Spiritual Poverty

With this morning’s Daily Devotional, I focused on dependence on God, a frequent topic that I derive from the texts.  My faithful readers probably noticed that I did not include a reference to the poor depending on God rather than Baal.  I normally quote that reference from the CANON.  The reason I did not use that quote was because that reference in the CANON is talking about solutions for the materially poor.  In so doing, I was falling into the same trap that I accuse Pope Francis of doing.  He focuses on the materially poor, rather than the spiritually poor.

I think there have even been times that I have stretched the CANON quote to make it apply to the Daily Devotional when the devotional was talking about being spiritually poor.  It would be better, rather than focusing on material poverty, as the left does, to focus on spiritual poverty, which is the main focus of the Redeemer.

Today’s devotional was really about Daniel’s motivation to be committed to God.  Daniel’s deep love for the Lord caused him to be determined.  But Daniel did not always have that love and commitment to God.  He was once spiritually poor.  But then his Saviour was revealed unto him.  The book of Daniel in the Bible, chapter 9 foretells of his Saviour coming to earth.  In that chapter, Daniel was praying and confessing his sin (verse 20).  As he was praying, an angel came to him and said that he had come to give him insight and understanding because God loved him very much.  The angel told Daniel that in 490 years, the Messiah would come, and He would be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing.  That prophecy was fulfilled; however, we know, and Daniel knew, that there was a purpose for the Messiah to be killed and then raised again.  As D.C. McAllister wrote in “Pope Francis doesn’t get the gospel” (which I posted June 24, 2015 on this blog), “When Jesus says, “The poor will always be with you,” he is saying, “I am not here to save you from physical poverty. I am here to free you of your spiritual debts—your sin—to free you from spiritual poverty, and to shower you with spiritual blessings and eternal life. My death will pay all debts, and then, through faith in me, there will be no more spiritual poverty.”