Giving

Good Morning,

Acts 3:6 (NKJV)
Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

So...what do YOU have to give to someone who has a need? I thought that same thing myself this morning, by the way. Now, since retiring and having my income lowered so much I find myself much like Peter and John when they spoke to the crippled beggar at Beautiful Gate. That is, like them, I don't have "silver and gold" or a lot of money to give. Well, I feel the Lord asking me if I don't have money to give, don't I have something else, perhaps?

Now, some of us DO have silver and gold...money...that we can donate to various charities or give to those in need. And there are those of us who do give great sums financially to the needy to those who find themselves in harsh financial situations. That is exactly how it should be, of course. If we have abundant finances, then we ought to share abundantly with those who don't.

But what about those of us who find themselves in Peter's and John's situation? They had no money, but they had the power of the Lord with them and were able to call on the name of Jesus to heal the lame man at the Beautiful Gate. Now, we may not have that gift...the gift of healing of the body...to give to people, but I know that we all have something that we can give and I also know that there are those in need who will accept whatever it is that we have.

Some of us have time to give and we ought to do exactly that...give our time to someone who needs that, our time. Maybe just to spend some of that time with a person who can't get out easily and has few people to come and visit and chat with. Maybe give some time to a person who is having a difficult time reading because of bad eye health, so we could simply read to him or her...whether it be the Bible, a magazine, or even a mystery novel. That gift of time doing that could be something that goes beyond financial giving. We might consider giving some time to a homeless shelter helping out in whatever way they need. How about, maybe, a food bank where our time can be given to help feed those in need. Well, you get the point, I'm sure.

One thing that every one of us has to give and that which we ought to be giving is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the sharing of God's plan of salvation. THAT is something that goes beyond all else, simply telling people about the Lord. Think about it. How often do you share your knowledge of Jesus with a stranger who may not have ever had the Lord spoken of to them by a loving Christian? For that matter...how often do I?

One more thing that we all have that we should be giving regularly is our prayer. We know people who need us to pray for them. We know those who are hurting in some way, do we lift them up by name? We know some who are having financial or marital problems, are we speaking to God about them and offering our prayers for them? We know people who are lonely or who may have lost a loved one or, oh, there are so many we know who would covet our prayers but perhaps don't feel they can or should ask. But we know, don't we?

I guess what God is asking of us today...every day...is to give what we have to give to those who are in need of that which we have. God is asking us to open our hearts and to look inside ourselves to see what more we can do than we may have already done.

I know He's asking that of me. Do you feel His tug on your heart?

Love, peace, and blessings,

David