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Then the devotional contact today. Today’ s Bible reading begins in the first

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second verse of Corinth, chapter eight. Likewise, brethren, we make known

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the grace of God which has been
given to the churches of Macedonia, that,

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in great trial of tribulation, the
abundance of their joy and their deep

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poverty abounded in the riches of their
generosity, for I bear witness that they

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have pleased according to their strength and
even beyond their strength, asking us with

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many supplications to grant them the privilege
of sharing in this service for the saints,

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and not as we expected, but
to themselves they first gave themselves to

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the Lord and then to us,
by the will of God, so that

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we exhorted Titus, as he began
before himself, to finish this work of

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grace among yourselves. Therefore, as
in all things you abound in faith,

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in word, in knowledge, in
all care and in your love for us,

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abound also in this grace. I
speak not as one who commands,

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but to test, through the diligence
of others, also the sincerity of your

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love, because you already know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,

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for your sake, became poor and
rich so that you, with his

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poverty, might be enriched. And
in this I give my Council, because

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this is in the interests of you
who first started not only to do it,

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but also to want it. Since
last year. Now therefore carry on

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doing so also, that, as
you were ready to do so, you

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may also do it according to what
you have, for if there is a

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willing will first, it will be
accepted according to what one has, not

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according to what one does not have, for I do not say this so

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that there may be for others ease
and for you other straits, but that

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at this time your abundance may supply
their scarcity, that their abundance may also

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supply your need, that there may
be equality. As it is written,

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the one who collected much had no
more and the one who had little had

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no less. Christmas is, by
tradition, the time of the year when

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many people show generosity, since the
birth, life and ministry of Lord Jesus

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were characterized by giving his followers must
also be known for that quality, but

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not only in December. Generosity is
part of our identity in Christ and must

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be our natural reaction to God'
s blessings and provision. The Lord Jesus

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himself said more blessed is to give
than to receive the New Testament Church.

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He showed it by sharing with one
another what they had sometimes we focused more

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on ourselves when it came to giving
at Christmas. We buy gifts for our

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family or close friends, but what
we can do this Christmas to extend generosity

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beyond our homes In today' s
passage, the apostle Paul mentions the generosity

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of the churches of Macedonia who collected
an offering to send poor believers to Jerusalem.

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Similarly, we could give part of
our Christmas spending budget to a family

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friends or neighbors who need it,
or we can give the service gift,

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which could be as simple as caring
for a child, cleaning a house or

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visiting someone sick. Giving It is
not remembered that God is the source of

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all we have and the most precious
gift he has given us is eternal life.

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We share that gift with others when
we give our time and our money,

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because generosity reflects the abundant love and
grace of God