Open Heaven 8 December 2022
MEMORISE: The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:25
BIBLE READING: 2 SAMUEL 24:18-24 (KJV)
18. And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19. And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
20. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21, And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22. And Araunah said unto David, Let my Lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
24. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Many a time, when families go to worship God, the father distributes offerings to everyone so that they can have something to give. It is okay when you give to the little children who dont have any money so that they can cultivate the habit of giving, but when the older ones and your spouse who have their own money are also collecting their offerings from you, you need to teach them better.
In our Bible reading today, David refused to accept the offer of Araunah because what you give to God that is at no cost to you is accounted to the one who bore the cost, not you.Giving is a personal matter.
If your children collect pocket money, teach them to set aside some of it to give to God. If your spouse makes some money, encourage him or her to give to God from it. It is where the money is coming from that the blessing will go to.
Ecclesiastes 1:7 says All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. Galatians 6:7 says Be not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. You cannot reap what I sowed; it is what you sowed that you would reap.
Luke 6:38 says Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down… shall men give unto your bosom. It is he or she who gives that will receive Who do you think took home the twelve extra baskets from the story of the feeding of five thousand men by Jesus Christ in John 6:5-13? Since there were twelve baskets, each disciple could carry a basket to the house of the boy who gave his lunch.
It is the fellow who sowed that will reap the harvest. Giving is a personal matter particularly because of the day of trouble. Psalms 41:1-3 says if you are a giver, when you are sick, God will visit you. He will even make your bed at the time of sickness.In Psalms 20:1-3, the Bible makes it clear that God does not forget your offerings, particularly in the time of crisis. There are special blessings that are meant for givers and cannot be enjoyed by misers. It is he that waters that will be watered. When things are dry, the one who watered will in turn be watered in such a period.
PRAYER POINT: Teach your family to give to God out of their own resources.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Corinthians 8 – 12
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Giving is Personal – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 8 December 2022
