Thoughts From the Bible

Luke 21: 1- 4 -   (1) And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, (2) and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. (3) So, he said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; (4) for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for G od, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."  This is Jesus' quintessential story on giving. We have an obligation to give to the work of the church. How much we give is not as important as that we give. The widow in this story really needed the money she gave yet she gave. Those in abundance gave but they would never miss the money they gave.  Giving is a state of the heart, and this widow k new she was obedient to God when she gave the money to the church. Jesus will reward those who follow His commands and, in this case, give even when the money being giv en is really needed for the events of the day. Have I examined my heart and my ...

Luke 11: 11- 13- "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? (12) Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (13) If you then , being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Jesus is showing us His heart in this passage with a situation we can relate to. We want to give our sons and our daughters and our grandchildren the best we can. We may not be great people, but we want to give good things to our children. That is how Jesus works. He is the ultimate good and He will give us beyond what we can imagine. We need to understand that principle and then work to live it out in our own families and in our own neighborhoods. Give the best we can.    Proverbs 14:14- The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.

Luke 6: 38- "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  There are so many one verse sermons in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This verse teaches me two lessons. The first lesson is that I should be giving of my means to serve others and to promote the overall mission of Jesus' message. Yes, this means I need to be prepared to give my money. I also need to be prepared to give of whatever I might have, including my time.  I also need to see that the grace I give to others, whatever that might look like, Jesus will extend that same grace to me. I know that I cannot ever give the amount of grace to someone that Jesus has given me, but my lesson is to find ways to extend grace to people whether they deserve it or not. I do not need to be concerned about what will be "measured back to me ", I need to practic...

Mark 12: 38-   44-  Jesus  publicly  uncloaked the  scribes'  motivations when he  confronted them.    He positioned them and unmasked their desire for position and recognition and not necessarily being spiritual leaders.  Then Jesus spoke to the disciples a bout giving. In verses 42, 43, and 44 we read,  “(41) Now Jesus sat opposite the  treasury  and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. (42) The one poor widow came and threw in two mites , which make a  quadrans . (43) So he called His disciples to Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have  given  to the treasury; (44) for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of  her poverty put in all that she had, her whole  livelihood . ’”  This is one of the most impactful lessons in the Bible. Jesus pointed out to the disci...

  Matthew 6: 1- 4- “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no re w ard from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret . And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ” There are some people who have concerns about their legacies. They do not want people to forget them. One way to try to extend their memory in others is to give sums of money to organizations with the expectation that person’s name will be placed on the gift. Whether it is a food pantry, medical school building or academic chair or building, they desperate ly want to be remembered.  Most organizations ar...