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TOPIC: LET THERE BE NO DISCORD
[DCLM DAILY MANNA 10 OCTOBER 2018 DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY PASTOR WILLIAM FOLORUNSO KUMUYI]
Text: Genesis 23:1-16 (KJV)
Key Verse: “And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant“ (Genesis 23:16).
MESSAGE:
Abraham needed to bury his wife, Sarah who had died, and he, being a stranger had to approach the land owners – the Hittites for a burial ground. Their positive and reverential response to Abraham’s request is an indication of the harmonious relationship that existed between them. They offered to give him a place freely but Abraham opted instead to pay the price that was named.
Here is a lesson for the church and believers. It is always important to secure all legal documents relating to any purchased property. When God instructed Jeremiah to buy a piece of land in Anathoth from his uncle’s son, at a time when the fall of Jerusalem was imminent, as a sign of God’s faithfulness to still bring His people back from the Babylonian captivity, all due legal processes were observed – the payment for the land, the signing of the deed and the presence of witnesses, “according to the law and custom” (Jeremiah 32:6-14).
The church can do no less today. Instances of persons who purportedly gave some properties to the church only to come back and demand them again can be avoided if all legal documents and handover notes were obtained. Even among the brethren, in our day-to-day business relationships with one another, it is always necessary to have a properly defined, documented and mutually understandable working agreement. Failure in this area in the past had given Satan opportunity to cause discord amongst brethren.
In all, God demands that all things be done decently and in order. It is wrong, if not foolish, to take things for granted and assume that our faith will grant the immunity if we overlook matters of documentation, probity and accountability. Let us be more serious, better focused thorough in all we do.
Thought For The Day: We gain the more when we make thoroughness and diligence the pivot of our transactions.
Bible Reading In One Year: Matthew 5-7
