Daily Bread 10-20-16
2 Corinthians 8:10-12
10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that man hath, and that according to that he hath not.
ref. - Pr 19:17 -He that hath pity on the poor lend unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Mt 10:42 -And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Lk 21:3 -And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all.
We should be forward that which we were a year ago. Can we look back and say that we have grown spiritually enough to be more forward a year ago? If so, then we should be doing things for God without grudging, we should be helping out his Disciples without murmur, we should even be paying tithes and giving offering to the Church not out of necessity but because we know that God will repay. You see, we are taught to get closer to God spiritually and grow in the Lord. What does this have to do with performance or giving you say? Everything. If we do not have a Spirit within us that is of God our giving and our performance will be accompanied with a desire to be reimbursed. We will give as long as we see a benefit toward us on this earth. We will perform expecting to be acknowledged and rewarded by man. We will be missing the mark because we, instead of expecting, should know in our hearts that whatever we do to help this gospel and those in it will be rewarded many times over. If we let God alter our minds and do what it takes to have his Spirit dwell within us, there will no doubt be a performance. There will be results that are fruitful in a spiritual sense. We will work, we will pray, we will give, all because that is our greatest blessing to see something that God allowed us to do help another human life grow closer to Him. Our blessing does not come in earthly rewards, it comes in peace of mind, a healthy heart and soul makes for a happy man! And the more we receive this feeling the more we are going to seek further into the kingdom of God and be able to assist others in spreading this gospel to the world. So first let us go to our knees and pray that his kingdom come to us on this earth in a similar way that it is in heaven and surround us........no.......enter us and dwell in us to help others to know His love and His forgiveness. His blessing and his Honor. His greatness and his hold on eternal life!! Some Apostles, some Evangelists, some teachers, some helpers(this is where the majority of us fit in) and all content and willing to do whatever is given us to do in Jesus' name!!! Have a great day!!!!