“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly,
or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7
Think of the beauty of that verse: God loves a cheerful giver. I can remember a time when giving was reluctantly and under compulsion. I tried to give out of obedience to God recognizing the truth that everything I owned belonged to Him and that I was his steward/manager. That is not a bad place to be or to begin when it comes to giving. It is however, a very different place than giving cheerfully, gladly, joyfully, expectantly. Janie and I have lived long enough to have seen God give generously in every area of our lives. We give back and He still gives. Our church family often sees that very thing. We give and the Lord gives back. We give $15,000 to a mission cause and the next week there is a $15,000 gift that comes into the offering. Thanks to our Father, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
One of the wonderful achievements accomplished by your cheerful giving is the “construction and reconstruction” projects that are finished or very close to being finished. The Kitchen is all but buttoned up and looking great! The main hallway restrooms look like they belong in a hotel lobby. They turned out great! You have to come to worship when it is pouring down rain to appreciate the new “Lisa Alderman Awnings”. Currently we are remodeling the 1957 baptismal rooms. These are the two rooms where baptismal candidates change and get ready for baptism. This area was greatly in need of being “baptized” into the 21st Century. I say this Thanksgiving, we need to find a special way to celebrate these wonderful projects. Our thanks to Wilson Walpole and Don Houghton. They did these projects because they love Jesus and His family! Well done, gentlemen, well done.
We are currently working and praying to help the Hispanic Church, Luz Y Verdad, find a new church home. We have housed them free, because of your cheerful and generous giving, for just over 24 years. We have never had to charge them rent. The same was true of the Chinese Church that met with us for over 10 years and the Slavic Church that meets with us now. That is not the case in many places where rent and utilities are charged. We give and God gives back greater. We have seen perhaps hundreds of Chinese and Hispanics come to Christ through these missions. We give…God gives back greater! Let us continue to be cheerful and generous givers to Kingdom work!
Blessings,
Pastor Tom
