Mari Isaacson

The Bible says in Acts 20, 35: “…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” That is so true. Yet, to receive can be a very humbling experience!!!

The first time I was on my way to Europe to go to Bible School, I sold my Falcon Ford. It was just enough to pay for my plane ticket. You might think great!  For me it was a problem. You see, I had made a commitment a few years before to tithe on EVERY money that came into my possession. The plane ticket had to be paid for.  Waiting was not an option. So, what do I do? I paid the ticket and went to my knees regarding the amount I would have tithed off the sale of my car. God was more than able to provide that extra money somehow. He did. The answer just wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

A high school friend wanted to get together before I left the country. Great. Since she had married and had their first child, she didn’t have a whole lot of time for friends. It was due to the fact that she and her husband both had several jobs just to stay afloat and support their little family. Still, time was made and we were able to spend an afternoon together. It was a special time.

When she delivered me to my doorstep, she took out her checkbook and proceeded to write out a check for me. I protested. They didn’t have any extra money. There was no way I was going to take money from her. As she folded the check and handed it to me, she looked me in the eye and said, “God wants me to give you this money!” Those words shut up my protesting real fast. Furthermore, it was very humbling to actually take the check from her. Moreover, I was totally overwhelmed when a glance at the check revealed the exact amount I was praying for!

Being a missionary, I have since learned grace and humility in receiving. Most often support does not come from those I would have imagined. But rather from those who do not have much money or are already supporting other missionaries or organizations. If you are one of my supporters, I thank you so much for the lessons in generosity you continually teach me. Truly it is more blessed to give than to receive!

Phil 4,19: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That is so true.

One time in Austria I had run out of money with almost two weeks still to go before the next paycheck. There had been extra expenses that month. What was I going to do? Pray. Pray I did! That evening I attended a prayer meeting where I was to share about the ministry. So, I shared about what God was doing and asked prayer for different ministry needs. Nothing was mentioned about finances.

After the meeting two different ladies came up to me and slipped money into my hands.  One lady said it was for the ministry, the other lady stressed that her money was for me personally. It was enough to get thru the rest of the month! God had provided!

It is an awesome privilege we have to approach the throne of grace with our needs and requests. I love to challenge children to give their own money for different mission projects or needs that they hear about. If they don’t have money, I challenge them to pray for the amount they would like to give. The story I love to share has to do with just that.

While I was in Canada on furlough, there was a student at PBI who was in need. The extra money to help out wasn’t in my budget, so I prayed. Moreover, I prayed for a specific amount. Shortly afterwards I went for a bike ride. At one point, I got off my bike to park it but was stopped by something lying on the ground just beside the front tire.  It was a bill. In fact, it was the exact amount I had just prayed for.

There have been other times I have found money (NOT in a wallet!) just lying on the ground after I had prayed due to a specific need. God delights in meeting our needs. God delights in helping us help others. Do you sense God is challenging you to help a specific need? Perhaps it is a friend who is struggling, a church project, a missionary or missions project. You think you don’t have the funds to help out. Pray. Ask God to provide a specific amount to meet the need then keep your eyes open to see how He answers. His answer just might blow you away!

We serve an awesome, generous God!

Blessings,

mari

So much has happened since I wrote my last article. It’s bubbling within me just waiting for an outlet. A definite “Must share”!

There is a verse, which fits so well to this situation… or better yet, my story is proof of the reality of God’s Word. Luke 6,38: Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use it will be measured back to you.

Last week I mentioned to you, taking up the challenge of sacrificing something, enabling me the means to  committing support to this Christian organization on a regular basis. Well, all the necessary arrangements were made. Great joy was the result. That reminds me of another verse: 2 Cor 9,7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. Not only did He give me joy in giving, but He also gave an awesome abundance. Let me explain.

Keeping a budget: It is a practice I have done for years… thanks to one of my high school teachers. It has really come in handy especially during those times when money is really tight. Anyway, thanks to my budget, I saw I had a lot of extra money for the month that was quickly coming to a close. This never happens. Perhaps a few dollars yes. Never this much. In fact, some months I go over the budget and have to be even more careful the next month to compensate.

God was already blessing.

Now, I could have added the extra money to my savings. It wasn’t meant to be. God laid on my heart two friends who were really in need. To help them out would mean not only using that “extra” money, but also digging into my savings or the next month’s budget. Ok. If that is what God wanted, I was going to trust Him and be obedient. A few days later, several things happened: Both friends were truly grateful due to the timing of the gift. Moreover I received a gift in the mail. Would you believe the gift was over three times the amount I had given? It truly was!

