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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, May 12, 2017
Today's Passage : Subject:Supporting Christ's Workers Bible Verse:Romans 12:13 (ESV) "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." Message:
Paul's entreaty to "contribute to the saints" is not referring to long-dead icons of faith. I will drop a coin in the metal box in front of a shrine to St. Anthony or St. Barnabas or whoever, when I visit a cathedral, but that isn't what he's talking about. By saints, he means either missionaries or the poor members of the church.
The saints of Paul's time were almost all alive; the idea of a church officially beatifying someone long dead had not even occurred to anyone. He sometimes uses the word "saints" to refer to the body of all devout Christians, and sometimes to refer to people engaged full-time in the spread of the gospel. At various points in his epistles, Paul reminds us of the need to support both the spread of Christianity and the obligation to support members of locals churches in need.
But the second part of the verse, "seek to show hospitality", would seem to indicate that he is specifically referring to those who, like himself, traveled about the world at great danger and with little money, to spread the good news of Christ. Paul had to work from time to time during his journeys — he was a tentmaker by profession — and although he never complained of it, certainly he would have rather spent the time building Christ's church.
This verse, thus, is not so much of a general plea for money as a plea to support the spread of Christianity.
Of course, the verse can also be read as a general plea to take care of unfortunate church members in Rome; Romans itself is addressed "To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints."
In either case, once we have given our bodies as a sacrifice to God, the purchase of shiny baubles to entertain us becomes increasingly unattractive. The fashion industry begins to look utterly absurd. Great corporations seek to inflame our lust for new "stuff" and even to create new desire for worldly items; they create things for no other reason than to make people want them.
So we read this verse, and it gives us an opportunity to reflect on what we need and how we express our real priorities in life by the way we use our money.
Meditation : Prayer : Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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