And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (Isaiah 58:10)
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. (Proverbs 28:27)
Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (Luke 18:22)
I'm feeling very happy at the moment. Not happy because this morning I finally got up really early but because of the reason I was able to get up. God can give joy, he can also provide sources of joy. God can also provide financially, which is a much smaller thing. The passage about the rich young ruler was one of those that changed my life a few years ago. If Jesus had told the ruler to give him all his money we would be tempted to miss the point. A particular person or group getting all your money is not the point, but rather that you give without reservation. Get in the habit of giving. If your money is stopping you from being saved get rid of it, give it to charity, no need to bother the church with it. The church only needs money from pure souls given cheerfully for the work of Jesus Christ on this Earth. I don't mean faultless people, I just mean that if your salvation is being compromised by money, then give it to the poor, not the church. Don't make Jesus look like he is at fault for your sin. Money does not bring security, especially in these days of financial crises. Jesus brings security, get rid of anything else that competes with Jesus for the role of security guard. That said, we don't need to be financially irresponsible to be saved I think.
I'm doing my electronic tithes and offerings today, may God give me wisdom to give to those who most need it and will use it best.
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