{"id":3202,"date":"2015-12-06T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3202"},"modified":"2015-08-25T17:08:04","modified_gmt":"2015-08-25T22:08:04","slug":"choose-to-be-a-giver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3202","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Be a Giver"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"No<\/a><\/strong>Scriptures say it is more blessed to give than receive. \u00a0(Acts 20:35)\u00a0 How many of us are givers?<\/p>\n

At first we may think scriptures about giving only refer to giving money to the church.\u00a0 While it\u2019s true that many passages do speak of this kind of stewardship, the biblical principle of giving runs much deeper \u2013 such as giving cheerfully and generously of everything God has given us.<\/p>\n

For example, in Old Testament times people were expected to give 10% or a tithe of everything they earned back to God.\u00a0 In the New Testament they were encouraged to give, but no fixed amount was given. \u00a0They were exhorted to give according to how God had prospered them or how much they loved God.\u00a0 The decision was theirs to make.\u00a0 However, they should bear two things in mind.\u00a0\u00a0 They should give cheerfully, not out of a sense of obligation or reluctance.\u00a0 (2 Corinthians 9:7)\u00a0 And they should give generously because if we \u201csow sparingly\u201d we \u201creap sparingly.\u201d\u00a0 (2 Corinthians 9:6)\u00a0 \u00a0In other words, we shouldn\u2019t expect God to be generous with us if we aren\u2019t generous with others.\u00a0 This applies in all areas of our lives.<\/p>\n

God expects us to give to others because God has given to us! \u00a0Every gift and blessing we have comes from God and God expects us to share them all with others. (James 1:7)\u00a0 Jesus gave instructions to His disciples:\u00a0 \u201c\u2026freely you have received, freely give.\u201d (Matthew 10:8)\u00a0 When we share what God has given us with others, it glorifies God.<\/p>\n

Giving is a basic biblical principle for every aspect of our lives.\u00a0 We should be giving to God, plus we should be giving and sharing what God has given us with others.<\/p>\n

What can we give to God who has everything?\u00a0 Here are some ideas\u2026<\/p>\n