"He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.' " Revelation 14:7
What Does God Want Us To Give?
Over the past month we have been talking about being thankful and about thankful giving. Today we will try to answer the question "What does God want me to give?"
1. Give God the glory. This is the most important of all of our giving. Read the verse above - "worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." "Glory" means exaltation, honor, praise - it means never taking the credit for something that we didn't do. We have life through Jesus Christ God's only Son who died on the cross for our sins - we did nothing to receive that & therefore cannot take credit for it - God deserves all of the glory, honor and praise.
2. Give what you owe - In monetary form, attitude & actions. The verse below is amazing to me because it covers everything and it is so relevant to today's attitude of living above our means. It's simple: pay your bills, pay your taxes, be respectful - even pay through your actions. For example: Let's say a neighbor was there for you when your spouse was in the hospital - they mowed your lawn and made some meals for you. Now you hear that they are in a similar situation - pay their kindness back with kindness by helping them out in the same way.
"Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:7
3. Give from the heart. This is where we pray and allow God to guide us in our giving - who does God want us to help by giving? When does He want us to help them? etc. See the verse below - not only should we search our heart before giving but then we need to have the right attitude when giving and not "give because we have to."
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7
4. Give without sparing. Of course I am not suggesting that you give away your life savings but don't be stingy. Giving is a personal action that needs some serious prayer before hand - don't take it lightly and don't take it to extremes either way (too much or too little).
"All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing." Proverbs 21:26
5. Give to the poor. Last week we learned about the importance of giving to the poor: click HERE to view that entire post.
"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." Proverbs 28:27
6. Giving is more important than receiving. See the verse below - Jesus himself said that giving is more important than receiving - giving is a blessing.
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35
7. Give an account of yourself. We will all have to give an account of our actions - give an account of yourself right to God Himself!
"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." Romans 14:12
8. Give your body as living sacrifice. In the new year we will be studying this verse & the verses that follow Romans 12:1 in more detail - so I will leave this explanation for later.
"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship" Romans 12:1
Are you giving what God wants you to give?
