Lacking Nothing

When I first started my church here in Fort Worth, I had an older couple in our church. The husband was known to be stingy and didn’t want to tithe. His wife secretly gave the tithe out of her grocery money and would always try and give something in the offering. In the early years of our church, offerings like hers sustained us because we didn’t have a large attendance and were needing to make payments for upgrading the structure we were in at the time.

Eventually the husband’s job took them over to Midland, Texas and so they left. Soon after we had a large need for lumber and supplies. I purchased the lumber and sheetrock on short term credit, trusting God would supply. It wasn’t but a couple days that a check came in from this lady with the exact amount we needed! It turns out that she had heard God tell her to sell her old used car and give the money to the church. You know, it wasn’t but a few days later that she received a call from a friend who wanted to gift her with a brand new car! This woman gave a significant seed out of obedience, and look what God provided for her!

Years later her daughter came to talk to me after her parents died. She was like her father, someone who complained about giving, but she made a comment to me that was profound. She said, “You know I would always tell mom that she was giving too much money away, but she never had any lack. I don’t know how it came in, but she always had enough.” Praise God! A seed planted in faith can produce a multiplied harvest that will leave you lacking nothing!

Multiplied Seed

Many years ago, there was a women who went to our church here in Fort Worth. Her deceased husband had left her a small pension from his work in the railroad which included a few benefits. She was a dedicated member of the church, a consistent tither, and a generous giver. One day she came into the church and handed me an offering of several thousand dollars, something that she had never done before.

“This is my entire savings account pastor.” She told me. I had an idea of how much she made with her pension. She would have had to been saving for a couple years in order to have gathered a seed of this size. I would never encourage anyone to give away their savings; unless someone is directed by God, I would think this type of giving is foolhardy.

“Now sister, this is just too much! You don’t need to give this.” I told her, but she was not moved. She looked me square in the eyes and said, “Bob Nichols, you take this offering. You have been teaching about giving and I want to give this as a significant seed.” See, this is the posturing of people who are operating by faith in their giving. They aren’t moved by what anyone says to them. So I took the offering, believing for her to receive a harvest.

A couple weeks she told me that a friend of her husband had come over and asked her if she had heard about a obscure part of the pension that she would have to sign up for in order to benefit. She had not and after she signed up, she received double the amount of money per month than she had been receiving and she also was given more benefits! When you sow a seed in faith the result is a harvest of multiplication!

What is Love?

For many centuries people have celebrated Valentine’s Day all over the world. Historians believe that it was started as a Roman festival in which couples would often celebrate their love and get married. Later the church wanted to turn the festival into a Christian celebration and decided to remember St. Valentine at the same time.

While the exact origins of St. Valentine is still somewhat of a question – many believe that he was a man who, despite being imprisoned, refused to renounce his Christian faith. He pleaded before the judge for the lives of those Christians imprisoned with him. Often he was able to save those lives. Eventually, his dedication to his faith in Jesus led to him being executed. He showed his love for others and for Jesus even unto death.

Whatever the origins of Valentine’s Day we can always celebrate love. It was for love that God sent Jesus to redeem us from sin and death. Jesus demonstrated the love of the Father so many times as he healed the sick, raised the dead and gave sight to the blind. Today we can show love to those around us both in word and deed.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in the Passion Translation we read:

Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.

God loved us so much that He gave His son. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life. There are many scriptures that speak of love and how it acts. We don’t just love when things are going great. In these turbulent times it is so important to walk in love. God has given the power to do just that through the Holy Ghost.

Romans 5:5 says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

How can you demonstrate love to those around you today?