THE RECEIVER WHO GIVES!!

Verse for Today: Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Mark 8:5 – “How many loaves (of bread) do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.

God entrusts resources with us so that we can use it to serve Him. He knows how much we have and so we cannot lie to Him as did Ananias and Sapphira. As these resources come from Him, it is still His and He has every right to ask us to use it for Him. If we do not submit it at His feet, we are keepers of His property with selfish interests. He expects an honest response from us and desires that we use it only for His glory. If we hold it for selfish end, we loose the opportunity to use it for Him. If we give it to Him, He will take it from us and magnificently multiply it so that it can be used to meet the spiritual needs of those who are around us. If we submit only a part of what we have, part will only become usable for the Lord. When we use it all for His glory, our giving finds fulfillment and satisfaction. Otherwise it ends up in satisfying our own selfish interests with no lasting value. This opportunity is ours today if we are willing to give all that He has entrusted with us back to Him for His use as it pleases Him as done by the disciples to feed the four thousand. If we give grudgingly, it will hurt us psychologically and it will not also be in our account in Heaven. But we must also understand that even if we do not give, the work of the Lord will continue as He has planned. If we hold back, we will loose rewards which will be our eternal loss. If we give to get recognition by man, we will not have any reward in God’s presence.

Dear reader, if you have anything which the Lord has not entrusted with you, it is time to get rid of it. Have you secured any thing on your own without His help? He has given you energy, intellect, skills and time. As a child of God, your talents (spiritual gifts), time and treasures are all resources which have come from the Lord as a gift to you. These gifts are not for you to use for selfish purposes, but for the glory of the Giver. Even before He asks you, He expects you to surrender it all at His feet. The fact that you waited till He asks you itself is a great reprimand. But when He asks, you have to tell Him what you have received from Him. You will then have the joy to submit it to Him so that He can give you the joy of watching how your talents, treasures and time are used for the glory of the Master? God loves a cheerful giver and so you will have to give joyfully and out of a burden to meet the spiritual needs of those who are deprived. You are the Lord’s and all that He has given you are also His and so He has every right to ask you to give it all back to Him as He asked Abraham to give back Isaac. He is only interested in our hearts, time and talents and not in our possessions. God owns the cattle of a thousand hills and all the gold in this universe. He lacks nothing, but He still wants you to give Him all that you are and have. Let us endeavor to give all that He has given us back to Him for His use. Today He challenges us to prove to Him that He is our priority as we were His priority on the cross. The extent of our giving and our attitude in giving indicate how much we love Him who gave Himself for us.

Mark 11:3 – If anyone asks you, “Why are you (untying the colt)?” tell him, “The Lord needs it and will send back here shortly.”

Thought for Today