The Widow gave everything she had. She trusted that the Lord is her provider, and He is faithful to His promises. This is a type of the early church; Brothers and Sisters sold their possessions and gave the money to the Church, for the Kingdom. It is when we have abandoned ourselves to be helpless at the mercy of God that we experience the fullness of His provision. Sarah brought up that point last Sunday morning in our discussion. It's too bad so few of us ever get there.
We must walk faithfully, especially through the persecution that will occur before Christ's return. We will be judged according to our works, so let us remain sober minded and diligently working for the Lord. Along those lines, Pastor Mark spoke to us this morning at Men's First Thursday breakfast about entrusting our faith to other Brothers. This encouraged me to continue pouring out my life into others because that is practically how the Kingdom advances. It also parallels the Widow's offering. What a wonderful ministry the Lord has given us:
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. ... 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. ... 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving your Son Jesus Christ to pay our death-debt of disobedience. Lord, thank you for calling us into life with you and for giving us the promise of your presence and eternity with you. Lord, please give me faith to trust you with everything, and may I be a good steward with the relationships you have given me. Please help me to take care of my wife and son. Lord, may I entrust the faith you have given me to Beau. And Lord, please help me be faithful to invest in the Brothers and Sisters in our Bible study group. What a joy it is to serve you! I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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