I everything showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”     Acts 20:35

In this scripture passage Paul is speaking about what Jesus had said. The interesting thing is that in most cases, if not all, in the Bible when someone says, “It is said, or it is written,” You can find it in the Bible. But, this quote from Jesus is not recorded in the gospels. Paul is talking to them about working to support themselves, but also about providing for those who are less fortunate.

Back in the beginning of Acts, the Pentecost took place and many people accepted Christ as their Savior. In Acts 2:32-47, it speaks of how people were getting baptized and devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. It speaks of how all believers were of one accord or all believing together and how they began selling their property and possessions to share with those in need. They were praising God and more and more people were getting saved.

In Malachi 3:10 God is telling them to bring a full tenth into the storehouse to that there may be food in His house. He promises to open the floodgates and pour out a blessing beyond measure. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 it is said that whoever sows sparingly shall reap sparing and whoever sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. We are told that God loves a cheerful giver. Luke 6:38 says, “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put in your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

We are entering a time of year when many people suffer depression. In our area, many people have been displaced by the recent hurricane. Just yesterday, I ran into friends who said their home has been flooded for the third time since 2016. There are people who lost everything when trees fell on their homes and vehicles.

If you have, I encourage you to give to others. Maybe you don’t have money, but do you have time? Sometimes just taking time to visit and fellowship with someone can make a world of difference to them. There are many places where you can volunteer to help others.

If you are able to give, there are those in need of food, clothing, shelter and the list goes on. There are people who have lost everything. Last year our food pantry was able to donate holiday meals and toys at Christmastime. There was one box left over. The director and I prayed about who might need this box. I contacted a local widow who was so grateful. She said that she had just informed her daughters that they would be having beans for Thanksgiving, because they had no money to purchase a turkey and all the trimmings. These are people who you would have had no idea they were struggling. This person had volunteered at our church. Often times, we have no idea what is going on in the private lives of those around us. We don’t know what issues they may be facing. We don’t know the struggles of their day to day lives.

Are you willing to give? Are you willing to give some of your time to help others? Are you willing to give some of your money to help those who are unable to help themselves? It is easy to get caught up in believing that people don’t have because they don’t work, but this is not always the case. Things happen where even hardworking people fall on hard times. Are you wiling to help?

God promises us in His word that we will be blessed if we will be a blessing to others. Aren’t you glad that He was willing to give His Son to die on the cross for a bunch of miserable sinners like you and me? He doesn’t ask us to give our entire lives to help others. He simply asks us to give.

It is more blessed to give than to receive, let that sink in for a minute. Pray for God to present you with opportunities to give as you are able. Acts chapter 2 presents a beautiful picture of people coming together in Christ and having fellowship and worshiping together. They also helped each other out. What a wonderful world this would be if we could all do the same. Will you let it start with you?

Have a great day!