Our family traveled a lot when I was a girl because my dad was in the Air Force. We usually attended the base chapel until he retired. Then my mom took my sister and me to the Methodist church. When I married, my husband was in the Air Force, and we attended several different churches. Today our membership is with a Baptist church in Arkansas. I have never felt the love of a church family so much as we do in this place. We love to eat dinner, study the Bible, and serve the Lord with our sisters and brothers at church. Recently I heard the church referred to as The Blessings Machine, and that is how I feel about the church we attend.
Blessed to Bless
I have visited the Notre Dam in Paris, France and other beautiful cathedrals in Europe and the United States, but the church is not a beautiful building. It is the people of God. Luke said of the first century church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:42-43). When we learn to hold on to our possessions lightly, we learn to share what we have with others. The early church was known for its generosity and how it valued life.
Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38). This is a godly principle, not understood by world standards, and it works. We could never outgive God.
Paul said, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7), and “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We were created to love God and love others, and we do that by sharing compassion and hospitality, by giving and helping our brothers and sisters.
Prayer
Father God, thank you for blessing us beyond our imagination or expectations. Help us to bless others in the ways we have been blessed so your kingdom will grow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Closer Walk with God 