Daily Devotional for Wednesday March 12, 2003

What is the Real Significance of the Offering the Widow Made at the Temple?

(Luke 21:1-4)

What is the real significance of the offering the widow made at the Temple? As most people were making their offering from the abundance that they had been blessed with, here came a widow with no wealth, with no possessions, who was just getting by day to day. Yet, Jesus took the time to point out that her offering was greater than the others because she was giving out of her need. How could that be? You see my friend, it was not the greatest offering in the amount that she gave, but it was the greatest offering because of the heart that she gave it with.

The point of this passage today is that the widow gave because she not only had faith that God would meet her daily needs, but just as important, she gave out of obedience and an understanding of how God works. You don't "give to get". You give as an act of obedience. You give as a form of worship. You give to bless others, and because you give with a pure heart, God in turn blesses you. Never forget that His blessings come in many forms. Not just in money, but in things like health, safety, daily provision, and many blessings that we simply take for granted.

What I want you to take from this word today is that the amount that you give is not important. It is being obedient to give what God tells you to give. It is the heart and motivations that you give it with. When you give sacrificially, you are saying to God that you trust Him to provide for your needs as He has promised to, and that you are more concerned for others than yourself. Nothing touches the heart of God more than giving of yourself to others, much as He gave His own Son for the sins of this world. God understands sacrificial giving!!!

As you know, it takes $30,000 each month to cover all of the operational expenses of Liveprayer. We are 12 days into the month, and only need $19,900 to meet the rest of our monthly obligations. Please take a moment right now and pray, and ask God what amount He wants you to give this month to support the work He is doing here at Liveprayer. God may be telling you to give $10, or $20, or $50. He may be telling you to give $100, or $500, or $1,000, or even the entire $19,900. The amount is not important to God. What is important is your obedience to give exactly what He is telling you to give, and giving it with a cheerful heart.

The widow at the temple in today's scripture put in a mite, which is the equivalent of $2.00 in US dollars. Many of you are going through financial difficulties right now. Some of you are in high school and college and don't have much money. The Holy Spirit led me to share this scripture with you today and challenge you to take at least the amount of a mite, $2.00, and send it as an offering to help this ministry continue to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with just under 2 million people worldwide each and every day. $2.00 would be sacrificing a couple of soft drinks or snack foods, but would be going to directly impact the lives of someone who is hurting and needing a special touch from God in their life. You may not think that your $2.00 would be very meaningful, but God knows your heart, He knows your motives, and He knows your circumstances. Just like the widow, some may be giving a larger amount out of their abundance, but you are giving all that you have out of your need.

You can make your gift on your major credit card through our secure server on our website at www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" button, you can give via your PayPal account using my email address bkeller@liveprayer.com , or you can mail a gift to: Liveprayer 6660 46th Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida 33709 All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

I love you and care about you so much. Every day I get so many emails from people on the subject of giving. How much to give. Who to give it to. Never forget this. ALL, 100% of what we have belongs to God and is simply on loan to us. So whatever you give, you are simply giving back a portion of what He has entrusted to you for this season. That is why you can't outgive God, IT IS HIS ALREADY! My counsel is to get alone with the Lord, pray, and let Him give you direction in how much to give and who to give it to, then be faithful to do it and do it cheerfully. HE WILL BLESS YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS, AND HE WILL BLESS YOU FOR YOUR OBEDIENCE.

I will praying for you. Never let giving be something that you dread doing. Don't ever let anyone force you to give what you don't want to. WHAT YOU GIVE IS NOBODY'S BUSINESS! It is between you and God. Just like the widow, give as God leads you to give, give the amount He tells you to give, and give it cheerfully. Giving is an act of worship. When we give out of our need as the widow did at the temple, GOD WILL HONOR YOU FOR THAT!

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller