Topic: HOW MUCH DO YOU APPRECIATE GOD? – Bishop Mike Okonkwo Devotional 11 March 2020 [The Redeemed Evangelical Mission]

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HOW MUCH DO YOU APPRECIATE GOD?

“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?”

Psalms 116:12 KJV

Sacrifice is not what you do to move the hand of God. Often, we say things like, ‘’I am going to fast 40 days; if God does not move then I know He is no more God.’’ That is where you got it wrong. Before you move, God already did all the move and He is sitting down. The next move is your own! Sacrifice is what you do because of the move of God on your behalf. 

The level of your sacrifice shows how much you appreciate the grace of God that you have received. Sacrifice is your joyful response to God’s goodness in your life. You are not doing it out of compulsion. Hence, God says He loves a cheerful giver. He didn’t say He will not take from an angry giver. But He loves a cheerful one because there are people who give angrily.

You see, giving to God is not meant to be by force. No! You should give to God because you love Him. I have checked the Bible. All the giving had always been willingly. It had always referred to “whose heart is willing.” “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering” (Exodus 25:2 KJV). There is a connection there! Maybe that is why some believers don’t receive the results of their giving. Your heart is not there! You complain about giving. God does not need any of us to be God. He is who He is all by Himself, but He chose to call us His own. So, don’t be too arrogant as if you are doing Him a favor.

How much is a cylinder of oxygen in the hospital? But you are breathing free oxygen. That is how good our God is! We must never take His faithfulness for granted. Let us live a life of gratitude. So, whatever we do should be a response to His goodness.

Further Reading: 1 Samuel 1:12-28

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Deuteronomy 10-12; Evening- Mark 12:1-27