The widow who gave her last 2 coins

Luke 21:1-4 - my observations.

What can I learn from this widow?

She gave:

1. without anyone seeing how much she gave
2. without complaining
3. with joy & with love towards God
4. with a heart of faith & surrender towards God

How can Jesus possibly see how much she gave? The collection boxes had trumpet-like containers at the top of the boxes to collect the tithes & offerings. The 13 boxes were located at different places in the temple.
It was not possible for the Lord to have seen how much she gave not to mention the disciples. They were observing the rich people putting money into the collection boxes from a distance. Yet the Lord knew how much each of them put into the collection boxes! The pharisees, the sadducee & the widow.

This is supernatural knowledge indeed!

Jesus highlighted the important things in giving:

1. we need not tell people the amount we are giving to the Lord (that's why we put our tithes in envelopes and we drop our offerings deep into the bag)
2. we give in faith without competing/comparing with others  (as we cannot see how much other people gave, there is no reason for us to compete or compare our giving with the giving of others)
3. we give in love & in obedience to the Lord (the widow gave in love & obedience expecting nothing in return. However God will bless us for our love, trust and obedience towards him in our giving)

The widow who gave her 2 last coins - Luke 20:45-21:4

Devotional from www.jesuswalk.com by Dr. Ralph Wilson

Text

Luke 20:45-21:4

"[45] While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, [46] "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. [47] They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

[21:1] As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. [2] He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. [3] "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. [4] All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

See three lessons for disciples in the brief story of this simple, pious widow:

1. Proportional Giving.

Jesus is teaching us that how much we give is related to how much we have. Earlier, Jesus had taught his disciples, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48).

This principle of proportional giving is at the root of the tithe (10% giving to the Lord) taught in the Old Testament.

Paul reiterates this principle to the Corinthian church: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income..." (1 Corinthians 16:2).

2. Sacrificial Giving.

Jesus doesn't tell the woman to keep her money, that God doesn't really need it.

He lets her give and his heart swells with pride for this lady. If he stops her, he deprives her of the blessing of giving to God. So he lets her do it.

We don't win extra points with God when we give sacrificially. This is not a contest. But know that when you make sacrifices for God, he is watching. It doesn't matter if no one else sees or knows. It is better that they do not.

But you may count on the fact that God sees and knows your giving. Jesus promises, "Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:4).

3. Faith-filled Giving.

The third lesson I see here is that we ourselves should not despise our small gifts to God.

Sometimes we fall under the worldly spell that "bigger must be better." That's not true of our giving to God. We are to give what we are able, whether small or great. If you've ever been poor, then you know that it is easy to feel, "My small gift won't make any difference. It won't matter." But that's not true. It does matter. It matters to your Heavenly Father who loves you.

It is also faith-filled when you give, not knowing exactly how God will provide for you after you give.

I'm not encouraging foolish giving, but faith-filled giving, giving proportionately to your income and expecting God to meet your needs, with more-than-enough to be able to give again (2 Corinthians 9:6-11).

The tithe is a good guideline for giving, if you are just getting started stretching your faith. And wonderful promises come along with this practice (Malachi 3:6-12).

Wealthy people

Wealthy people can, of course, be a great blessing to others, if they give out of the right motives.

1. If wealthy people give sacrificially, they please God.

2. If they give out of love, they please God.

3. If they give in proportion to their income, they please God.

God's economics

But if we think that the value of our gift is greater than the widow's mite because it is a larger dollar amount, then we misunderstand the economics of the Kingdom of God.

God does not need you or me to keep his enterprise afloat. He does not owe us. He is not beholden to us.

The cattle on a thousand hills are his, and all the riches buried in the earth. He is fabulously wealthy.

On the other hand, don't withhold your gift, don't despise your giving just because the amount is so very small. God looks at your heart. God looks at your ability to give. And God desires to be proud of your giving, no matter how poor you are.

We don't give because God "needs" our contribution. We give in order to honor him with our substance. Whether large or small, we give to worship God.

