One of the things I am most excited about this holiday season is the upward swing of camaraderie at PCC and the generous giving of our people. It is amazing to see the number of ways our members express their God-given generosity (fruit of the Spirit?) towards others.
As a church, we don’t have a lot of money (compared to some of the other larger churches in our area). But our church family gives each week to the vision God has given us and then God takes that money and somehow enables us to stretch every single dollar to the maximum in order for us to fulfill that vision.
Many of you don’t always get to see how your giving blesses others. That’s one of the reasons we are currently in the Signs of Life series, so that you can see some of the real-life stories of changed lives.
God has not called us to play it safe. He has called us to have faith, take chances, and dare to believe for the impossible. Our biggest accomplishments are not when we have a 10% increase in the annual budget. God is glorified when we say, “God, whatever You want, whatever you say, no matter how impossible it may seem, we are willing to follow Your lead.”
TRUE STORY: Just today we got a report from a family in our church telling us how God has proven Himself faithful in regard to their personal finances. This two-income family experienced a drop in income related to a loss of work, with no prospect of work in the near future or 2009. The remaining family income-stream was stretched too thin to cover all the family expenses. The natural temptation was to stop tithing. But instead of cutting back on tithing, they found other ways to minimize expenses so they could remain faithful in their giving to God. To say this was a test of discomfort would be an understatement. This family has endured this lean period for several months, while remaining faithful to God. Today the man goes for a job interview and is given a better job than he had; a new job with benefits, at $6.00 per hour more than he was making, with an offer of being promoted to supervisor, and has the prospect of overtime making time-and-a-half and double-time, with Sunday’s off!
It pays to obey.
You can’t out-give God.
God can promote you upward even when the economy is turning down!
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10 (NIV)
What a great way to end year!