For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.(John 3:16)
Greetings. I want to share some thoughts on giving. No, I am not here to raise money for my ministry, so stop holding on to your wallets. I do want to share some highlights on the subject of giving that will bless you. When you study the Bible in the Old Testament, God commanded his people to give. (Exo. 34:20, Lev. 5-6-11)
In Old Testament times, the Biblical economy was, mostly, agricultural and was different from ours. People had no choice, but to give. From the rich to the poor, they had to bring an offering. Yes, there were poor people in the multitude, but God had a simple and just plan for them to participate just as well.
A lamb was an expensive commodity, even for the rich, but God in his mercy saw the different levels of how much the people could give. There were some that could not give a lamb, so God had a different plan. For some, it was two young pigeons, and if they could not afford it, then it was a grain offering. I wanted to give you an idea of how giving was conducted during the Old Testament. In the New Testament, giving is voluntary.
Now, having clarified that, I want to state that you can choose not to give to the different ministries of the Lord and hold on to your money, but you will be missing out on your blessing. Clearly, as you study the Old Testament, giving has blessings and benefits. In the New Testament, it is no different.
We see the example of God. He gave his only begotten son. He gave his best and he planted him as a seed through his death, burial and resurrection. As a result of that one seed, we have the church that was born that would impact the world for centuries to come. Solomon gave his best. When he was praying in the temple, he offered one thousand burnt offerings. (II Chronicles 1:6)
Solomon was not twisting God’s arm for riches or vengeance upon his enemies. He, just, did it because he loved God. His father David taught him about giving and the blessings that came with it. In our next Bible study, We are going to see how that offering impacted Solomon and would affect his life in the years to come. So, on this day, pray on how God would lead you to partner, financially, with a ministry that is doing God’s work. If you want to just offer prayer, that is good, too, but please get involved. Your life and destiny depends on it. God bless.
The Christian Corner Ministries 