5-30-23 Daily Devotion

 

The Grace of Giving

Those who honor God by sharing generously are blessed with His joy.
May 30, 2023

2 Corinthians 8:1-7

In verse 7 of today’s passage, Paul wrote, “See that you also excel in this grace of giving” (NIV). Let’s look at some people in the Bible who were examples of this kind of generosity. 

In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus praised the poor widow for her sacrificial giving. Contrasting her with those who gave out of their surplus, He said, “She, out of her poverty, put in all she owned” (vv. 44). When we trust the Lord with our finances as this woman did, then no matter how little or how much we have, we’ll excel at the grace of giving. 

A sacrificial mindset can be found in the early church, too. Those new believers eagerly sold their possessions and property to meet the needs around them. (See Acts 2:45.) Because of their generosity, God blessed them with glad hearts, favor from people, and increasing numbers. 

The Macedonian churches from today’s passage also understood the importance of giving. Even though these believers were very poor, Paul says “their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” He even says they considered it a privilege to share in this way (vv. 2, 4 NIV).

God expects us to give, and to do so cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7). In His grace, He’s provided biblical role models to help us learn how. What’s one way you can become a more giving person?

Bible in One Year: Esther 1-5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more