2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
A wise man once said, “There’s nothing more powerful than the heart of a volunteer”. Webster describes a volunteer this way — one who renders a service or receives a conveyance or transfer of property without giving valuable consideration.
It’s so easy to get into the mindset that serving God is a chore, it’s our job, our duty — we give valuable consideration to our giving. The fact of the matter is that God loves a cheerful giver. He loves a volunteer. When I think of that verse, the first thing that comes to my mind is monetary giving, but God wants us to cheerfully volunteer every good thing He has so mercifully allowed us to have –- things we often take for granted — our time, our energy, our abilities, our talents, our homes, our cars, our families –- all that we have – all that He has cheerfully given to us!
Let’s make a point to volunteer some of these things to the Lord this week. Let’s begin to bless the Lord and those around us!
2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
After Mt. St. Helens blew up in 1980, one church needed a great deal of cleaning up. Ash was in the parking lot and all over the inside because of open windows. A woman met the pastor in the hallway on Friday and asked “Why don’t we get the High School and College kids to come in and help poor Fred clean this place up? Let’s get them involved.” “Great idea,” he said, “Would you be willing to get some women together to cook lunch for us?” “Well actually, we had plans tomorrow and I don’t know when we’ll be back…”
Hmmm. We always want to volunteer someone else for a job needing done, don’t we? My wife tells a story about a different pastor who once said “What? You don’t feel led to help clean the church? I’ll tell you what, here’s a pencil — come up here and feel lead!”
It’s so easy to get into the mindset that serving God is a chore, it’s our job, our duty — we give “valuable consideration” to our giving, as Webster describes it. The fact of the matter is that God loves a cheerful giver. He loves a volunteer. When I think of that verse, the first thing that comes to my mind is monetary giving, but God wants us to cheerfully volunteer every good thing He has so mercifully allowed us to have — things we often take for granted — our time, our energy, our abilities, our talents, our homes, our cars, our families — all that we have - all that He has cheerfully given to us!
Let’s make a point to volunteer some of these things to the Lord this week. Let’s begin to bless the Lord and those around us!
Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
This is a sweet story we came across.
When our son Pete was six, it was a Depression year and the bare essentials were all we could afford. We felt we were richer than most people, though, in things of the mind and imagination and spirit. That was a comfort of sorts to us, but nothing a six-year-old could understand.
With Christmas a week off, we told Pete that there could not be any store-bought presents this year–for any of us. “But I’ll tell you what we can do,” said his father with an inspiration born of heartbreak. “We can make pictures of the presents we’d like to give each other.”
For the next few days each of us worked secretly, with smirks and giggles. Somehow we did scrape together enough to buy a small tree. But we had pitifully few decorations to trim it with. Yet, on Christmas morning, never was a tree heaped with such riches! The gifts were only pictures of gifts, to be sure, cut out or drawn and colored and painted, nailed and hammered and pasted and sewed. But they were presents, luxurious beyond our dreams: A slinky black limousine and a red motor boat for Daddy. A diamond bracelet and a fur coat for me. Pete’s presents were the most expensive toys cut from advertisements. Our best present to him was a picture of a fabulous camping tent, complete with Indian designs, painted, of course, by Daddy, and magnificent pictures of a swimming pool, with funny remarks by me. Daddy’s best present to me was a watercolor he had painted of our dream house, white with green shutters and forsythia bushes on the lawn.
Naturally we didn’t expect any “best present” from Pete. But with squeals of delight, he gave us a crayon drawing of flashy colors and the most modernistic technique. But it was unmistakably the picture of three people laughing–a man, a woman, and a little boy. They had their arms around one another and were, in a sense, one person. Under the picture he had printed just one word: US. For many years we have looked back at that day as the richest, most satisfying Christmas we have ever had. — Margery Tallcott
The most precious things in life cannot be bought with money. Let’s focus on the wonderful gifts we’ve been given this season — family, friends and most of all, God’s grace toward us in sending His Son Jesus to die in our place. Merry, merry Christmas.
Psalms 54:6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.
During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in a bind. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia if they would bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country. Each piece of jewelry he received, he would exchange for a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude. These decorations would be inscribed, ‘I gave gold for iron, 18l3′.
The response was overwhelming. But more importantly, the women prized these gifts from the king even more highly than their former jewelry! The reason, of course, is clear. They were proof that they had sacrificed for their king.
When we come to know our King, we, too should want to exchange the flourishes of our former life for Him. The amazing thing about our King is that He not only takes our jewels but He takes our rags too — and uses them for the good of His Kingdom!
Perhaps there are some things we need to sacrifice to him today. Let’s pray and ask for His revelation. There are great things awaiting those who give.
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
There was a knock on Megan’s door but she opened it only to find a note. It read:
I’m going to be in your neighborhood today and I would like to visit you.
Love Jesus
She couldn’t believe her eyes. Jesus was coming to visit her? But her place was a mess, she still needed to shower and she didn’t even have anything good to serve Him in the house. She quickly hurried out to the corner grocery store, bought a few items and headed back to clean and prepare.
On her way home, a homeless man called out. “Hey lady, I’m hungry, got anything in there for me?” She contemplated for a moment, and then replied “Really, sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m having a very important guest to prepare for — maybe next time.” “No problem — thanks anyway,” He said.
A part of her felt bad for the poor guy, but the feeling passed quickly. The Lord was coming and she had so much to do! As she approached her house, she noticed another note on the door.
Dearest Meg,
It was good seeing you today on your way home. I was really hungry, and hoping to have a meal with you, but maybe next time.
Loving you always,
Jesus
Let’s open our eyes! There are so many needs around us and if we have not done it to the very least of His brethren, we’ve not done it unto Him! The Lord is visiting us today and we don’t want to miss Him!
Increase
Decrease