ESOCS Devotional 15 September 2026 – Freely Give As You Have Received
MEMORY VERSE: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” (Matthew 10:8 NLT).
TEXT: MATTHEW 10: 1 – 8
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
READ OTHER ESOCS DEVOTIONAL HERE
God’s gifts to us come in all types of packages – many visible, most not. They arrive as basic material needs, such as clothes and food. He gives us intangible spiritual treasures, such as love and truth. As infants, we receive incredible birthday presents from sight to movement. The list of God’s gifts is inexhaustible. James 1:17 tell us that every good thing we possess has come special delivery from God.
In our text, Jesus sent His disciples to preach the gospel. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and heal every disease and sickness. He said, “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead…cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”
Our memory verse (Matt. 10:8) contains a basic biblical principle for a blessed life. Whatever God has given us will be used for His glory when we freely give it back to Him for others’ benefit. As with the first disciples, God has given us the message of the gospel to share. As we do, we have the authority to be conduits of healing and blessing every day. God’s Spirit inhabits us. He is perfect love, joy, peace, patience and kindness, and those things are ours when we yield to Him. We received these blessings freely, and freely we must give them away.
Each of us has been given special gifts to use in blessing others: time to invest…encouraging words to speak … material resources to share … wisdom to impart … spiritual truths to teach … prayers to pray … and God’s message of salvation and hope to declare.
When you receive Jesus’s immutable truths, unfailing love, and salvation and don’t freely give it out, you become as a stagnant marshland; stagnant waters in which nothing can thrive or grow spiritually and the stench of it alone repulses our Savior and others rather than bringing the sweet aroma of the Presence of God “The rose of Sharon” (Song of Solomon 2:1). We must become highly sensitive and preoccupied with knowing and seeking with all our heart “what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17) as the great Apostle Paul taught.
Today, think about the gifts you’ve been given and remember that you have been sent out to be a blessing to others. You have a powerful message that people around you need to hear.
You have been blessed so that you can be a blessing to others. Follow God’s call. As you have freely received, freely give. As you use them to serve others, you will experience the blessed life.
Challenges:
- So what gifts has God given you?
- Ask God to tell you how, where and to whom you can freely give them away.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I ask for a fresh anointing to pour out upon my surrendered heart to do the work of a fisher of men in and through me as I seek Your heart and the souls You lead me to. Amen.
FURTHER READING:
Ezra 8: 15 – 32; 2 Samuel 22:1 – 25; Romans 15: 13 – 33
ESOCS Devotional 15 September 2026
