Scripture: Luke 6 v 35 - 38: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
In these four verses of Luke is the character difference between Christianity and every other religion. There are many other more prominent features that separate Christians from all other religious groups.
Things like a personal relationship with our Saviour, who died and rose again to release us from the bondage of sin and death. He is still alive and will return to take His own to Heaven. The love of God, the gift of the Holy Spirit and His marvellous gifts, the promise of rich rewards for obedience, are the beacons of light in this increasingly dark world.
When we love our enemies, forgive rather than condemn, lend with no hope of recouping, and do good things without being asked, our reward will be great here on Earth and in the hereafter.
1 Corinthians 2 v 9 - 10: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
To create a flow of abundance we need to give first, and possibly for a while, from our heart to those who minister to us. These are the tithes that enable ministries to continue to grow and evangelize and teach the nations about Jesus Christ and His salvation.
Besides tithes are gifts to people in need. Small or large these are free will offerings create for us a "heavenly bank account" to which the Lord adds a 100-fold return. Give and it shall be given unto you in much greater amounts than you can imagine. If you have no money to give, give time, give opportunities, give love and kindness.
One family who were poor washed the windows of their pastor's house for free and eventually started a window washing business. There is always something you can do out of the kindness of your heart, expecting nothing in return, that will create a flow of blessings from the Lord.
Ask Jesus to show you what your fellow-believers need that you can do to ease their burdens. They may not be sharing those needs with anyone but God. Let Him reveal those needs to you and make a plan to meet them. This is not humanitarianism, it is obedience to the will of God. It is showing love, His love, to your brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.
Whatever it is that you do without fanfare, God will notice and suddenly needs of your own are being miraculously fulfilled. Plus you are growing spiritually as the Lord trusts you with greater things and blesses you with Spiritual gifts. Suddenly you notice that your prayers are being answered in amazing ways.
People are being healed. People are being set free of afflictions. One child we have being praying for is slowly being released from autism to the delight of his parents who have no idea of the prayers being made on behalf of their child.
Another little girl who has been severely abused is suddenly praying with great authority and seeing miracles happening around her. The Lord is renewing her mind by covering those hurts with His powerful love. We give Him all the glory for doing what no human can do.
Christians we can make a difference without being seen and receiving medals for it. Being humble, merciful, kind and loving is the nature of Jesus being reconstructed in us. When He sees us truly walking in His footsteps, He opens the windows of Heaven to pour out His blessings.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have made provision for every need of mankind. We need to follow Your ways to open those doors to receive Your abundant blessings. Thank You for teaching us to love, give and pray, which opens Your response to our own needs. Help us to continue to bless others in Jesus' name. Amen.
