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23 July 2008
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything - enough to give to every good work. It is written in the Scriptures:
"He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever." - [Psalm 112:9]
When I was nine years old, I woke up one morning and decided my classmates needed to become more environmentally aware. I've always been stubborn, so it only took the time it takes to eat a bowl of Frosties before I had decided to do something about the apparent ignorance of my class. So, pinning my home-made "Nature Rules, OK" badge to my tie and slinging my copies of Farthing Wood Friends magazine into my bag, off I went to set up a Nature Club. By lunchtime I had conscripted ten pupils, five minutes into the break they had all been informed of the rules and were signing my homemade membership cards. I then sat them down in the middle of the yard and made them write down everything they knew about the environment. The remainder of the lunch break was spent registering my utter disgust at their lack of basic knowledge - of life, not just nature! I sent them all off as the bell went with the expressed instruction that their homework was to draw a hedgehog and bring it back tomorrow - together with their 50p subscription.
My parents still laugh to this day at the thought of me and my Nature Club all sat in the yard while I berated them on issues Swampy would have been impressed by. They had tried to make me see the ridiculousness of the whole thing but I, being stubborn, had already made up my mind. I had decided.
In today's verses Paul says "Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give". So, the next question naturally is - what have you decided to give? You see once we decide something, the next step is to then do it. Now you may not have the same kind of wanton stubbornness I had with the Nature Club, perhaps you're terrible at making even the smallest decision, but Paul speaks above as if we are all to have considered our giving. Giving is not just a tip that we flick onto the collection plate during the penultimate song. Giving is a heartfelt, thought through and free action, between you and God. And as Paul says "God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need".
Heavenly Father, help me to make a decision on what I should give from what you have given me.
Written by Nancy Howell
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything - enough to give to every good work. It is written in the Scriptures:
"He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever." - [Psalm 112:9]
When I was nine years old, I woke up one morning and decided my classmates needed to become more environmentally aware. I've always been stubborn, so it only took the time it takes to eat a bowl of Frosties before I had decided to do something about the apparent ignorance of my class. So, pinning my home-made "Nature Rules, OK" badge to my tie and slinging my copies of Farthing Wood Friends magazine into my bag, off I went to set up a Nature Club. By lunchtime I had conscripted ten pupils, five minutes into the break they had all been informed of the rules and were signing my homemade membership cards. I then sat them down in the middle of the yard and made them write down everything they knew about the environment. The remainder of the lunch break was spent registering my utter disgust at their lack of basic knowledge - of life, not just nature! I sent them all off as the bell went with the expressed instruction that their homework was to draw a hedgehog and bring it back tomorrow - together with their 50p subscription.
My parents still laugh to this day at the thought of me and my Nature Club all sat in the yard while I berated them on issues Swampy would have been impressed by. They had tried to make me see the ridiculousness of the whole thing but I, being stubborn, had already made up my mind. I had decided.
In today's verses Paul says "Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give". So, the next question naturally is - what have you decided to give? You see once we decide something, the next step is to then do it. Now you may not have the same kind of wanton stubbornness I had with the Nature Club, perhaps you're terrible at making even the smallest decision, but Paul speaks above as if we are all to have considered our giving. Giving is not just a tip that we flick onto the collection plate during the penultimate song. Giving is a heartfelt, thought through and free action, between you and God. And as Paul says "God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need".
Heavenly Father, help me to make a decision on what I should give from what you have given me.
Written by Nancy Howell
