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Welcome back to Daily Drive Time Devotions in Day 5 of our look at Mark chapter
12. We're going to look at verses 41-44 today, one of the most familiar stories
in the entire New Testament. Yesterday in our study we saw that Jesus told us to
beware of the Pharisees.

Today He's going to tell us to be like a poor widow. Listen to what happened,
verses 41-44. Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and
watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.

Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two
very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples
to Him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. This poor widow has put more into the
treasury than all the others.

They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in
everything, all that she had to live on. " Now, you and I need to get the
picture of what was happening this day. They're at the outer temple courts.

Everybody's gathered, and it's a huge crowd of people. There are some who are
coming to give their offerings that day. There were actually collection boxes
that were outside of the temple.

They were 13 boxes set alongside of each other where people could come and put
in their coins. And these boxes were, they were somewhat in the shape of a
trumpet. In fact, they were called trumpets, and they were in the shape of a
trumpet so that when you put the coins in, actually the sound was amplified, it
was magnified, and people could hear, in a sense, how much you were giving, how
many coins, and how heavy the coins that were going in.

So some rich people were coming by, and they were putting in a lot of coins, and
people could hear it. You would look over your shoulder when you heard this loud
clunking noise, and a lot of coins going in. And then a poor widow comes along,
and two very small coins she puts in.

No one in the crowd turned, no eye saw, except Jesus. Jesus saw. Because to him,
that was the most important gift that was given that day.

This woman in the crowd who wanted to stay silent and just bring her small
offering that she probably felt no one would ever notice, she's the one we're
talking about today. She's the one who has impacted millions of lives when it
comes to what it means to really give. Those rich people that day who made a lot
of noise with their giving, it didn't impact anybody.

This poor widow, she's impacting my heart and your heart today. Just think with
me about the total contrast that this woman showed to what Jesus had experienced
this entire day. Think about how spiritually refreshing it must have been for
Jesus to see this woman give her all.

Think of it in light of what he'd experienced this day. He talked with some
religious leaders who tried to trap Jesus with a question about giving, and
they'd had this long discussion about Caesar and coins and who should I give to?
But it was all a trap.

They didn't care about giving. In light of that, here's Jesus watching this
woman who gave because she just wanted to give. It was refreshing.

Jesus this day had talked to the Sadducees, and he'd heard their questions about
the resurrection, and he'd shown them that by their very question, they showed
that they didn't understand the scriptures, they didn't understand the power of
God. And then here's this woman, this poor widow, who with two small coins is a
living example of the truth of God and the power of God. Jesus had talked this
day to a teacher who'd asked him about the most important commandment, a teacher
who Jesus had said to him at the end of the conversation, "You are not far from
the kingdom of God.

You're not far from living out these commandments to love. " Here is a woman who
was there. She'd arrived.

She just loved. She loved God, and she loved her neighbor. This woman is the
absolute opposite of those who loved long robes and seats of honor and religious
ceremony and who devoured widows' houses.

This poor widow expressed with her two small coins a love for God that could not
be found in the longest robe, the highest seat, or the fanciest ceremony. She is
a humble widow expressing her love for God, and Jesus saw it. Jesus heard it.

No one else did, but he did, and he said, "I want you all to see this. I want
you all to hear this. Two small coins and two world-changing, life-transforming
lessons.

Lessons about giving. Number one, real giving is humble. Number two, real giving
is sacrificial.

Real giving is humble. This woman gave in absolute humility. How would you have
felt in this crowd of so many people where the wealthy were coming and giving so
much to have only two small coins?

That's all she had. And she had to think, like maybe you have thought at times
when you couldn't give as much as you wanted to give. She had to think, what
difference could this make in comparison to everyone else?

Even if she's walking up to give that day and she sees the other people giving,
it had to be a temptation to just walk away. What difference could I make? Why
even give?

But she gave in humility. And when other people that day were giving for the
notice because it made a lot of sound and people turned their head and thought,
"Wow, aren't they a giver? " She gave when no one could hear.

