 A
certain Samaritan came by where a man had been beaten up. He felt sorry
enough for him to do something. He did not try to figure out his
nationality. He only saw a need. He did not worry about the danger of the
violence lurking in the shadows. He shared his own clothes to cover the
man. Supplies for his own journey were shared with the injured man. He
gave him some of his grape juice and other things he had. Then he gently
lifted the wounded man onto his own donkey and walked slowly taking him to
where he could recover. Then he stayed up all night caring for the wounded
man. In the morning, because the stranger was better, he left him there
and also paid a deposit to the inn keeper for future expenses. He still
wanted to do more for the stranger so he promised the inn keeper to cover
any expenses beyond the deposit. |
 Jesus
explained what He was like in this story. He expressed how He was doing
everything possible to help all people on earth who have been wounded and
bruised by Satan and his friends. Many are hungry for encouragement we can
give. Many need to feel God's gentle hands. A simple hug, and sometimes a
hot meal, a warm shower, and a place to sleep for a night or two can be
the difference in their hope for survival. This story is a promise that if
you spend more than you have, God will put another deposit in your
pocket. |
| My Kansas City neighbor was in danger of violence at the hands of her drunk husband. She was afraid and had no money for fuel. She told me of her danger by telephone. I was a very poor medical student in '86' wondering how I would have money for groceries. We were at the end of our our loan money at the end of the year. Times were very hard. My neighbor could be killed, the violence was so awful. I had only about 10 dollars and promised I would give it to her. I urged her to take her baby and get to safety at her mothers home or wherever. She slipped out of her house with my ten dollars and was gone. |
| The next day I received a letter from my mother with
thirteen dollars in it. God had to impress her to send this and time
it so I could see HE had done this for me.
The Bible says, "Give, and it shall be given to you." "Give, and it shall be given unto you," God has promised; "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." Luke 6:38. {AA 345.1} |
 The man who plants seeds, needs to put many seeds out in
the ground if he wants many things to grow. Jesus said the same is true
for us. If we want many people to hear the Bible stories, we need to put
out many stories out everywhere we can. As we share the stories of God's
love to us and as is written in the Bible, we end up surprised. For we get
the deposit from the Samaritan. We get joy out of being a part of helping
others. Being without money, sleep, or food does not bother us for there
is so much joy in helping broken people have hope.
|
  Liberality both in spiritual and in temporal things is taught in the lesson of seed sowing. The Lord says, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters."
Isa. 32:20. "This I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2
Cor. 9:6. To sow beside all waters means a continual imparting of God's gifts. It means giving wherever the cause of God or the needs of humanity
demand our aid. This will not tend to poverty. "He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." The sower multiplies his seed by casting it away. So it is with those who are faithful in distributing God's gifts. By imparting they increase their blessings.
God has promised them a sufficiency that they may continue to give.
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