The Bible tells us that during a terrible drought and famine in the days of the prophet Elijah, a poor widow in the town of Zarephath was out trying to find a few sticks in order to make a fire to bake one last bread-cake for herself and her son before they died of starvation. But Gods prophet came along and told her, "Make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: `The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth."--And that's exactly what happened! "(1 Kings 17:10-16).

She put God and His prophet, His worker, first. She fed and took care of him first, and she miraculously survived three long years of famine. All that time, she kept eating out of the same barrel of meal and the same cruse of oil, both of which had been almost empty at the start!

It reminds me of when I was a poor college student trying to exist on only $25 a month in a little 14-foot trailer [caravan] with a wife and two small children, when my wife suggested that God would bless us if we would tithe what little we had.

I protested at first that we couldn't afford it, but when we prayed to find the Lords will about it, we opened the Bible to the very Scripture about the widow who gave her last two mites to the Lords treasury (Mark 12:41-44). Jesus said of her:

"She out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

Well, I couldn't argue with that! Id been saying we couldn't afford to give one tenth of our living, and here in the Bible was a poor widow giving all of her living! So the next Sunday we tithed our $2.50 to the church we were attending then, and Monday morning, after one of my college classes, the professor said:

"Dave, here's something someone gave me to give you!"

It was a twenty-dollar bill!--Nearly 10 times as much as we tithed!

That's the way God is: He loves to outgive you, and He'll never let you outgive Him! If your motives for giving are right and unselfish, He will always give you back much more than you gave.

I'm not even sure the Temple needed that poor widows two mites, but God honored her for her sacrifice just the same. As Jesus remarked, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood" (Mark 12:43-44).

So you can even give all your living and still not hurt, because God will bless you for it. If your intentions are good and pure, God will bless you for giving.

God loves to outgive you, and He'll never let you outgive Him. He always gives you much, much more than you ever give.

That's His promise! He said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try [test] Me now in this ... 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" (Malachi 3:10). "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

Gods going to repay you! "Whatever you spend," He says, "I will repay!" Do you remember who said that? Its in that wonderful story about the Good Samaritan who found the poor man along the side of the road, who'd been beaten by thieves and left for dead. The Good Samaritan picked him up and took him to an inn and told the innkeeper, "Whatever you spend, I will repay you." (See Luke 10:30-37.)

I think you're going to find that in giving to God and His work, you're not really sacrificing at all; you're just investing, and the returns are going to be far beyond anything you have invested.

So put your investment in Christ Jesus and Gods work, and you'll reap eternal dividends. God will bless you for it and see that you get good returns on your investment--the best! You'll share forever in the eternal rewards of the souls won as a result of your giving. Put God first and lay aside the tithe for His work, then He's promised to put you first with abundant blessings. He will bless you with so much that you wont even be able to hold it all!

* * *

Gain by Giving

You may have noticed the peaceful happiness, even radiance, in people who make it a habit to give. Whether it's time, money, help, or just friendly encouragement, they always seem to not only be content themselves, but have enough to share with others. Jesus explained why in the following Scripture: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap" (Luke 6:38 NIV).

If we give to others, yield to them to make them happy, or put their wishes above our own, we can sometimes feel like we're losing out. But we're not really. God sees such unselfishness and He will reward it. You never lose by giving.

* * *

A story is told of a well-to-do lady who had become a Christian late in life. One day she was walking along the city street accompanied by her granddaughter. When a beggar approached them, the old lady listened to his tale. She then took a bill from her purse and placed it in his palm. At the next corner a Salvation Army volunteer was waiting, and the old lady dropped a gift into her kettle. Her granddaughter looked at her with curiosity and then said: "Grandma, I guess you have lost a lot since you became a Christian, haven't you?"

"Yes," said the old lady, "I have. I have lost a quick temper, a habit of criticizing others, and a tendency to spend all my spare time in frivolous social events and pleasures that mean nothing. I have also lost a spirit of greed and selfishness. Yes, indeed, I have lost a good deal.

"And what I have gained is invaluable!--Peace of mind; power in prayer; a Friend who is always with me, who knows, loves, and protects me; fulfillment and richness in life that I never knew existed; faith that allows no room for fears; a promise of a wonderful heavenly home when I'm through with this earthly one--and much more! Yes, I'm happy about what I've lost, and what I have gained is priceless!"

* * *

The Bank of Heaven

"Take this to the poor widow who lives on the edge of town," the old German shoemaker told his young apprentice, handing him a basket of fresh garden vegetables. The shoemaker worked hard at his trade and cultivated his little garden patch to make ends meet, yet he always seemed to be giving away what little he had.

"How can you afford to give so much away?" he was asked.

You can even give all your living and still not hurt, because God will bless you for it.

"I give nothing away," he said. "I lend it to the Lord, and He repays me many times. I am ashamed that people think I am generous when I am repaid so much. A long time ago, when I was very poor, I saw someone even poorer than I. I wanted to give something to him, but I could not see how I could afford to. However, I did give, and the Lord has helped me ever since. I have always had some work, and my garden grows well. Since then I have never stopped to think twice when I have heard of someone in need. No, even if I gave away all I have, the Lord would not let me starve. It is like money in the bank, only this time the bank--the Bank of Heaven--never fails, and the interest comes back every day."

God loves to outgive you, and He'll never let you outgive Him. He always gives you much, much more than you ever give. The more you give, the more He'll give you in return.

God may not always reward you in mere dollars and cents; it may be in protection from accidents, misfortunes or serious illnesses that would have cost you a hundred times more than anything you have given. But in whatever way it comes, He will reward you.

* * *

Give and It Shall Be Given unto You!

According to legend, there was once an abbey which had a very generous abbot. No beggar was ever turned away, and the abbot gave all he could to the needy. The strange thing was that the more he gave away, the richer the abbey seemed to become.

When the old abbot died, he was replaced by a new one with exactly the opposite nature--he was mean and stingy. One day an elderly man arrived at the monastery, saying that he had stayed there years before and was seeking shelter again. The abbot turned the visitor away, saying that the abbey could no longer afford its former hospitality.

"Our monastery cannot provide for strangers like it used to when we were wealthy," he said. "No one seems to make gifts towards our work nowadays."

"Ah well," said the stranger, "I think that is because you banished a brother from the monastery."

"I don't think we ever did that," said the puzzled abbot.

"Oh yes," was the reply. "And he had a twin. The one you banished was called 'Give' and his twin was 'It shall be given unto you.' You banished 'Give,' so his brother decided to go as well."