OBEDIENCE IN GIVING
From Food Stamps to Abundance
By Raquel Dunn and Mia Evans, The 700 Club
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CBN.com – Scott Steele was an experienced carpenter with plenty of work. That allowed his wife Melissa to stay home with their two children.
“When 9/11 hit, that’s when it really just went bad,” Scott says. “It was hard. The building permits and everything stopped, and people were afraid, so nobody wanted to spend money on remodeling a house.”
Over the next three years, the Steeles almost lost everything.
“Things got so bad that we were on food stamps,” says his wife, Melissa. “We were desperate. We went into forbearance on our home.”
“I went to God and said, ‘Okay, God, this is who You said we are. This is what You said we can have. So I’m waiting on You,’” Scott says.
The Steeles turned to their faith in God, and they prayed about their finances.
“I just said, ‘God, I can’t go any further. I need something today. I need an answer,’” Scott says. “Then I hear, ‘I want you to sow a dollar into 10 ministries.’ Of course, at the time we didn’t even have $10.”
“I was going through some clothes, and I found $10, which is very unlike me to leave money in clothes. So when I found the $10, I absolutely knew it was God saying, ‘I will even give you the seed to begin this process,’” Melissa says.
Scott and Melissa wanted to reach others, so in April 2004 they sent their first gift of one dollar to CBN.
“There are so many things that CBN takes care of,” Melissa says. “They are a part of people’s lives in a practical way. That is a vision that Scott and I have, to be a part of people’s lives in a practical way. So we identify with the vision that CBN has.”
Two weeks later the estate of Melissa’s late grandmother closed, and the couple received $10,000.
“It had been right at three years, and we had no idea that anything was going to break loose at that point,” Scott says.
“Whatever process needed to happen, it happened in that two-week period,” Melissa says. “We knew at that point that it was God blessing our obedience.”
With that money, God told Scott and Melissa to increase their giving to CBN one hundredfold. This time, they sent in $100. Within six months Scott was offered several lucrative construction contracts.
“In that three-month period, we basically came out with about $150,000,” Scott says.
The Steeles believed God wanted them to increase their giving to $1,000, so they did. Scott’s business picked up even more, bringing in $700,000.
“We paid our tithe, and said, ‘Okay, God, now what?’” Scott says. “And He said, ‘Now I want you to sow $10,000 into those 10 ministries.’ And He said, ‘As long as you’ll continue, I’ll continue.’”
“It really did, in a physical sense, open my eyes to the spiritual implications that sowing has,” Melissa says. “So be obedient. Listen to what God is telling you to do, and just do it.”
“He’s no respecter of persons,” Scott says.
“If He can do this for us,” Melissa says, “and we can walk this journey with Him, then He can certainly do it for others.”
Scott and Melissa saw the rewards of applying the law of reciprocity — "Give and it shall be given to you" — by giving to CBN. Here is your chance to give to the Lord and see your dollars bring truth to hurting people, feed and clothe needy children, keep the 700 Club Prayer Counseling Center phone lines operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide medical care to those who need a tangible touch of God's love. Become a CBN partner today!
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