Exceeding, Abundantly: Just try to outgive Him, I dare you...

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." --Luke 6:38

A wealthy man is about to die. He's holding on to his gold and insists upon taking it with him to heaven. The angel with him says, "Well, OK, if you must." The man gets to heaven and meets Paul at the gates. The man once again insists on bringing his gold into heaven with him. Paul looks at him real funny and says, "You brought pavement?"

Why are we so afraid to give to the Lord what is already His? We hold onto every penny so tightly. We live like misers in the kingdom of God. How many times must our Father prove that He is our faithful provider? Some of us give occasionally. Some of us even tithe, feeling ourselves very righteous. Though when we tithe we are only being obedient to one of God's most basic commands.

Ask yourself how many times you've given sacrificially. How many times have you allowed God to have control of your finances; to prove Himself faithful; to show you what a blessing it is to operate within God's economy?

My husband and I recently switched banking institutions. Our new bank handles their online banking differently from our previous bank. I was just getting the hang of things when I realized one day that I had paid twice on a tithe from a bonus check. The amount was a big one for us and I panicked when I thought about double paying it!

The next Sunday, I spoke with our church accountant and explained the error to him. He very sweetly offered to write us a check for the overpayment. Whew! Good thing I took care of that.

But then I began thinking about that money. Was it an accident that the additional money had been given to our church? I pondered on that money. I thought of paying bills with it, but not for long. I knew God wanted to show me what He had in mind for that money. It was something special.

Another Sunday rolled around. That morning, our financial accountant stood to speak. He began to tell us how faithful the Lord had been to one of our church family in the passing of her husband. Through our church and others, she and her family were being well cared for. They would be OK. I knew immediately where God wanted our money to go.

God knew I wanted more than anything to help my dear, sweet friend, but I never would have dreamed of giving her the amount of money that had "mistakenly" landed at church.

Friends, it was one of the greatest joys of my life to see God use my family to bless my sister in Christ. I'm just sorry God had to trick me into it. Our family's "sacrifice" has been blessed.

Guess what? I want to do it again! I am jumping up and down, saying, "Pick me, God. Pick me. Let me bless somebody. I want to see what you're going to do next!" Once again, God has shown me that I cannot outgive Him. It is impossible. What a wonderful, generous, loving, compassionate God I serve. Can I get a witness?