Giving of Your Time

Everyone of us has been given 24 hours in each day.  How we use that time will determine what rewards we will receive in eternity.  Giving of your time to help others is akin to putting money aside every pay day to be saved for your future retirement.  Compare that to the spiritual rewards you are sending ahead to claim for all eternity.  A wise stock broker would probably choose to invest in eternity.  Of course this will not guarantee your entry into heaven to be with God our Father as Jesus explained to Thomas.

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

To go out of our way and take the time to visit the lonely, the sick or the elderly will be a blessing to them and also to us.  our motivation should be to care for others as God cares for us.
     

Luke 18: vs. 29 & 30 – “Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wives,or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in the present time and in the age  to come, eternal life.”

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

We might never know who is observing our good deeds.  We need to be a godly example to inspire others to do the same.

Galatians 5:16 – “We are to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh to bring honor and glory to God’s name and be a blessing and influence on others for Jesus, to draw them near to Him.” 

If we check our memory bank, we can probably recall someone who took the time to show kindness to us when we needed it the most.  This probably helped to strengthen our spiritual growth and draw us closer to Jesus.  Now we have the opportunity to do the same for someone else.  God’s kindness and mercy to us is never ending.  I pray our kindness and mercy for others will go on and on as  well.  It is a privilege to have a Savior to show us the way.

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt

I've only just a minute,

Only sixty seconds in it,

Forced upon me,

Can't refuse it,

Didn't seek it,

Didn't choose it,

But it's up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it,

Give account if I abuse it,

Just a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.

Dr. Benjamin Mays

Giving of Your Possessions

Many of our homes are almost bursting out of their frames.  They are filled with more furniture and stuff than they were designed to hold.  There are also young single people just starting out on their own and also newly weds.  They are both wondering how they can furnish an apartment or a house without going into debt.  This shows they are using common sense.  

I am sure we have all heard the expression – “Never the twain shall meet.”  But, they can meet!  The home owners can have a “free” garage sale, stocked with their over abundance and invite the above two groups only.  They can also invite single parents who have a similar need. 

 

Results:  The home owners have acquired more needed living space and they have helped the others to start out debt free.

 

This reminds me of my having read in the Book of Acts how the believers in those first churches helped each other.

 

Acts 2:44 & 45 – “Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. And sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need.”

 

Col. 3:17 – “ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

 

This was a biblical solution to what could have been a big problem.  Praise God for giving us examples that still apply today even though we might approach them from a different angle.  The result is still the same:  Problem solved!!

 

Thank you for reading this,

 

Great Granny Witt

Lending or Sharing What You Have with Others

Sharing is temporarily lending an item to another, expecting them to return it to you.  For instance, sharing your second car with a neighbor until his car is returned from the repair shop; or lending your riding mower to someone who cannot physically push a hand mower.  As we count our blessings from our Heavenly Father, let us be motivated to share them with others.

I believe there are more people in the world willing to help others than those who are selfish.  A selfish person thinks “What’s mine is mine and what is mine is my own.”   That attitude is in conflict with the advice from God’s Word in the following Scriptures:

Hebrews 13:16 – “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Romans 12:13 – “Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”

Matthew 5:42 – “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.”

Luke 6:34 – “And if you lend to them from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.”

The truth is that everything we have is a gift from God.  He is trusting us to be good stewards, or managers, of what He has given us.  We are to share it with others in His Name.

As God’s children our motto should be: DON’T GIVE TO GET – GIVE TO BLESS OTHERS AS GOD HAS BLESSED US! 

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt

Be Generous in Your Giving to Others in Need

The dictionary describes a generous person as one who kindly and openhandedly gives in ample proportions.  Most of us pray before meals, expecting God to provide our meals and He does. How can we not do the same for those in need?  Could it be that they do not know nor believe that God is their provider?  They might need us to tell them that God has provided an ample quantity to us which enables us to share some of the over abundance with others. This example of God’s goodness could be the beginning of them turning their hearts to Jesus.

Proverbs 30:8 – “Feed me with the food allotted to me.”

Isaiah 32:8 – “But a generous man desires generous things  And by generosity he shall stand.” 

Proverbs 3: vs. 27, 28 – “Do not withhold  good to those to whom it is due.  When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come back and tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you.”

If a wage earner you know, who is responsible for supporting a family, is currently unemployed through no fault of his own there are ways that you can help the family without embarrassing them. You can anonymously mail him a prepaid gasoline card which would be helpful for him to drive to apply for a new job; you can also anonymously mail the family a prepaid grocery store card.  This will insure the family will have the basic foods they need until this crisis is over.  You might want to tuck in a copy of the following  Scripture verses in the envelope with the gift cards.  This will let them know that the incentive to help them came directly from the Word of God.

James 1: vs. 17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

We can never out give God Our Father. The more He blesses us, the more we can bless others.  Praise the Lord for these divine  opportunities to share His provisions for us with others.

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt          

Giving Back to God What is His

In March and April of each year we tend to focus our attention on money matters.  Probably because our government requires us to file a report of our income and expenses and the tax we owe them for the previous year.  If we do not pay the government what we owe them, it is a criminal offense and there is a penalty to be paid.  But if we do not give to God what is His, is it a spiritual offense, aka sin?  That could deprive us of the many blessings we could have received.  The Pharisees asked Jesus about this same situation, hoping to discredit His teachings.

Matthew 22:17 – “Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? vs. 18 “But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” vs. 19 “ Show Me the tax money.”  So they brought Him a denarius.  vs. 20 “And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”  vs 21 “They said to Him, “Caesars”.  And He said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”  vs. 22 “When they heard these words, they marveled and left Him and went their way.”

In the last book of the Old Testament, (Malachi), we are given instructions on what and how to give to God the things that are God’s.  Chapter 3 verses 8 through 12 outlines the things that are God’s.

Malachi 3:8-12 – “Will a man rob God?  Yet you have robbed Me!  But you say, In what way have we robbed You?  In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me.  Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try me now in this.” says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such  blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will  not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, Says the Lord of hosts;  And all  nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land, Says the Lord of hosts.”

We need to go back to the Old Testament to prove where everything we have and everything we are able to do has been given to us by God.  It is truly all His and we are only required to give back a portion.

Deuteronomy 8:18 – “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore with thy fathers, as it is this day.”

Let me share some examples of how God has taken care of me for the  past 42 years.   A few months after I became a Christian, my second husband died and I became a widow for the second time.  What a difference Jesus made in the decisions I had to make.  Because I was alone, I was able to fill a position which only a single woman was able to fill.  I am retired now but am still reaping the financial benefits from that position.  I also was given an opportunity to supplement my income as a part time bookkeeper at my local church for twenty five more years.  In addition to this, every time I have to purchase an item, it is ALWAYS ON SALE!  My daughter tells everyone that whenever her mom approaches a cash register, it automatically goes into “Discount mode”.  I believe I know why this happens.  As a new Christian, I first heard of tithing.  I thought they were saying “tide”, not “tithe”.  By the way, at that time, I lived by the ocean.  (That was a poor excuse for my ignorance about giving to the church!)  But I was willing to obey God’s Word and started tithing  to His church and never stopped. Since then I have never wanted for anything I needed.  I have also been able to give freely to those in need.  I can truly say the Lord opened the windows of heaven and has and still is pouring out His blessings on me.  Because of this, I have lived a long, productive and delightful life and am still being blessed.  PRAISE THE LORD FOR ALL OF HIS GOODNESS TO US!

Thank you for reading this.

Great Granny Witt