the Fourth Week of Lent
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
He also saw a poor widow put in two small coins (Luke 21:2).
One of our first lessons in Hebrew school concerned tzedakah (the act of charitable giving). We would put money in the "tzedakah box," and fill "Israeli tree" cards by placing dimes in the slots. In both cases, my mother supplied the coins.
Our synagogue also had bigger givers. Though I was young, I remember being disturbed that halls and auditoriums were named after them. I wondered how their children—some of whom I knew—felt about it. Something just didn't seem right. It's interesting how our consciences can sometimes receive Torah truth directly from God's heart. This was years before I heard Yeshua's teaching about givers who "announced [their giving] with trumpets to win people's praise" (Matthew 6:2).
My early lessons in giving had little impact on my teen years. Though I was generous to friends, I never gave much thought to charitable giving. It wasn't until a few weeks after meeting Yeshua that this sleeping area of my life awoke. I was in a congregation when the time for offerings arrived. I didn't have much money; in this case, I had just a five dollar bill. The money, however, was mine (not my mother's). I knew that giving it would change my life.
That day I experienced the joy of worshipping Adonai Tzidkeynu (the Lord our Righteousness) through the privilege of giving sacrificially. I have never regretted it.
...consider the joy of giving, especially when the amount is sacrificial.
MW
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
