PureHeart Word of the week = GIVING
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2 Corinthians 9:7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
My son pays me the biggest compliment when he calls me a ‘giving addict’.
2 tangible things happened to me when I finally believed on Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour.
1. I genuinely love everyone. Some people have hurt me or betrayed me, or visa versa. IRREGARDLESS, I truly LOVE and LIKE everyone. Some I have to avoid for various reasons, but I love everyone and wish them the best. Especially children!
2. Because of this love, I really enjoy blessing others. I love to give. I dream of someday being able to give A LOT more.
The greatest expression of love is GIVING!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He GAVE…..
It doesn’t say that ‘God so loved the world that He shouted ‘I love you’ to all of us from heaven’. It says
John 3:16
For God so lobed the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son
He gave us His most precious Treasure, His Son.
We live in Nicaragua. We have to be careful with our finances including our giving because this ministry is expensive and we never seem to have enough. On top of that, we get hounded for money continuously, night and day, by people we know, friends, neighbors and even a lot of people we don’t know. Sometimes there’s a genuine emergency type of need, where we are more than happy to help. Most of the time it isn’t.
We are very careful about giving away time, money and things. It costs over a grand a week to fully operate PureHeart. We usually manage to do that on half the amount by the grace of God. We couldn’t though if we gave to every person who asked for money. But we do give, and we give A LOT, but we have to be prayerful about it! We always seem to have just enough to pay what we owe. (Food for the feeding centers, salaries and benefits to teachers/staff, electricity for the school, building/vehicle maintenance etc). We LOVE to give money to the truly needy, but we are also giving other important (and costly) things like food, education, EMERGENCY MEDICAL and most importantly the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone and any one we can.
MY PERSONAL RULES OF GIVING
1. First off we only want to give if it glorifies God. I never want to hear someone telling people ‘Dean and Winnie helped me’. I want to hear ‘Glory to God! I needed this and God provided for it’.
2. We only give when God leads us to give, only after praying about it. (which kind of ties into the first condition because when God guides us to give, He gets glorified, ALWAYS!). Note, we aren’t pharasiacal about praying. It usually takes me a only second or two to get a green light from God. If there’s a check, I might need a couple hours to say yes or no.
3. Don’t give to pushy or manipulative people (not to be confused with desperate people). One pastor got mad at me when he asked for $100 and I said I needed to pray about it. I meant a second or two. He figured I was talking about weeks. The moment I said that he exploded. Well, I didn’t even need to pray on that one, he got a quick ‘no!’. If you give because you are being coerced, you are aren’t being guided by God, you are being guided by a human being. If they’re pushing you, they aren’t very nice. If you aren’t led by God, don’t give.
4. Let your heart guide you. Most of the time I give to those who I just know have a need. They don’t even need to tell me. I love giving, sharing and lending. Never expect payback, it’s too frustrating and takes the joy out of it. Like the verse above says, it’s born out of your heart. Evil people lie on bed plotting evil, I lay in bed plotting how to bless people. It makes me happy, and it make God happy.
5. Giving often doesn’t require money. Things can be lent, shoulders offered to cry on, rides can be given, rooms can be open. Time is most times more appreciated than money. Ask God for discernment about the real need. Even at PureHeart. We ask for money to make it possible to bring in 5 girls to live with us but what we really need is a bigger vehicle, more volunteer staff, and some light construction and furniture. That can come from donations and volunteers.
6. Know WHO you are giving to and how much (percentage wise) actually gets to the cause. The larger the organization, the higher percentage of what you give will go to the 6 or 7 digit salary of the president of the organization. Most BIG CHARITIES (medical, humane societies, environmental, religious etc) have very little (many cases less than 1%) actually going to the cause that you think you are supporting. KNOW THE CHARITY YOU ARE GIVING TO. Rule of thumb if they discourage visits, unannounced visitors, don’t give. If they don’t allow phone calls or answer emails, don’t give. By the way, Winnie and I are self supported. 100% of your tax free donation goes straight to the children and families served @ PureHeartChildren.org. We answer every email and phone call within 24 hours. YOU ARE WELCOME TO DROP IN, CALL OR WRITE US ANYTIME!
7. Don’t give a 2nd time to any one or organization that doesn’t show some kind of acknowledgement. (if you’re a missionary, don’t expect a thank you, but you can tell if they are appreciative). If you donate to a person or organization that won’t acknowledge your donation in any way, there is something wrong. Besides that, it’s rude.
