Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Be a Blessing - Acts 18-20

As I was reading through Acts 18-20, I was struck by how wherever Paul went, he was a blessing. Whether he was staying with someone, preaching to the Jews or the Gentiles, or passing through a town, he made it his mission to be a blessing in the name of Jesus. How exhausted Paul must have been fearlessly preaching repentance time and time again. Yet, even at the end of Acts 20 - Paul states -"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task of the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying the Gospel of God's grace. v.34 - You yourselves know that these of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions...It is more blessed to give than receive."
How convicting to me that not only was Paul a significant blessing whereever he went, but he was also not in anyway a burden to them, and considered it blessing to continally give himself to the work of the Gospel. Two questions arose for me - 1. Do I "travel" throughout the day with the intent of blessing everyone in my path and 2. Am I in anyway a burden to those I am encountering and am I hindering the advancement of the Gospel in their life in anyway?

Lord, I pray that you would help us to realize how richly you have blessed us in so many ways, and that it is through you that we need pour out that blessing on to others. Show us ways that our life may be a hinderance or burden to those around us, that we may continually be considering others better than ourselves.

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