Build God A Memorial

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. (Acts 10:1-8)

Thought For Today:

How much prayer and giving would you say that it takes to build a memorial to God? Some folks question giving to the church and the work of the Lord, because they think that they are giving to man and not the work of the Lord. Jesus told His disciples, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:1-4). I'm sure that no one knew how much Cornelius had given. Maybe he didn't even know himself. But when the angel of the Lord told him ,"Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God", I think he was shocked. I know that many churches give statements of annual giving and many people are surprised by what they have given. They realized that God provided for them, and their faith was increased. They had not gone without and they seem to have more than what they had started with. I am of the belief that the more you pray, the more you will give into the kingdom of God. It belongs to Him anyway. God is just looking for willing vessels that He can channel His finances through. Cornelius proved that He was faithful with it and I choose to be too.