by Dr. Paul Chappell

"And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD's offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses."

Exodus 35:20-29

The more passionate your faith, the more consistent your giving.

Moses stood before the hundreds of thousands of Israelites he had led through the desert and knowing the ups and downs he'd faced with them, he told them of the Lord's will for them to give of themselves, of what they had, of the few possessions they carried with them, to the Lord's tabernacle. Moses didn't know what would happen or how much the people would give. But one by one, the Israelites opened their hearts, and responding to God's working in their lives, they brought what they had and offered it to God. When asked to give to God's work, they willingly opened their hearts and gave sacrificially.

God is honored when His people give back to Him what He has given to them. As we've seen, the possessions we have are not ours, but simply entrustments from God. To show our love and honor for God, we give them back to Him.

First, we bring our tithe. The starting place for giving is found in Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse...." Because God has prescribed a base proportion of ten percent, tithing is not truly giving; it is bringing God what already belongs to Him. Biblical giving begins when one gives above the tithe.

Second, we give our offerings. Offerings are amounts we give above and beyond the tithe God asks for. While tithing is a show of obedience, giving is a show of love.

The word "offering" is found 724 times in Scripture. Stories are recorded of people who gave sacrificially, willingly, and abundantly. Not all gave large amounts, but every person who gave sacrificially honored God, for God counts sacrifice. Jesus pointed to the sacrifice of the widow who gave two mites and said that she gave more than the large offerings of the Pharisees (Luke 21:2-4).

The more passionate your faith, the more consistent your giving. God doesn't care about the size of your gift, but about the willingness of your heart. Do you trust God enough to make His work a priority in your giving? Step out by faith and trust that as you are faithfully, obediently, and sacrificially giving to God, He will bless you by providing for your needs.

To learn more about the ministries of Lancaster Baptist Church and Pastor Chappell, please visit lancasterbaptist.org, paulchappell.com, or follow him on twitter.

Daily Bible Reading
Psalms 43-45 | Acts 27:27-44