Giving to the Lord

Monday 3 April
READ: Psa. 50: 10 – 12
MORE LESSON: Mal. 3: 10

In several portions of the Scripture, God calls His children to give to Him. He asks men to give offerings, tithes, vows, sacrificial gifts and seeds. In all these givings, we must never forget that God has not called us to the place of giving because He is in need but because He wants to bless us. God created and owns everything in all universe and all resources are at His disposal. In Psa. 50: 10 – 12, God says, For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
God is never stranded because of needs; rather, He invites men to give to Him so that it can be an opportunity for them to be blessed. The Kingdom principle is that you can only receive after you have given. You do not qualify for a harvest from God until you have first given to Him. So God always creates opportunities for people to give and in fact, makes demands on them to give to Him so that He can have a platform on which to bless them. We must never forget that even that which we give is given to us by the Lord. So God provides for us so that we can give to Him in order to receive more from Him. This is captured by the scripture that says God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater (Isa 55: 10). God knows that you can't have a harvest until you sow a seed, so He gives you seed. He then calls on you to give the seed to Him, so that He can multiply it and bring it as bread for you to eat and also have more seed to sow. Therefore, actually it is what God gives that you are giving back.
The only way to receive from God is by giving to Him. Your giving is the rail line on which the train of your provision runs. Any man who refuses to give to God shuts the door of provision to himself. Giving is a bridge to cross to the land of your provision. When you give, a bridge is built to connect you to where the provision is. The work of God is fully provided for by the Lord Himself who is the Possessor of Heaven and Earth. The reason why God invites people to give in church is because He wants them to get access to His blessings.

Prayer/Action
* Appreciate God for the privilege of giving.
* Ask the Lord never to let your giving go unnoticed, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask for the heart that gives the best to God, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My glory shall shine globally like the sun in 2017, prevail over darkness like the stars and burn my enemies like fire, in Jesus' mighty name.