2020 Daily Devotion - Day 239
John D. Rockefeller Sr. was strong and husky when he was a youth. Early on, he was determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was the richest man on earth and the world’s only billionaire.
Then he developed a sickness called alopecia, where the hair of his head dropped off, his eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared, and he was shrunken like a mummy. His weekly income was one million dollars, but he digested only milk and crackers. He was so hated in Pennsylvania he had to have bodyguards day and night. He could not sleep, stopped smiling and enjoyed nothing in life.
The doctors predicted he would not live another year. The newspaper had gleefully written his obituary in advance—for convenience in sudden use. Those sleepless nights set him thinking. He realized, with a new light, that he "could not take one dime into the next world." Money was not everything. God was displeased with his sinful life. Then and there he surrendered His life to Christ, repenting of his sins and pleading for God to change his heart.
The next morning, he awoke a new man. He began to help churches with his amassed wealth; the poor and needy were not overlooked. He established the Rockefeller Foundation, whose funding of medical researchers led to the discovery of penicillin and other wonder drugs. John D. began to sleep well, eat and enjoy life. You could say he began to live life to the fullest!
The doctors had predicted he would not live over the age of 54. He lived to be 98 years old. (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations).
Before the Coronavirus, there were people very much like John D. Rockefeller Sr. They were in bondage to materialism. However, a time like this has a way of changing a person and helping them to reorder their values and priorities. These are the days when you might want to stop and examine your stewardship of what God has given you. With the money on loan to you from God, are you a giver or a taker? Do you see money as your security or as an opportunity to serve as a disciple of Jesus? I want to encourage you to be a giver to the Lord’s work, and you will discover joy because you will be living for something bigger than yourself.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NRSV
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, everything we have belongs to You. You have asked us to be good stewards with Your gifts. In fact, You love it when we are cheerful givers. Help us to grow and step out in faith by giving financially to Your work in the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
Then he developed a sickness called alopecia, where the hair of his head dropped off, his eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared, and he was shrunken like a mummy. His weekly income was one million dollars, but he digested only milk and crackers. He was so hated in Pennsylvania he had to have bodyguards day and night. He could not sleep, stopped smiling and enjoyed nothing in life.
The doctors predicted he would not live another year. The newspaper had gleefully written his obituary in advance—for convenience in sudden use. Those sleepless nights set him thinking. He realized, with a new light, that he "could not take one dime into the next world." Money was not everything. God was displeased with his sinful life. Then and there he surrendered His life to Christ, repenting of his sins and pleading for God to change his heart.
The next morning, he awoke a new man. He began to help churches with his amassed wealth; the poor and needy were not overlooked. He established the Rockefeller Foundation, whose funding of medical researchers led to the discovery of penicillin and other wonder drugs. John D. began to sleep well, eat and enjoy life. You could say he began to live life to the fullest!
The doctors had predicted he would not live over the age of 54. He lived to be 98 years old. (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations).
Before the Coronavirus, there were people very much like John D. Rockefeller Sr. They were in bondage to materialism. However, a time like this has a way of changing a person and helping them to reorder their values and priorities. These are the days when you might want to stop and examine your stewardship of what God has given you. With the money on loan to you from God, are you a giver or a taker? Do you see money as your security or as an opportunity to serve as a disciple of Jesus? I want to encourage you to be a giver to the Lord’s work, and you will discover joy because you will be living for something bigger than yourself.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NRSV
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, everything we have belongs to You. You have asked us to be good stewards with Your gifts. In fact, You love it when we are cheerful givers. Help us to grow and step out in faith by giving financially to Your work in the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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