|
God at work!
In Proverbs 3:9 we read: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the
first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to
overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” This
principle is found over and over in the Scriptures: as we give to the
Lord, there is a blessing that comes in return. Now, we never give to
obligate the Lord to do something for us—that is a wrong motivation for
giving. But at the same time, we can be confident that as we honor the
Lord with our finances, he will provide for our needs.
Good Morning!
In Proverbs 3:9 we read: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” This principle is found over and over in the Scriptures: as we give to the Lord, there is a blessing that comes in return. Now, we never give to obligate the Lord to do something for us—that is a wrong motivation for giving. But at the same time, we can be confident that as we honor the Lord with our finances, he will provide for our needs.
Recently I was talking with Paul Alexander, and he shared how he saw firsthand this principle at work. Paul and Anne work in the National Campus Office. I asked Paul to share what happened.
“We had some partners in New Jersey who offered to host a small get-together with their friends where we could share about our ministry and ask them to join as ministry partners. The evening went great. Afterwards, I was making call backs for decisions and talked with Ron. Ron said he and his wife felt the Lord leading them to join at $50 a month, but he had no idea where the money would come from—it really was beyond their budget. Anne and I felt very honored and humbled by this couple’s sacrifice.
“Ron went on to share that they committed as a couple to follow God’s leading on Sunday. The following Tuesday his boss walked into the office and out of nowhere gave him an $8,000 a year raise. In twenty years of working for this company, that had never happened apart from his annual review (which wasn’t due for 4 months). Ron and his wife then decided to increase their commitment to $75, maybe hoping for another raise. J We had a great time on the phone talking about the Lord’s faithfulness and how he honors our faith.”
II Corinthians 9: 6 says, “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” A great reminder as we continue to ask people to step out in faith and give to the Lord. And a great reminder for us as we consider our own faithfulness in honoring the Lord with our wealth.
Have a great weekend.
Dave Dickens and Debbie Barron
|
