Quick Note – 2 Corinthians 9 – Giving

2 Corinthians 9:7 – “7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9

Today, I am not going to write a long devotional, but I just want to share with you a few key principles about giving found in 2 Corinthians 9.  In this letter to the Corinthian church, Paul was trying to encourage the Corinthian believers to give to the other church in Jerusalem which was currently suffering (likely due to the famine that was occurring there at the time).  Paul was sent by the churches to gather funds and deliver them to the Jerusalem church to provide for those believers who were struggling.  So he went to the various churches he had started and basically fundraised.  In this chapter as well as the previous chapter, he shares some key principles about giving as he encouraged his fellow Christians to give.  I encourage you to click the link above and read the whole chapter of 2 Corinthians 9 and meditate on this passage about giving as you review these few bullet points I want to share with you today.

Principles of Giving

• Give as you would want to be given – vs. 6
• Give from your heart – vs. 7
  • Giving should be your choice and desire.
  • Giving should not be done reluctantly or grudgingly as if you are unsure you want to do it.
  • Giving should not be done under compulsion. Don’t give because you are forced to because of guilt.  Give because you want to give.  Give because God gave to you.
• Give cheerfully – vs. 7
  • Don’t give as if it is a struggle for you to give. Don’t give with a sad face or heart.  Give willingly and with joy.
  • Don’t be like those people who give but in the depths of their hearts really wish you wouldn’t take it.
• Give as God has blessed you – vs. 8, 10-11
  • God provides for us so that we can be His instrument to serve others.
  • He has blessed us so that we can bless others.
  • Don’t wait for someone else to do the job, when He has provided you the means to give.
  • He has given us all sufficiency in all things at all
  • He has given us everything we could ever want to make us content in everything every time.

Results of Giving

• By choosing to give, you will encourage others to give as well – vs. 2
  • The Macedonian church was encouraged to give when Paul told them the Corinthian church had prepared their gift already.
  • Paul also used the Macedonian church’s desire to give to encourage the Corinthian church to give.
  • By doing good, you will encourage others to do so as well
• Giving is a fruit of your righteousness – vs. 10
  • We as Christians are called to produce good fruit in keeping with our salvation.
  • Giving is proof of the change that God has made in our lives. It is proof of His love and grace flowing through us.
• Giving produces thankfulness to God – vs. 11-12
  • When others are provided for, they will thank God not only for the provisions but for you being a blessing to them.
• Giving supplies the needs of others – vs. 12
  • Obviously, when you give, you provide for the needs of others. This needs little explanation.
• Giving brings glory to God – vs. 13
  • As Christians, our ultimate goal is to bring honor and glory to God. When you give, you display His characteristics, especially His love.  This will cause others to glorify God.
• Giving brings unity and love to the church – vs. 14
  • Paul said that those supplied by the gifts from the church were longing and praying for the Corinthian believers. Through prayer and love, believers no matter what part of the world they were from were unified as the body of Christ.
• Giving is a reminder to us of God’s inexpressible gift to us – vs. 15
  • God gave a gift that can never be matched, when He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. There was no greater gift than His willingness to let His Son die in our place so that we could have a restored relationship with Him.
  • When we give, it is a reminder to us of the Greatest Gift – Jesus Christ.

I hope you take the time to reflect on these points as you read 2 Corinthians 9.  May these words encourage you to give not only financially but also of your time and love.  Thank God for His inexpressible gift!

Quick Note – Jeremiah 2:9-13 – A Bad Trade

Jeremiah 2:9-13 – “9 Therefore I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children’s children I will contend. 10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

