New Beginnings/ The Grace of Giving
My last blog entry on new beginnings quoted from Paul’s writings to the Corinthian church 2nd.Cor. 8:1-8. The quote was taken from the NLT Bible version and reads, “1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 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. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers[b] in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us[c]—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
To the Romans he writes in ch. 12,” 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Giving as seen in theses last verses is not always financial but it should always be from the heart and it requires grace…His grace. The gifts that God gives us are not for our hording to ourselves; we are to give as He has given to us. Whether it is prophecy or serving, teaching or encouraging; or as was the case with the churches in Macedonia…extreme generosity while living under extreme poverty. Where does that leave you and I? In His grace God has given us these gifts. They are not from our human nature, they are from His nature, therefore they are to be shared with others.
It is the same message in Romans that the apostle gives to the CORINTHIANS…”since you excel in so many ways…” and
SERVING OTHERS WELL…that should be our attitude when we give…do it well! And oh…by the way, God is no respecter of persons….neither should we be.
No emphasis on prosperity doctrine here either, I don’t think they had any other motive than to help. Is that our motive in giving? Complete unselfishness…..RC
My last blog entry on new beginnings quoted from Paul’s writings to the Corinthian church 2nd.Cor. 8:1-8. The quote was taken from the NLT Bible version and reads, “1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 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. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers[b] in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us[c]—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
To the Romans he writes in ch. 12,” 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Giving as seen in theses last verses is not always financial but it should always be from the heart and it requires grace…His grace. The gifts that God gives us are not for our hording to ourselves; we are to give as He has given to us. Whether it is prophecy or serving, teaching or encouraging; or as was the case with the churches in Macedonia…extreme generosity while living under extreme poverty. Where does that leave you and I? In His grace God has given us these gifts. They are not from our human nature, they are from His nature, therefore they are to be shared with others.
It is the same message in Romans that the apostle gives to the CORINTHIANS…”since you excel in so many ways…” and
SERVING OTHERS WELL…that should be our attitude when we give…do it well! And oh…by the way, God is no respecter of persons….neither should we be.
No emphasis on prosperity doctrine here either, I don’t think they had any other motive than to help. Is that our motive in giving? Complete unselfishness…..RC
posted by Randall | 6:46 a.m.
3 Comments:
I think the most perfect gift is to be able to give anything
[everything ]you have to someone
[anyone ]and enjoy giving it...what a joy this is.
Coffee
hi again,
Sometimes we don't know what gifts we have,if any. When we do
think of gifts we think of the big
ones,like prophesy,healing,teaching
and leadership.
You pointed out somethings that we all
have but do not think of as gifts,
encouaging someone,showing kindness
serving others.Ever day things.
When we are able to sit with someone who is sick or when we are
able to forgive someone that hurt us,or doing any of the other ever day things we do, we are using gifts that God gave us.
As long as our motive are unselfish
we are doing what God wants.
God did not limit the gifts He gave
us,and it is up to us to use them.
We can give so much more than money
giving of ourself and our time
sometimes means alot more to someone than all the money you could give.
Think about what you are good at
and use it for God because it came
from Him.
C.M.
Its so true. We all have talents or gifts, but dont use them out of fear or not knowing the outcome. I know that you have a gift of teaching. I know you sometimes have doubt, but if you werent good at it, then you wouldnt have people reading it faithfully. You have blessed alot of people. Its definitely something that I wouldnt be able to do. God has placed different interests and gifts in each of us. It would be boring if we all did the same thing. We just have to be willing to use it and when we do, it glorifies God and it makes you feel good!
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