Open Heavens 2014: Friday May 30, Daily Devotion By Pastor E. A. Adeboye - POOR & PRECIOUS

Topic: POOR & PRECIOUS [Friday May 30, 2014]

Memorise:
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. Psalm 40:17

Bible in a Year: Exodus 15-16; Psalm 115

Read: Psalm 40:14-17

14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Message:

Social stratification based on financial status is more pronounced than any other type of stratification in modern society. The wealthy and the poor coexist in all nations of the world today. The rich are associated with wealth, power and fame, while the poor are associated with suffering, obscurity and lack. The rich has many friends, associates and family members. He is an independent fellow who can afford to pay his or her bills and also contribute to the development of the community. The poor on the other hand has few or no friends or associates. He can hardly pay his bills not to talk of contributing to the development of the community. However, it is heart-warming to note that God is personally interested in the cause of the poor. I hereby decree that God will put an end to every form of poverty in your life today in the Name of Jesus.

Numerous passages of the Bible speak of God’s deep concern for the poor. In the Mosaic Law, God commanded that no one should oppress them. If they became servants to their fellow citizen out of poverty, God commanded that in the fiftieth year (Jubilee), the poor must be set free to return to his or her family without strings attached. Also, God gave many wonderful promises and pronounced blessings on the poor as a means of assuring them that poverty would not be a permanent status. In fact, a cursory look at a few of these passages will convince you that poverty has become a matter of choice for the children of God. All you need to do is to apply the word and its principles to your life. Such passages include the following:

“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.”
Psalm 113:7-8

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9

These verses are a great source of consolation to children of God irrespective of their current financial status. Jesus came to demonstrate the Father’s heartbeat for the poor by His life, and also by the ultimate sacrifice He paid on behalf of all humanity on the cross of Calvary. It is at Calvary that we learn that, despite the poverty of the human race, we are still very precious to God.

Prayer Point:
Father, please help me to know how precious I am in your sight and please don’t let your investment in my life be a waste, in Jesus’ Name.



Open Heavens Daily Devotional written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.