The Gifts Given

And He (Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 

Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 

The lesson here is that although wealthy people may give a lot of money to the church, the greater gifts come from those who give smaller amounts from their limited resources.  Some people have no money to give, but they give their time to work for the church to make worship and events possible for all to enjoy.   

We can honor and thank all all those who give - and be mindful that the gifts given by those who are not financially well off are valuable to the ministry of the church.  

Speak Up

 

How blessed are those who keep justice,

Who practice righteousness at all times!

Psalm 106:3

It is almost always easier to keep our mouths shut when we see injustice.

Speaking up sometimes involves embarrassment and might cost us some friends. The problem is that if we say nothing then nothing will change. It takes courage to speak up when we see someone mistreating another person.

As terrible as it sounds, sometimes people are so insensitive to that they do not even realize that they are treating people unfairly. When we point out injustice, it gives those people an opportunity to change their behavior.

If we do not speak up, who will?

Not Judging Us, Forgiving Us

 

And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus, he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 

And, Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

When we talk about someone who everyone hated and we are talking about Zaccheus.  He was a tax collector.  It was his job to extract tax payments from people and, because he could, he would take more money than was due and keep it for himself.  So, he was a tax collector and a thief.  

Yet, here comes Jesus not judging Zaccheus for his sins, but forgiving him because he came to Him with a repentant heart.   

Today, it is the same way.  It is never too late. No one is ever too far from God. Jesus seeks us all. We just need to say “Here I am.” And, He will find us.

Trust God

 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust!”

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 91:1-4

These are some of the most comforting words found in the Bible.  It is God's pledge to us, that no matter what He will care for us.  We are not left adrift with no hope, we always have this hope:  God is on our side.   

And, that is why we can trust God.

Like A Shepherd

 

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:34

People who are seeking Jesus and those who are new Christians sometimes have an unbelievable number of questions. Some of which seem so simple that we may view them as questions for which anyone would know the answer.  We need to treat these people like new born babies in the faith and patiently answer their questions with the truth of the Gospel.

Compassion costs nothing and does much to further the Gospel.

Change Your Life

 

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf….

Therefore, if anyone one is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 17

The very idea that one action can change your life for the good seems almost ridiculous.  Yet, here it is.  God's pledge to us that if we accept His Son, Jesus, as our Savior and acknowledge that He died once for all of us, that all our sins are forgiven and we are made new.  

We can start over, free of the weight of our past mistakes and bad conduct and work through Christ to live better lives.   

And, behold new things will come. 

We Might Have Hope

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:4

We tend to think of much of the Old Testament as being a history of past events. Which it is, but the Old Testament also brings us encouragement as we read over and over again how God met the needs of the Israelites.  

God who helped David defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and who answered with the fire from heaven when Elijah called on Him (1 Kings 18), is the God we serve today.  

This hope we have: When we call on God, He will answer.