We love God because He first loved us. Our giving is in response to His amazing gift to us, Jesus. In fact, we are told, “The Lord does not need our offerings. We cannot enrich Him by our gifts. Says the psalmist: ‘All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.’ Yet God permits us to show our appreciation of His mercies by self-sacrificing efforts to extend the same to others. This is the only way in which it is possible for us to manifest our gratitude and love to God. He has provided no other.” — Ellen G. White, Counsels on Stewardship, p. 18.

Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com

When we surrender “our” money to Jesus, it actually strengthens our love for Him and for others. Therefore, money can be a real power for good. Jesus spent more time talking about money and wealth than just about any other subject. One verse in every six in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is about money. The gospel’s good news is that God can deliver us from the misuse and love of money.

Read Matthew 6:31-34 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14. What does God promise to do for us if we obey Him? Is it selfishness on our part to claim the promises of God?

Our offerings are an evidence of our willingness to self-sacrifice for God. They can be a deeply spiritual experience, an expression of the fact that our lives are wholly surrendered to God as our Lord. To us, as an English idiom says, it is “putting our money where our mouth is.” You can say you love God, but generous offerings help reveal (and even strengthen) that love.

An offering comes from a heart that trusts in a personal God who constantly provides for our needs as He sees best. Our offerings rest on the conviction that we have found assurance of salvation in Christ. They are not an appeasement or a search for God’s acceptance. Rather, our offerings flow from a heart that has accepted Christ by faith as the only and sufficient means of grace and redemption.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Deuteronomy 16:17; Psalm 116:12-18; 1 Chronicles 16:29; Mark 12:41-44; Mark 14:3-9.

Memory Text: “What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people” (Psalm 116:12-14, NKJV).

Besides tithing, there are offerings, which come from the 90 percent that remains in our possession after our tithe is returned to God. This is where generosity begins. Different types of offerings were given by God’s people, such as sin offerings, given in response to God’s grace, or thank offerings, given to recognize God’s protection, and blessings of health, prosperity, and sustaining power. There were also offerings for the poor, and offerings to build and maintain the house of worship.

When we consider the magnitude of God’s gifts to us, we then begin to see our giving as more than just paving the parking lot or buying choir robes. We bring our gifts in response to what God has done for us, especially in the sacrifice of Jesus. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV). The church, then, whether it be local, conference, or worldwide, uses our gifts to advance the cause of God. This week we will review what the Bible has to say about offerings as part of our management of God’s business on the earth.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 28.

Sunday–>

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You can view an in-depth discussion of God’s Covenants with Us in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxLPhw5NUSA&w=560&h=315]

With thanks to

Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, G. Edward Reid, as they provide additional insights into this Quarter’s Sabbath School lessons, “Managing for the Master, Till He Comes”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAwA1MGJ-fc]

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Sabbath Test in Malawi

By Sheron Ndhlovu

A college in Malawi created consternation among Seventh-day Adventist students by scheduling final exams on the seventh-day Sabbath.

Image © Pacific Press

Lucy was distressed. She and other Adventist students at the state-owned Karonga Teachers Training College had received scholarships to become teachers. But now their future seemed uncertain.

The Adventist students gathered to discuss their dilemma. The year was 2006. Malawi was facing a food shortage that had prompted the cash-strapped government to ask state colleges to reduce the 04ber of days that students were on campus. As a result, Lucy’s college had moved up final exams previously scheduled for Monday and Tuesday to Saturday.

The Adventists decided to ask the college to reconsider the day of the exams, and several went to the director’s office. Their appeal was rejected. Worsening matters, other students began to mock them over their beliefs.

Lucy watched in dismay as classmate after classmate bowed to the pressure and agreed to take the exams on Sabbath. But she and three others stood firm. They would honor the Lord of the Sabbath. They prayed and went to the director’s office to appeal for a second time.

At the office, Lucy felt shamed and insulted. She was reminded that she was privileged to have a state scholarship and told to study for the sake of her children, whom she was raising after her husband’s recent death. The humiliation did not change Lucy’s mind. She believed God would help.

The second appeal was rejected. Lucy and her three classmates kept on praying, and they asked the district pastor to pray. The pastor spoke with the president of the Adventist Church in Malawi, who, in turn, asked state authorities to intercede. Adventists faced Sabbath exams across Malawi.

Abruptly, the college rescinded its decision and returned the exams to their old schedule. The sudden change sowed confusion on campus, but all the students and faculty knew one thing: The prayers of four faithful Adventists had been answered in a powerful way. “God intervened,” said Lucy Nyirenda, who passed the exams and became a teacher. “He has promised that He will never forsake His own.”

Lucy loves to claim God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (NKJV).

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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