I remember one other comparison Jesus gave between the wealthy and giving all. Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to sell all that he had and give to the poor, and then to come, follow Him. The man balked. But the disciples later asked, "Haven't we given all to follow you?" And Jesus replied that those who give sacrificially will be richly rewarded -- in this life and in the life to come. (18:18-30).

How about you, my disciple friend. Have you given God your all, whether large or small? If you have, then you know the racing heart of trusting God for the next step, the next meal, the next project. And you know the reward of loving God with a joy and purity that reward you with his glorious presence.

I need to see that widow giving her two thin copper coins. I don't want to let her see me watching. But I need to see her. I need to see her to remind me once again what real love for God is all about.

Doa yang menyenangkan hati Tuhan

Sambungan...

Lukas 18: 1-8  Perumpamaan balu yang berdoa dengan tidak berhenti-henti.

Apakah pandangan Yesus tentang doa yang tidak terhenti-henti?

Adakah ia sesuatu yang mengacau atau yang tidak disukai Tuhan?

Di sebaliknya TIDAK! Tuhan Yesus amat pentingkan doa yang terus menerus & tidak terhenti-henti!

Ayat 8 "Percayalah, Allah akan membela mereka dengan segera! Tetapi adakah Anak Manusia akan menjumpai orang yang percaya kepada-Nya di bumi ini, apabila Dia datang?"

Kepercayaan tentang kewujudan Tuhan merupakan iman kita terhadap Tuhan!

Yesus menyamakan doa yang terus menerus & tidak terhenti henti itu sebagai sesuatu yang amat penting kepada-Nya!

Malah Dia kata bahawa doa jenis ini:

1. hendaklah berterusan sehingga Dia datang sekali lagi di bumi ini
2. merupakan kepercayaan atau iman kita tentang kewujudan-Nya
3. jawapan kepada doa sebegini adalah sesuatu kepastian.

Ibrani 11:6 "Tanpa iman, tidak seorang pun dapat meyenangkan hati Allah. Orang yang datang kepada Allah mesti percaya bahawa Allah wujud, dan bahawa Allah anugerahi orang yang mencari-Nya"

Desperate widows by Asher Intrater

Desperate Widows

By Asher Intrater Some of the greatest men of faith and power in the gospels were not men at all, but women - often women in desperate situations. There is the Canaanite woman whose persevering faith received deliverance for her daughter (Matthew 15:27) even though she had to humble herself like a dog licking crumbs under the table. Let us get the crumbs of deliverance and restoration for our children as she did. There is the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:30) who touched the hem of Yeshua's (Jesus') garment. She pulled out of him the power of God for physical healing, while the rest of the disciples missed what was happening. Let us get the power for healing as she did. There is the sinful woman who wept at Yeshua's feet, kissed them and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7:38). She touched His heart with a depth of passionate love that the religious leaders could not come close to. Let us touch Yeshua with the greatness of our love as she did. There is the widow whose persistent prayer serves as a model for all generations to pray without losing heart (Luke 18:1-5). Let us learn to pray tirelessly as she did. There is the poor widow who put two small coins in the offering, with greater faith than all the wealthy (Luke 21:2). Let us give all we have with the supernatural generosity she had. There is Miriam (Mary) from Migdal who searched for Yeshua and clung to Him after the resurrection (John 20:17), while the apostles were hiding away. Let us have that same tenacious faith to lay hold of the Lord in seemingly hopeless situations. One of the secrets to seizing the power of God is to see ourselves in their position as desperate widows, focusing our faith 100% on Yeshua alone. Acknowledgment: The above article is from the Revive Israel website.

The hundredfold anointing

The Hundredfold Anointing

Do you want the hundredfold anointing upon your life? Let us see what the word of God has to say about how we can get the hundredfold anointing.

Luke 8 tells about the parable of the sower. The sower sows his seeds and his seeds fell on different types of ground such as rocky ground, thorny ground and good ground. Of all the seeds that were sown only those that fell on good ground yielded a hundredfold in crop!

