The Joy of Giving,

At the end of the service the deacon/treasurer stood to give a report of last week’s offering. The total was 8,000 Shilling, about $5.30. That won’t go far, even here in Tanzania. The next day, at the end of a seminar on biblical stewardship the same man stood to ask a question, “What if a church does not have the resources to support their pastor and family?” I was glad to be able to answer that one from personal experience, an experience of blessing.When the Lake Don Pedro Baptist Church asked me and my family to come and pastor the church could not support us financially, $500 was the very best the church could do (now $500 might be a Tanzanian’s pastor’s dream but it doesn’t go very far in the US, even if it was 1984). That was the point, I have always felt our church tried the very best it could to take care of our family. A church cannot do more than it can, knowing the church tried their very best was enough, and God proofed himself to be faithful.Today is a different story, I no longer have to work several jobs. Your giving, your faithfulness in bringing your tithes and offering enable the church to take good care of us. I feel like the heart of the church has not changed, you are still trying to do the very best you can to honor (1 Timothy 5:17-18) your pastor. So I want to thank you, I want you to know how grateful I am to be part of a giving church.Biblical stewardship is about managing all of life according to the wisdom and will of God, and for the glory of God. God wants us to be givers, generous people who love  giving, people who are no longer about getting but delight in giving, people who manage their resources so that they can give more and more. God loves, enables, and blesses cheerful givers. He is pleased when we exercise both obedience and faith, when we honor and worship him with our tithes and offerings.As we passed out more  Bibles and watched the joy of someone having their very first copy of God’s Word, as we had over thirty deeply grateful pastors come pick up their libraries (four books and Bible) I thought of you because it was your giving that enabled this work. We had the privilege to watch your giving to people whose faces and names you do not know well up into praises, thanksgiving, and pure joy before God.As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. 2 Corinthians 9:9-14 (NLT) Thank you, to God be all glory, Pastor Hans