February 2, 2024 7:00 pm
On her wedding day, Gwendolyn Stulgis wore the wedding dress of her dreams. Then she gave it away—to a stranger. Stulgis believed a dress deserved more than sitting in a closet collecting dust. Other brides agreed. Now scores of women have bonded on her social media site to donate and receive wedding dresses. As one giver said, “I hope this dress gets passed from bride to bride to bride, and it just gets worn out and is in tatters at the end of its life because of all the celebrating that’s done in it.”
The spirit of giving can feel like a celebration, indeed. As it is written, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:24–25).
The apostle Paul taught this principle in the New Testament. As he said his goodbyes to the believers in Ephesus, he gave them a blessing (Acts 20:32) and reminded them of the importance of generosity. Paul pointed to his own work ethic as an example for them to follow. “In everything I did,” he said, “I showed you that by . . . hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (v. 35).
Being generous reflects God. “For God so loved the world that He gave” (John 3:16). Let’s follow His glorious example as He guides us.
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Love Worth Finding
Adrian Rogers
Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, Gifted with Love, was written by Patricia Rabin. On her wedding day, Gwendolyn Soljes wore the wedding dress of her dreams. Then she gave it away to a stranger. Soljes believed a dress deserved more than sitting in a closet collecting dust. Other brides agreed. Now scores of women have bonded on her social media site to donate and receive wedding dresses.
As one giver said, I hope this dress gets passed from bride to bride to bride and it just gets worn out and is in tatters at the end of its life because of all the celebrating that's done in it. The spirit of giving can feel like a celebration indeed. Proverbs chapter 11 verses 24 through 25 reads, One person gives freely yet gains even more. Another withholds unduly but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper.
Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. The Apostle Paul taught this principle in the New Testament. As he said his goodbyes to the believers in Ephesus, he gave them a blessing and reminded them of the importance of generosity.
In Acts chapter 20, Paul pointed to his own work ethic as an example for them to follow. In everything I did, he said, I showed you that by hard work we must help the weak. Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Being generous reflects God, for God so loved the world that he gave. Let's follow his glorious example as he guides us.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Proverbs chapter 11 verses 24 through 25. One person gives freely, it gains even more. Another withholds unduly but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper.
Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, please help us to give generously of ourselves to others out of our love for you. May our generosity reflect the selfless way in which you freely gave yourself up for us, saving us from our sin and showing us how to live. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Joyce Dinkins and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-02-09 10:37:59 / 2024-02-09 10:39:31 / 2
