Daily Devotional 10_20_2023
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Ephesians 4:28) There are three levels of how to live with material things: (1) you can steal to get them; (2) or you can work to get them; (3) or you can work to get in order to give. Too many professing Christians live on level two. We glorify work over against stealing and mooching, and feel we have acted virtuously if we have spurned stealing and mooching, and given ourselves to an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. That’s not a bad thing. Work is better than stealing and mooching. But that’s not what the apostle calls us to. Almost all the forces of our culture urge us to live on level two: work to get. But…
Daily Devotional 3-12-2022
2Co 9:6 CSB The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. In verses 6 through 15 the Apostle Paul lists some of the wonderful rewards and benefits of Christian giving. First, he sets forth the law of the harvest. It is a well-known fact in agriculture that a generous sowing of seed is necessary if there is to be a generous harvest. Perhaps the farmer is ready to put the seed in the ground. Shall he sow liberally or shall he take some of the grain and use it as food during the months ahead? The thought here is that if he sows it liberally, he will also reap out of all proportion to what he sows. We should remember this with regard to agriculture—the farmer does not reap the exact amount of grain he…
Daily Devotional 3-7-2022
2Co 8:2 During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. These Christians had been going through a great trial of affliction. Ordinarily, people thus tested would seek to save their money to provide for their future. And especially so if they were not very prosperous, as was the case with the Macedonians. They did not have very much money at all. Yet their Christian joy was so overflowing that when the need of the saints in Jerusalem was presented to them, they reversed all ordinary behavior and gave in a most liberal manner. They were able to combine affliction, joy, poverty, and liberality.
Daily Devotional 7-22-2021
2Co 9:7 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. Why should the Corinthians give generously? Paul gave two reasons. (1) A principle holds true in both the natural and the spiritual world: the size of a harvest corresponds to the scope of the sowing. A man may enjoy all his grain by eating it, or he may “lose” some of it by sowing it and later reaping a bountiful harvest. A spiritual harvest, of course, may differ in kind from the seed sown. Material seed may reap a spiritual harvest Another reason for giving generously is that God loves generosity. God prizes not the size of the gift, but the giver’s sincerity (not reluctantly), spontaneity (not under compulsion), and joyful willingness (a cheerful giver).