Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 9
7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
Commentary:
9:7–8 God loves (in the sense of “approves of”) a cheerful giver, an allusion to Prov. 22:8 in the Septuagint (cf. Deut. 15:10; Rom. 12:8). God loves such joy-motivated giving to others because it expresses contentment in God’s gracious giving to the believer (see 2 Cor. 9:14) that makes every good work possible and results in thanksgiving and glory to God (see vv. 11–13). 9:9 distributed freely … given to the poor. The good work of God’s people (v. 8; see 1 Cor. 15:58) corresponds to the description of the man in Ps. 112:9, whose righteousness is manifest in his providing for the poor. endures forever. Such righteousness remains beyond the day of judgment because it originates from and is sustained by the Lord’s righteousness, expressed in giving to his people, which also “endures forever” (Ps. 111:3). 9:10 The promise that God will increase the harvest should not be understood in material terms but in terms of increasing your righteousness. Thus the quoted OT texts (Isa. 55:10; Hos. 10:12) refer specifically to the provision of God’s word for the redemption of his people. God’s promise is that he will use his people and their resources as instruments of his grace for the salvation of others. 9:11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. God will provide for the Corinthians’ needs so that they can continue generously meeting others’ needs and giving resources to advance the gospel.
Questions:
- The temple would eventually be built by David's son, Solomon. David was giving is ALL for something he would never even see or experience! This is another reason we know that for David it wasn't about himself. No, it was about HIM and THEM. As Christians we can easily make our lives all about us... especially when it comes to our money and the way we live. How would your life look differently if you had David's mentality of living for something bigger than yourself? How might your spending change?
- David gave his all for THEM. It was about the glory of God and God's people. The temple would be a blessing to the nation of Israel. And David knew that he was blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others. What about you? Do you make the connection that you are blessed SO THAT you might be a blessing to others?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would remind you that it's not about you.
- That you would realize how blessed you are and that you should be a blessing to others.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
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