Generous: Seven Days of Learning to Give Like Jesus

Over the next seven days, we’re exploring what it means to live generously in every part of life - not just with our money, but with our time, our energy, our hearts, and our very selves. Join me each day as we discover how sacrificial giving changes everything.

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Why Your £5 Means More Than You Think

Monday 2 February 2026

Read: Mark 12:41-44; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

You’ve wondered whether your small gift actually matters. It does - but not in the way you think.

Jesus sat watching people give at the temple. The wealthy threw in large amounts. Then a poor widow put in two small copper coins - less than a penny. Jesus said, “This poor widow has given more than all the others. For they gave a tiny part of what they have, but she gave everything.”

God doesn’t measure your giving by the amount. He measures it by the cost.

Your £5 from a tight student budget might be worth more in God’s eyes than someone else’s £500 from their surplus. That coffee you skipped to give something away? God saw the sacrifice.

But here’s what matters even more: your heart.

Paul writes, “God loves a person who gives cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:7). You can give £1,000 grudgingly and it means nothing. Or give £10 joyfully and delight God’s heart.

Every sacrificial gift becomes seed that God multiplies - whether it’s time in your neighbourhood, money for mission, or resources shared with family. And notice why God blesses you: “so that you can always be generous” (v.11). Not so you can hoard more, but give more.

This week, before you give anything - check your heart, count the cost, and give with joy.

Prayer: Lord, help me give cheerfully, measuring the cost to myself rather than comparing my gift to others. Amen.

The Real Reason You’re So Tired of Church

Tuesday 3 February 2026

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:2-3, Revelation 3:15-16

If you’re exhausted by church life, here’s what you expect to hear: try harder, do more, get more involved. But what if the Bible says something completely different?

Most Christians believe tiredness means they’re doing too much. But Scripture reveals that sometimes we’re tired because we’re giving reluctantly instead of joyfully. What if you’re not burned out - you’re just not burning?

Paul wrote that the Corinthians’ enthusiasm “stirred up” others to give (2 Corinthians 9:2). When you’re excited about following Jesus, it’s contagious - at work, at home, in your community. But Jesus told the Laodicean church he’d rather they were hot or cold than lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16). Comfortable Christianity kills joy. When following Jesus costs you nothing, it means nothing - and eventually it bores you.

So how do we get the fire back?

First, get honest before you get busy. Don’t manufacture enthusiasm through more activity. Find one trusted friend this week and get honest about where you’ve drifted. Invite accountability and prayer.

Second, choose one costly thing. Pick one specific sacrifice this month that will actually cost you - time, money, comfort. At work, pray for colleagues during lunch. At home, serve your family sacrificially. In your community, commit your Saturday to practical service.

The fire needs fuel, and fuel costs something. When giving costs you something, joy returns.

What Dead Salvationists Wish They Could Tell You

Wednesday 4 February 2026

Read: Hebrews 11:4, 12:1

You want to know what previous generations would say to us? Here’s the uncomfortable truth: they’d tell us we’ve forgotten something vital.

Hebrews says Abel’s faith “still speaks, even though he is dead,” and we’re surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses.” The pioneers of our corps, the martyrs of the early church, the faithful servants who came before us - their legacy speaks louder than we realise.

Every Sunday school teacher who invested in children. Every soldier who prayed and gave sacrificially. Every officer who served faithfully. Their work produced fruit we’re still eating. The church you worship in, the programmes that blessed you, the faith passed down to you - none of it was free. Someone paid.

And what would they say if they could see us now? “Don’t let the fire die.”

They didn’t endure persecution and pour out their lives so we could play church. In your workplace where faith feels risky, in your home where prayer feels routine, in your neighbourhood where witness feels awkward - they’d say: “We gave everything. Don’t you dare waste it.”

Modern church culture asks “What can I get?” but the pioneers asked “What can I give?”

One hundred and forty years from now, what will people say about this generation? That we faithfully passed on the torch, or that the fire went out on our watch?

This week, thank God for three people who invested in your faith. Then ask yourself: who am I investing in? What legacy am I leaving?

Why God Wants You to Give Away Your Holiday

Thursday 5 February 2026

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:8, 11; Luke 12:16-21

The title probably makes you uncomfortable. Good! Because here’s the truth: God’s not after your money. He’s after your heart.

Most people think Christianity is about adding Jesus to an otherwise normal life. But following Jesus means everything changes - including what you do with what you have.

