Guidance for Giving Money to God

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a devotional today that I
recommend to you.  He has given me permission to
copy his e-mails, and I'm sure he would be happy if
you would share this with people you know as well.

Everything belongs to God.  We are just stewards for
material possessions while we are alive.  So what
material things should we give to God?  And how much?

If you're like me, you hear conflicting messages on
this point.  Wouldn't it be nice to hear a more
objective view?

Please read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL   FRIDAY MAY 5, 2006
( Psalms 68:19, Matthew 6:33 )

Your blessings and prosperity are NOT determined by how
much money you give to some ministry.  I feel like a
member of the mafia talking to the Feds about the
secrets of the "family business."  For over 80 months I
have never held back the truth from you and won't start
today.  I get inundated every day with emails from people
asking me to explain why they gave a certain amount of
money to some ministry they saw on television who preached
a message on how to get out of debt.  They did what they
were told ( gave them $$$$ ) and they are still in debt.

Others were told to plant a seed and all their financial
problems would be solved.  They planted the seed ( sent
them $$$ ) but still have the same financial problems. 
Still others were told to take a stand of faith for their
child who was running from God.  They took a stand (sent
in $$$ ) and their child is still on drugs and running
from God.  People are confused, mad at God, feel like
they don't have enough faith because they do exactly
what they are told, send in $$$, yet nothing changes!

I have shared with you in the past messages on Biblical
giving, on giving without guilt, and how to give by faith. 
It is not just those on TV and radio who pervert God's
Word to get people to give, but many churches also
manipulate their people by taking passages and stories in
the Bible totally out of context in order to induce people
to give.  Today, I want to expose some of the spiritual
fraud that is being committed to drive giving, and once
again share with you the Biblical reasons and ways to give.

After over 16 years in the ministry, 4 of those years
heavily involved in the Christian television world, I
think I have seen about very game, trick, and gimmick
there is to get people to give.  People who use a
certain Psalm to "open up God's blessings over your
finances," and if they use say Psalm 68 verse 19, then
tell you to write a check for $68.19 to their ministry
for the next 10-12 months.  Those who take some of the
great accounts in the Bible where people acted on their
faith in God, and then tell you the way to exercise your
faith like the person in the Bible is to write them a
check.

Many who share perverted teachings from the Old Testament
on the various offerings to God, making the false leap
that you can make a corresponding offering to God by
writing a check to their ministry  Some are so good they
can take ANY passage of Scripture and create a message
that ends with you sitting down and writing them a check.

The most egregious examples are those who preach a
prosperity message.  I am not talking about the REAL
prosperity message of being a child of God.  I am talking
about prosperity strictly from a dollars and cents
standpoint.  Without saying it, the implication of these
messages are crystal clear.  The more you give the more
God will bless you financially.  It is a Christian Lotto
mentality that those who preach this perversion are more
than happy to encourage.

Those who preach this type of message will normally use
themselves as the examples of God's blessings.  They will
tell you how they were just like you, poor, struggling,
making it from paycheck to paycheck.  Then they will tell
you that by trusting God and giving God everything
( what money they had ) God began to bless them.  It is
very misleading and a misrepresentation of God's
blessings when they tell you that if you will give them
everything you have, one day you will be prosperous like
they are.  It is like the no-money down real estate
infomercial guys.  They didn't get rich by selling real
estate, but by selling YOU!

The glaring hole in these false and perverted messages
that tie your blessings and prosperity to how much money
you give, is that you have to give to the person
delivering the message!  They have set themselves up as
God's trustee for your blessings and prosperity.  I guess
that means if you believe their message and choose to
give your gift to some other work of God you won't
receive the same blessings or be as prosperous.

The other glaring hole is what if you don't have anything
to give?  Does that mean you don't qualify for God's
blessings?  Does that mean you will never be prosperous? 
Does that mean you have no faith?  I guess God doesn't
love those who follow Jesus in India, or China, or
Africa, or in most places on this planet where people
have little if any material possessions.  I guess that
means a man or woman in Texas who loves Jesus and is
serving Him each day but is living in a one-bedroom
apartment and driving a 20-year-old car have no faith.

Here is the problem with these messages that are designed
simply to raise money.  They use some truth from God's
Word but pervert that truth by tying it all to how much
money you give.  The Bible DOES teach us to have faith in
all things, including our finances.  The Bible DOES teach
that God will bless us and prosper us as we are faithful,
and that includes being faithful with our finances.  The
Bible also teaches us to be wise stewards of what God has
entrusted to our care.

ALL we have is from God, He has simply given us
stewardship over whatever resources we have during our
brief journey through this life.  GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR
MONEY!  We give to God as an act of worship.  We give to
God as an act of obedience.  We give to give as an act of
sacrifice.  When you read the Bible, the giving of the
tenth or "tithe" in the Old Testament was part of the Old
Testament Law.  We are no longer under the Old Testament
Law.  100%, not 10% of everything we have belongs to God. 
So when we give, we are simply giving back to God what is
His already out of obedience and as an act of sacrifice
and worship!

The Bible teaches us to give according to our ability to
give.  We are also taught to give cheerfully.  Don't get
so legalistic in your giving that you lose the joy of
giving.  I counsel people all the time to sit down with
God and decide how much you can give to His work each
week.  Agree with God and than be faithful to give that
amount.  As the Holy Spirit leads you, you may be led to
give over and above that amount to those works of God He
lays on your heart.

There will be times God challenges you to give
sacrificially, as an act of faith.  Again, God will
prompt your heart on those occasions and those are
the opportunities in life to really take a stand of
faith and trust God.  YOU DON'T MAKE THE SACRIFICE TO
GIVE BY FAITH EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN.  YOU MAKE THE
SACRIFICE TO GIVE BY FAITH TO SIMPLY BE OBEDIENT AND TO
PLEASE GOD!

I love you and care about you so much.  Raising the funds
to be able to do God's work is necessary to exist. 
Nobody understands that reality as much as I do.  Sadly,
I have seen many ministries start out with the purest of
hearts and end up playing every game imaginable to raise
money.  I have done my best to hold fast to the Biblical
approach to raising the funds we need to operate
Liveprayer.  When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle,
when God told David to build the first Temple, they
simply shared with people the need and than trusted God
to move on people's hearts to provide what was needed.

That has been the way Liveprayer has raised our funds
since day #1 over 80 months ago.  Share the need and trust
God.  Guess what, God has always provided!  No false hope,
no false promises, no twisting of Scriptures, no
manipulation, simply share the need and trust God to
provide.  Will God bless you for giving to Liveprayer? 
ABSOLUTELY, just like God will bless you for giving to
anyone who is truly doing His work.  Never forget
however, God blesses us in MANY ways, not just financially.

I will be praying for you today.  Our faith is measured
in MANY ways.  Giving is simply one of those ways.  Never
allow yourself to be manipulated or made to feel guilty
to give.  God wants you to give with a cheerful heart as
an act of worship.  Giving is simply another way we can
be obedient and express our love to the Lord for all He
has done for us.  Never forget, God knows your motives
and He sees your heart.  It is never the amount you give
that impresses God, it is the heart you give it with.

Your blessings and prosperity are NOT determined by how
much money you give to some ministry, but your obedience
and faithfulness to God.  Your RICHEST blessings and
prosperity have nothing to do with money, they are the
peace, joy, and abundance of this life and the treasures
you are storing up in Heaven!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

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(C) Copyright 2006, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

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May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell