09-11-2019, 09:40 AM
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2019
THEME: NOTHING IS TOO SMALL TO GIVE
MEMORISE:
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:25
READ: Matthew 15:32-39
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
MESSAGE
An African adage says, "Saying 'this gift is too small to give' makes one miserly." In the spirit of giving, I believe that a simple orange is enough to entertain four guests or even eight! It is just a matter of slicing it into four and slicing those four again to make eight pieces. Served on a clean plate along with a clean bowl of water and a neat hand towel in tow, you have done the needful if that is all you have. Today's Bible reading tells us the story of a young lad who did not see his lunch pack as being too small to give to the Master. He released it and it became a point of contact for divine multiplication. One great lesson from this is that anytime a small thing is released into divinely anointed hands, it multiplies. Any business that has God as its CEO will always prosper, irrespective of its size. We see an example of this in the story of a man who started a business with five hundred dollars and a vow that 90% of the business would be God's, while just 10% would be his. In a few years, he became a multimillionaire! The lad who offered his meal to Jesus can be regarded as a true son of Abraham in that he was given to hospitality just as Abraham was. Abraham was so hospitable that he unknowingly entertained angels (Hebrews 13:2).
You don't necessarily need to be a multimillionaire before you can become a giver. Indeed, having the whole world at your disposal does not make you a giver! The widow of Zarephat gave her last meal to the man of God. This meal was so small that it took only two sticks of firewood to prepare it (1 Kings 17:12)! Beloved, for you to move from your present level of blessing to a higher level, you need to learn how to give. Through the principle of giving, some heroes of faith in the days of old use what they had to obtain a good heritage for themselves. This principle has not changed today. There is this story of one of my sons in the Lord, who was in his house one evening when a young man came in to beg him for some money to buy food for his young baby. This son of mine said he had only ten naira on him at that point. The value of the naira back then was very strong, so strong that five naira was enough to take him to work and back. So, he gave the man five out if the ten naira with him, and he forgot about the incident. Months later, this young man came back again, this time asking my son if he was interested in owning some landed property. My son answered yes, even though he had no money for such a project at that time. To his surprise, the young man offered him a plot of land from the portion allocated to him and his siblings, with the option of paying later. When my son insisted that he was not going to take the land, the young man reminded him of the five naira he gave him many months ago that saved his child from starving to death. It was then my son remembered what had happened, and he consented to the land offer. That land was the beginning of some other properties God blessed him with. Beloved, nothing is too small to give. Learn to give from today, because you do not know what doors it will open for you.
KEY POINT:
Some doors can only be unlocked through giving
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 12-13, Daniel 1
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Chorus:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing—
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing;
O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
5 There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
DATE: WEDNESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2019
THEME: NOTHING IS TOO SMALL TO GIVE
MEMORISE:
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:25
READ: Matthew 15:32-39
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
MESSAGE
An African adage says, "Saying 'this gift is too small to give' makes one miserly." In the spirit of giving, I believe that a simple orange is enough to entertain four guests or even eight! It is just a matter of slicing it into four and slicing those four again to make eight pieces. Served on a clean plate along with a clean bowl of water and a neat hand towel in tow, you have done the needful if that is all you have. Today's Bible reading tells us the story of a young lad who did not see his lunch pack as being too small to give to the Master. He released it and it became a point of contact for divine multiplication. One great lesson from this is that anytime a small thing is released into divinely anointed hands, it multiplies. Any business that has God as its CEO will always prosper, irrespective of its size. We see an example of this in the story of a man who started a business with five hundred dollars and a vow that 90% of the business would be God's, while just 10% would be his. In a few years, he became a multimillionaire! The lad who offered his meal to Jesus can be regarded as a true son of Abraham in that he was given to hospitality just as Abraham was. Abraham was so hospitable that he unknowingly entertained angels (Hebrews 13:2).
You don't necessarily need to be a multimillionaire before you can become a giver. Indeed, having the whole world at your disposal does not make you a giver! The widow of Zarephat gave her last meal to the man of God. This meal was so small that it took only two sticks of firewood to prepare it (1 Kings 17:12)! Beloved, for you to move from your present level of blessing to a higher level, you need to learn how to give. Through the principle of giving, some heroes of faith in the days of old use what they had to obtain a good heritage for themselves. This principle has not changed today. There is this story of one of my sons in the Lord, who was in his house one evening when a young man came in to beg him for some money to buy food for his young baby. This son of mine said he had only ten naira on him at that point. The value of the naira back then was very strong, so strong that five naira was enough to take him to work and back. So, he gave the man five out if the ten naira with him, and he forgot about the incident. Months later, this young man came back again, this time asking my son if he was interested in owning some landed property. My son answered yes, even though he had no money for such a project at that time. To his surprise, the young man offered him a plot of land from the portion allocated to him and his siblings, with the option of paying later. When my son insisted that he was not going to take the land, the young man reminded him of the five naira he gave him many months ago that saved his child from starving to death. It was then my son remembered what had happened, and he consented to the land offer. That land was the beginning of some other properties God blessed him with. Beloved, nothing is too small to give. Learn to give from today, because you do not know what doors it will open for you.
KEY POINT:
Some doors can only be unlocked through giving
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 12-13, Daniel 1
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Chorus:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing—
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing;
O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
5 There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.