{"id":485,"date":"2022-08-19T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=485&2022"},"modified":"2022-08-16T18:00:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T00:00:40","slug":"giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"spoiler spoiler-style-2\"><div class=\"spoiler-title\">Focus Passage: Mark 12:41-44 (NCV)<\/div><div class=\"spoiler-content\">\r\n<p><sup>41\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money.  <sup>42\u00a0<\/sup>Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.<\/p> <p><sup>43\u00a0<\/sup>Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, \u201cI tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people.  <sup>44\u00a0<\/sup>They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"passage-read-more\">Read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Mark 12:41-44&amp;version=ncv\" title=\"Read the passage on BibleGateway.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"hyperlink-underlined\">Mark 12:41-44<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Many have wondered how God looks at our gifts. Is it the amount of the gift? Is it the percentage of the gift compared to what we have? Is it simply what the gift costs us? Or is it some combination of all the above amounts?<\/p>\r\n<p>Aside from Jesus\u2019 own sacrifice, there probably is not a better example that is used for valuing gifts then what our passage for this entry shares. In four simple verses, we see a picture of incredible giving that is a very small dollar amount compared with some very large gifts that are less significant.<\/p>\r\n<p>While many might say that this means God looks at our gifts from a \u201ccost\u201d or \u201cpercentage\u201d frame-of-mind, if we stop there, we miss a big truth that Jesus directly says about the gift-givers themselves: \u201c<strong>Jesus said, \u2018I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.\u2019<\/strong>\u201d (v. 43-44)<\/p>\r\n<p>From Jesus\u2019 own mouth we read a big contrast between these givers: the rich were giving from their surplus, while the widow was giving from what she had to live on. While this sounds like Jesus is focusing in on what the gift costs, I see it also focusing in on the giver\u2019s heart. <strong>The rich givers, by giving from what they did not need, show very little trust in God, because they have all their bills already paid for. This widow shows an incredible trust in God to provide because she has placed Him in the first and only spot of her budget.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>This means not only is the cost of the gift and the priority of the gift important, but <em>the heart of the giver is important as well.<\/em><\/strong> While a few cents might seem incredibly insignificant to us, Jesus has given us some examples of how God has used insignificant food gifts and multiplied them into incredible amounts. <strong>If God can multiply bread and fish, He can multiply the small gifts that are given with a heart full of trust in Him.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<div id=\"aj-wrap-up--485\" class=\"aj-wrap-up\"><p><em>This thought was inspired by studying the <strong>Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, <a class=\"underline\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/\" title=\"Check out Reflective Bible Study!\">click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p><p><em><a class=\"underline\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\" onClick=\"rbs_aj_inline_subscribe(this, '485');\">Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many have wondered how God looks at our gifts. Is it the amount of the gift? Is it the percentage of the gift compared to what we have? Is it simply what the gift costs us? Or is it some combination of all the above amounts? Aside from Jesus\u2019 own sacrifice, there probably is not [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many have wondered how God looks at our gifts. Is it the amount of the gift? Is it the percentage of the gift compared to what we have? Is it simply what the gift costs us? Or is it some combination of all the above amounts? Aside from Jesus\u2019 own sacrifice, there probably is not [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cam\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"headline\":\"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":494,\"articleSection\":[\"Written Journal Entries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/\",\"name\":\"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"description\":\"Your Life. God&#039;s Truth. His Way.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\",\"name\":\"Cam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Cam\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","og_description":"Many have wondered how God looks at our gifts. Is it the amount of the gift? Is it the percentage of the gift compared to what we have? Is it simply what the gift costs us? Or is it some combination of all the above amounts? Aside from Jesus\u2019 own sacrifice, there probably is not [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/","og_site_name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/","article_published_time":"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00","author":"Cam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@godstruthhisway","twitter_site":"@godstruthhisway","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/"},"author":{"name":"Cam","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"headline":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44","datePublished":"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/"},"wordCount":494,"articleSection":["Written Journal Entries"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/","name":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-08-19T09:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/giving-extra-ordinary-gifts-mark-12-41-44\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Giving Extra-Ordinary Gifts: Mark 12:41-44"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/","name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","description":"Your Life. God&#039;s Truth. His Way.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3","name":"Cam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","caption":"Cam"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}