“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” – Acts 2:46 (ESV)
Many times, I think the Bible is wrong. Or maybe better put, there are many times when, at first read, the Bible surprises me and I think “Well that can’t be right.” I remember when I preached my first sermon, this was the case. 2 Timothy 2:11-13* didn’t make sense to me, it surprised me, and made me think “Wait, what? Really?”.
[Note: if the Bible makes you say “Wait, what? Really?”, stop and camp on that passage for a long time; the Lord teaches us the most through such passages. He doesn’t teach us what we already know, he teaches us things that boggle the mind and build our faith.]
The latest occurrence of the Lord throwing a surprise party for my mind comes from a very famous passage in the book of Acts, Acts 2:42-47. Verse 46, quoted above, is the real brain teaser, specifically the phrase “glad and generous hearts”. What’s so confusing is…generous? That should read “thankful”, as in “glad and thankful hearts”. That makes sense, when I receive something (food, gift, advice, love, etc.) the natural response is thankfulness.
But it reads “generous”. This is important lesson for me to learn at this time. Right now, I am asking you and others to support me financially in missions; I am asking to receive something from you. A constant prayer of mine is “Lord, grow my thanks for their support” and while that will always be my prayer (and know that I am so thankful for your support), my perspective on receiving must change.
Receiving should develop gratitude, and gratitude should develop generosity. It’s the modern day theme of “Pass It Forward”. When the original church received food, it grew generosity in their hearts. They knew that as they were dependent on Jesus for provision, so was everyone else. The joy and love I feel when I receive should infect my being in such a way that I MUST help others feel the same joy and love from the Father. Receiving should never be taken for granted (lack of thankfulness), nor should it stop with me (lack of generosity).
Through your generous giving, you are helping my heart change. Our Savior is teaching me gratitude, but he is also teaching generosity. I see it through your examples of generosity, I see it in His word, and I feel in it my spirit. I value your financial and prayer support for so many reasons, and the Lord has just given me another; as I reflect on your generosity, I learn to give.
Thank you for your support. I cannot do this without you, and I would not want to. I want you to be deeply involved, and I invite you to come alongside me in my journey through the Fellowship and whatever adventure comes afterwards. You can give through the “Support Me!” button on the main page of this blog, or through a check mailed to Adventures in Missions, PO Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570, made payable to “Adventures in Missions”, with my name in the memo line.
Thank you for your prayers and support, and for teaching me so much about the heart of God. If you have any questions, or would like to talk about missions, the Fellowship, or just catch up, my e-mail is [email protected].
May His grace be with you!
*”The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (ESV) That last line, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself” is the one that blew me away, and still does.