“But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” Luke 8:8

Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

So there are 2 key conditions to achieve the hundredfold anointing:

1.      Having a good and noble heart

2.      Patiently keeping the word of God in our hearts & yielding to it so that we can bear the fruit of Christlikeness in our lives!

Isaac is an e.g of a man who fulfilled the above conditions.

Isaac went down to Gerar and God spoke to him not to go down to Egypt but to stay in the land for a while.  Gen 26:3 “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you….”

Gen 26:6 “So Isaac stayed in Gerar”


His heart was good and noble because he obeyed God’s word not to go down to Egypt.
 

He also kept God’s word patiently by sowing in the land to which he was called. In fact the blessing came after a year of keeping God’s word.
 

Gen 26:12 “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him.” Of course nowadays we don’t plant crops like Isaac but we do work and receive our gaji and give to God a portion of what we earn.

Paused for a while and consider, would Isaac have achieved the same hundredfold blessing if he had gone on to Egypt?  The answer is obvious isn’t it? Isaac would not have achieved the 100-fold blessing promised if he had disobeyed the word the Lord and gone down to Egypt.

Just like Isaac we have heard God’s word to stay in our local church and to sow our finances into the work of the Lord in this place so let us do so in faith!

God has spoken to you to stay, to sow, to give, to grow and to contribute not just your finances but also your time, talents, energy and resources into the work of the Lord in this place.

 Have faith and believe that the hundredfold anointing is upon you today!

Lot vs the Persistent Widow

This message was shared on Jan 11 2013 in church to the LG and about 20 Koreans:

Lot vs the Persistent Widow

Lot – is Lot a disciple of Jesus?	Persistent widow (luke 18:1-8) Is the widow a disciple?
City man – lived in Sodom & Gomorrah	City woman (v2)- lived in a city with no name given
Faced problems with people living in the city	Faced problems with someone (enemy) (v3)
Tried to solve problems on his own	Could not solve her own problems - went to find the unjust judge (v3)
Comfort zone – not having a praying lifestyle, not walking close to God	No comfort zone – prayed repeatedly (v3), a praying person is a person who is walking close to God.
No mention of prayer to God for help	Prayed persistently for help to an unjust judge (to a higher power who can help her)
Not aware of angelic help	Fully aware that only a higher authority can help her solve her problems (v7)
Not prepared for calamities and also did not prepare his family to face calamities/troubles/trials	Prepared for calamities/problems as she knew who to go to for help
Did not pray for change or transformation to his city/community	Prayers changed and transformed the heart of the Judge
Not commended for his faith	Commended for her faith (v8)

Discipleship is a process of being both humbled down and lifted up

Devotional By Asher Intrater Rabbi Menahem Mendel Morgenstern of Kutsk (1787 - 1859) is known to have said, "Every man should have a note in one pocket saying, 'The whole world was created for me,' and a note in the other pocket saying, 'I'm nothing but dirt and ashes.'" Let's compare verses from Genesis 1, 2, and 3. Genesis 1:26 – And God said, "Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, he will rule over the fish of the sea... and all the earth." In a certain way, we are "like" God. He created the earth for us and commanded us to take dominion over it. All the world was indeed created for us. On the other hand we are simply created beings. He created us out of the dirt. Mankind dies and goes back to being simply dirt. Genesis 3:19 - ... until you return to the earth for from it you were taken, for you are dust and to the dust you will return. This is a paradox, a double truth that seems contradictory. It takes great faith to see ourselves "like God" and sharing in His divine nature (II Peter 1:4). It takes great humility to see ourselves as mere dirt. We are a combination of the creator and the created. We are "half-God" and "half-mud."Genesis 2:7 – YHVH God formed man, dust from the earth, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. God blew into us of His own spirit to give us life. (Yeshua blows into us the Holy Spirit again to give us eternal life – John 20:22.) By revelation, we need to be aware of our lowliness and our highness. In years of walking with the Lord, we understand more and more how lowly we are without Him, and how high He wants to bring us. II Corinthians 4:7 – This treasure is given to us in vessels of clay in order that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Discipleship is a process of being both humbled down low and lifted up high.