Rich Through Jesus’ Poverty

2 Corinthians 8:9 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. When we think of God, we think of the most powerful and richest being in the whole universe. But do you know that our Lord Jesus was actually born into a poor family? We know this from the offering His mother Mary brought to the temple after Jesus was born, according to the Law for purification. (Luke 2:22–24) She brought a pair of turtledoves or young pigeons, which was the only type of offering the poor could afford. (Leviticus 12:2, 8) But with Jesus in their lives, Mary and her husband Joseph didn’t remain poor. Wise men came to Jesus with treasures — “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11) Jesus’ presence brought gold, frankincense and myrrh — two of the most expensive spices — to His family. The wise men must have come with quite an entourage for the Bible records how all Jerusalem was fearful when the wise men came to the city. (Matthew 2:3) Can you imagine the amount of gold, frankincense and myrrh which accompanied that entourage, and which was given to Jesus’ parents? My friend, the moment you are born again, you have Jesus in your life. And when you have Him in your life, get ready to prosper for gold will come to you! But don’t look for the gold, look to Jesus — He is the power to get wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18) The presence of the Son of the living God in your life attracts prosperity. Because of His grace toward us, Jesus, though He was rich, was made poor at the cross for your sake so that “you through His poverty might become rich”. Beloved, when you have Jesus in your life and when you know that He has paid the price for your prosperity, you can boldly declare, “Jesus was made poor at the cross for my sake so that through His poverty, I am made rich in all things!” He Restores Your Soul TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul...” (Psalm 23:1–3, ESV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria God wants to restore your soul today. Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. You are a three-part being: you are a spirit — that’s the part of you that lives for eternity, you have a soul, and you live in a body while you’re here on earth. Your soul is where you may store hurt, disappointments or brokenness from the past. When God restores your soul, He brings His healing power to those broken places and makes you whole again. And when God restores you, He makes you better off than you were before. He makes you stronger, more alive, and more loving. I love the picture painted in this verse. Notice that He leads us beside quiet waters. He makes us lie down in green pastures. This is a picture of rest. When we are resting in Him, He is able to do a work in our lives. He is able to bring that restoration. Don’t let the busyness of life keep you going so fast that you don’t stop and rest. Take time to be still before the Lord and let Him restore your soul. A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for leading me into a place of rest. Today I surrender my brokenness to You and open my heart to receive Your healing so You can restore my soul in Jesus’ name. Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen     Fix Your Eyes On God’s Unshakable Word     Philippians 4:19 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. People of the world feel helpless as the systems of the world go up and down. They turn on the television and they hear, “This war will plunge the world into a recession.” They open the newspapers and they read that “Unemployment is at an all-time high”. Beloved, God does not want you to feel helpless because you are not of the world. (John 17:16) You are of God and therefore need not be subject to the world’s systems. Whatever the world’s situation is, fear not because “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. Notice that Philippians 4:19 says that “God shall supply all your need”. It does not say that God may supply some of your needs. It also says that God will do it “according to His riches”. It is not out of His riches. If a millionaire gives you a hundred dollars, it is out of his riches. But if he gives to you according to his riches, it means that he is lining up his millions for you! Lastly, the verse says that God does it “according to His riches in glory”. It is not according to the riches of your company or how well the economy is doing. No, it is according to God’s riches in glory! So how do you stop yourself from feeling helpless in uncertain times? The same way I stopped myself from getting seasick when I was on board a navy ship for the first time during my National Service stint. A senior naval officer had advised me, “Don’t look at the waves around you. Look at the horizon far away. Look at that stable, stationary line and you will feel better.” When I fixed my eyes on that unshakable, unwavering line, even though the ship bobbed up and down in the rough sea, I did not feel so seasick anymore. My friend, don’t look at your circumstances or the bad things that are happening in the world because you will get “earth-sick”. Instead, look at the unshakable, eternal Word of God. Your heart will become stable and you will see your God supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!