Giving and Receiving
In order to regularly enrich the content you discover at on Generous Life blog, I periodically include brief excerpts of other people’s content that relates to the topics of generosity, giving, Christian stewardship, among a few other random topics that might interest me and my readers.
Craig writes: So a Spirit-filled church is a generous church. Generosity has always been a characteristic of the people of God. Our God is a generous God; his people must be generous too.
Source: http://theturnfreechapel.blogspot.com/2009/04/gods-vision-for-his-church.html
George writes: Generous giving is not about the rules, about desiring to receive a blessing from God, or even meeting a goal. Paul doesn’t even here call them to “sacrifice”! He calls them to simply share. It is about loving people so much that we hold our money and possessions loosely… No one is asking you to live on the street. No one is asking you to be a “martyr”. But God asks you to love the body like he loves the body, generously. He asks for follow through – not just well-meant wishes, but action rooted in love.
Source: http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/06/04/generosity-101/
Andy writes: Are we giving “enough”? I don’t know. I often ask myself that question. Maybe there is no answer. Could we give more? Yes, but it would require a sacrifice: less eating out, or less money into savings or Brenden’s college fund. Could we cut back on our giving and keep more for ourselves? Sure, but I’m glad to give where we give. Sometimes I wish I had a firm target to aim for so I could know whether I was hitting it. But perhaps such a target would reduce my relationship with God and my fellow man to a checklist, and I don’t want that. Instead, we’ll keep giving where we can, and I’ll keep hoping a giant sack of cash falls on our doorstep so we can give more.
Source: http://www.andybox.com/?p=1330
Chip writes: Too often when we think about generosity, our minds go straight to the balance sheet – how much we gave, how much we have left. We tend to place a dollar value on generosity without considering the motivation behind the gift…. But as you look through Scripture, you’ll discover that God is more concerned about the size of our sacrifice than the size of our gift.
Source: http://chipingram.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/what-is-genuine-generosity.html
Ritchie writes: All throughout the Scriptures God lets us know that giving is a part of worship. One of the ways you know you love God is if you obey His commands. Not only has He commanded that we bring the tithe – the first ten percent of our income – back to Him at the local church, the Bible also indicates that giving is a natural act of love. When I love someone it is natural for me to give to them. I love my wife and my children so it is normal for me to give regularly to them and occasionally to give something special to them. It would be totally wrong for me to say that I love my family if I never gave anything to them but selfishly kept everything to myself.
Source: http://www.avalonchurch.net/blog/?p=908
Andre writes: The reason so few people really understand God’s generosity results from two realities. First, they measure it by what they perceive to be their wants and needs. Comparing our homes, cars and toys to others in the culture leads to envy and greed. In the face of our demands God will rarely seem generous…. Paul understood God’s generosity at a far deeper level than material comfort. He said he knew the secret of contentedness whether he enjoyed an abundance or whether he suffered in need. Because he was focused on God’s agenda for his life and not his own, he saw God’s hand of generosity in every area of his life. Look at how he described it: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8, emphasis mine)
Source: http://www.rockcanada.org/1/?p=727
Eddie writes: I am so grateful to be a part of such a church who, like the Philippians give without regard to “rainy days” or for anything other reason than to extend the love of God to others and to make the name and reputation of Christ well-known. I have seen this made manifest through the corporate giving of Lifepoint and I have seen it just as often through the sacrificial giving of individual members of the body there. I have been the beneficiary of their authentic generosity and like Paul, I am thankful to God for them and I know that the gifts of Lifepoint are a “sweet smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.”
Source: http://pressingonwitheddie.blogspot.com/2009/05/serving-in-generous-church.html
Walter writes: Generosity may be natural to God, but it is unnatural in man. Gratitude and generosity form the twin pillars of a healthy relationship with God. Most ingratitude calls into question God’s generosity.
Source: http://www.jameszimbardi.com/2009/06/generosity-and-gratitude-week-25/
Trevor writes: Generous living promises freedom. The greatest gift that comes from generous living is the freedom we experience. No longer are we enslaved to stinginess, greed and our own wants. We find ourselves living in a far more spacious and bigger world. It is the world of God and others and miracles! We can only find this out for ourselves as we embark upon the adventure of generous living.
Source: http://www.northfield.co.za/Weekly-Greeting-Sunday-7-June
Paul writes:
Believing this straight-forward promise frees us from worry and enables us to give and share and serve generously. God will provide. God will sustain. If we really need it, He will supply it as we look to Him in faith and are connected to His Son, Jesus Christ, by faith. If we belong to Jesus, we can take this promise to the bank and be generous without fear or worry…. If we are having trouble begin generous givers, the issue isn’t motivation, it’s unbelief. May we be people of great faith in the Lord, believing in His promise to meet our every need. In this way, we will become the most generous people on earth.
Source: http://aydelotte.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/how-to-be-generous/
