A Three Step Journey to Generosity预览

Day 5 - Begin

I know a guy who decided early on in his career how much money he needed to live on.  He did the math and then told God that if he ever achieved that level of income, anything he ever made over that amount would go to Kingdom work.  Years later, he makes well over that number and he’s held true to his word.  That kind of trust inspires me.  

Over the last five days, we’ve recognized God as the owner and provider of all that exists and that our role is to manage whatever He gives us.  We’ve learned that we don’t get to determine the outcome of our generosity, but that our role is obedience to give.  We’ve learned that generosity is more about our heart than anything else.  We meet our needs and the needs of those in our family, and then we are free to dream about and respond to opportunities that God presents to us as generosity overflows.

When you think about your personal finances, what emotions do you experience?  Do you feel gratitude, joy, and appreciation?  Or do emotions like tension, hassle, worry, and anxiety come to the surface?  When I experience those negative emotions, it’s an indicator that I’ve become too attached to my resources (the little boy is ironing the bills again and putting cookie dough under lock and key).  When I’m generous and live with an open hand, I find freedom and like Zacchaeus, “Today, salvation has come to this house!”

In Luke 8:1-3, the story is told of some women who supported Jesus and his ministry by giving financially to make sure all of His physical needs were met and that His ministry was fully funded.  One of these ladies was the wife of King Herod’s business manager.  How ironic that Jesus was secretly supported financially by the very household that would seek to destroy Him— overflowing generosity at its finest!

Many years ago, I heard someone say, "you become like the people you hang around."  I’ve learned that the closer I stay to Jesus, the more I want what He wants and the more hope I have to become like Him.  Here’s the bottom line: I don’t want to get to the end of my life and realize I reached a certain level of financial security, but didn’t leave a trail of generosity and neither do you.  Let’s overflow with generosity and change our little corners of the world. 

Question: If you could draw a circle around your income and choose an annual salary that would be enough for you and your family to live on, what would your number be?  What would stand between you and giving everything over that number to God’s Kingdom causes?

Give it a Try:  Find a project at your local church that you can give to on top of your Repeating gifts or locate a local ministry that needs funds to operate and make a gift.