Blessed to Bless Others 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

God’s blessings to us are not meant to end with us. His desire is that they filter down to others. This principle applies in all areas of our lives, including finances. Did you know that our heavenly Father has plans for your money? God’s children generally want to discover what His will is for their lives, but so often they fail to consult Him about His desires for their paychecks.

The Lord graciously supplies us with incomes so we can provide for our needs and even our desires. But He also wants us to use our money to achieve His plans. And one of His goals is that we share
our resources with others. If we purpose in our hearts to participate in His plans, He commits to provide all we need to live and to give.

Just look at His extravagant promise in verse 8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (emphasis added). Now, that’s a verse to claim as your own! Sharing our blessings with others will never lead to deprivation. In fact, the Lord promises to increase the harvest of our righteousness and enrich us in everything in response to our generosity. We can never outgive God.

A hoarded blessing is never enjoyed as richly as a shared one. Using your gift to meet someone else’s need glorifies God by demonstrating His grace at work in your life. Don’t let His generous provisions end with you. Pass them on and discover the joy of a never-ending cycle of blessings.

He learned Obedience through what He Suffered

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Hebrews 5:8

We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering; therefore we who are sinful and who are far from being perfect must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns while the other parts of the body enjoy only comfort and ease? Must Christ pass through seas of His own blood to win the crown while we walk to heaven dry-shod in silver slippers? No; our Master’s experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he could.But there is one very comforting thought in the fact of Christ’s “being made perfect” through suffering–it is that He can have complete sympathy with us. He is not a high priest who is “unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.”¹ In this sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, “I can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and He suffers in me now; He sympathizes with me, and this makes me strong.” Believer, grasp this thought in every agonizing experience.

Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in His steps. Find a sweet support in His sympathy; and remember that to suffer is an honorable thing–to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does He honor us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings whom God has anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honored. Let us not turn aside from being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. “If we endure, we will also reign with him.”²

¹Hebrews 4:15 ²2 Timothy 2:12

God’s Financial Best Malachi 3:7-18

The multitude of Bible verses that speak about money prove that God is very interested in our personal finances. Because this is such an essential element of our lives, He uses money to train us in stewardship, teach us self-control, and test our obedience to Him.

Perhaps the greatest area of the Lord’s testing involves our willingness to give. Old Testament law commanded financial contributions for upkeep of the temple and support of the Levites serving there. And the New Testament tells believers to regularly set apart a portion of their income for kingdom work (1 Cor. 16:2).

However, fears and excuses sometimes keep us from faithfully carrying out this God-given responsibility. After all, giving away the money we need to pay our bills seems foolish. But the Lord promises overflowing blessings to those who obey Him in this matter. In fact, He invites us to test Him in this to see if He will prove faithful (Mal. 3:10).

By neglecting our responsibility to give to the Lord, we commit four sins. We express unbelief in His integrity and power, ingratitude for all He’s given us, and rebellion against His commands. And since the first part of our income belongs to Him, withholding it amounts to robbing God.

Don’t think that your financial situation will somehow prove too much for God and cause Him to break His promise. The trustworthiness of His Word depends on His character and omnipotence and is unaffected by your monetary challenges. Trust Him and give generously.

Here is Love!

. . . The love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

Ephesians 3:19

The love of Christ in its sweetness, its fullness, its greatness, its faithfulness passes all human comprehension. Where can we find the words to describe His matchless, His unparalleled love toward the children of men? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow simply skims the water without diving into its depths, so all descriptive words merely touch the surface, while immeasurable depths lie below. Well might the poet say,

O love, thou fathomless abyss!

For this love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless; no one can fully comprehend it. Before we can have any right idea of the love of Jesus, we must understand His previous glory in its height of majesty, and His incarnation upon the earth in all its depths of shame. But who can tell us the majesty of Christ? When He was enthroned in the highest heavens He was very God of very God.

By Him the heavens were made, and all its inhabitants. His own almighty arm upheld the spheres; the praises of cherubim and seraphim perpetually surrounded Him; the full chorus of the hallelujahs of the universe flowed without ceasing to the foot of his throne. He reigned supreme above all His creatures, God over all, blessed forever. Who can tell His height of glory then? And who, on the other hand, can tell how low He descended? To be a man was something; to be a man of sorrows was far more. To bleed and die and suffer–these were much for Him who was the Son of God; but to suffer such unparalleled agony–to endure a death of shame and desertion by His Father–this is a depth of condescending love that the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom. Herein is love! And truly it is love that “surpasses knowledge.” O let this love fill our hearts with adoring gratitude and lead us to practical demonstrations of its power