PRE-DECIDE—5
WHEN YOU STOP HOLDING BACK
“… ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”—Acts 20:35 NIV
When faced with………………………………………., I have pre-decided to……………………………..
“Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have
enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”—Luke 12:18-19 NLT
If you want to be generous when you have more, learn to be generous when you have less.
TWO QUALITIES OF GENEROUS PEOPLE
1. Generous people plan to be generous.
But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.—Isaiah 32:8 NLT
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house…—Malachi 3:10 NIV
…Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”—Malachi 3:10 NIV
We give God our first and our best and trust Him to bless the rest.
2. Generous people always “round up.”
All day long he [the lazy and selfish] craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.—Proverbs 21:26 ESV
“The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’”—Luke 10:35 NLT
“… if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”—Luke 19:8 NIV
Personal Reflection
- Read Isaiah 32:8. In what ways could you plan to be generous this week?
- Think about the differences between giving and generosity.
- What would it look like to focus less on giving and more on generosity?
- Generous people always “round up.” Think of a time when you were on the receiving end of someone rounding up. – How does that experience impact how you view generosity?
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