My Mom's Ritual

I’ve shared with you before that, as a boy, my Mom and Dad expected that I would be in Sunday School and church.  No matter the activity on Saturday night, the Sunday morning ritual was the same.
 
I still remember going to Sunday School at Good Hope Lutheran Church.  There were no individual classrooms, just a canvas drape that zinged across a wire along the ceiling.  One moment it was a big open room, the next moment—after a couple of yanks and zings, wah-lah…individual classrooms.
 
One of the Sunday morning rituals was Mom taking a red and white handkerchief, laying it on the table, putting a nickel at each end, and finally tying it.  There was no way for me to lose the nickel offering, one nickel for Sunday School and one nickel for church.
 
That weekly habit of giving unto the Lord, though I no longer tie my offering in a handkerchief, has stuck with me over the years.  Without fail, I give to my local church.  I even have a self-imposed rule that if I’m someplace else for worship, I always give the largest bill in my money clip.  One day, I went to another place of worship and my rule was tested.  The largest bill in my money clip was a one-hundred dollar bill.  Did I give the hundred?  Of course I did!  How could I break a promise to the Lord?
 
I have found that it is always a joy to give unto the Lord!  A dear friend once told me this simple truth, “You can’t out give God for His blessings are always so much more than anything you could possibly give to Him!”
 
I’m not preaching “prosperity Gospel” at you.  As I see it, “prosperity Gospel” becomes more like a contract with the Lord.  “I’ll give You this amount of money and You double it.”  God does not work that way for He looks at your heart and the intent with which you give.
 
So, how are you doing on your giving?  Do you look at it as another bill to pay or do you see it as a joy in fulfilling a mission of God’s Kingdom work on earth?  If you are not giving at all, why don’t you start with two nickels in a handkerchief? 
 
Remember---it’s impossible to out give God!  Be blessed by the Lord as you become a blessing in service to Him!

Pastor Allan
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