Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Elisa Morgan, and I titled today's reading, The Pink Coat.

Brenda was walking toward the mall exit when a flush of pink from a display window caught her eye. She turned and stood spellbound

before a cotton candy colored coat. Oh, how her friend Holly would love it! Finances had been tight for her

coworker friend who was a single mother. And while Brenda knew Holly needed a warm coat,

she was also confident that her friend would

never lay down cash on such a purchase for herself. After wavering, ever so slightly,

Brenda smiled, reached for her wallet, and arranged for the coat to be shipped to Holly's home.

She added an anonymous card,

You are so very loved. Brenda practically danced to her car. Joy is a byproduct of God-nudged giving.

As Paul instructed the Corinthians in the Art of Generosity in 2nd Corinthians chapter 9,

he said,

each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under

compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. He also noted, whoever sows generously will also

reap generously. Sometimes we slip cash into the offering plate. At other times,

we donate online to a worthy ministry. And then there are moments when God leads us to respond to the need of a

friend with a tangible expression of his love. We offer a bag of groceries, a tank of gas, or even the gift

of a perfectly pink coat. Today's our daily bread devotional scripture reading is from

2 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 6 through 9. Remember this.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly, or under

compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all

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