Text: Hebrews 11:4

Key verse: \”It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.\”

Our first example of worthy ambassadors is Abel; his inspired gift stood him out as a man of faith. He did not have precedence to follow neither did he have the law to command his giving, but by faith, he judged the Lord to be worthy of the best and so he gave a gift that still speaks today.

Giving springs from the heart, the size and quality of the gift is a product of your convictions. Jesus did not fail to teach about giving, he intentionally picked the lesson from a scene in the temple.

Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” Luke 21:2-4

It is obvious everyone had time to think about what they wanted to give and why she gave everything from her heart because she had faith in the one who sees in secret.

These are times when savings are fast depleting, and spending is based on urgency and expediency, the temptation is to give out of fear rather than faith.

In my days in the wilderness, l started out giving liberally, then as the funds ran out, l started to fear, \”where will the next gift come from\”? \”How will l be able to afford to buy this and that\”?, \”How will my child\’s education ever be a possibility\”? You may be having similar questions now.  I first started to regret my sacrifices, l even blamed myself for being such a fool; then l started to live in fear of lack and full of worry.

God in his mercy knew l had not learned how to survive the times, so he began to teach me from the scriptures. Each verse l learned and prayed through brought a miracle.

Fear has torment, every time l yielded to it my life was miserable, but when l learned to trust, and release what was in my hand l always saw heaven\’s silver lining show up for me.

You may not give money, but you can give your time to serve the Lord, you can give the knowledge you have received to others to make their labor easier, you can pick one hour of the day or week to pray for hurting people. If the gift is from your heart, it will earn you a good reputation in God\’s sight and it will keep speaking long after you are gone.

One lesson l learned about giving is: What you keep ends with you, but what you give away in hard times keeps giving back to you.

May your giving be inspired by love, selflessness, and faith, you need to give your way out of this impending financial lockdown. Take a look at people who gave during famine or hardship and take a cue from them, your miracle will be the next in Jesus name. Amen.

Blessings,

Roses &Thorns