It’s easy to sit and question God on why the needy are after your money again. But read the Scripture carefully today and you might thank God for sending them, as He may be looking for more ways to bless you! I believe a great theme for us to consider today is: give and be blessed! Think on these things with me!
DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2021-07-30
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS
BY: Ed Algreen
SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 15:10-11
TRANSLATION: The Message (MSG)
BIBLE TEXT: 10-11 Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.
APPLICATION: I’m sure that all readers and/or listeners will agree with me in saying that we are always thankful for what others give to us. Hopefully most of you can say as I can, thank God that I have never been ‘needy or poor’. I believe this may challenge many of us, because it becomes very challenging to truly empathize with the poor and needy, if you can’t identify with them. But God, in His infinite mercy has blessed us with good health, good jobs and a regular income. Additionally, He has blessed us with good minds to properly budget our income so that we could pay our bills as they come due. Sure, we mess up at times and get ourselves way overloaded in debt and that makes it way more challenging to satisfy our budget than what God expects of us. However, from the very beginning of our receiving a paycheck, we make decisions on how that money will be spent. I had a prospective pastor ask our search committee for a copy of the church budget. He said that he could tell from that where the heart of the church leadership stood. That’s the same with our personal budgets, review it and determine where your heart is. If you’re a child of the King, then I believe that you look at only 90% of your paycheck to establish your budget, for you practice what God has ordained through His Word, that you should give the first 10% of your income to God’s work through your local church. What was that, you can’t afford to tithe? I beg your pardon, because Gods said that if we obey Him He will bless us. Don’t you know that God will help you meet so much more in your expenses with the remaining 90% than you could ever accomplish on your own with 100%? But challenging the use of your income even more, God said through Moses in our Scripture that when we help the poor and needy, He will bless us richly in everything we do. So are you feeling victorious today? Could it be that you are helping others, but with a resentful attitude? Could it be that you often tell God to not bless you as much so that you don’t have to help the poor? I know you have lots of tips to help that poor person, but God said in this same chapter that you are not to give grudgingly, but with a spirit of the One who blessed you in the first place. Think about it, what have we done to deserve the love of the God who created us and looks out for us each day? Just do what He says, and know that He will always keep His promises. Bless someone today and be ready for a blessing from God!
BLESSING(S) NOTED: Bless others, and prepare for a blessing from God!
PRAYER: I may not be as rich as my neighbor, as handsome as the successful businessman, or as blessed as my pastor, but oh Lord, You have blessed me with more than I could ever desire or ask for, and I thank You from the bottom of my heart. Please continue Your work in my readers/listeners and myself so that we may see the needs of others, and feel compassionate enough to help them because of Your love and Your commands. Lord, may You be blessed today because we helped someone in need. AMEN!