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&
Brooksyne Weber
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Tuesday,
November 29, 2022
"A
Cheerful Giver"
Message
summary: Today
we consider the many
ministries that have
blessed us and a
consideration of what
the Bible says about
giving. May God help and
guide us all in regard
to our stewardship of
what He has entrusted to
us.
Listen"Remember
this: Whoever sows
sparingly will also
reap sparingly, and
whoever sows
generously will also
reap generously. Each
of you should give
what you have decided
(purposed) in your
heart to give, not
reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful
giver. And God is able
to bless you
abundantly, so that in
all things at all
times, having all that
you need, you will
abound in every good
work" (2 Corinthians
9:6-8).
John
Stonestreet and Kasey
Leander write,
"Most
Americans barely sit
down to Thanksgiving
dinner before Elvis,
Santa, and Mariah Carey
invade their lives. Then
comes the corporate
fever dream known as
"Black Friday", followed
by its digital sequel,
"Cyber Monday" (did you
get a lot of emails on
this yesterday?) There
was also "Small Business
Saturday" this last
Saturday!
In all that time, there is precious little room left to be thankful as citizens of the wealthiest nation, or consider how to give back in light of that reality. Another tradition, however, offers the opportunity to buck the trend. Falling on November 29 this year, Giving Tuesday is a chance to celebrate the abundance so many enjoy and pass it along to others.
Christians have an even deeper legacy of giving, and a more powerful motivation to give. God generously created the world, generously blesses it with His presence, and generously, in Christ, gave Himself for us."
Today
we are thankful for the
many ministries that
have impacted our lives,
some going back to our
earliest days as
Christ-followers.
- We are thankful for Biblical teaching such as we receive from the local churches we have been a part of and for so many other Bible teaching ministries available through books, the internet, radio, etc.
- We are thankful for the many missionaries we have met and supported through the years who are fulfilling God's command to "go into all the world".
- We are thankful for "Focus on the Family", "Money Matters" and other ministries which have provided Biblically-based practical teachings for life. How we have appreciated James Dobson who is now 86 but still going via "Family Talk" and Larry Burkett, who founded "Money Matters" and died about 20 years ago. The principles they taught regarding family and finances were so important to us personally and in our pastoral ministry as we instructed others.
- We are thankful for compassion ministries such as "Convoy of Hope", "Samaritan's Purse", "Blessings of Hope" and many others that minister to the needy and disaster relief.
- We are thankful for cultural apologetic type ministries like "Associates For Biblical Research", "Colson Center", "Cornwall Alliance" and others which inform us regarding the worldly trends impacting Biblical Christianity.
- We are thankful for focused ministries like "Joni and Friends" (disabilities, both learning and physical), Prison Fellowship (prison ministries), "The Voice Of The Martyrs" (persecution), Onelife Institute (9-Month Christian Gap Year Program) led by Josh Beers, a local friend. Other friends like Wayne and Yvette labor in Teen Challenge which helps people grow in Christ as they overcome addictions.
- We are thankful for those who write, play and provide the music that enriches our lives and the radio stations that play them. Some are funded through our purchases but others through our giving such as one of our local Christian radio stations.
- We are thankful for the many smaller internet ministries similar to ours such as our friend Richard Dresselhaus who sends out "One For The Road", a daily teaching message and Bob Southard, another friend who sends out a weekly message through email.
Our
daily text is an appeal
from Paul.
We
are to:
1)
Give generously
"Whoever sows
sparingly will also
reap sparingly, and
whoever sows
generously will also
reap generously".
He first gives a
principle of giving
drawing from nature.
Giving works like
planting! Sow sparingly,
reap sparingly; sow
generously, reap
generously. Not only
farmers know this but
home gardeners as well.
When a farmer sows seed
in his field, it looks
like he’s throwing it
away. It seems to be
lost, but it isn’t
really gone. In due time
he gets it back—with
much more besides.
