International
A Memorial Before God
We're glad you like it!
Enjoying the content? You can save this to your favorites by logging in to your account.
Acts 10:3-4 One afternoon about three o'clock, Cornelius had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God coming to him and saying, "Cornelius!" Staring at the angel and feeling afraid, Cornelius said, "What do you want, sir?" The angel said to him, "God has heard your prayers and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done.
Listen to the radio broadcast of A Memorial Before God
Download audio fileMany a man, many a woman has a divided heart when it comes to the tension – and it is a tension – between the things in life that really matter, and the promises that money and wealth dangle under our noses.
Now, whilst there’s nothing new under the sun, I think it’s a tension that’s far more acute here in the 21st century, than it was back in biblical times. Why? Because by and large, at least in the wealthier nations, we earn much more. That’s the first thing. The standard of living of many people today is so much higher than that of the subsistence farmers in the first century AD.
Secondly, there are so many more things to spend our money on these days. Holidays, technology, entertainment, nick-nacks for around the house and on and on. It’s so incredibly easy to spend everything on yourself.
That’s why this Scripture leaps so much off the page for me:
One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God coming to him and saying, “Cornelius!” Staring at the angel and feeling afraid, Cornelius said, “What do you want, sir?” The angel said to him, “God has heard your prayers and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. (Acts 10:3-4)
Of course God sees everything and He notices everything. Nothing slips by Him. But did you pick up on what the angel said? God has seen your gifts to the poor. Literally, back in the original Greek language, it talks about Cornelius’ gifts ascending as a memorial before God. Wow!
Cornelius’ generosity to the poor really stood out for God. Maybe things back there in the first century weren’t all that different to today. Everybody focussing on themselves and forgetting about those in need.
Like I said, there’s nothing new under the sun.
How do you spend your money? What percentage do you spend on necessities, versus luxuries, versus the poor? These aren’t easy questions and I know that as we talk about money, the discussion plucks at the most sensitive nerve in the body – the one that runs between our hearts and our wallets.
But know this: God notices how we spend the resources He gives us. And our generosity to His work ascends as a memorial before His eyes.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Comments