And even if anyone did hear, they would have turned their head and thought, "So
little? How could you give so little? " She gave not comparing herself to others
or thinking about what she couldn't give.

She just gave. Giving is humble. For her, giving wasn't focused on herself.

It was focused on God. And so she just gave. Real giving is humble.

And real giving is sacrificial. That's what Jesus wanted us to not miss. "Look,"
he said, "these people, they gave out of their wealth.

They gave some small part. This woman, it's all she had. She gave her all.

" Listen, God is not concerned about how much you give, but he's concerned about
how deeply you give. He's not in the accounting business, in the bookkeeping
business. He's in the heart business.

He's looking at my heart. He's looking at your heart. Here's the question that's
behind this for me.

This is a poor widow. And she gave her all. When you feel financial stress, how
do you continue to give?

Here's how. You look at this humble widow. And when you look at this humble
widow, you're able to live a different kind of life.

You see, when I'm financially stressed, I stop giving. I have cut myself off
from the attitude of heart and the impact of my relationship with God that I
most need when I'm under financial stress. I know it's tempting when you look at
the accounting and the math of it to say, "Well, we don't have enough to give.

" I don't have enough to give when I'm under financial stress. But when I'm
under stress is when I most need to give. But how do I find the heart to
continue to give?

How do I find the heart to stop worrying, to take away the stress? You look at
this humble widow. And when you do, here's what happens.

You get your eyes off of what you can't give, and you put them on what you can
give. You get your eyes off of what you lack, and you put them on what God has
given. You get your eyes off of yourself, and you put them on others.

And you get your eyes off of your circumstances, and you put them on God. And
once you've done that, you are free. Instead of grasping selfishly, you're able
to give sacrificially.

Jesus knew what he was talking about here. Give humbly. Give sacrificially.

I have to wonder if watching this woman give her all, Jesus wasn't also thinking
about the cross. As he said, "Look to these disciples. Look at what she's done.

" Because at the end of this very week, Jesus is going to give humbly. The Bible
tells us in Philippians that he humbled himself, and that he gave himself on the
cross. God, himself, dying on the cross.

He gave humbly, and he gave sacrificially. He gave his life. He gave his all.

Jesus is our example of this kind of giving, of this kind of life. It's
interesting. This entire chapter, Mark chapter 12, is a chapter for those going
through difficult economic times.

This chapter tells us, don't depend on human government to do what only God can
do. Government can do what government can do, but only God can give us hope.
Only God can give us a future.

Only God can give us His plan. This chapter reminds us, don't ever think that
you have too little to give, or that what you give cannot make an eternal
impact. This woman, I'm sure, thought, "There is no impact from what I give.

There is an eternal impact from what she gave. " Now, how am I going to live
this out? The proof of whether I've listened to Jesus Christ isn't found in
verse 3, where they enjoyed His teaching.

It's not even found in verse 17, where they were amazed at His teaching. The
proof of whether Jesus' truth is transforming my life is, am I going to do His
teaching? Am I going to live it out?

Jesus is my prophet. He's my fourth-teller. He's the one that is letting the
truth make its way into my life.

And I don't just listen to what He says, but I do what He says. So let's ask Him
for the strength to do it right now. And as we pray together, I want to go back
to where our eyes are for just a moment, those phrases I shared a moment ago,
and ask you to join me in prayer and just asking this of God.

God, help me to get my eyes off of what I can't give, and help me to put my eyes
on what I can give. Father, help me to get my eyes off of what I lack, and put
my eyes on what You have given. Help me to get my eyes off of myself, and to put
them on others.

And help me to get my eyes off of my circumstances, and to put them on You, God.
Jesus, I ask this, this new miraculous way of thinking, I ask that it would come
into my life through Your power, in Your name. Amen.

We'll be back next week. We're going to be looking together at Mark chapter 13.
Mark 13 is what Jesus has to say about the Second Coming.