The gift of generosity.....
As I read this article, I decided to share it, not to promote operation Christmas child, although it is a very worthy endeavor, but the thought of generosity. Our area churches gave over 7,000 boxes this year...a wonderful, fun thing to do...
Plus, where ever you go, there are opportunities to give, whether on the street corner, the mall, the Salvation Army red bucket, giving trees, giving boxes for toys, presents for the elderly, Giving Tuesday, solicitations in the mail, phone calls, email ads, news ads, .....an innumerable amount of organizations and needs..
Our nation is known for its generosity...we have been given hope and we extend that to others as well, what a blessing..
One of my most precious times every year is watching my grandchildren decide to whom and where to give...they take it seriously with their parents and discuss these momentous decisions...they can be small amounts or larger donations...something that will have lasting effects on someone In the world....from a shoe box filled with small gifts to a plane carrying hope and medical supplies to lost people in the world, from a goat to boxes of newly translated Bibles in a mother tongue, from a sewing machine to a medical clinic serving hundreds, from a gift card to a pair of socks for the elderly, from an orphanage to remodeling a bedroom for forgotten children, from a blanket for foster children to a basket of diapers for unwed mothers, from a bag of toiletries to a bottle of clean water from a new well drilled in a faraway land....the list goes on...
Whether we give little or much ...the heart of the matter is our hearts...our cheerfulness, our hope and hands extended...to others along our paths...
It is a simple thing, done in a simple way...with unfathomable, infinite blessings...a treasure deposited in the heavenly realms...thank YOU for the opportunities which abound around us..You have given all to is to enjoy, help us to look for ways to give as well...
2 Corinthians 9:9-11 As it is written:“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Matthew 6:1-4 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Job 31:16-23 “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless— but from my youth I reared them as a father would,and from my birth I guided the widow—
if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
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