1 Kings 17: Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
“For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
1 Kings 17:14
New International Version (NIV)
Every time we are moved to the possibility of generosity, we stand in this woman’s shoes.
How we grapple with this re-supply promise of God will determine our generosity in the future.
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
I Kings 17:15-16 (NIV)
You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.
Philippians 4:19-20 The Message (MSG)
The story of Fred and Ted
What kind of idiot do you want to be?
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1-4 (NIV) [The Widow’s Mite]
It’s not so much the gift, but the heart of the giver
God’s greatest gift to us: Jesus
Priceless Generosity!
What kind of idiot do you want to be?
It’s not the size of the gift, but the size of the heart that matters.
The true condition of the heart is revealed when we give.