Plate Watching

Plate Watching
Words of Faith 3-7-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Mark 12
[41] Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. [42] But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
[43] Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. [44] They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything‑‑all she had to live on."

Jesus was watching. We would think it rude if someone watched as we made out a check to our church or if we leaned over to see how much we dropped in the collection plate. But Jesus watched. He sat and watched the crowd as they gave tithes and offerings. There were large horn-shaped receptacles in the Temple courts. A significant gift was a matter of great pride as prominent citizens brought their offerings.
But what is more, Jesus commented about the offerings to others. It would be even more rude if someone commented on the amount of a gift. Imagine during the offering if an usher said: "Hmm, large gift over here!" or "Is that all you could do?" But Jesus did just that. He commented to others on the amount of a specific gift!
Did you know Jesus evaluated each gift? We may have ideas about who is a "big giver" in a church or ministry. Jesus had ideas, too. Guess what? His ideas are slightly more important.
Jesus had this idea that the actual amount of the gift was not important. Why? Jesus knew that His Father was the source anyway. Jesus knew that a 1 million dollar gift was not as important as a penny if the penny represented more of a sacrifice! Jesus knew that God judges your gift and mine not compared to any other person's gift but in relation to our own sacrifice.
The truth is that $1 million is insignificant if it does not require significant sacrifice. If this is true, there are probably children in our churches whose names should be put on a plaque because they empty their pockets of change when giving to their Lord, but they give all they have. If anyone should have a wing dedicated in their name, it may be someone on Social Security or pension who gives sacrificially.
Here is a fair question. When was the last time you gave sacrificially? When was the last time you actually chose to give something up so that you could give to God's work or God's people?
When was the last time you actually said: I will do without a new piece of clothing so that I can give to the work of God? I will drive a simpler, older car so that my missionary can have a car that will run? I will choose to pay for camp scholarships so that young people will hear about Jesus-- rather than have a weekend getaway for myself? I will choose to pay off my church's debt rather than build an addition to my house? I will give an anonymous gift to a single mother in my church rather than buy a new bottle of expensive perfume? Will I send a coupon for groceries rather than go out to an expensive dinner?
It actually may take some effort for many to give sacrificially. God has been so abundant in His blessing that we must be creative to enter into self-denial. But such a blessing is worth it.

Lord, show me what You would have me to give up in sacrificial love for your Kingdom. In Jesus' name, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.