Daily Devotions

2 Cor 9: 8

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that …you will abound in every good work.

Paul writes here to remind us that it is by God’s grace that He has provided for us the love and compassion to serve others in doing good works. Paul reminds that we should not think that what we do is because of our own ability or resources but rather it is because God had imparted His grace to be upon us to do good works in blessing others.

The work of the Kingdom is not a physical work per se but it is a spiritual work as it deals with the spiritual realm. Many of the things that we see on the natural are not what they seem to be. Jesus taught the disciples that many of the sicknesses and diseases are spiritual in nature. He healed the sick through commanding the demonic powers to leave and they obeyed.

We see that when Jesus send the disciples out for practical training in the mission fields He have them the power and authority to deal with the unclean spirits. This was necessary so that the disciples could heal all manners of sicknesses and diseases and also to perform miracles that no normal human can perform.

These were works that can only be accomplished by the supernatural powers that was given to the disciples by Jesus. In Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. So this tells us that we too should be seeking these spiritual gifts and power so that we also can be effective in our Christian ministries.

In the Churches today many have rejected the Holy Spirit and therefore have robbed themselves of the ability to do the works of the Kingdom. Because they teach that miracles and signs and wonders have ceased since the days of the book of Acts and are not available in the present day, they have grieved the Holy Spirit and have robbed themselves of His blessings.

The truth is God is the eternal God; Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is the same as the Holy Spirit, if God is indeed eternal then His power is eternal and His gifts are also eternal. In fact the bible teaches us that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will be with the Church until the times of the ends of the age. This means the Holy Spirit will be with us and able to do miracles and signs and wonder through us until the time just before Jesus returns.

In the meantime we are expected to continue on doing good works as well as the works of healing and deliverance, raise the dead just as the early Church did. This is the true character of the Church and as Paul wrote we are to abound in good works until Jesus returns.

Good works are also both spiritual and natural, which include the love and compassion for the needy, the destitute as well as the support of God’s servants. Many of them have made great sacrifices by giving up their secular jobs and profession and devote themselves to doing the work of the Kingdom. In this aspect the believers must extend their support to these who are working full time in the Kingdom and have needs to be met.

The apostles were living in these conditions and Paul have also written about his own needs and the needs of others which have caused them great suffering when such needs were not met. Believers who are more affluent and able must set apart some of their financial resources to support the full time workers.

Having said that, it is a sad thing to note that sometimes many Churches fail to extend their generosity to these servants of God. They are too stingy with their resources and do not bless the servants of God as they should.

The apostle John wrote in 3 John 1: 5-6 Beloved it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.