Day 21:First Things First!
Throughout scripture we read that God is not just impressed with results of actions alone. He is more interested in the combination of motive and purpose in conjunction with our actions. Right from the time of Cain and Abel through to the time of Ananias and Sapphira we see God deal with the attitude of the heart more than just the show of sacrifice.
One day Jesus saw people bring their offerings in worship. A widow approached and brought two tiny coins which was the least amount of money that was put into the offering that day. However Jesus considered the widow to have given more because she gave whole heartedly, in complete sacrifice to bring honour to God. Others may have given so they could be noticed and others may have brought something just because it was the right thing to do (religion) but from the widow's heart Jesus noticed true worship, He completely disregarded the quantity of what she brought from an earthly perspective but he saw the high value and quality of her offering from a heavenly perspective - Her heart is what mattered the most!
It is the same again with our period of fasting that ends today. When we place God at the centre of our fasting our motives become aligned to God's will more than anything else.
God is not impressed with the fact that we have been giving up food or drink for a period of time, but his heart is touched when he sees that the sacrifice we are making in fasting is coming from a genuine heart of worship wanting to connect with God and make God the priority and the focus. When our hearts and attitude towards the fast are unadulterated, it is then that our fast yields great reward from God.
Even on this last day of the fast, I want to encourage you to meditate (that is consider the meaning & think upon the matters deeply and repeatedly) on this scripture of the widow's offering. May God touch your heart so that you can end the fast with a heart of true worship.
'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”'
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