The Mono Cog Blog
One God, one cog, one blog.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

63.5 % return on the investment

Investments can be made in many different areas.  They could be made in the stock market, real estate, a business start up, or even in a country.  The greatest investment one can make is in the Kingdom of God.  When you give above the tithe, and give to support New Testament missionary endeavors, you are investing in the Lord's work.
He has given some promises concerning this.

Luke 6
38   Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
II Cor 9
6   But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7   Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

And in II Cor 9 the Bible tells us giving is like an experiment.
12   For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13   Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

Many of you that read this do not know who I am, or anything about me.  So I don't write this to bring attention to me, but rather to what the Lord has done this past year.  I keep track of what our family gives above the tithe to support missions through the church we attend.  I also keep track of what God gives back to us through other people, as Luke 6 speaks about.  Thus far this year, the rate of return on what the Lord has given back to us is 63.5%.  I was challenged at the beginning of this year to give much more than the past year, and at a time when our finances are tight.  To God's glory, he has given back, and much more. 

Are there any banks offering a return of 63.5%?  How about the stock market?  Real estate is certainly not giving you a return like that on your investment.  But the Lord is showing that he is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think".
We don't give to get, but the Lord is always faithful to his word, and the reaping is bountiful on the bountiful sowing of money into his work.

If you are a Christian, how is your giving?
Do you tithe?
Do you give to support missionaries through your church?
Is your giving the largest part of your budget?
Or
Do you spend more on a automobile payment than on the Lord's work?
Do you spend more on groceries and going out to eat than you give to the Lord?

This is why the apostle Paul wrote,
Phil 3
17   Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
18   (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19   Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

2 comments:

  1. What did you calculate as your return? I have thought about doing this, but unsure as to what to count as God's blessings. Sometimes it can be things we never see - like longwearing tires on the car. I would be curious as to how you figured out your rate?

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  2. For example, if our giving was $100, the Lord gave back to us $163.50. So our investment returned with interest. This was simply the dollars given back to us from others. A total of 10 others were used to give back to us. This also doesn't figure in the amount that was saved when our dentist donated all his labor for the orthodontist work he is doing for my oldest two girls which started shortly after our yearly missions conference. The return rate with that would be much higher. Truly God is good to us, and we thank and praise him for it. He is faithful to what he has recorded in the scriptures. He wrote in Malachi 3, "prove me now herewith". His promises never fail.

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