25 Oct November 21st Daily Devotional

A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

RICH GENEROSITY – GRACE OF GIVING – PART VI

2 Corinthians 9:7  “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

There is much that can be learned about the Grace of Giving in today’s one devotional verse.  First, it says “you should give what you have decided.”  Giving your love gift to the Lord should not be spontaneous, but rather it should be thoughtful and prayerful.  The stewardship (utilizing and managing all the resources God provides you) of the income and assets God has given you, begins with you being aware of exactly what God has given you to manage.  Once you are aware of this, then your next act of management is to with thought and prayer distribute or allocate what He has provided you.  This includes the basics of shelter for yourself and your family, clothing, medical care, and your love gift you prayerfully decide to give in thanks for all God has given you.

Because you do not always know the exact amounts that you will distribute to the various categories, one way is to set up per centages that you will allocate toward each part of your distribution plan.  That way if God provides you with unanticipated gifts, you can distribute them according to the per centages you have established.  Likewise, if the gifts you receive is less than you anticipate you will reduce your distribution based upon your established per centages.

Secondly, you should give your love gifts “not reluctantly or under compulsion (coercion).”  A Christian congregation should never “shame” a member into giving their offering.  This is why envelopes are provided and individual giving is never shared with the congregation.  Your gift should always be between you and the Lord.

In the end, according to the last part of the verse, “ . . . God loves a cheerful giver.”  Your gift should always come ultimately from your heart.  It is not a business transaction.  It is a love-gift or thank-offering.  As the Psalmist says, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:29)

Prayer:  Lord, give me a heart of gratitude and thankfulness.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

We praise You, O God, our Redeemer, Creator;

In grateful devotion our tribute we bring.

We lay it before You, we kneel and adore You;

We bless Your holy name, glad praises we sing.

We worship You, God of our fathers, we bless You;

Through trial and tempest our guide You have been.

When perils o’ertake us, You will not forsake us,

And with Your help, O Lord, our struggles we win.

With voices united our praises we offer

And gladly our songs of thanksgiving we raise.

With You, Lord, beside us, Your strong arm will guide us.

To You, our great Redeemer, forever be praise!

(LSB 785)