I have an obsession with games, not the typical video games that most guys play but board and card games.  I don’t mean Monopoly or Twister or Poker, but strategic games that are similar to Catan or Ticket to Ride (although I have never played those two classics but have played games that are more “advanced.”).  For card games though, I love playing trading card games/collectible card games.  These are games where you buy a pack of cards usually of 9 to 15 cards in hope that when you open the pack you will find a “rare” card.  Then you build decks and play against each other.  I love the strategy that comes with building decks and playing/piloting them, but I also love the surprise of opening and finding a rare card in one of those packs.  For those who still don’t know what I am talking about look up card games like Magic:  The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Pokemon, and you will know what I mean.  These games are not just toys but collectibles, because there is a trading aspect to it, where you buy, trade, and sell these “rare” cards.  I’m sure most of you can remember the Pokemon card fever that came in the late ‘90s.  People were buying pack after pack trying to get the rare Charizard card.  One copy of that card would sell for hundreds of dollars, and today, that card in mint condition can probably fetch thousands when placed in auction.  I never managed to get one, but one of my younger cousins did.  I think at the time he was under the age of ten, so he didn’t know what he actually had.  So one day, when he was at school, he traded his Charizard for three other Pokemon cards that he liked better but were not even close to them in value.  He was tricked and cheated but could do nothing about it, because he accepted that deal.  To this day, I think he regrets that naïve mistake.  He traded something of value for something that resulted in no profit.  You may wonder why I told you this story today.  It’s not to embarrass my cousin but to use his mistake as an illustration for our passage today in Jeremiah 2:9-13.  Specifically, I want us to focus on vs. 11b, “….But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.”

Our passage today is a rebuke that God had for His people Israel.  He was shocked to see that these people who He rescued out of captivity to Egypt, established in the Holy Land of Israel, and provided and protected, would abandon their worship of Him to worship idols.  He couldn’t believe that these people whom He constantly showed His love, mercy, and grace to would change Him for a false god of wood and stone.  In this passage, He told them to think about what they had done, to examine whether any other nation had ever traded their false gods for another set of gods.  If they wouldn’t do it out of fear and respect, why did the people of Israel who had the one true God, trade Him for a lie?  He just couldn’t understand their decision.  Rather than worship and treasure the God of glory, they traded Him for something that would bring about no profit or help to their lives.  They forsook the fountain of living water for a broken pot that could hold no water at all.  They made a bad trade.

Though these verses may not seem to apply to us when we first read them, when you take the time to meditate on them and place yourself into the shoes (or should I say sandals) of the Israelites, you will begin to ask yourself whether you are also trading God for something that brings about no profit.  Are you chasing after earthly pleasures and successes, like money, power, and fame, rather placing your treasures in heaven?  Are you putting anything in your life before your love for God?  Are you breaking the first commandment of the Ten Commandments and having any other gods before God, whether it be your family or your friends or your ministry?  Ask yourself, “Are you trading God for anything?”  If your answer is “Yes” then you are making a bad trade.  Stopwasting your time chasing after something that has no profit, and instead, set your heart on seeking after God.  He is the one thing that is worth more than anything else you can ever desire.  Don’t make a bad trade!

Quick Note – Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 – Fulfillment for This Life

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 – “24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”

Some people think that the book of Proverbs is the only book of wisdom in the Bible, but the Word of God is filled with wisdom on every page from start to finish.  One book that people tend to overlook is the book of Ecclesiastes.  Whether it is because the name is complicated to say or because it is such a small book in the Bible, it often gets ignored.  But this book is like a sequel to the book of Proverbs, in that like Proverbs it shares little pithy statements of wisdom that in a few words pack a punch.  I warn those who are going to read the whole book for the first time though to be ready to be at least a little bit depressed, because throughout the book, we are reminded that life is vanity (fleeting and useless).  Only in the end, Ecclesiasts 12:13, do you see the ultimate statement of the book and the purpose of life, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  Interestingly though, our passage today, as well as, many other verses throughout the book, give hints to this ultimate end – that without God we will never find fulfillment in this life.

Like in the book of Proverbs, the meaning of this verse is very clear, so I need not spend much time expounding it.  All I want to do is bring this verse to your attention and remind you that no joy can be found in this life without God.  In this verse, we are told that we should enjoy the life we are given here on this earth.  There is nothing better in this life than to enjoy food, drink, and our work.  This may be wrongly interpreted to support the idea of focusing on this earthly life and ignoring our next life, but that would be inconsistent with the words of Jesus telling us to lay up treasures in heaven not earth (Matthew 6:19-21).  That is why Solomon followed up vs. 24 with vs. 25 telling his readers that without God, none of these things can ever be enjoyed, for He is the Provider and Savior of our souls.  Only by God’s mercy and grace can we find fulfillment in this life.  So if you feel empty or if you are wandering about your life with no purpose or direction or if you feel unfulfilled, look to God – chase after Him, for it is only in Him can you find enjoyment.  You will only feel fulfilled when you fulfill your purpose to bring honor and glory to God.