to share it.  God calls all of us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.  Please share it with the fullness of love that God, Jesus, Holy Spirit....and I....have given it.  Amen!   

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Bible Authors and Minister