The Power of Generous Giving in Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NLT

The ultra-cautious among our society struggle with the idea of giving money away. Or there are the miserly and mean people, hoarders who feel the same. It is easy for them to get into the mindset of putting the blame for a person’s or a family’s poverty onto them for not having done something that they should have done. In Charles Dickens’ famous book, “Scrooge”, he was once approached by charity collectors, asking for a donation for the poor and destitute, to which he asked several questions: “Are there no prisons?” “And the Union workhouses? “The treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” His final callous refusal to donate any money was accompanied by, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”. Thankfully, today, people like Scrooge do not represent the majority of the British public, with nearly £14 billion given to charitable causes in the last year of records, 2023. There’s more, because “stuff” donated to charity shops raises a net profit for the charities they represent of a further £300-£400 million or more. Not everyone, of course, is in a position to give to charities, but those who do give generously, it seems. 

Begging has become something of a blight in Britain’s High Streets, and the difficulty for those willing to give them something is discerning who is in genuine need and who isn’t. The same discernment is required when giving to charitable organisations, as some are more efficient, with lower overheads, than others, but reputable charities publish the proportion of donations that end up funding the good cause. 

So, after having written all that, we turn to Paul’s helpful advice regarding financial giving. The first thing that strikes us is that God is in the giving. So when faced with a need, the first thing a believer must do is to pray about whether it is a need they need to support, and, if so, how much should be given. Some years ago, I can remember attending a series of Christian camps, where there was no charge made, but the administration was to be supported by a donation from those attending. Year after year the financial needs of running the camp were met, as God spoke clearly to the people who attended, people who were obedient in giving what God had told them to give. In Galatians 5:25, Paul wrote, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives”. 

In God’s economy, there is an association between the amount given and God’s provision for the giver. 2 Corinthians 9:10, “For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you”. Believers who are generous in their giving find that they still have sufficient resources to continue their lives. Paul also wrote, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully”” (2 Corinthians 9:7). God’s provision will not necessarily involve a manna situation where God’s benevolence is graciously resourced from heaven itself. He will use believers to bless others in dire need, and be a blessing to the givers in the process. This was the case with the Macedonian and Corinthian believers collecting an offering for the poor in Judea.

“God is the one who provides seed
for the farmer and then bread to eat“

There has been much abuse by unscrupulous individuals and organisations who promote what has come to be known as the “Prosperity Gospel”. This is a belief among some Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always God’s will for faithful believers. It emphasises that positive confession, faith, and donations (seed-faith) lead to material wealth and health as divine favour, often focusing on “living your best life now”. However, the prosperity gospel is widely criticised by mainstream Christians and other denominations as a “false gospel” because it contradicts the Bible’s teachings and focuses on material possessions rather than spiritual growth. It also ends up exploiting people who are poor. In that respect, I remember one elderly lady in my church who had only a small pension to live on, yet was caught up in giving money she didn’t have to an American evangelical organisation that promised her much in return.

Occasionally, an appeal is made from the pulpit of our churches for a special need, such as for a missionary or an overseas project. There may also be needs closer to home, and I remember, at a Christian conference a couple of years ago, how a member of the worship team confessed to being in a dire financial situation, which prompted an outpouring of generosity, with the stage being covered in banknotes after the meeting. We pilgrims must always be ready to provide financially for those in God’s family who are in need. And we give cheerfully, knowing that God is in the giving. 

Is there anyone today who we know is in need? Then pray to God for guidance and provide for the need as He directs.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your provision for our needs and pray that we can supply money for the needs of others, in our families and fellowships. Please lead us we pray. Amen

Excelling in Faith: Lessons from the Church in Corinth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.”
2 Corinthians 8:7-8 NLT

From all accounts, and regardless of the issues Paul raised, this was a very gifted church in Corinth. The believers there were blessed in so many ways. But Paul was introducing them to some harder challenges that would test them a bit. What about your giving? he asked. Paul effectively asked, “Do you really love the Christians in other places who perhaps are not as financially blessed as you are?” Such questions often expose the love and commitment that believers have, and even today, some churches collapse because the congregation is either unwilling or unable to support the work. 

The church in Jerusalem was struggling financially, as we read in Acts 11:27-30, “During this time, some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem”. As far as the timeline of events goes, Claudius reigned from 41 to 54 AD. Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians around 56 AD, so the Judean believers must still have been in difficult times and desperately needed assistance.

The believers in Corinth excelled in their faith, Paul wrote. When we think about our faith, we consider it as a name for our Christianity, in the context that it is the one faith amongst many. Our current King, Charles III, holds the traditional title of Defender of the Faith as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but he has expressed a desire to be a “defender of faith” (or “all faiths”), acting as a protector for all religions in a multicultural Britain. While he retains the traditional, formal title, he has emphasised a broader, more inclusive approach to religious diversity, which was reflected in his coronation ceremony. Sad, really, because his mother was definitely a defender of the one true faith. 

