Dr. D's Devotional
Title: Finances 40
by Dennis Reschke
Finances 40
When we need to "lay hold on eternal life" is when satan comes
against us and attempts to take away from us those things that Jesus bought
for us and gave us when we received eternal life in Him. "What about your
motivations? Can you give with the wrong attitude just to get a 100X return?"
Yes, but you won't be able to get it out of the "bank". This motivation
violates the principle of not laying up stuff for here. We're to lay it
up in heaven and withdraw for heavenly reasons, not earthly. We'll get a
100X credit in heaven but we won't be able to draw it out. We need to fill
out the check properly. Our checks are called faith and love.
Giving to the poor: Pr 19:17 "He that has pity upon the poor lends to the
LORD; and that which he has given will He pay him back". There is a difference
in the return from tithing and from giving to the poor, (or when giving
to the gospel, which is a 100X). When we give to the poor, we are lending
and God will see to it that we are repaid. We can expect back what we give.
We're to have the attitude that we're always ready to give to the poor:
Gal 2:10 "Only they desired that we should remember the poor; the same which
I also was given to do." Jesus was this way: at the last supper they thought
Judas went out to feed the poor. Jesus must have been a giving Dude for
them to think that.
Jesus wasn't poor: why have a treasurer? Nor were His disciples poor: "It
is easier for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven then for a
camel go through the eye of a needle. How then can a man be saved", the
disciples said. If they were poor, they would have rejoiced over this saying.
When He sent out the twelve and the seventy, He took care of them financially
(a minimum of 83 were on His staff). Jesus knew about prosperity. It didn't
matter if the thief (Judas) was stealing from the bag, He'd just get a kids
lunch and feed everyone with it. It didn't matter if we don't have tax money,
just go get it out of a fishes mouth. Jesus is the same then as now.
When you give to the poor, you can expect a return because you loaned to
the Lord and He's good for it. When we give to a poor man enough money to
eat a meal, as soon as he's done eating it, several hours later, he's hungry
again. And it only fed him, one person. When you give to the gospel, lets
say you give money to an evangelist and he buys tape recording equipment
with it. Now we're into multiplying of the message. It's not just for the
evangelist. It is to the evangelist but his business involves multiplication.
This is why there is a 100X return on giving to the gospel and not to the
poor. But when the LORD tells you to give to the poor, there is a 100X return
(i.e., "for My sake" Mk 10:29). When you tithe, you're return comes from
God who opens the windows of heaven. How do we measure what we receive from
God? You can't, it's more than we can handle, ask, or think.
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