1 Chronicles 17
What an amazing God we serve! When David was established as king of Israel and had built a home for himself, he wanted to then build a house for God. But God responds by saying that He will instead establish the House of David.
Isn’t it just like God to take our offerings and multiply them back to us? This is one lesson I find myself having to learn over and over again. Just when I think I’ve got it, I discover its truth all over again.
You cannot out-give God.
Whether it is your time, your money, or your talent, as you pour it out before the Lord, He multiplies and replenishes it. The Bible is filled with illustrations of this principle from the widow of Zarepath to a boy with a lunch of bread and fish. As Anne Frank said, “No one ever became poor by giving.”
In Malachi 3:10, which is the only time in the Bible that God challenges followers to test Him, “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
I know this concept has been abused by the prosperity gospel. It’s been twisted to suggest that faith is a means to wealth.
But the foundation for the principle of God blessing our giving is that we must give freely, not with greedy intentions. God knows the heart behind the gift!
There is a vast difference between giving in faith and trusting God to provide for your needs, and giving with an intent to get even more in return. You and I may not be able to discern the heart of the giver, but God certainly can. Jesus made that clear when he sat in the courtyard of the temple and watched the people bring their gifts. Mark 12:41-43 tell us, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”
What an amazing God we serve! When David was established as king of Israel and had built a home for himself, he wanted to then build a house for God. But God responds by saying that He will instead establish the House of David.
Isn’t it just like God to take our offerings and multiply them back to us? This is one lesson I find myself having to learn over and over again. Just when I think I’ve got it, I discover its truth all over again.
You cannot out-give God.
Whether it is your time, your money, or your talent, as you pour it out before the Lord, He multiplies and replenishes it. The Bible is filled with illustrations of this principle from the widow of Zarepath to a boy with a lunch of bread and fish. As Anne Frank said, “No one ever became poor by giving.”
In Malachi 3:10, which is the only time in the Bible that God challenges followers to test Him, “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
I know this concept has been abused by the prosperity gospel. It’s been twisted to suggest that faith is a means to wealth.
But the foundation for the principle of God blessing our giving is that we must give freely, not with greedy intentions. God knows the heart behind the gift!
There is a vast difference between giving in faith and trusting God to provide for your needs, and giving with an intent to get even more in return. You and I may not be able to discern the heart of the giver, but God certainly can. Jesus made that clear when he sat in the courtyard of the temple and watched the people bring their gifts. Mark 12:41-43 tell us, “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”
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