THE RICHES OF LIBERALITY
Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 8
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Pella is an ancient Greek city located in the current Pella regional unit of Central Macedonia in Greece. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Today’s reading is all about giving. Jesus instructed a young person who had abundance to sell what he had and give it away (Matthew 19:16-26) and (Luke 18:18-27). I know of two families who did just that. God made sure that they never lacked any necessity, and in fact they have blessed many others since that time. One of these was Charles and Esther Mully. They owned and operated a large trucking firm in Nairobi, Kenya, sold everything, gave it all to the Lord, and then opened the Mully Children’s Family, which Crossroads Missions supports. The other family is here in Canada, and they want to remain anonymous. Paul may have done this himself, as he was from a family of Jews who were also Roman citizens. For Roman citizenship they no doubt paid a large amount. Of course, he may have been disinherited when he confessed Jesus as Messiah and God. However, he does not ask the rest of us to give everything. He does, however, expect sacrificial giving of all who have received the riches of Christ.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, You, most of all, gave everything to save me from sin and eternal loss. I pray for grace to give sacrificially. In Your giving Name I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
The 100 Huntley Street daily TV ministry had just begun when I received a letter from a lawyer telling me that a lady had left a sum of money in her will in support of the non-profit charity listed as Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. Shortly thereafter, the cheque arrived from the law firm. Then a letter from her son arrived. He was a tough union leader who objected and claimed that his mother had been manipulated in some way. I could never calculate the value of his soul in dollars, so I went to the treasurer who cut a cheque in the full amount of the bequest and sent it to the son. I started to pray fervently for him and about two years later, Crossroads received a cheque from him for double the amount of his mother’s bequest. He had started watching 100 Huntley Street, gave his life to Christ, and obviously repented of his actions towards his mom’s wishes. There are those who give in different ways. One comes to mind where a lady, who obviously wanted “treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-21), made the payments on a life insurance policy for which Crossroads was the beneficiary. We heard from her lawyer after her passing into her eternal reward. I endorse fully Paul’s exhortation in 8:20-21: “Avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us – providing honourable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” Crossroads is audited annually by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and has an excellent report “in the sight of men.” Norma-Jean and I trust the Board of Directors and the management completely, and we are monthly givers. We support other worthy ministries as well.
Yours for giving!
David
Mosaic floor among the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Pella.
Thank you so much for sharing that story, David. Our God and the power of prayer works miraculously! It was a blessing in disguise on all counts and glorified God in every way. Praise God for your action of returning the money to the son, which ignited the making of a miracle. He found Jesus–AMEN!!!; then gave back a blessing in double; hence, honouring his mother, you, the ministry, and most of all, God! His story is a complete blessing and if he is by chance reading this blog, I want to say thank you, dear fellow saint!!! I understand the feeling of sibling persecution over choices I have made regarding will money allocation and have just been given a renewed sense of peace strength and awe for and from God on all counts!! Thank you!! Give and so shall you receive–amen!!!
Blessings dear fellow saints. Stay safe on this wintry and snowy day.
In 1988 we became new Christian believers…and we were both spiritually deficiency financially. GOD changed our hearts and attitudes.
We learned to love and tithe. Our lives now overflow with abundance…just like He promised.
Enjoyed these stories on giving. I remember a verse in the Bible that was made real to me years ago. “He that giveth to the poor shall not lack…”(Proverbs 28:27). Appreciate your integrity and obedience leading to a man’s salvation David. Went to the World Day of Prayer last night in this area; the feature country being the Bahamas. Lord help those so persecuted in many countries today. In Jesus Name. Amen. The sun is shining here today and I pray it is strong enough to melt all this snow. Blessings saints!
Although I went to a mainline church all through the years prior to receiving Christ as my Savior, and did put something in the offering plate each Sunday; the importance of tithing was not something I was made aware of or understood.
Jesus gave His all!!! Thank You Jesus!!!
I so appreciate your being very open and honest about your journey with the Lord you are helping many people who otherwise would never speak up because they would “feel so dumb” but when you share your story, it is doing much good in many peoples lives! It’s sad to say but when I was a kid and spoke up, I got bullied and teased, and those incidents can leave scars for years! God bless you Irene, and thank you.
Rev. David, I appreciate the way in which you illustrate and affirm what the scriptures are saying. And your life experiences in these areas. Thank you!
Hi Everyone, Ahh memories! We had fallen on hard times. We were young with no job, and no money, then we accepted Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, and became spiritual millionaires. We tithed from our unemployment cheque as a step of faith. God responded and put us on the heart of a young couple in our church. They shared their groceries with us every week, and prayed for a job for us. My husband got a good job and we paid off all our debt within a year. We became volunteers in the ” Benevolence Ministry” at our church, and were privileged to help others in their time of need. Ever since our finances have been Blessed. God is Faithful!
Please pray for healing for me I just found out that I have Bilatual shoulders yesterday
,and that God will take this pain away. Also to help me go through the things my doctors are telling me I will have to do.
Lianne Hogg
Yes, Lord, I come together with Irene and the rest of the saints in prayer for Lianne. Heal her pain and help her through her treatment with the strength of Your loving arms around her. In Jesus mighty name! Amen!
Amen.
Amen we thank you for healing Lianne in Jeshs name Amen
dearest Lianne the following words were spoken to me April 16, 1995 “we have the Holy Spirit that enables us to do more than we ever dreamt!” I IMMEDIATELY THREW AWAY SMOKES AND WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT I NEVER HAD A DRINK AFTER THAT EITHER! I share these words with you and ask you to repeat these words into every area of your body and await God’s Healing Hands upon you! God bless you child of God!
What an encouraging example of your obedience to the Lord and His goodness and blessing in rewarding your unselfish action! Thank you for sharing this story.
Lord Jesus in Your Mighty Name, I pray for total healing for Lianne Hogg; wisdom in what she is to do and how; also Lord remove the pain she is experiencing; and also the fear!!! Thank You Jesus for your faithfulness in all you will do in Lianne’s Life. AMEN!!
Always knew u were a Christian man of great integrity. That’s what drew my mom to your program.
This was one of my mom’s favourite hymns and Burl Ives was one of my favourite singers.
Shall we gather at the river – Burl Ives.wmv: http://youtu.be/psK1ApIT92Y
Blessings fellow bloggers.
that picture of the carpet, is amazing!