Following is the reprint of a letter we received in 1995. It conveys such an important message, I feel it worthy to be presented to you again.
Dear Mr. Manning,
We would like to convey our deepest appreciation for the help you have been to us. We struggled for years with our attempts to give to God's work, being only sporadic in doing so. Many years ago, we received some excellent and wonderfully practical advice when you stated in an issue of Acts & Facts that regular giving can be accomplished by starting small.
That was our problem; we would try by starting off too large, only to fail because we couldn't afford to keep it up. Our attempts were few and far between because of our ignorance. The guilt and frustration didn't help either.
But the Lord didn't abandon us, He used that article.
We took your advice and started by giving [ICR] a month. That may seem like a laughable amount [we don't think so] but, praise God, we were able to give every month for the first time in our lives. It didn't take long for the little to snowball into an avalanche that changed our attitudes, feelings, plans, and everything.
God not only used the for His work in ministry, but also used it to change us! I can't explain it other than to state that the longer we gave, the desire to give increased. If that wasn't enough, He also provided more for us to give ! What an amazing and awesome Savior we have! How could we not love Him more?
Well, to wrap up this long explanation, I'll finish by letting you know that it was because of your advice that our giving has continued to grow. Best of all, it's not just a matter of giving money, we feel we've actually been learning to give more of ourselves to God.
Your fellow servants
We praise our gracious Lord right along with these dear friends! The mighty Creator, Himself our Savior, has promised to draw us close and conform us into His image as we make ourselves available to His mighty hand!
Isn't He wonderful!?!
