An Offertory Devotional video for Sabbath, December 3, 2022, in your @adventistchurch: vimeo.com/755060500. Putting God first can be difficult. What can we learn from this video that will help us put God first in our lives today?
Also available in #Spanish and #Portuguese.
Put #GodFirst
#StewardshipMinistries
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For more information on the Stewardship Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, you can head over to stewardship.adventist.org/ ______________________________________________
We worship God with our resources because He often makes provision for our needs even before they arise. In a dream, the Lord informed Pharoah about the seven years of severe famine that would strike Egypt. However, before the beginning of the crisis, he provided seven years of abundance. Under the inspired leadership of Joseph, they could save the surplus and adequately prepare for the crisis. God provided before the need. Joseph told his brothers about the God who acted in anticipation: “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Gen. 45:7). Our needs and emergencies of today never take God by surprise or put Him off balance.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a family had witnessed how God acted in anticipation of their needs. Because they were staying in a foreign country, the wife had to renew her employment authorization. The process took much longer than expected. After a few months of waiting, her current work authorization expired, and she was terminated from her job. The family budget was not balancing anymore. At first, they thought that the authorization would come in a few days. It was not so. Interestingly, exactly seven months before she lost her job, the week that many companies were closing down and dismissing employees, causing a record-high unemployment rate, she miraculously held onto her job. This allowed the family to consolidate their emergency fund not knowing the challenge they would soon face. Regularly, they would check the status of her application. The waiting time grew from three months to four months, to five months, and finally up to nine months. It was a testing time. During this extended time, their consolidated emergency fund kept them afloat. More accurately, it was the work of the God who made provision even before their needs arose.
This week as we worship with our tithe and regular offerings, called Promise, let us show our gratitude to the Provider, who already has solutions for our unforeseen crises.