THE MATHEMATICS OF GIVING: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 14TH JUNE 2018

MEMORISE:
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
2 Corinthians 9:6

READ: Luke 21:1-4

1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

MESSAGE

It may interest you to know that a great number of Christians and Bible scholars do not understand or refuse to understand the deeper meaning of today's memory verse.

What does it mean to sow sparingly? Sowing sparingly is the act of giving a little back to God from the resources He has blessed you with. How do you quantify "little"? "Little" means the smallest part of a thing. Sowing sparingly is therefore giving just the smallest part of what you are able to give to God. An illustrof how we are expected to give can be seen in Luke 21:3-4:

“And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

The above scripture can be described as the mathematics of giving from God's perspective. The quality of your giving is hidden in what remains in your pocket after you have given to God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said that the rich give unto God out of the abundance of what we have (I align myself with the rich in verse 4 because I want to be numbered among the flourishing); whereas, the poor among us, in spite of their need, give all or almost all that they have.

This clearly tells us that those of us who are rich should not compare what we give with what others give because we are not all operating under the same level of prosperity. Do you know that in the parable of the profitable servant, if the servant who received five talents had only gained two additional talents, he would have received less commendation than the servant who received two and gained two more (Matthew 25:14-30)?

To whom much is given, much is expected. This is the reason why it is dangerous to indulge in self-comparison with others.

The story of the giving widow also shows that it is wrong for us to despise the poor for giving the little that they have. More often than not, they have given a higher percentage of what they have compared to the rich amongst us.

Unfortunately, in our churches today, we no longer see the type of outburst of appreciation that Jesus Christ expressed over the action of the poor widow. Sadly, instead of commending, we rather despise those who give out of their poor condition.

Beloved, the question is, after you have dropped your offering, how much do you have left for wants (not needs)? I appeal to you to sow bountifully into the work of God's Kingdom when next the opportunity comes your way, and you will reap bountifully in Jesus' Name.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please give me a liberal heart so that I can always sow bountifully into the work of Your kingdom and into the lives of brethren.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Kings 10-11, Acts 10:24-43

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 12: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.