7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him:
9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of
10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”
11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
1 Kings 17:7-16 (NIV)
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Generosity begins with God, not with man.
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But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)
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Generosity is FOR God.
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9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.
Proverbs
3:9 (NLT)
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9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;
Proverbs 3:9 (AMP)
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Generosity is not conditional based on how much you possess.
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9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of
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25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.
Psalms 37:25-26 (NIV)
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Generosity is not about “their” charity, it is about “your” survival.
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15 …So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
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24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Luke 9:24-25 (NIV)
