WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
TOPIC: CULTIVATE A LIFESTYLE OF GIVING
BY T. O. BANSO
âDo not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reapâ (Galatians 6:7 New King James Version).
Prayer is important. Nevertheless, prayer to meet some needs only becomes effective when youâve cultivated a lifestyle of giving or sowing seeds. Some people have been praying for certain needs in their lives and have not got an answer. It could be because theyâve not been giving.
In Acts 10:2, the Bible describes Cornelius, a Roman army officer, as a devout man and one who feared God with his entire household. This scripture says Cornelius gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. Please take note that Cornelius didnât pray only; he was also a generous giver.
When he was praying one day at about the ninth hour of the day (3 oâclock), he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God telling him, âYour prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before Godâ (Acts 10:4b New King James Version). Again, please take note that the angel referred to Cornelius’ prayers and alms. Cornelius had a lifestyle of praying and giving. Prayer is not enough.
It amounts to self-deceit to say that needs will take care of themselves. The truth is that they donât always. Rather, they could increase in size and become sources of embarrassment if you donât meet them in time. There will always be needs. As you meet one, another one will come, and you must meet them as they come.
In 2 Kings 4, if the widow of one of the sons of the prophets had not been able to pay her husband’s debt, the creditor would have taken away her two sons even though her late husband was a servant of God who feared God! Thank God, the woman feared the creditor! And that made her run for help from the Prophet Elisha, whom God used to deliver her from the financial need that would have embarrassed her further.
2 Kings 4:1 says, âA certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, âYour servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slavesââ (New King James Version).
The woman obeyed Elishaâs instruction and returned with a testimony of the miracle of the flowing oil. Elisha told the woman, âGo, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the restâ (verse 7b New King James Version). It was not enough that her husband was one of the sons of the prophets or feared God; the two sons would have remained the servants of their creditors until their father’s debt was paid. âThe rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lenderâ (Proverbs 22:7 New King James Version).
Itâs not enough that you can pray and youâre praying for provisions. Itâs important that you also give or sow seeds that will meet somebody elseâs needs. The seed could prompt a divine intervention to meet your own needs. Just as the time of your sowing seed is real, so shall the time of your harvest. âAs long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and nightâ (Genesis 8:22 New Living Translation). What is true about the sowing of physical seeds and reaping of harvest is also true about the spiritual principle of sowing and reaping.
Some people often think that those who give do so because they have so much. They don’t think that they have because they give. Stingy people are quick to expect others to give them gifts. Theyâve not given to anyone but want other people to give to them. Proverbs 11:25 says, âThe generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himselfâ (New King James Version).
You cannot miss your harvests if you sow your seeds though you have no control over the form the harvests would come. In 2 Kings 4, the great woman of Shunem received the miracle of a son because of her hospitality to the Prophet Elisha. She started by giving him food and later gave him a room to stay in whenever he came to her town. Later when this only son died, Elisha brought him back to life.
Instead of expecting harvests when one has not sown, one should go and sow seeds. Galatians 6:7 says, âDo not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reapâ (New King James Version). The Bible goes further in verse 9 to say, âAnd let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heartâ (New King James Version).
I am not talking about giving or sowing a seed only because you have a need youâre trusting God to meet. If someone is not a giver and is doing that, it makes it look like gambling! God knows his heart. I am not saying that giving is the only key to prosperity. I am talking about cultivating giving as a lifestyle in addition to other biblical truths or principles.
There is a promised harvest for those who sow, and their harvest will be dependent on how much theyâve sown. God doesnât cheat anyone. If you sow little, youâll reap little. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, âHe who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifullyâ (New King James Version).
God will not force anyone to give. He always wants cheerful givers and that is why He wants each person to determine what he wants to give. And nothing that is given as an offering or as a seed is a waste (2 Corinthians 9:7-8). Proverbs 19:17 says he who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.
The excuse many give for not giving is their needs. Their usual song is, âI donât have anything to give. I have needs too and I need people to give me also.â Unfortunately, they do not know that this line of thinking is what the devil is using to perpetuate lack in their lives. The need becomes the barrier to their giving yet the answer to their needs is in their giving.
Hear what Proverbs 11:24-25 says, âThere is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himselfâ (New King James Version).
Everyone is in a position to help someone else. If you want some people to be the answer to your prayer, how many people have you been the answer to their prayers? Some people are selfish and stingy. They think others exist to meet their own needs but they will not allow God to use them to meet the needs of others theyâre capable of helping.
A seed is not only money but it includes money. A seed is anything that God has given you that you can give directly to God, Godâs causes on earth, or to another person. It may be the time you spend to assist someone or the material thing or money you give to the needy, a neighbour, a church, or a minister of God. Give whatever you give cheerfully and generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).
Give; donât procrastinate. Sowing seeds is not always convenient. The farmer does not sow just because he loves to but because of the harvest that he desires. âHe who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be goodâ (Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 New King James Version). If you keep postponing giving, you may never give. This also means youâre postponing your blessing.
It wasnât convenient for the widow of Zarephath when the Prophet Elijah asked her for water and bread in a time of famine. But she obeyed him and gave first to the prophet before she took care of herself and her son. Because of her giving, she never lacked throughout the remaining period of the three and a half years of famine (1 Kings 17:8-16; Luke 4:25-26).
Be deliberate about giving. Give cheerfully, regularly, and generously. Give according to your ability. And like a good farmer, take care of your sowing with prayers and confession of the promises of God to give you harvest.
God will always work with what we give Him. Your seeds will always come back to you as harvests, and the harvests are always more than the seeds you’ve sown. Jesus said in John 12:24, âI tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernelsâa plentiful harvest of new livesâ (New Living Translation). Jesus was talking about His death but there is a lesson in it for seed sowing.
Expect a plentiful harvest! 2 Corinthians 9:10 says God supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food; He will supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. Those who are stingy only cheat themselves; those who are generous will have their needs supernaturally met just as theyâve met the needs of others.
The New Living Translation renders Proverbs 11:24-25 thus: âGive freely and become more wealthy;Â be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper;Â those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.â If you cultivate a lifestyle of giving, you will enjoy a series of harvests in your life.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life â your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I shall not only pray but also give to others. I shall give cheerfully, regularly, generously, and according to my ability in Jesusâ name. I shall not be stingy; I shall water others and I shall be watered also. Father, I receive all my harvests that are due. O Lord, help those who are not givers to cultivate a lifestyle of giving.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
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Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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