The Blessings Machine

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.

Generosity

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents” (Mark 12:41-42). He went on to say the rich gave out of their wealth, but the widow gave out of her poverty–all she had to live on. How could she do that? Give all she had to live on? She could be generous because she knew her Lord would provide for her. She had a strong faith, and this is the faith of the early church. It is one of the the reasons pagans gave the followers of The Way the name Christians.

The Roman Empire required everyone to participate in the imperial cult and to burn incense. The Christians refused to do so and for that they had their property confiscated. They were persecuted, jailed and some were even killed. During their persecution, they did an amazing thing. “Agabus prophesied that there would be a famine throughout the Roman world. The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for their brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:28-30).

The kingdom of God is generous in poverty and in persecution. It is like mustard seed when it is scattered. It keeps growing in ways very different from the world we live in. When times get tough, it is tempting to hang on to what we got. But 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). God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22). We don’t need to budget our blessings, because God gives to us out of the riches of His kingdom.

Prayer: Holy and gracious God, thank you for caring for us, for blessing us in ways we don’t understand. Help us to live in light of your generosity and to follow your example by being generous. In Jesus’ name, Amen.