“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” – Proverbs 3:9-10
Pastor and Christian writer Tony Campolo tells of being invited to speak at a ladies meeting. There were 300 women there. Before he spoke the president of the organization read a letter from a missionary. It was a very moving letter. In the letter the missionary expressed a need for $4,000 to take care of an emergency that had cropped up. So the president of the organization said, "We need to pray that God will provide the resources to meet the need of this missionary. Brother Campolo will you please pray for us?"
Tony Campolo, who is very outspoken said, "No."
Startled, she said, "I beg your pardon."
He said, "No, I won't pray for that." He said, "I believe that God has already provided the resources and that all we need to do is give. Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to step up to this table and give every bit of cash I have in my pocket. And if all of you will do the same thing, I think God has already provided the resources."
The president of the organization chuckled a little bit and said, "Well, I guess we get the point. He is trying to teach us that we all need to give sacrificially."
He said, "No, that is not what I am trying to teach you. I'm trying to teach you that God has already provided for this missionary. All we need to do is give it. Here, I'm going to put down all of my money I have with me." He wrote, "I only had $15 in my pocket so I wasn't too worried about that." So he put down his $15 and then looked at the president of the organization. Reluctantly, she opened her purse & took out all of her money, which was about $40, and put it on the table. One by one the rest of the ladies filed by and put their money on the table, too. When the money was counted they had collected more than $4,000."
Tony Campolo said, "Now, here's the lesson. God always supplies for our needs, and he supplied for this missionary, too. The only problem was we were keeping it for ourselves. Now let's pray and thank God for His provision."
The Lord asks us to be a good steward of the money and goods we have. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for all that He has given you and seek to bless others with what you have been given.
“Feel for others - in your pocket.” - Charles H. Spurgeon
God’s Word: “"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.” – Malachi 3:8
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2014, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN PROVERBS