Paul writes that God will give you everything you need and more, “so that you can always be generous” (2 Corinthians 9:11). God provides abundantly - not for hoarding, but for generosity.

Every blessing is meant to flow through you, not stop at you. Your pay rise, your spare time, your comfortable home - these aren’t rewards to enjoy in isolation. They’re resources to steward for others.

King David said: “I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). If your giving never affects your lifestyle, your plans, or your comfort - you might not be giving at all. Real giving hurts a little. And that’s the point.

Jesus told a story about a rich man who stored up wealth for himself. God called him a fool. That holiday will be a memory in a year. That purchase will bore you in a month. But the person who meets Jesus because of your sacrifice? That’s eternal.

This week, identify one thing you were planning to do for yourself. Prayerfully consider whether God’s calling you to redirect it for his kingdom. Let it cost you. Let it prove that Jesus is worth more than your comfort.

How to Give Without God Loving You More

Friday 6 February 2026

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9

If the title confused you, we need to talk.

Most Christians secretly believe that if they give more, serve more, or sacrifice more, God will love them more. But the Bible demolishes this lie completely.

Romans 5:8 says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” While we were still sinners. Not after we cleaned up our act. Not after we started tithing. While we were a mess, God loved us completely.

So here’s the truth: your giving doesn’t earn God’s approval. You already have it through Jesus.

But if giving doesn’t make God love you more, why bother? Because you give from love, not for love.

2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

When you grasp how much you’ve been forgiven, how much you’ve been given, how much you’ve been loved - generosity stops being duty and becomes delight.

If you’re giving out of guilt, shame, or pressure - stop. God doesn’t want grudging donations. He wants grateful hearts.

The gospel creates a circulation system. God pours grace into you. You pour it out to others. They thank God. The cycle continues.

God’s love isn’t for sale. You couldn’t afford it, and you don’t need to. Jesus already paid.

Now you’re free to give - not to earn approval, but to express gratitude.

This week, before you give anything, pause and remember: God already loves you completely. Now give from that assurance, not for that assurance.

The One Thing That Ruins Every Good Deed

Saturday 7 February 2026

Read: Matthew 6:1-4, 2 Corinthians 9:12-13

Here’s something shocking: you can do the right thing for the wrong reason and lose all your reward.

Jesus warned his disciples: “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). You get human applause, but no heavenly reward.

You can serve at church to be noticed. You can give to be praised. You can volunteer to feel superior. And it all counts for nothing.

But when your motive is God’s glory, everything changes. Paul tells the Corinthians their generosity produced two results: needs met and glory given to God (2 Corinthians 9:12-13). People weren’t thanking them - they were thanking him.

The goal of your service isn’t to be admired. It’s to point people to Jesus.

So before you serve, give, or sacrifice, ask yourself two questions: “Am I doing this for God’s glory or my own?” and “Could I do this anonymously and still be satisfied?”

If you need recognition, your motive needs purifying.

This week, do something generous that no one will ever know about. Give money anonymously. Serve secretly. Help someone who can never repay you, and never tell anyone about it.

The one thing that ruins every good deed is pride. But when you serve for God’s glory alone, people see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Examine your motives ruthlessly. Then start again - serving secretly, giving anonymously, sacrificing quietly - all for an audience of One.

What Farmers Know That Christians Forget

Sunday 8 February 2026

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:6, 10; Galatians 6:7-9

Most Christians expect instant results from minimal effort. But the Bible uses farming language to teach us something we’ve forgotten in our fast-paced world.

You reap what you sow. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”This is a spiritual law as certain as gravity. At work, if you sow kindness and integrity, you’ll reap trust and influence. At home, if you sow love and patience, you’ll reap strong relationships. Look at your life right now - what you’re harvesting today is the result of what you planted months or years ago.

There’s always a gap between sowing and reaping. Paul warns us in Galatians 6:9, “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” You can’t sow seeds on Monday and harvest on Tuesday. Most people quit between sowing and reaping because nothing visible is happening. But underneath, God’s working.

God provides and increases. You’re not responsible for the harvest - that’s God’s job. You’re only responsible for faithful sowing. Plant the seeds. God will give the growth.

This week, identify one area where you’ve been sowing sparingly - maybe prayer, service, generosity, or witness. Commit to sowing generously instead. Then be patient, trust God, and wait for the harvest that’s coming.

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Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. All song extracts used by permission. CCL Licence No. 135015.