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Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”  --Luke 21:1-4 In times like this, it’s easy to want to hunker down and hold on to everything we have. It’s especially hard for those who are out of work or those who’ve been forced to take a reduction in pay. I really do understand that it’s harder to give when there’s not as much there to give as there once was! Yet at the same time, think about the poor widow in today’s passage who gave everything she had to give to God’s work. While her gift wasn’t worth much monetarily, it was worth much… it was sacred… because she sacrificed to give it. In the same way, your gifts to the Lord’s work and my gifts to the Lord’s work are made sacred when they come from a sacrificial heart. Yet how many of us really give this way? How many really make a sacrifice in some area of life, how many are willing to give up a comfort, so that we can contribute to God’s work? Far too few, I’m afraid. That’s why today, my question is simple. When it comes to the church and God’s Kingdom work in the world today, are you a giver… or a taker? And if you’d admit that maybe you tip the scale to the side of being more of a taker, what’s one way you could start giving more to God’s work today? Maybe it’s as simple as getting your family on a budget so that you can be better stewards of the income God’s given you. Maybe it means cutting out cable television for a while. Maybe it means delaying that purchase, or going out to eat less so that you can give more to your church and God’s work around the world today. I don’t know what your particular situation is, but I do know that as Christians living in America, we’ve grown accustomed to certain comforts and privileges. I just wonder how many more lives could be reached if every Christian sacrificed one thing so that they could give more to God’s work? WHEN IT COMES TO THE CHURCH AND GOD’S KINGDOM WORK IN THE WORLD TODAY, ARE YOU A GIVER… OR A TAKER?

Faith and the Impossible

Friday, June 28, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”

Hebrews 11:17–19

When Abraham headed for Mount Moriah to offer Isaac as a sacrifice as God instructed, to all human reasoning he would be coming back without his son. The child God had promised decades before had finally come after all hope seemed to have been lost. Yet now Abraham was preparing to obey God’s command to kill his own son. Abraham’s faith in God was so unshakable that he not only was willing to do that, but he also believed that after he did, God would resurrect the boy. His faith is revealed in what he told the servants who accompanied him on the trip. “And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5).

As far as we know, no one had ever been brought back from the dead. Abraham was not speaking from experience when he declared Isaac would return with him from the mountain. He was not speaking with the knowledge that he would only pretend to obey God but not really offer his son. He was expecting Isaac to die. Abraham knew God had promised that his descendants would come through Isaac and would become a great nation. And he believed that what God had said was as certain as if it had already happened. We honor God most when we live in such a way that it is apparent we are acting in faith. When we claim his promises in faith, we please Him.

Today's Growth Principle: 

Nothing God has promised to do is impossible, no matter how far beyond our ability it may be.