10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.
17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. Philippians 4
We’ve already looked at these verses from Philippians 4 earlier this week, when we read the unction of the Spirit to Rejoice. Paul acknowledged to his readers his willing repetition of this instruction to, ‘Rejoice in the Lord’.
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20
This was part of Paul’s farewell to the elders of the church of Ephesus. He also urged these elders to be faithful in giving and reminded them how he himself had worked to help support the poor. We have many opportunities to help with the work of the Church by giving of our time and talents. Some people are specially gifted with the ministry of helps in the body, for example Dorcas whom Peter raised from the dead. The church of that day didn’t just give up on Dorcas, they believed God could bring her back to life through the apostle. God is repeating this more often in present times and I believe we are on the verge of seeing many powerful miracles again, even greater than the early Church.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became ill and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, ‘Please come at once!’
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood round him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Acts 9
Dorcas was noted for her generosity in helping others in the Church, this was intentional and was her ministry within the body. Many widows mourned her passing because of her kindness to them. She was a dearly loved and respected member within that Church. The Lord’s words quoted by Paul to the Philippians applied to Dorcas, ‘It is MORE BLESSED TO GIVE than to receive’. This sort of attitude cuts right across the thinking of the world we live in, but we should look for opportunities to give.
Kathie Walters always asks the Lord if there’s someone she should speak to when she enters a restaurant and she’s had some remarkable experiences. She once paid for lunch for a table of young people who were obviously gay. When they learned she was a Christian they wept, because they’d never been shown love, only abuse by believers before. God wants to use all of us in sharing the GOOD NEWS AND LOVE OF CHRIST. Please take time to ask Him where we can help contribute to the Kingdom today.
Lord help us not to judge the shortcomings of others and to see the value of living souls.
May the Lord bless and keep you this day. Immanuel, God is with us.