Day 329, or November the 25th. You can't take
it with you. Our thoughts today come from 2 Corinthians
9, verse 6. Remember this, whoever sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously. And now the big picture
surrounding this verse. Paul adds more advice
about giving, because it should really be part
of normal Christian living. He then goes into
some detail about his claims to be a real apostle.
He declares he is a proper Jew, a true descendant
of Abraham, and at the same time a true servant
of Jesus. He's suffered beatings and shipwreck
and many other perils as he has travelled to
spread the good news of the gospel. He even shares
the time he escaped from Damascus by being lowered
down through a hole in the city wall. There is
a traditional part of the modern wall today where
this event probably took place. I recall standing
next to it and reading the Acts chapter 9 passage.
It made the event live forever. And now today's
action step. The devil has done a wonderful job
getting Christians to think that money and spirituality
can't coexist. In our world, I am convinced it
is impossible to minister without money. I think
I can hear someone disagreeing. Allow me to enlarge
my comment. The one who does the ministering
and the one who supplies the money need not be
the same person, but money is involved and has
to come from someone. The question is often asked,
how little do I need to give? Think about today's
verse again. If we give little, we reap little,
but if we give lots, we reap lots. When folk
die, it is often asked by those who remain, how
much did they leave? The answer is everything.
Use your money here on earth and see God use
it. Leave it in your will, and God can still
use it, but you won't get to see. Paul was speaking
to poor people, but they were very generous.
It seems to me that often the more we have, the
more we want, and the less we want to give. Money
is great and very useful. How are you going to
use yours?