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Luke Chapter 21
George Sisneros
April 01, 2024
Good morning! ☀️
"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."
May you be covered in His dust.
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Read Chapter 21 before reading my notes. They’ll make more sense.
Access previous notes on Luke by signing into your account. Click 'Read Online' at the top right of this post and scroll down to find them waiting for you.
Today, we’re going off-script a little. I’ll only be covering four verses.
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
If this is your first time getting my notes, this isn’t typical. My notes on Friday will be a better representation of what I normally send.
I’m SO EXCITED about the rest of chapter 21! But those notes will have to wait until Friday.
When I sat down to write, these are the words that fell out.
Let’s get after it.
For most of my life, I struggled to tithe.
“God knows I barely have enough to pay the bills.”
For years, I gave in hopes of receiving a financial return. There are so many great scriptures to support that! There are so many churches (sadly) that support that.
"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."
"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Years ago, my wife and I had a ton of debt—credit cards, business debt, personal loans, etc.
Our mortgage payment was more than we could afford.
We were buried. If we had lost even one of our clients, we would have been in real trouble.
We
were
exhausted.
God knew this, right?
He knew we didn’t have enough to give 10%.
He knew that if we had more, we would give more.
He knew our hearts.
We prayed.
“We want to give more, Lord. We want to help spread the Gospel. We want to help the poor. Help us, Lord.”
(I was hoping God would increase our finances.)
God answered our prayer almost immediately.
“Stop spending so much money.”
What? Really? That’s the answer???
He gave us this scripture to hold onto.
"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."
My initial thought was, “Not gonna happen. It won’t make a difference.”
I was frustrated, honestly.
But after more prayer and some long discussions with my wife, we decided to stop spending for an entire year.
We started paying off our debt and giving more to the church. Within a few months… we were tithing.
Twelve months
No travel.
No eating out.
No movies.
No books.
No candy bars.
No Christmas or birthday presents.
Friends told us, “We almost never go out, and we really don’t spend that much,” implying it would be easy.
You don’t know how much you spend until you cut yourself off completely. Easy to say, harder to do.
It wasn’t easy, especially the first few months.
In one year, we were out of debt—$ 45,000 (that’s embarrassing to write.)
What does that have to do with the story of the Widow’s Offering?
If you live in the United States of America, you and I are ‘the rich’ in the story. We may not feel like it, but
We
are
wealthy
Are we giving like the widow? Are we giving out of our abundance? Or are we giving just enough to satisfy our guilt?
The story shows that Jesus pays attention to what we give. He sees not just the amount we give but also, and maybe especially, our attitude and willingness to give.
I had so many questions!
Do we have to give to the church?
How much should we give?
Is it a commandment?
I’m not a pastor. I’m a disciple following Jesus, just like you. The following thoughts on tithing are based on my understanding of scripture and my life experiences.
Yes, we absolutely should tithe to the church. God’s scripture, Malachi 3:10, confirms that.
Most people don’t give to the church.
“A five-year study that culminated in 2013 revealed that only 10–25 percent of churchgoers give to the church.”
I had no idea.
Why don’t they they give?
One hard truth is that many don’t believe.
As Christians, we give because we’ve been given new life in Christ. Eventually, we will naturally reflect Jesus' generosity by being generous ourselves.
When we believe, we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."
When we believe, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we want to spread the Gospel.
When we believe, we want to equip and train missionaries and pastors.
When we believe, we want to feed the hungry.
“But I don’t know how the church spends my money.”
One of the first changes I had to make regarding my finances was my attitude about whose money it was. It took a while, and it’s still something I work on, but it’s not my money—none of it. Not just the 10%.
By God’s grace, I was able to attend university.
By the grace of God, I’m healthy enough to work.
By the grace of God, I was born in a country with unending opportunities.
My money is actually God’s money, and I’m just His steward.
If you don’t trust your church or your pastor, that’s something you need to explore.
God is at work in churches all around the world.
People are coming to faith.
Marriages are being restored.
People are sharing the gospel in their community and in other countries.
No, it’s not a commandment. It’s love.
How much should I give?
Meditate on today’s verses.
Rather than asking, “How much should I give?” consider asking, “How can I give more?”
Pray about it.
Start tithing 10%.
Get out of bad debt.
Don’t give to get financially.
"So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
“Whoever gives sparingly will receive sparingly.”
“Whoever gives bountifully will receive bountifully.”
“God loves a cheerful giver.”
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
Our greatest blessing is that we have been saved.
We have new life.
We have become heirs to a King. Do you believe that?
The treasures here on earth are His, for His Kingdom, for His glory.
He alone is enough.
He alone deserves it all.
We had lost our way.
I love you,
George
Uncovering Scripture
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George Sisneros serves as a full-time missionary in Guatemala. He is the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.
He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 25 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.
George and his family will be expanding to Cuba in 2024.