“Everything In Heaven And Earth Is
Yours”
Then
King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has
chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial
structure is not for man but for the Lord
God. With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my
God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron
for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,
stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these
in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give
my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and
above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three
thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined
silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and
the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is
willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord
today?”
Then
the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders
of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the
king’s work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five
thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of
silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of
iron. Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of
the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The
people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given
freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.
David the king also rejoiced greatly.
David
praised the Lord in the presence
of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to
everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the
greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for
everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth
and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are
strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.13 Now,
our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able
to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you
only what comes from your hand.
1 Chronicles 29:1-14
After reviewing all God had already done throughout the
history of the church, leaders presented the congregation with a proposal for a
new gym to better help serve the community.
Grateful for the many ways God has used the gym for
community events since opening the doors to the community, we are reminded of
another generous giver – King David. Though the Lord did not choose him to
build His temple, David invested all his resources to the project.
When we recognize God owns it all, we can commit to
grateful, generous, and faithful giving for the benefit of others. And we can
trust the Lord will provide – and may even use the generosity of others to help
us when we’re in need.
God gives first, and He always outgives His most generous givers.
Our Daily Bread – August 25, 2018