Thursday Open Heavens Devotional - Caring For The Needy

MEMORISE: For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. Deuteronomy 15:11

MESSAGE
The Bible says something very fundamental about our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ which many of us do not pay close attention to. This relates to caring for the needy. Proverbs 22:9 says: “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”
Once of the quickest ways to be blessed by God is to care for the poor. The Almighty God said that the poor shall never cease out of the land, and it is His prerogative to take care of such poor people. In as much as God will not come down to do this duty Himself; He has commanded those who are blessed with resources to give to those who do not have. Whoever acts on God’s behalf by catering for the needy and the poor will be bountifully blessed by Him. This is one of the secrets of divine blessing.
Apart from blessings in this world for those who cater for the poor, our Lord Jesus Christ goes further to assure them to eternal blessings. He said that such people will be adequately rewarded in the kingdom of God. Matthew 25:34-35 says: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:”
One of the respected general overseers of a church in Nigeria once gave the testimony of how he got saved during the Nigerian Civil War. According to him, as he was running from place to place for safety during the war, he stumbled on the small residence of a Christian couple and they received him into their home. To his surprise, he had barely settled down to rest in this couple’s house when the wife placed a big plate of rice before him. He wondered how the coupled managed to prepare such sumptuous meal in the first place, and how they could sacrifice such a delicious meal to a wanderer like himself. There and then, he decided to serve the God who was able to take care of this couple even in the time of war. That was how he became a Christian. Today, he has a successful Christian ministry that is spread all over the place. One fact remains, the couple that led him to Christ through sacrificial hospitality will share in the reward of the harvest of souls being credited to his ministry.

PRAYER POINT: Father, grant me the grace and the provision I need to care for the needy in Jesus' Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 SAMUEL 21-22 and MARK 15:6-32

READ: MATTHEW 25:34-40
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.