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Wednesday, 18 May 2011
The widow's offering
During the final week of His earthly ministry, Jesus spent a great deal of time at the Temple in Jerusalem.  In one of those visits, Jesus saw a poor widow give an offering of two small coins.  He said that she had put in more than all the others; they had given out of their excess, but she, out of her poverty, had given everything.

That widow had every reason not to give.  What motivated her to put her last two coins into the offering that day?

It was a gift of obedience.   God's Word commands us to give, to bring the tithe into the store house.  The widow knew that God expected His people to be a giving people. 

It was a gift of support.  The work and leaders of the Temple were financed by the offerings of the people.  The widow wanted to have a part in keeping the Temple open for God's business.

It was a gift of sacrifice.  Her gift of 100 percent left her nothing to spend on herself or her family.  An offering to God ought to "cost" us something and not just be given out of our leftovers.

It was a gift of faith.  This widow's gift put her into the position of having to totally depend upon God to meet her needs. What a wonderful place to be!

It was a gift of devotion.  Her ultimate motivation was the desire to show her devotion to God. 

It was a gift of value.  Jesus said her gift was "more" than all the other gifts.  It was the most valuable and significant gift not only of that day but of that whole era, because those two small coins have inspired believers through the centuries to give -- out of obedience, out of support, out of sacrifice, out of faith, and out of devotion.  The amount of her gift has been multiplied exponentially through the telling and hearing of her story.

Just as he did that day, Jesus continues to watch how we give -- less interested in how much we give than in how much we keep, interested more in our motive than in the size of our gift.

That doesn't mean that "it's the thought that counts" and we can give as little as we please.  It's not the thought that counts.  It's the obedience that counts.  It's the sacrifice that counts.  It's the faith that counts.  It's the devotion that counts.

If we give, asking how little we can give and it still be a gift, then we are missing the point.

And if we give, asking how much we can give and it not affect our lifestyle, then we are missing the point.

The point is that whatever we have came from God, whatever we have belongs to God and whatever we give ought to honor God.
POSTED BY: David Williams AT 03:26 pm   |  Permalink   |  E-mail this
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As minister of education at Tallowood Baptist Church, Houston, I led our staff to subscribe to the teaching helps for our adult teachers for more than a dozen years. They were choice and very popular among our Sunday School leadership in weekly preparation. Every week David's materials were fresh, on target with lesson topics, and easily applicable for teachers and learners. I heartily recommend these materials for exploring and teaching the Word of God. Tallowood continues to use the materials on a regular basis.
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Daily Prep is a good reminder of the upcoming lesson as well as a useful tool for encouraging a daily study time.  I have enjoyed using the Teacher's Toolbox for years.  It is a valuable resource.  Many of the useful ideas in lesson presentation are ways to allow learners to discover for themselves the truths in God's Word.
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I thoroughly enjoy the fresh approach to lessons in the Toolbox.  The creative ideas engage the student in the learning activities as they discover truths from Scripture.  Thank you for sharing your creativity with those of us who are not gifted in that way.
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Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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