2)
Give purposefully
"Each of you should
give what you have
decided in your heart
to give, not
reluctantly or under
compulsion".
Deciding which ministry
to give your donations
and deciding how much is
a personal decision made
within our hearts. Since
we can't realistically
support all ministries
we need to seek God's
guidance. It is not to
be "reluctantly"
(faulty obligation from
within) or "under
compulsion"
(faulty obligation from
without).
3)
Give cheerfully
"for God loves a
cheerful giver".
Likely the most familiar
verse in the Bible is
John 3:16 which
gloriously declares "For
God so loved the
world". But this
is the only verse in the
Bible that specifies an
act that "God loves".
"God loves a cheerful
giver!" The word
cheerful denotes a
happy, glad or cheerful
state of mind.
God's
promise: "And
God is able to bless
you abundantly, so
that in all things at
all times, having all
that you need, you
will abound in every
good work".
May
God help and guide us
all in regard to our
stewardship of what He
has entrusted to us and
our giving.
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews
3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, Your
biblical law
is so
encouraging to
the believer,
that if we sow
generously we
will also reap
generously. We
can never,
ever out-give
You who
abundantly
supplies all
our needs and
generously
provides for
our many wants
as well. As we
abound in
giving may we
also abound in
every good
work always
giving glory
to the One who
makes it all
possible. The
truest form of
worship we can
offer is to
give of our
time, our
heart, our
energies, and
our resources
and our
intercessory
prayer for
those who are
in need. Help
us to do it
cheerfully and
faithfully we
pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental
Resources
"For
God So Loved"
Video
Brian Free and
Assurance
Discernment
note: For
many years
Lancaster
County, where
we live, has
had a
county-wide
day of giving
that we have
joyfully
participated
in previous
years. It was
an exciting
day to see so
many people
giving and a
huge amount
was raised on
a single day.
Many
organizations
participated
as recipients
(over 500 in
2021 when
nearly
$16,000,000
was raised
from nearly
31,000
donors).
On
this day of
giving
recipients
were both
Christian and
non-Christian
organizations,
including
causes we
would never
support, such
as LGBT+
causes and
Planned
Parenthood.
But it never
occurred to me
to demand they
be removed
from the
platform. I
understood it
was a
community wide
effort
including all
types of
organizations.
Donors were
free to
support
whatever cause
they chose.
This
year LGBT+
activists made
new demands on
what
constitutes
"discrimination"
that the day
of giving
organization
caved to and
now require.
Many Christian
organizations
could not
agree to this
and maintain
their long
held
Biblical-based
convictions so
they dropped
out of the
program which
was a very
weighty
decision as
they have come
to rely upon
this day of
giving for a
sometimes
significant
portion their
annual budget.
Due to these
changes and
attempts to
force LGBT+ we
could no
longer in good
conscience
give through
this day of
giving.
This year both
the amount
raised and
donors dropped
significantly
on this day of
giving and we
believe it to
be
in large part
indicative of
the loss of
support among
many
Christians. It
is our
"purposeful"
decision this
year to give
directly to
organizations
and ministries
both local and
world-wide
that have
stayed
faithful to
the Bible
regarding
sexual
morality and
we will be
supporting
them this
"Giving
Tuesday".
A
word of
caution to
all: Be
careful that
legacy
organizations
such as your
denomination,
colleges and
older
ministries
that you
have supported
have remained
true to the
Bible and the
faith once for
all entrusted
to the saints
(Jude 3). Many
older mainline
type Christian
denominations
which once
held true to
the Bible are
now apostate.
Harvard was at
one time a
Christian
college
holding
Biblical
standards! I
noticed a
previously
Christian
ministry
(still has
Christian in
their name)
has gone all
in with the
woke
craziness. We
are saddened
to see so many
denominations,
colleges and
legacy
organizations
lose their way
in our own
time,
approving of
and supporting
what their
founders and
generations of
supporters
would have
never approved
or supported.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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