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Day 55 or February 24. You can afford to be generous, like God.

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Our thoughts today are from Deuteronomy 16, verse 17. Each of you must bring a gift in

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proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

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First the big picture surrounding this verse. The book of Deuteronomy is so full of laws

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and decrees that you sometimes wonder why. I believe that it's because God loves His

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people so much that He wants them to get the most out of their lives. All these laws are

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not restrictions but ways of benefiting from the wisdom of God in everyday life. They are

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for the good of individuals and society as a whole. Lots of them are about what is best

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to eat. In the days before refrigeration and other methods of food preservation, what God

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told them was invaluable. However, Moses makes it clear that simply doing what you feel is

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right is not enough. God gives us the full, unabridged version of His instructions for

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a great, healthy, satisfying life to be lived with Him as the constant guide.

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And now our action step. When you buy tickets for a great event like

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the Football World Cup final, Centre Court at Wimbledon or the Olympics, the price is

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secondary. The expected experience is all that matters. So why is it that many of the

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same folk who buy tickets for events like these are often the ones who say, the Church,

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all they ever want is my money? Moses makes it very clear that God expects

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His people to give according to their ability. Speaking as someone who, along with my wife,

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has tithed for all our married life, God is true to His promises in His Word. He is really

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no one's debtor. Or in the words of that great old hymn, He is not a disappointment.

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Moses was speaking to a people living in a world where giving sacrifices to God's was

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the norm. In the 21st century we are becoming a people who only give if there's something

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in it for us. Master your money before it masters you. Use it as God guides you, or

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it could guide you away from God.