Thursday, February 18

Begin by reading this Psalm that focuses on the wonder that the God of the universe cares about us!

Psalm 8:3-5
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Offer a prayer of worship and thanksgiving to the God who cares for you – and ask him to open your mind and heart to hear his voice today.


2 Corinthians 8:7,9
But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving…For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty we might become rich.

So why do we give? Maybe you grew up in a faith tradition that used guilt to motivate people to give their money to the church. Maybe you were taught that giving was simply your obligation or duty as a Christian – like paying your taxes. Notice that Paul is teaching us here that the motivation for Christian generosity is not guilt or obligation – ut rather grace! He writes, “…see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

Then he anchors our expression of grace in our experience of the grace of Christ: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty we might become rich.”

Paul is saying that when we experience God’s grace through Jesus Christ; when we realize that despite our sin and selfishness Jesus loved us enough to suffer in our place so that we might receive both forgiveness and his own righteousness; that our hearts are both shattered and filled as Paul describes in Ephesians 3:17-18:

“…how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and (that you might) know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

And when we have experienced this grace the natural response is to “excel in this grace of giving.”

Again, a few questions to consider in light of the truth of God’s word:
Do you excel in the grace of giving?
Does your own generosity reflect your personal experience of the grace of Christ?
Have you ever seen the connection between God’s grace and your own generosity before?
Spend a few moments in prayer reflection – asking God to continue to teach and encourage you express generosity in a way that reflects what he has done in your life.

Pastor Brian Coffey