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Mark 12 - Devotion · The Five Minute Bible Podcast

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  Welcome to Five Minute Bible In our journey through the New
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  Testament. In each episode, we take just a
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  few minutes to focus on one chapter of the New Testament,
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  exploring the truths God is teaching us through His Word and
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  expanding our view of who He is. Before you listen, make sure
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  you've gone straight to the source, either by reading
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  today's chapter. Of the.
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  Bible yourself or listening to today's read along episode in
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  this podcast feed. If you haven't done that yet,
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  feel free to pause and do that now.
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  When you're ready, let's dive into God's Word.
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  Together at the end of Mark chapter 12,
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  in the very last week of Jesus life, he teaches us a powerful
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  lesson on generosity through the gift of a poor widow.
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  Listen to these few verses with me.
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  And he sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how
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  the people were putting money into the treasury, and many rich
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  people were putting in large sums.
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  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which amount
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  to a cent. Calling his disciples to him, he
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  said to them, Truly, I say to you, This poor widow put in more
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  than all the contributors to the treasury, for they all put in
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  out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty, put in all
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  she owned, all she had to live on.
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  What a powerful lesson. Jesus sat down next to the
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  treasury like he's like. He was observing the offering
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  plate being passed around. He watched as many rich people
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  came and put in large sums of money.
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  Then this poor widow came and gave just two little copper
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  coins, just one cent. This widow could not have
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  afforded lunch with what she put into the treasury.
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  And yet, when Jesus called his disciples to him to teach them,
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  it was not the rich that he praised, but this widow.
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  How could that be? The rich gave out of their
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  abundance. They had much, and what they
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  gave was a slice off the top of their profits.
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  And he isn't condemning their gift here, only recognizing that
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  they gave out of their surplus. This poor widow, though, she,
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  she had no surplus, she had only need, she had only poverty.
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  This was all she had, and yet she gave it to God.
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  And here we gain some insight into the mind of God, especially
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  with regard to generosity. It's not the dollar amount that
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  God is interested in as we give. It's not the number of zeros on
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  the end of our tithe check. It's not how much, but rather
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  it's the heart with which we give.
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  Are we putting all we have into God's hands or are we
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  withholding from Him? Are we giving in faith,
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  believing that He is the provider and will give us all we
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  need? Or are we giving in fear and
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  self protection, trying to make sure we always have enough?
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  Allow your faith to grow today like that of the widow in this
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  chapter. Believe that God will supply all
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  your needs. He can be trusted with all that
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  you have.