Daily Bread - Feb 05 07

Acts 20:33-35 - I have desired no one's silver, gold, or clothing. But you yourselves know that these hands of mine and those with me served the hands of them. I have showed everyone of you how that laboring you should give aid to the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

There is a supernatural blessing in giving that Paul both modeled and revealed by the Holy Spirit for the New Testament Church. The example that Paul gave to the church was one of taking personal responsibility for the propagation of the gospel at his own expense (2 Thessalonians 3:8-13). A special blessing of prosperity is promised to those who give their finances for the advancement of the Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

In 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul promised that God would cause all grace to abound to those Macedonians who had impoverished themselves by giving to the Church. When Paul wrote to the Macedonian church at Philippi who had given with such abandonment, he gave them the promise that "God would supply all of their needs according to His riches in glory" (Philippians 4:19). Surely, if it is God's will that we should support the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by supporting those whom He has anointed, then He is going to make sure that we are adequately blessed to do those things that we have set our hearts to do.

John also praised those who gave themselves to labor for the support of the ministry (3 John 1:4-7). The prosperity that John desired above all other things for those he addressed in his third Epistle was for those who gave themselves to work for the ministry.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org