What About Jesus? Devotions

See that you also excel in this grace of giving. . . For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 8:7,9

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you? Grace is an amazing word. Its definitions is “undeserved love.” But another way to remember what grace means is to think of it as an acronym. Grace is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”

You can see God’s grace most clearly in Christ. Today’s Bible passage says that Jesus was rich, though that’s a bit of an understatement. Jesus is the Son of God. He was so rich that he owned everything in the universe because he made it. He had heaven as his perfect home from all eternity.

Yet he left that perfect home. He gave it up to become poor, which is another understatement. Jesus was born in a barn. And when he grew up, he lived as a wandering rabbi with no place to lay his head. He relied on the generosity of others to supply his daily needs.

The whole time, he was acting as your substitute. He lived a life of obedience to all of God’s laws so that he could give you credit for it. Then, after thirty-three years of sin-free perfection, Jesus took all your sins, made them his own, and died for them on the cross.

Why did he do it? Because he loved you and wanted you to enjoy all of God’s riches at his expense. You couldn’t afford them. You deserved hell, but Christ gives you heaven. You deserved wrath, but Christ shows you his love.

That’s grace, and it begins and ends with the startling generosity of your Lord Jesus Christ. And if Jesus was willing to bankrupt himself to make you his own, doesn’t that change the way you look at the grace of giving? You give not to earn God’s favor but because you have already received the greatest gift in Christ.

Prayer:

For I testify that [the Macedonian churches] gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 8:3,4

Renowned Christian minister John Wesly famously said, “The last part of a man to be converted is his wallet.” He said this because even veteran believers find it difficult to use their money to serve God.

With that in mind, did you catch what today’s Bible passage said? The poor Christians in Macedonia begged the apostle Paul for an opportunity to open their wallets and give. How’s that for startling generosity?

Paul was collecting an offering for the Christians in Jerusalem. And even though the believers in Macedonia had never met their brothers and sisters in that faraway city, they pleaded with Paul for the privilege of supporting them.

Why? Because they didn’t view giving as a burden, but as a privilege. God was doing them a favor by laying this opportunity in front of them. After all, startling generosity is one of the characteristics of God’s people, and participating in the offering lets them show it. Despite their own poverty, they willingly gave far beyond what Paul expected. They recognized that their gifts could help relieve the suffering of fellow believers. Their eagerness to give came from a deep gratitude for what they had received from God.

This dynamic relationship between gratitude and generosity is essential. Like the Macedonians, everything you have is a gift from God. When you struggle to be generous, reflect on the blessings God has given you.

He gave you your body and soul, your mind, and all your abilities, not to mention every other material blessing you cherish. He gave you his only Son, who saved you from sin, death, and the devil and who secured your heavenly home. Then he sent you his Holy Spirit to give you saving faith and keep you in that faith.

The more you reflect on God’s blessings, the more grateful you become. And while you may not be begging for a chance to give, you will generously serve God.

Prayer:

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 8:1,2

It’s a scene that plays out, week after week, in church. The ushers walk down the aisle to pass the offering plates to the congregation. A young boy sees them approach and tugs on his mother’s sleeve. She reaches into her purse and gives him a five-dollar bill. His excitement is tangible as he watches the plate approach, and his joy is contagious when he finally puts the money in.

How can he give so enthusiastically? Why doesn’t he pocket his mom’s cash for himself? Because he knows that he doesn’t need the money. The mother who gave it to him will continue to take care of him, so why shouldn’t he be generous?

Amazingly, that was the attitude the Macedonian Christians had. They were extremely poor believers who were under pressure from a severe trial. That doesn’t seem to be a recipe for startling generosity. Does it? But despite their problems, they generously contributed to a humanitarian offering that the apostle Paul was gathering for Christians in Jerusalem.

How could they give so enthusiastically? Why didn’t they ask Paul to collect an offering for them? Because they knew that everything, they had was a gift from God. It was theirs in the same way that the boy’s five dollar bill was his. So, the question was not, “What do we want to do with our money?” The question was, “What does God want us to do with his money?”

They may not have been overflowing with resources, but they were overflowing with joy in the Lord, who was the source of their every blessing. Like the Macedonians, you have a God who has graciously forgiven you for Jesus’ sake. And whether he has given you a little or a lot of material wealth, you get to use it to serve his people. For Christians, one of life’s greatest joys is giving because they know that God joyfully gives them everything they need.

Prayer:

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

Devotion based on 1 Kings 17:15,16

The drought had been severe for a while now. The fields were parched, and the rivers were dry. She was a poor widow who had enough flour and oil to feed herself and her young son one last time. She was by the town gate, gathering sticks to bake her final meal, when the Prophet Elijah approached her with an outrageous request: “Bring me, please, a piece of bread” (1 Kings 17:11).

