Christmas giving

Proverbs 11:25 NLT

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Christmas is about giving. Most of us focus on the act and love of giving and receiving gifts between family and friends on this special day, and that is something that we all really enjoy. I really love watching my children enjoy this.

But there is more to giving. In fact as you have heard me say many times giving to God is a blessing and giving our lives and resources to help others is an important part of the life of people following God.

It is this time of the year that our church has our annual Christmas mission offering. This supports missions around the world as well as supports those who are hungry. If you would like to give, go to www.thecommunityfellowship.org and click “giving online” and choose “mission offering”. 100% of this offering goes to missions and to feeding people.

There are many places and many ways we can give. Follow your heart as you give out of the blessings that God has brought in to your life. This really is a serious issue!

But I ask that you examine your hearts. Giving is not about the feeling that it gives us, but giving does feel good. Giving is not just about meeting needs, and there are many needs that must be met. Giving is not just sharing with others who wants to give, yet when we give together we make a bigger impact.

Giving is also about doing what God has called each of us to do. It is about sacrifice. Jesus did this. His sacrifice that began with Christmas, continued at the cross and found it’s fulfillment in the resurrection. God gave His son. Jesus gave His life. All through the years God has given more than we know for each of us.

We have the honor of giving. We also have an act of obedience to the leading of God through giving. May we be found faithful with what God has called us to do and through what God has placed in our lives.

May we be found generous this Christmas season and help others see how good our God is!

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