Thursday, October 02,
2014, 5:22 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “I Sing of His Mercy.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 2 Corinthians 8 (NASB).
In this section of scripture, the teaching is on the subject
of the grace of giving, more specifically giving monetarily, from what I
understand, and yet the gospel of Jesus Christ is presented throughout this
passage, too. So, today I will be looking at the broader subject of giving,
which includes what Jesus Christ gave to us, and what we are to give as a heart
response of love to him and to others, in return.
The Grace of God
Now,
brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in
the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their
abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their
liberality. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their
ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the
favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had
expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of
God. ~ 2 Co. 8:1-5
But
just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in
all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this
gracious work also. 8 I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving
through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 9 For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your
sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ~ 2
Co. 8:7-9
The grace of God was made known to us by the writers of the
New Testament (as inspired by God), who told us the story of how God sent his
Son Jesus Christ to earth to take on human flesh, to suffer as we suffer, and
then to die on the cross for our sins. By God’s grace Jesus Christ gave his
life up for us on the cross. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he
rose from the dead, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin. By God’s grace,
through faith, we can be forgiven of and delivered from slavery to sin, be set
free from the ultimate punishment for sin, and be given the hope of eternal
life with God in heaven.
The way in which Jesus Christ was rich is that he, being God
himself, was in heaven on a throne, yet he willingly gave that up for us by
coming to earth, by taking on human flesh, and by him being willing to suffer
and to be tempted as we are tempted, though without sin, so that he could
become our compassionate and merciful high priest, and so he could become our
perfect sacrificial Lamb given for us for the forgiveness of sins.
Through his poverty, i.e. his willingness to humble himself
by becoming obedient to death on a cross, we are made rich spiritually, by
faith in Christ, in that we have been freed from the penalty and control of sin
over our lives, and we have been freed and empowered to walk daily in Christ’s
righteousness and holiness, as well as we have been given the hope of heaven.
We have so many spiritual blessings in Christ that it is difficult to even
begin to name them all. Jesus Christ, through his Spirit within us, fills us
with his love. He counsels, guides and directs us in the way we should go. He
empowers us to walk in holiness. He comforts us and encourages us in times of
trouble. He meets our needs and gives us purpose for our lives. He is awesome!
We are made complete (whole) in him. He heals our diseases and he purifies our
hearts from all unrighteousness. Praise his holy name!
Abundance of Joy
This grace of God, i.e. this giving spirit, is thus
transferred to us via our faith in Christ, and via his Spirit dwelling within
us. Since we, by faith, have the living God dwelling within us, we also have
his love, compassion, mercy, kindness, and giving spirit within us and
available for us to tap into. He gives us the desire and the ability to give,
even out of extreme poverty, and even during times of great opposition and
persecution. And yet, this grace of God, i.e. this grace of giving stretches
far beyond just giving money to help those in need, for what God gave us was
forgiveness of sin, the gospel of salvation, and his love and compassion. And,
that is what we are to share with others, too, and with joy!
So, how can we, who are selfish creatures by nature, be so
giving of ourselves to others? It says here that first of all they gave
themselves to God (the Lord) and then to those in need, via the apostles, by
the will of God. When we give our lives to the Lord Jesus as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this world, but
transformed in the renewing of our minds, we give everything we are and have to
God, and so we don’t consider anything our own – not our reputations, what
people think about us, our possessions, money, etc. It is all his to do with
what he wills. And, so when we submit our wills to his will for our lives, and
we surrender in obedience to his word, then we can joyfully give of our time, resources,
energies, money, possessions, etc. to the will of God.
Equality
For
if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has,
not according to what he does not have. For this is not for the ease of others
and for your affliction, but by way of equality— at this present time your
abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may
become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; as it is written,
“He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no
lack.” ~ 2 Co. 8:12-15
“Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in
or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ Matt.
6:19-21
“For
this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will
eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food,
and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor
reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more
valuable you are than the birds! …But if God so clothes the grass in the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more
will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ~ Luke 12:22-28
For those of us in America, this idea of equality may seem
foreign to us, yet this is the Biblical principle set down for us by God. We
are not supposed to hoard wealth in order to make sure we have enough to live well
in our senior years, and thus deprive the needy of what we could give to them
if we are willing. Yet, the principle here is that we, too, should not feel so
pressed to give to others that we suffer in want of what is needed in our own
lives. I believe we should pay our bills, and not give to the point to where we
don’t meet our own financial obligations, but I also believe we should give
beyond what is comfortable for us sometimes, too, i.e. not just out of our
surplus, but maybe sacrificing some things we would like to have in order to
help others whose need is greater than our own.
I believe, as we are able, that it makes sense to keep a
reasonable amount of money on supply to meet our budget needs, including a
supply for items which may not occur every month, so that we do not have to go
into debt for emergency situations or for large expenditures, and so we do not
become a burden to others because we are not able to financially provide for
ourselves. Yet I think that, as Americans, this Biblical teaching goes against
what is taught to us from early on about saving, investing, and making sure we
have plenty of money, possessions, etc. to live comfortably on this earth until
the day we die. Yet, we can’t take it with us. So, we need to understand that our
God will supply all that we need, and so we need to have the attitude that our
Lord owns it all, and so we should help others in need knowing that God will
take care of us when we are in need.
Yet, this grace of giving is not to be limited to or
confined merely to giving monetarily to people in need. This grace of giving
should carry over into every aspect of our lives to where we willingly share
our possessions (wisely and responsibly), our money, resources, talents,
spiritual gifts, time, and energies, etc. with those in need physically, emotionally
and spiritually. For, in so doing, we are laying up treasures in heaven and not
on this earth. We need to be more selfless and not be selfish with all that God
has given to us, and that includes most especially with his gospel of
salvation. Many need to know Jesus, and we should be sharing the grace and
mercy of God with them so that they, too, can be set free from their sins, and
so they can have eternal life with God, beginning right now and forever.
I Sing of His Mercy
/ An Original Work
Based off Psalm 32 /
April 10, 2014
Blessed are those
whose sins are forgiven
By the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does
Not count against
them; freedom found.
When, in silence, I
did not confess
My sin to You; had no
strength.
Then I owned up to my
sin and
You forgave and
cleansed me within.
Therefore let the
godly pray to You;
Draw near to You;
grace they’ll find.
They will not be
o’ertaken by afflictions,
But in Christ peace
abounds.
Lord, You are my
hiding place.
I find my refuge in
You secure.
You protect me from
all evil.
You give songs of
vict’ry in You.
Lord, You teach me to
walk in Your ways;
Counsel me in love, I
know.
Help me to not be
stubborn and
Unwilling to follow in
Your truth.
Thank You for Your
love and mercy.
I put my trust in You
always.
I rejoice in my Lord
and
I sing of Him
throughout all my days.
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