Thursday 9 May 2013

Thursday Reading: Acts 20:31-36

Key Verse: Acts 20:35
35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Devotion:
When we come into the church of Christ we take on a new life with Him. That life should no longer be a life dedicated to the things of the world but rather one dedicated to the things of Christ. Paul would go to many places taking the gospel of Christ with Him and teaching others that truth; by doing this he was turning his back on the ways of the world, the ways of the religious leaders and the ways of others so that he could focus on God and what Christ had done for all of us. The Holy Spirit taught him, empowered him and gave him both courage and strength to go forward with the gospel and to server others.

One thing I struggle with is watching people say that they are working for God when they are clearly focused on doing things for themselves. Yes we do have a lot of work that we have to do in our churches and we have to do work outside of church as well, but that does not mean that we have to leave Christ out of it! Just because we say the words does not mean that we are doing it with the right attitude either.

When Christ said the words “It is more blessed to give than to receive” it was not to say that we should give away our entire possessions but rather that we realise that supporting others is a big part of our mission. If we are clearly focused on ourselves and bettering ourselves, then others will see us as selfish. If we give everything away and then complain that we have nothing then we are being selfish. God is not necessarily calling us to give everything away but rather to make the best possible use of what He allows us to have so that others will see that we continue to glorify Him!

Paul was on the road with the Holy Spirit. He had turned his back on the ways that he used to embrace because God showed him that they were wrong. Paul was big enough to admit that he had done wrong and now was working to glorify God in everything and uphold Christ as the Son of God before everyone. We need to look at our attitudes and look at our reasons for doing what we do; then we need to compare them with what Christ is actually asking of us and not what we want Him to ask of us. It is not our job to predict what God wants but to listen, to actually listen to what God wants in our lives.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like supporting others?

Are you listening to God’s requests?