January 9, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"Give Freely"
Malachi 3:10
“Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn so there will be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord All-Powerful. "I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need.”
One of the true tests of our character is what we do with our money. Of course, God calls us to give a portion of our income to Him through ministry (Numbers 18:28) and to also give special sacrificial offerings to meet special needs as we feel directed in our hearts (Numbers 15:3). Paul does say that some people have a special gift of giving (Romans 12:8), but heal so points out that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), and Jesus himself drew attention to the meager-but beautiful-gift of a poor widow as a true model of generosity all of us should follow (Matthew 12:43-44). When we are generous with our money above and beyond expectations, a number of healthy emotional and spiritual dynamics are fostered in our lives·
We acknowledge that God owns everything and we have only been appointed as caretakers. The psalmist declares on Behalf of God: “Every animal of the forest is already mine. The cattle on a thousand hills are mine"(Psalm 50:10). ·We clutch less tightly to what we can generate and become more aware that all good gifts come from God. James tells us: “Every Perfect gift is from God."(James 1:17). We learn to trust and serve God with a pure heart. Jesus told his disciples: “You cannot serve both God and worldly riches"(Matthew 6:24).
We receive the joy that comes from helping someone in need (Matthew 25:23). We become more confident and trusting, and begin to eliminate worry from now our lives (Philippians 4:5-7,17). We become better stewards in all areas of our finances; there is a strange paradox that the more we give the more we seem to have (Matthew 19:29). The most important gift that God wants you to offer Him is your very life (Romans 12:1-2). Then He can teach you the wonderful truth that whatever we grasp and hoard, dries up and suffocates. Whatever we give freely and generously, takes off and soars.
