God’s promise for Week 4:
“My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19
For those who want further Scripture reading each day here are a couple of suggestions:
-Read one Psalm a day and meditate on it.
-Read a chapter or part of a chapter out of Acts or Matthew or Hebrews each day, focusing on the idea of faith.
Day 23
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2Cor 9:6
I once had a conversation with a very wealthy Christian. He had a beautiful home and a triple car garage filled with expensive vehicles. We began to talk about generosity and he told me that he gave ten percent of his earnings to the church because that is what the Bible says to do. I walked away from that conversation feeling challenged in my own heart. Do I hide behind the “ten percent rule" in order to avoid asking God what He requires of me in the area of giving? I realized that giving is just like every other area of our lives: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (I Sam 16:7). Isn’t the “outward appearance" of giving sometimes what we focus on? But if God were to look into our hearts, what would he find there? Stinginess? Fear? Pride? Often our reluctance to give is result of our unwillingness to realize that “every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). If we were in charge of someone else’s fortune, wouldn’t we ask them how we should spend it? If we are truly convinced that God is the source of every blessing in our lives, wouldn’t we all be a little more willing to ask him how He wants us to share them? In my own life, I have been so challenged in the last years to unclench my fists and just plain be more generous—with my home, my time, and my money. C.S. Lewis once wrote that “if you are living in the same manner as other people who are at your income level…if your giving does not in any way hamper or pinch you, perhaps you are not giving enough." What a challenge this was to my attitude about giving. In my giving, I want to tune myself in to the voice of God and ask: what would You have me give? Are you as reluctant as I am to pray this prayer? Why is that? Because we know that God’s answer will require something of us that we will find difficult to give. But if we choose to focus on what He has done for us and we let the realization that everything in our lives is from His hand, won’t it become so much easier to unclench our fists?
Prayer:
God, thank you for what you have done for me in my life. Help me to sow generously out of a heart that recognizes that You are the source of every good thing in my life.
In Faith:
Keep praying for your “hopeless cases" and listen for God as He speaks to your heart about each situation.
