Friday 6 March 2009

Generous in tough times?

THIS JUST BLOWS ME AWAY!!"Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do."
- 2 Corinthians 1-5 (NLT)

I just love these comments about the church in Macedonia. These believers understood that they were apart of something much bigger than what was happening in their own lives, their local church or their own country and had to be INVOLVED.

'THEY BEGGED AGAIN AND AGAIN FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF SHARING IN THE GIFT FOR THE BELIEVERS IN JERUSALEM. O MY GOSH! Out of the little they had 'THEY ARE VERY POOR', they wanted to give. You literally couldn't hold them back from being involved. 'THEY EVEN DID MORE THAN WE HAD HOPED'!!!!!!

Every pastor dreams of a church with this level of maturity and Christ-likeness. For me, this level of generosity reveals who YOU ARE and what you REALLY BELIEVE.

What about you?

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