February 6                                    Exod 14 - 17

POVERTY’S NEEDLESS LIMITATIONS

MEMORISE: ‘All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.’ (Prov 19:7)
READ: Psalm 12:4-8

In times past, some Christians equated poverty with holiness. They believed that to make it to heaven, you must be poor. Lazarus was their example. Today many have realized the foolishness of such a belief.

Poverty is not God’s will for you. It is a curse that came after the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden. God created man to live in abundance. The Gospel of Christ is a very expensive one. It cost God the life of his only begotten Son to provide it. It costs a great deal in monetary and material terms to effectively spread it around the world. Without money, missionary activities suffer serious setbacks. Scripture further reveal unpleasant situations the poor meet with. Besides lacking in the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter, the poor man is hated by his neighbours, is a victim of injustice and is constantly persecuted and oppressed. He lives with low self-esteem. His lives a beggarly life, depending on others for survival.

Due to changing values in society, the poor man is looked down upon. His wisdom is despised. Those who are materially of financially endowed feel  only their voices  should be heard on important issues. Many poor believers are even ignored in their bid to win unbelievers to Christ. These infidels measure the God the believer serves by the physical, material and financial blessing that the believer receives.

Thank God that Jesus did something about poverty. You do not have to remain poor. Jesus has paid the price. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, through he was rich, yet for your sakes he become poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.’

On the cross, Jesus exchanged his wealth for your poverty. He took your debt and gave you abundance instead. You have no business with poverty any more! Reject it today. Prayerfully lay hands on a means of livelihood that is not controversial. And ask God to channel his wealth through the job as a conduit pipe to you.

ACTION POINT
Write down 50 reasons why you cannot afford to be poor.
Citing Isaiah 41:21, use them as a basis for God to make you wealthy.