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NONE!

But giving back to God is a good idea. We give back to God out of gratitude for all God has done for us and given to us. Saying “thank you” to God is good for us.

As you begin to give back to God, start where you can. Probably the most important part of getting started is to plan it into your budget. If you are like most of us there isn’t much money left over at the end of the month. Waiting to see what is left before we give to God means we give God little or nothing. And we don’t say “Thank you” like we want to.

If you have been giving for a while, you probably understand that giving is good for the giver. You may even feel the call to tithe. Tithing is giving one tenth of one’s income back to God to be used for God’s purposes in this world. A practical way to move toward tithing is to try challenging yourself to grow by one percent of your income.

By Steve Peterson

This month is the last of the six stewardship values from Mr. Charles R. Lane’s book “Ask, Thank, Tell.” Value # 6 is “Cheerful Giving.”

Mr. Lane refers to 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

In the last five months of this newsletter we have touched on a different giving value. They were intentional, regular, generous, first, and proportional. We briefly summarized Mr. Lane’s thoughts on these five giving values. In his writings for this value of cheerful giving he notes that “The key to being a cheerful giver is to practice the other stewardship values. If the first five stewardship values characterize your giving, you will be cheerful in your giving. If they don’t, you won’t. It is that simple.”

Are you “cheerful” in your giving? Do you feel good when you write your check to Zion? Jesus says, that where your treasure is, and where you put your money, that is where your heart will be. Being a “Cheerful” giver will help you grow in your relationship with God.

I hope the six stewardship values that we have highlighted over the last six months have helped you identify your giving value. Giving by these six values will lead your heart to Jesus.

We all support God’s mission through Zion because it is deeply important to us. Our annual fall emphasis is about each of us planning and being intentional about how we respond to God’s love in our lives. We plan our financial giving to make sure that God’s love continues to flow to others through Zion Lutheran Buffalo in the coming year.