Now, she was not one of God’s people—she was a Gentile, not an Israelite. Moreover, she barely had enough food for her family, let alone a stranger. But Elijah had something to offer her – a promise from God: “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land” (1 Kings 17:14).

She could have done the sensible thing and said no. But instead, she did what Elijah had asked. Her startling generosity showed her confidence in the Lord’s promise. Imagine her joy when there was enough flour and oil to feed Elijah, herself, and her son! And not just that day, but every day afterward until the drought was over.

It all happened just as the Lord had said. And that’s a key to startling generosity: the Word of God. God’s Word created the universe, and that same Word sustains it. So, when the Word of the Lord promises to give you your daily bread, you can be confident that he will keep that promise.

Moreover, you can also be generous, trusting God to meet your needs, even in ways you don’t expect. He wants to use you to help others in unexpected ways. The Bible says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).

Prayer:

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Devotion based on Mark 12:43,44

A few days before Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for the sins of the world, he was sitting in the temple courts, watching people put their money into the temple treasury. He was studying their giving habits.

He saw many rich people give lavishly because they had much to offer. But then, a poor widow gave “two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents” (Mark 12:42). She did not have much to give. In fact, without a husband to provide for her, her prospects were bleak.

And that is what made her generosity so startling. The rich gave much, and they still had much left over. But she gave “everything—all she had to live on.” She sacrificed her security to support God’s work at the temple. How could she do that? Only because she knew that even when she didn’t have any money, she still had a Lord who would take care of her.

That’s why Jesus pointed her out to his disciples. Like them, we tend to think that generous giving is all about the size of the gift. The widow, however, demonstrates that startling generosity is all about the attitude of your heart. Trust in God shows itself in sacrificial giving.

So, do you trust God? You have every reason too! With all the sin on your record, your prospects were bleak. But God spared no expense to save you. He paid something worth far more than gold or silver—he sacrificed his Son on the cross to make you his own.

Being a recipient of such startling generosity changes you. Whenever you feel limited by your circumstances or tempted to rationalize superficial giving, remember what God has given you and rejoice to give it back to him.

Prayer:

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 8:9

Do you feel rich? An economist by the name of Robert Heilbroner once challenged people to imagine doing the following. Move your family into a building the size of an old tool shed. Have no electricity, no running water, no bathroom. Get rid of all your clothes except for one set. Keep one pair of shoes. Destroy all written material. Toss out all food except for some flour, sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions and dried beans. Throw away all your investments, pensions and insurance policies. Reduce your savings to ten dollars. Live about a three-hour walk away from the nearest clinic. And support your entire family raising crops on a few acres of land. Give a third of your crops to your landlord and a tenth of your crops to your money lender.

If you do that, says Robert Heilbroner, then you’ll know how over a billion people are living in the world right now. And then, perhaps, you’ll realize how rich you really are.

Now imagine something else. The world you live in is dark, cynical, and senseless. If there is a God, you haven’t met him. If there is some grand reason for living, you don’t know it. And so you go to work, come home, cash your paycheck on payday, get groceries, watch TV, catch up with the laundry on weekends, take in a ballgame with friends, discuss current events, pursue a hobby, vacation during the summer, go to the dentist, go to the doctor, feel your body getting old, put in for retirement, mow your lawn and weed your garden, watch your life get slower and smaller. And then you wait to die—empty, puzzled and frightened.

If you can imagine that, then you can imagine life without Jesus, life without the forgiveness, peace, joy, security, purpose and certainty of heaven that are yours in your Savior. And then, you, too, can realize how rich you really are.

Prayer:

The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber.

Devotion based on Romans 13:11

Her name was Rosina Hernandez. She was a woman who carried a troubled conscience. When Rosina was in college, she and some friends decided to attend a rock concert. During the concert, an incident arose in the area where she and her friends were standing. A young man began beating up another man. While that was going on, no one stopped to intervene. Everyone stood there in a daze and did nothing—including Rosina. Finally, the authorities arrived. An ambulance took the beaten man to the hospital, but it was too late. The next day Rosina heard that the beaten man had died. A man had died, and she—Rosina Hernandez—had not even tried to stop it. Her sleepy inaction on that night haunted her for years.

You and I have been guilty of sleepy inaction too. Every time we have allowed a fellow Christian to drift away from Jesus, every time we have passed up an opportunity to comfort a hurting soul for fear of what to do or say, or every time that we’ve put off talking to someone about the Savior because it was easier not to. That’s the same kind of sleepy inaction that can allow the devil to have his way.

But Jesus does not disown us for our sleepy inaction. Instead, he comes to us in his Word. His Spirit brings us to repentance. He cleanses us in his blood and renews our resolve to bring our sleepy inaction to an end.

