An Offertory Devotional video for Sabbath, June 25, 2022, in your @adventistchurch: vimeo.com/687924060. 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 using our resources because our treasure is most secure when we store it in heaven. The Bible reveals that in the end, “the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” (2 Pet. 3:10). Possession will be of no value. These events will represent the most severe recession/hyperinflation/depression ever experienced by humanity. Peter invites his readers not to take these things lightly but to undergo some fundamental changes: “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” (2 Pet. 3:11). We can learn something from those who had to cope with hyperinflation.
In a time of inflation, prices could double in less than 24 hours. In some places, individuals would go to the grocery store carrying cash in a basket over their heads. Worried and angry people would line up for hours in front of banks to withdraw their savings only to hear “request denied.” As a result, the population and investors would lose faith in the local currency. Many would try to exchange their money for stronger currencies as a survival strategy. Some countries would exchange their devalued currency for new currency or start using foreign currencies locally. Exchange is the key strategy. This corresponds with the admonition of Jesus: “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:21).
How can one do this exchange effectively? No need to go to the black market: “To do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share,” this is the path revealed by the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 6:18). This week, as we worship with our tithe and regular offerings, called Promise, we have another opportunity to exchange our perishable resources by being a blessing to others.