SACRIFICIAL BLESSING
Helpful Verses:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 4:10-11
“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25
Relevant Quotes:
“We know from the early church fathers that people were often confused about what these strange followers of Jesus were called. Because the Greek word for Christ (Xristos), is so similar to the word (Xrestos) which means kind, apparently many people, mistakenly, but perhaps fittingly, called Jesus early followers not “Christian” but “the kind ones.’” Jon Tyson
“God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. . . . He has not created me for nothing. I have a part in His great work. I am a link in the chain. I shall love as Christ loved and I shall do His work. ” John Henry Newman
"The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will ever hear." St. Francis of Assissi
“Every Christian receives spiritual gifts: an ability that comes to you freely for the purpose of ministering to needs so as to build up Christian community in size and depth. Every believer has a unique ‘gift matrix.’ We have different gifts for different ministry venues and objects. We have different levels of ability. On top of this, there are different seasons in our lives, when the contexts we live in call the gifts out in us in different ways…Put these variables together and each person’s ministry may be as unique as a thumbprint. By implication, there are some deeds in life that only you can do! There are some people to reach whom only you can reach! Spiritual gifts fit you for your purpose in life. ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,’ (Ephesians 2:10).” Tim Keller