The years passed. One day, on a wet, coastline highway, Rosina Hernandez saw the car in front of her skid out of control and plunge into the bay. Only the rear of the car was sticking out of the water. A woman emerged, screaming that her husband was trapped inside. This time Rosina was ready. She ran into the water, then shouted and begged the crowd of bystanders to come and help her. Finally, one man stepped forward, then another, then more. Together they were able to enter the car and drag the man out. They did so just in time and Rosina was elated. Her sleepy inaction was gone.

Prayer:

[Jesus said] “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Devotion based on Mark 12:30,31

It can be easy to believe that we are good enough for heaven all on our own. One might think: ‘I haven’t killed anyone or stolen anything, and I haven’t cheated on my spouse. I’m doing just fine. God will take me to heaven because I have kept most of his commandments and have not broken the big ones.’

God has certainly commanded us not to kill, steal, or commit adultery, but Jesus says the commandment to love others is even greater than these. And there certainly have been plenty of times we have failed to keep this commandment. We maybe didn’t kill anyone, but perhaps we also failed to help a person in need. It might be that we never stole from anyone, but it could likely be that we were resentful toward them and their prosperity. And even though we may never have physically cheated on our spouse, how often did we fail to be there for them when they needed us? God’s command to love goes further than simply to avoid harming someone else. It means to always seek the good of the other person.

The commandment to love our neighbor involves more than we realize. But Jesus doesn’t refer to it as a greater commandment because of all the ways it can be broken. Rather, he has in mind how loving each other is a reflection of the love God showed us in sending Jesus. God has loved us like no other ever could. He willingly sacrificed his own Son for the well-being of others. He gave up what was most precious to him so we could be saved from our sin. For all the times we have failed to love others, Jesus bled and died to remove those sins from us. In love, he has set us free forever.

Prayer:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Devotion based on Romans 13:9

Do you like your neighbors? Are they easy to live with, or is it easy to find something to complain about? Maybe one neighbor is just too loud. He plays his music louder than necessary when outside, and he always seems to use power tools early in the morning. Perhaps a different neighbor doesn’t keep their lawn very nice. The lot stands out from the rest because it is too unkempt. Frankly, most neighbors think the house is a bit of an eyesore. Maybe another neighbor is too nosey. They are always sticking their nose in everyone else’s business and making you feel like you have little privacy.

What about the people you meet throughout your day? There was the gas station clerk who was rude to you in the checkout line. There was the other driver who cut you off in traffic and just happened to have a political bumper sticker you don’t agree with. And then there was the co-worker who did less work than you but took more of the credit when the project was done.

It isn’t easy to be kind in situations like these. But kindness isn’t enough. God commands us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” That is not our natural reaction to our neighbors. We are more inclined to love ourselves first and do what makes us happy at the expense of others. We figure that if someone isn’t nice to us, we shouldn’t waste our time with them.

Thankfully, Jesus did not take that approach. He saw us in desperate need and decided to help. He didn’t look to his own needs first. He didn’t let our unkindness to him or others stop him from loving us. Even though he knew we would not have done the same for him, Jesus offered his life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Because Jesus loved his neighbors as himself, we are saved. Our sins have been forgiven and heaven is ours. The next time you meet with a neighbor, remember the love of Jesus and share it with them.

Prayer:

Love the Lord your God with . . . all your strength.

Devotion based on Deuteronomy 6:5

Who gets our best effort? Who in our lives gets our all? It isn’t always our boss, as we spend valuable minutes of our workday checking Facebook or managing our fantasy football teams. It also isn’t always our kids as we half-heartedly play catch in the backyard while talking on the phone with a client. And it certainly isn’t always our spouse when we can’t even look up from our screen while they tell us about their day.

In our Bible reading today, we find God demanding one thing from us: “Love the Lord your God with all your strength.” But there are some days that we barely have the strength to get out of bed, let alone serve or worship God. Many days, we hardly have enough time to enjoy our hobbies, let alone study the Bible. We all have limited strength, and often, God does not get all of it—even when we try to give our best effort. So often, we lack the strength required to love and serve our God.

When we fall short, we look to the One who did not. Jesus gave every ounce of strength he had in his service to God. It took strength that you and I can only imagine as he endured the flogging and ridicule that came his way. He dug deep and found the strength to carry that cross up the hill, knowing his enemies would nail him to it. Jesus found the strength to stay on the cross and suffer and die even though he had not done anything wrong. Jesus’ love for God and for you and me was so strong that he gave his life in our place.

Then, his strength was on full display as he rose from the dead, forever defeating death for us.

So, the next time you are lacking strength in your life of faith, look to Jesus. The One who lived and died for you will give you renewed strength to love the Lord and serve him in your life.

Prayer: