Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which He claims as His own, but we should bring a tribute to His treasury as an offering of gratitude. Let us with joyful hearts bring to our Creator the first fruits of all His bounties—our choicest possessions, our best and holiest service.
The Lord requires gifts to be made at stated times, being so arranged that giving will become a habit and benevolence be felt to be a Christian duty. The heart, opened by one gift, is not to have time to become selfishly cold and to close before the next is bestowed. The stream is to be continually flowing, thus keeping open the channel by acts of benevolence.
The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable purposes amounted to fully one fourth of their income. So heavy a tax upon the resources of the people might be expected to reduce them to poverty; but, on the contrary, the faithful observance of these regulations was one of the conditions of their prosperity.
It is not the greatness of the gift that makes the offering acceptable to God; it is the purpose of the heart, the spirit of gratitude and love that it expresses. Let not the poor feel that their gifts are so small as to be unworthy of notice.
The small sums saved by deeds of sacrifice will do more for the upbuilding of the cause of God than larger gifts will accomplish that have not called for denial of self.
There is nothing too precious for us to give to Jesus. If we return to Him the talents of means He has entrusted to our keeping, He will give more into our hands. Every effort we make for Christ will be rewarded by Him; and every duty we perform in His name will minister to our own happiness.
The Faith I Live By p.245
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that Ron will recover quickly. Also please pray for Lisa, Paige, and Mandy who lost an ex-husband and father because of suicide. Rose
—-I need prayer for my cousin who is 71 he has cancer through out his body and they want to start chemo this week. chemo only makes you miserable while you’re dying and making them richer. his name is Rich. Linda
—-Please pray for my colleague, her son is missing since Friday. And her grandson try committing suicide. Rosemary
—-I have a dear friend who had to have gallbladder surgery on Monday. She also has liver cirrhosis. She is a recovering alcoholic. Will you pray for our sister in Christ? Megan
—-I would like to give an update on my dear little granddaughter Emily who was being bullied terribly in school. She is still in the same school but no one is being mean to her anymore! A policeman showed up at her school and sat in their cafeteria during their lunchtime and kept looking at Emily. I had not called the police yet but this one showed up seemingly watching Emily! I wonder if it was an angel since so many people were praying for her! She seems to be very happy at her school now! Thank you all! PRAISE THE LORD! Connie
—-My brother’s cancer has metastasized. Please pray for total complete healing. Jean
—-Please pray for a friend of ours ! She is taking her husband off life support right now. Toni
—-Please pray for Kyle diagnosed with meningitis. M
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Dear Friends,
My grandmother, Ida Harmon, had a beautiful contralto voice. When she was young she was in great demand to sing for churches, weddings, funerals, etc. She had even made a record back in the days when that was rarely done. I guess that Esther Marie inherited her musical talent from her.
Strangely, by the time I was born, she rarely sang. In fact, only one time can I remember her singing as she worked around the house. It was beautiful, and I listened with rapt attention. How much easier the cooking and cleaning and cares of this life would have been if she had uplifted her voice in song. How much happier she would have been if she had set aside her daydreams of unattained grandeur and sung praises to God drawing her thoughts away from self and toward eternal realities. What joy her singing would have brought the rest of the family. We can only guess at the difference in the outcome of her children’s lives had they heard her voice uplifted in songs of joy and praise to God as they were growing up.
David, the most famous singer of praises, declares, “It is good to sing praises unto our God.” “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.” “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” “I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy.” 1 Chron 16:8-10; Ps 147:1; 30:4; 59:16,17
There is a story in God’s Holy Word that illustrates the benefits of songs of praise to our Great Redeemer. Israel was, once again, being invaded by her enemies. Instead of trusting in his own might or cowering in fear, good king Jehoshaphat turned to the Great Captain of the Lord’s host. (Josh 5:14) He prayed, “O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” 1 Chron 20:6-12
Immediately, the assurance came from God, “Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” vs 15-17 The king and all the people bowed in worship and gratitude to the Merciful King of the Universe.
The next day, King Jehoshaphat did something that would have made any worldly general think he was crazy. The king’s faith and trust in God filled him with such joy, relief, and thankfulness; that he praised God for the victory that he was promised; and “as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” vs 20,21
Imagine it! An army led into battle by singers praising God for the victory that they knew was coming! How God’s Great Heart of Love must have filled with joy because of Jehoshaphat’s faith. Our Loving King poured out an abundant blessing upon Johoshaphat and his people that day. “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten…. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD….Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.” vs 22-30
We can have this same experience. If we have the same faith as did Jehoshaphat, we can have victory as he did. As we rely totally upon our Dear Saviour and meditate upon His goodness and praise Him for His blessings even before we see them, we can expect great blessing to be poured out upon us for God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
May we continually make melody in our heart to the Great Giver of All Blessings. (Eph 5:19) May we remember to “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps 107:8
Rose
The Offerings of Gratitude