Coincidence? Definitely not!

Proverbs 3,9-10: Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

God delights in proving His Word true. Do you need to step out of your comfort zone and trust Him today? There are so many needs around you: the poor and widows among you, struggling/hurting Christians, Compassion/World Vision children needing to be adopted, Bible Schools and Missionaries needing more support, Churches struggling to meet their budgets, and more. Has God been speaking to your heart to help such as these? Matt 25,40 says: Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.

You can’t out give God!!!

Blessings!

Ps… The rest of the story really needs to be told… One of my friends whom I was able to help shared with me something pretty amazing. She felt God wanted her to give to a need, but she didn’t have the extra money. In fact, she was almost totally out of money. Nevertheless, God kept saying to her, “will you trust me, will you trust me?” She decided to trust and gave the money to God. Two days later she received the money I gave her in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit. She too received back much more than she gave. We serve an awesome God!

What giving again?

I asked in dismay.

And must I keep giving

And giving away?

Oh no, said the angel

Piercing me thru.

Just give till the Father

Stops giving to you!

Anonymous

Do you ever feel like you are giving so much that you can’t give any more? I was confronted a few weeks ago, with an opportunity to give where the need is really great. My heart was drawn to the need. I wanted to commit to this project. But my first thoughts were: I am giving enough. I am on only 80% salary here in Canada and everything costs so much. How can I give more than I am already?

Then I thought of sacrifice. Several things come to mind:

Luke 21, 1-4 says: As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Am I just giving out of my wealth or am I really making sacrifices for God.

My oldest brother is an excellent example of this widow to me. For over a year now he and his wife have been really struggling financially and yet, they would rather keep up all their giving commitments than buy food! As a result, God keeps food on their table!

I wish I had had that kind of attitude when I went off to Bible School many years ago. Years before, I had already committed to tithing at least 10% of any monies I would get. As a result, I had experienced God’s faithfulness so many times over. No doubt should have ever entered my mind. Unfortunately it did. I had been supporting a Compassion Child but when Bible School came along, I was afraid I would not be able to continue, as I had no idea even where my school funds were going to come from. So, I did what I thought was best at the time. I gave up my Compassion Child. I still tithed whatever monies came in. God still was faithful. Nevertheless, I always regretted giving up my child. The money would have been there. As a result, I had made the decision without even talking to my heavenly Father about it. Sigh.

Phil 4,19: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God says he will supply our needs, not our wants. Still, I have experienced the fact that God loves to shower us with gifts as well. When I was first heading off to Austria with CEF, there was a set of luggage I had seen that I really wanted. It was that tapestry luggage back in the late 80’s. There were five pieces to this set: two different size suitcases, a duffle bag, a suit bag and an overnighter. During that year I was on deputation to raise the funds for Austria, God gave me every piece of that luggage. I still remember, it was the day before I was to leave and I hadn’t been able to get the duffle bag. I just gave it to the Lord. Then two things happened: I got a package and a visitor. The package turned out to be a beautiful quilt that some ladies from Roseburg, Oregon had made for me. It was beautiful. It was big. I had no suitcase for it. The visitor was a dear friend of my moms who had come to say good-bye to me. As she was leaving, she gave me an envelope and said it was for my trip incase I had some last minute needs. Last minute needs… I needed a suitcase for my quilt! (By the way, I still enjoy that awesome quilt!)

Well, dad and I jumped in the car and headed to Sears. The first store did not have the duffle bag so we headed to the next. There it was, the last one. And would you believe it, the money I received was the exact amount I needed for the bag. Do we have an awesome God or what?!?!

Well, getting back to the question of giving more, I realized it would be possible  if I made a few sacrifices. My older sister once made the observation: if we just gave up one coffee at Starbucks each week, we would have around $20.00 a month to give. So, I decided I could give up something each month to help further the Kingdome of God! As a result, God has already blessed. Luke 6,38 says: Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use it will be measured back to you.

Has God been speaking to your heart about supporting a missionary or project outside of your church? Perhaps you are already but He would like you to step out in faith and take on another. In the coming weeks, I would like to share with you different awesome stories about God’s overwhelming generosity. You just can’t out give God! Don’t believe me? Test it out for yourself.

Blessings!

mari