THE LORD SPOKE (May 29)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: II Kings 7-6

Why do we ever doubt the word of the Lord (II Ki. 7:1)? Why do we question what God says? Here are some possible reasons:

● we're not listening in the first place - it takes a war to get our attention (II Ki. 7:1 starts with "Listen up!")

● right away we imagine all the reasons why it can't be
○ "That’s impossible."
○ "We don’t do things that way around here."
○ "We tried that before."
○ "I wish it were that easy."
○ "When you’ve been around a little longer, you’ll understand."
○ "Let’s get real, OK?"

● we're so dull spiritually that we've forgotten all the times God has provided in the past

● like the spies for Israel (Num. 13:28), we compare ourselves to the giants rather than comparing the giants to God

And, did you notice the two opposing reactions when God does shower his blessing upon us?

● hoarding it for ourselves (II Ki. 7:8) - "we may not have this forever so let's grab all we can right now"

● sharing the good news and reporting it far and wide (II Ki. 7:9)

God is prepared to open the floodgates of heaven to us (II Ki. 7:2). God wants to bless us! Why do we ever doubt that? When we do, our unbelief withholds good things from us (II Ki. 7:2,19) and we miss seeing what God is able to do.


New Testament: I Corinthians 16

It’s the clearest statement on giving in the whole New Testament. Paul’s instruction to the believers at Corinth provides the pattern we should follow:

On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (I Cor. 16:2)

1. It is to be periodic (“on the first day of the week”). It should not be sporadic or occasional. You should have a systematic plan. In Paul’s case, he was probably referring to a weekly payday. That is probably the best possible system for us too - immediately after each payday.
2. It is to be plenary (“each of you”). No one is excluded. Everyone who has an income of any size or from any source should contribute to the Lord’s work. It should be voluntary (see II Cor. 8:3).
3. It is to be purposeful (“you should set aside”). If it’s only done when you feel like it, chances are you won’t “feel like it” often enough. It takes a decision of the heart (II Cor. 9:7) and should spring from a joyful desire to give.
4. It is to be personal. The NIV translation misses an important detail here. The Greek construction has the preposition para (by, beside) plus a reflexive pronoun (himself). The determination and practice of giving should be “to set aside by yourself” or “at your side”. That does not exclude contributing through your local church but it certainly doesn’t indicate so-called “storehouse tithing”. Every individual should have a private fund available from which he can give generously and spontaneously as needs arise.
5. It is to be proportional (“in keeping with his income”). Ten percent is a good place to start and should be a minimum standard but N.T. giving is certainly not bound by any such limitation! II Corinthians 8 has several amplifications on this: “according to your means” (vs. 11), “not according to what he does not have” (vs. 12), “that there might be equality” (vs. 13-14), “not have too much...not have too little” (vs. 15).
6. It is to be providential (“saving it up”). It involves some planning - some looking ahead to future needs. This is also a good argument for giving through a local church since together we can do so much more than we can do individually. By joining our resources and having a budgeted plan we can accomplish far more together.
7. It is to be preventative (“so that...no collections will have to be made”). The immediate occasion for Paul’s words here is a special financial aid that he was collecting for the suffering church in Jerusalem. The purpose of his instructions was that they might be well prepared in advance so they wouldn’t have to scramble at the last minute and come up short in supplying the need.

Putting I Corinthians 16:2 into practice will revolutionize your personal giving. Imagine the potential of a church full of such dedicated donors!