One of the advantages of having been in the ministry as long as I have is that you accumulate a great number of stories. It's kind of a habit I got into very early. One never knows when one of those old stories fits right in with a message you are going to deliver. I have stories I filed away that are down right dusty and almost ancient. This is one of those dusty stories that is just perfect for this post.
"An elderly couple walked slowly to the desk in a hotel. They were exhausted from their travels and wanted to retire as quickly as possible. When they asked for a room, the clerk politely said, “I’m sorry, but we have no vacancies.” However, when he saw the look of despair on their faces, he said, “But I can’t send you away in such horrible conditions. You may have my room.”
Hesitatingly, they accepted his offer and settled in for the night. As they were leaving the next morning the gentleman said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States.
”
Two years later that clerk, George Boldt, received a letter from the gentleman. It contained a ticket to New York. Leading Mr. Boldt into a new hotel named the Waldorf-Astoria, the gentleman said, “I built this hotel for you to manage. My name is William Waldorf Astor.”"
Two years later that clerk, George Boldt, received a letter from the gentleman. It contained a ticket to New York. Leading Mr. Boldt into a new hotel named the Waldorf-Astoria, the gentleman said, “I built this hotel for you to manage. My name is William Waldorf Astor.”"
One can not be a believing Christian very long before they have heard the statement "give with a generous heart". For most of us we probably couldn't remember when we first heard it or even where we were at the time. Some how though, that statement was something that literally became permanently embedded in our minds and we never forget it.
The reason for that is the words "give with a generous heart" was not only were not only written in our minds but in our hearts when we accepted Jesus as our Savior - 2 Corinthians 3:3. When God was speaking to Jeremiah in3:3 He said, "this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people". When Paul the Apostle and "Timothy our brother" as he called him, wrote 2 Corinthians he was referring to this Old Testament passage.
Know you know why it was actually impossible for you to forget it. Even if you think you had, you really hadn't.
Solomon wrote, “"Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later". God honors this type of giving because when we give generously, we are honoring God. God always returns "honor" for "honor". It's the way He has always operated and will always operate.
Yes, giving involves risk, but it is also an opportunity. When we trust God, it's always a bit of an adventure. But God demands it and He will always reward it.
z35W7z4v9z8w