Bottom line, GIVING IS SAYING ‘I love you.’
If you say you love someone and don’t help them in their time of need (even if you can) you aren’t being very truthful with yourself.
Christians who give joyfully find out they can’t out give God. We find the more we give the more we have to give. It’s like a never ending supply as long as you give according to God’s will and for His glory.
Christians who understand this don’t work for a living, they work for a ‘GIVING’! When you give to the ‘least of these’ you give to God.
Proverbs 18:16
A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
– español –
PureHeart Palabra de la semana -Dar
2 Corintios 9: 7 Cada hombre según su propósito en su corazón, así que dé; no de mala gana, ni necesariamente: porque Dios ama al dador alegre.
Mi hijo me hizo el mayor cumplimento cuando me llamó adicto a la dádiva.
2 cosas tangibles sucedieron cuando creí en Jesús como mi Salvador.
1. Realmente amo a todos. Algunas personas me han lastimado o traicionado e, o viceversa, pero realmente AMO y ME GUSTA a todos. Especialmente a los niños.
2. Me encanta bendecir a los demás. Me encanta dar. Sueño con poder dar más.
La mayor expresión de amor es dar.
Juan 3:16 Porque Dios amó tanto al mundo que DIO…..
No dice que ‘Dios amó tanto al mundo que nos gritó’ Te amo ‘, nos dio su mayor tesoro, su Hijo.
Vivimos en nicaragua. Tenemos que tener cuidado con nuestros gastos y nuestras donaciones porque este ministerio tiene gastos y parece que nunca tenemos lo suficiente.
Nos persiguen por dinero continuamente, personas que conocemos, amigos, vecinos e incluso muchas personas que no conocemos.
A veces hay una necesidades genuinas. La mayoría de las veces no. Somos muy cuidadosos al dar tiempo, dinero y cosas. Cuesta más de mil dólares por semana operar PureHeart por completo. Usualmente lo hacemos por la mitad por la gracia de Dios. No podríamos si le diéramos a cada persona que pidió. Pero damos, MUCHO! AMAMOS dar, pero también estamos dando otras cosas importantes como comida, educación, MEDICAMENTOS DE EMERGENCIA y lo más importante, el Evangelio de Jesucristo a todos y a todos los que podamos.
MIS REGLAS PERSONALES PARA DAR
1. Primero, solo queremos dar si glorifica a Dios, no a nosotros. Nunca quiero escuchar ‘Dean y Winnie me ayudaron’. Quiero escuchar ‘Gloria a Dios! Necesitaba esto y Dios lo proveyó ‘.
2. Solo damos cuando Dios nos guía a dar, después de orar por él. (¿Qué vínculos con la primera condición porque cuando Dios nos guía a dar, Él es glorificado SIEMPRE!)
3. No le des a las personas agresivas ni manipuladores. (no debe confundirse con las personas desesperadas) Si das porque estás siendo coaccionado, Dios no te está guiando, estás siendo guiado por un ser humano. Si te están presionando, no son muy amables. Si no eres guiado por Dios, no des.
4. Deja que tu corazón te guíe. La mayoría de las veces le doy a aquellos tienen una necesidad. Ni siquiera necesitan decirme. Me encanta dar, compartir y prestar. Nunca espere una recompensa, es demasiado frustrante y le quita la alegría. Como dice el versículo anterior, el deseo nace de tu corazón. La Biblia dice que las personas malvadas yacen en la cama tramando el mal, yo me acuesto en la cama tramando cómo bendecir a las personas. Me hace feliz y hace feliz a Dios.
5. Dar a menudo no requiere dinero. Las cosas se pueden prestar, se pueden dar paseos, se pueden abrir habitaciones. El tiempo es más apreciado que el dinero. Pídale a Dios discernimiento sobre la necesidad real. Incluso PureHeart. Pedimos dinero para que sea posible traer a 5 niñas a vivir con nosotros, pero lo que realmente necesitamos es un vehículo más grande, más personal y algo de construcción y muebles livianos. Eso puede provenir de donaciones y voluntarios.
En resumen, dar es decir ‘Te amo’.
Si dices que amas a alguien y no lo ayudas en su momento de necesidad (aun si puedes) no estás siendo sincero contigo mismo.
El regalo de un hombre le da cabida, y lo lleva ante los grandes hombres. Proverbios 18:16 RV