And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he delivered him to his mother. A reed shaken with the wind? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And he saith, Master, say on.
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Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. The seed is the word of God. And they launched forth. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this!
I beseech thee, torment me not. For oftentimes it had caught him: And he said, Legion: And he suffered them. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. But as he went the people thronged him. When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he desired to see him. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. Bring thy son hither.
And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, 44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: And they went to another village. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Go not from house to house. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Help Others, Tithe, and Give Offerings
And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: I tell you, Nay; but rather division: And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And he divided unto them his living. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE
And they began to be merry. I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
God Is on Your Side
And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. Will he delay long over them? Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? No one is good but God alone. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.
You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! But now they are hid from your eyes. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words. I will send my beloved son; it may be they will respect him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? Whose likeness and inscription has it? For the seven had her as wife. They will receive the greater condemnation. For great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; 24 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Do this in remembrance of me. Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves. Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. We are to help others as well.
God created everyone who is alive. Every person is precious to him. A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: You are not responsible to help each one of the hundreds of ministries you may hear about.
Pray for wisdom, then make choices. Try to identify real needs. And this is my prayer: Pray before making a commitment to give money. If you think you may be too caught up in the feeling of the moment, give yourself permission to wait and pray for a day before deciding to give. Give your tithe to your church. Then consider giving extra offerings to it also. By giving offerings for missionaries and various ministries to your church, you can have more confidence where the money is going. My wife and I feel a sense of confidence and excitement when we support the ministries of people we know personally and people recommended by our children.
If you have a friend who is a single mother struggling to make ends meet, a helping hand may go a long way. On the other hand, if you have a friend who is living irresponsibly, bailing him or her out may be the worst thing you could do. For example, giving cash probably is not the best way to help a malnourished, alcoholic parent. Be generous, but consider giving a meal instead. Although my wife and I occasionally give money to people in financial trouble, we usually prefer to give to organizations, not individuals.
Local shelters and feed-the-hungry programs have the experience and expertise to make sure the money is used in the best way. When a ministry you know little about asks for help, research it as best you can. Is it a member of a Christian financial accountability organization? Does your church or denomination endorse it? Are your friends familiar with it? Pray for the person who misused your help, and ask God to help you be wise in the future. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Many Scriptures tell us that God rewards generosity. However, if self-interest is our primary motive for giving, we are making a major mistake. Acknowledge that God Owns Everything. Not all generous Christians get rich. God promises to meet our needs and often rewards our generosity financially.
However, other times the refreshment he gives is spiritual—something much more precious than money.
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He poured his life out to touch the world for Christ, yet he often found himself lacking in material things Philippians 4: What he did receive, however, was a deep relationship with God and a joyful spirit Philippians 2: When you give, you store up treasures in heaven. We are refreshed physically, spiritually, or both while here on earth. But much more importantly, we store up treasures in heaven.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Give to please God, not to put on a show in front of other people. There are exceptions, but in general, give privately. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
If you give money to an individual, it is often best to do so anonymously. One way to do this could be to give cash to your pastor or another trustworthy person who would then give it to the person in need. However, the Bible does not demand that we give secretly. When he said this, he was telling us not to show off in front of other people.
A few verses later, he made a similar point when he said to pray privately Matthew 6: The emphasis was on our motives. It was not to forbid praying publicly, something Jesus often did Matthew For example, it usually would not be wise to hide your giving from your spouse. And it would deprive your children of a good example if they never knew about your generosity. Remember that it is God who gives you the ability to share. Be thankful for the privilege of giving.
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. God is interested in your heart. Give a percentage of what you have. Do not be embarrassed because you are not rich. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
Doug Britton Books
Putting Money in its Place. Doug Britton, Bible-based Marriage and Family Therapist, has helped hundreds of thousands of people as a therapist, clinical director of a treatment center, seminar speaker, radio cohost, and author of over twenty books that show how to apply God's truths in your daily life. Permission granted to print for personal use.
Sign up to get newsletters a month announcing new Bible studies and more. Taking care of God's possessions. What does it mean to be "free"? Overview of this series on money and finances This online Bible study is part of a series of studies on money and finances. Mary Magdalene and other women helped support Jesus and the apostles Luke 8: Joseph, a wealthy man, provided his own tomb for Jesus Matthew Nicodemus supplied expensive spices for the burial John