For the past six weeks our pastor has been doing a sermon series entitled 'Bling'. Essentially it was all about material possession and money. I think he was very brave because our church and really community at large is a wealthy one. He preached it true from the Bible and it was hard to hear for most folks...including myself!
I have always had a generous spirit internally but always considered my family's needs first. I think that in hindsight this has not been showing faith that God will take care of us. Keith and I do tithe of course but we need to consider a little more carefully what we do with our extra money because we are indeed priveledged to even have extra money. I have asked God to put opportunities in my path to help me learn to not see the money we earn as MINE but as His that he has entrusted to me to use to further his kingdom. That is an honour! I think once we have the right attitude towards money that God instructs us to have the right actions will naturally follow.
So just this morning I got an email from the PAC at Chad's school that there is a family in dire need and they were collecting food, gift cards, gas cards etc. No further details about the situation. Now I have to admit a part of me wanted to know the circumstances to see if the cause was worthy enough for me to contribute but I decided that it was not necessary to know this. I just needed to heed the call for help. I had a gift card that I had been waiting to use that I decided would be given to someone who really needed it...I just wanted it. I think we all could use a little more practice in discerning our needs versus our wants. I don't think God was 'testing' me persay but I did ask Him to give me more chances to practice being generous so I could not have possibly said no! I wonder what else is in store for Keith and I?! Maybe there will be more stories to share with you soon.
7 comments:
I am reading your thoughts and can't help but think about a personal situation of ours. We had friends struggling over Christmas and wanted to help out. I mentioned to Dave that we were in a position to help and asked him to pray for an amount to give. We have done this before, and God has always given us the same number. So..once again God gave us both a number larger than we thought and we obeyed. A couple weeks later we discovered that we didn't miss the money at all. God can use us when we are open. We just need to trust him. That money has come back to us 10 fold in other ways and we are thankful for God's nudging. Don't be afraid to let God give you a dollar amount!!
Such a good word this morning Rachel. We've always believed that you can't out-give God. As Keri mentioned, we also frequently ask God to give us a dollar amount and we always get the same number. Love that! Good point also on not having to know the circumstances of what you're giving towards, just to obey. I think that's a difficult one for most people. I always say that once the money's out of your hand, what happens to it is not your concern.
Well written Rachel.
It was a great series and it needed desperately to be preached and we all needed to hear it including myself!
I think it's so exciting to have your prayers answered so quickly.
And what Keri said is so true. We're often afraid that we are going to be without enough for ourselves but when the money is gone it really isn't missed! God still does miracles.
What a great post and it has inspired me! We have made monthly donations to 3 charities (straight out of the bank account so it's part of our budget) for years but I've felt for a while that there's more we could be doing. I had some ideas in motion that sort of fell by the wayside but I think it's time to re-visit them.
Very cool. It was a great series. I missed one or two of them so I'm grateful they're online and I'll be able to catch up soon. Obeying God's Holy Hunches (as I've learned to call them) can never turn out bad. I've been quite low on cash lately but felt God asking me to give to people in need a couple of times in the last few weeks and it has come back tenfold to me. Amazing! I'm going to post about it soon as well because it's just too good to keep to yourself. :) Thanks for sharing, being an encouragment and a great example.
Perfect! :)
such an important lesson for us all. I look at the life that God has blessed myself and my family with and am thankful every day. sometimes I feel that given back like you have just isn't nearly enough but it's a start.
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