We pilgrims also think of “faith” in the Hebrews 11:1 context, which starts, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see”. In this context, faith is perhaps more objective and far enough away not to bother us too much. But further down in Hebrews 11 we read verse 6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him”. Such a faith is more immediate and personal and is a reflection on how we live our Christian lives. The question is, “How does our faith in God impact our daily lives?” Do we attend church on a Sunday, and yet fail to uphold Godly principles in the office on a Monday morning? Or do we fall apart when a problem arises and our faith is then soon forgotten? Excelling in faith means consistently growing beyond basic belief into an overflowing, active, and Christlike life, characterised by deepened love, knowledge, and dedication rather than complacency. So we diligently seek to glorify God in all that we are and do, acting in ways that demonstrate our faith. Most of the time, we are not talking about a faith like Noah’s, a big faith that persevered for a hundred years, building a boat large enough to take all the animals. Or a faith like Abraham’s. Romans 4:3, “For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith””. Our personal faith is worked out in our day to day lives, as we journey on to glory, meeting the problems, troubles and challenges that all people experience, but applying our faith-filled lives with a Godly faith.

Paul also commended the Corinthians for their gifted speakers. These were not just the up-front preachers, but all the believers, as they spoke out their wisdom, knowledge and prophetic words, all for the edification of the church. This was a thriving fellowship devoted to growing in numbers and their faith, and they applied themselves enthusiastically to living their lives together. Don’t forget, this was a church at the cutting edge of Christianity in a hostile world, and they needed all the faith and other resources that they could muster. Paul and his colleagues loved them dearly, and I’m sure did their best to encourage them in their lives as believers.

What do we pilgrims excel at? The fact that we are here so far along the trail is a testimony to our growing faiths. We have been Christians for varying lengths of time, and we will all have been facing a unique series of events as we go about our daily lives. School and further education, the workplace, family matters like marrying and having children, and then on to retirement and a new twilight season with perhaps some health challenges. But these are generalities which we will encounter, but within them, there are the hard times when our faith is really tested. It may have already been tested severely, but in it all, we are overcomers. That is where our faiths excel. 

Paul wrote to the Roman believers, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”(Romans 8: 35, 37). We pilgrims see beyond the short-term troubles to the time when we will give God the Glory He deserves, to the time when He will reward us for our faith. Our faith connects us with the Source of all that we need to be overcomers in a world that seems to lurch from one disaster to the next, disasters driven by sin and wickedness. Jesus said, “ … Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). Our faith is taking us on an exciting journey, and the Corinthian believers seemingly were excelling in walking by faith through the difficulties of their times. Are we as well?

Dear Father God. You are the Source of all our faith, and nothing will separate us from Your love. We thank You for Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and we praise You today. Please help us in our walk of faith, as You have done on so many occasions. Amen.

Making a Collection

Posted on by korgrocker

“For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.”
Romans 15:26-27 NLT

A minister once suggested to a group of people that he was going to do something religious and have a collection. An ironic, vaguely humorous, statement that articulated what some people around him thought about Christians and their endless request for money for one need or another. If it wasn’t to be the organ fund, then it was to repair the church roof, and so on. My mother some years ago was very devoted with an orphanage project in Africa, to supply clothes, blankets and money. Appeals for these items and particularly money were popular and well supported in her church at the time. And that is how it was with Paul and the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. They were aware of the plight of poor people in Jerusalem and took up an offering to provide for them. Paul was asked to take the money to them, as he was going in that direction.

The motivation behind the Macedonian Christian’s desire to take up the offering was because of their gratitude to the Jerusalem believers, from whom their spiritual blessings had come. They had somehow heard that there were poor people in Jerusalem who needed their help, as had happened once before. We read in Acts 11:27-30, “During this time some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem”. 

In those days, there were no foreign aid programmes, supported from a country’s tax burden. There were no social security or universal credit schemes that would help the poor. Literally, people would starve unless wealthier people around them helped out from their resources. Jesus encouraged those early disciples to share everything they had, and we read the ethos prevailing in the early church, as recorded in Acts 4:32, “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had”. 

Fast forward to the 21st Century and we find that there are many opportunities for taking up a collection. There are many charities that rely on the generosity of people, and not just Christians. “Crowd-funding” is a fairly new phenomenon, a technique that leverages the power of the internet to maximise giving opportunities. But in it all what we give is a personal matter between us and God. There are many verses in the Bible about giving – here’s one, Proverbs 19:17, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you“! I’m sure the believers in Macedonia and Achaia were richly blessed by their generosity, as we will be too in our giving.

Dear Lord Jesus. You gave us more than we could ever think or imagine. You gave us Yourself. We are so grateful. Amen.

Giving

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Romans 12:6-8 NLT

When the word “giving” crops up, the first thing that comes to mind is our money. Paul wrote that the ability to be able to give, and give generously, is a gift from God. But in God’s economy, money is not the only resource that is available to be given. We must include our possessions and our time, and a combination of all our resources. This is because when we pilgrims became Christians, all that we have is made available to God. God said to Job, as recorded in Job 41:11, “Who has given Me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is Mine“. Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him“. We must never hold onto what we have so tightly that God can’t use it.

Paul wrote that if we have a gift of giving, then we must use it generously. Paul wrote about giving to the Corinthian church, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, “Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others“. The strange thing is that God will give us the resources to give away. We can’t out-give God. Jesus taught, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” (Luke 6:38). God even gave out the challenge that we can test Him in the matter of giving. We read in Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test“!

In the early First Century church, there was no social security or benefits system, but the Christians of that day shared what they had with each other, meeting people’s needs. We read in Acts 4:32, “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had“. Acts 4:34-35, “There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need“. 

We pilgrims who are available and willing to share our resources should do so generously, and by so doing we will fulfil what God has asked us to do. 

God, we thank You for all that You have given us. We hold what we have in our hands, always open and outstretched towards You. Amen.