Daily Direction Reading PlanSample

Here are a few tips for saying thanks for a gift or a favor: Do it quickly—look the giver in the eye, do not exaggerate, be specific, and put it in writing. When the Apostle Paul wanted to say thanks for the money he received from the Christians in Philippi, he wrote them a letter. In it, he thanked God for them. Then he explained the long-term benefit of their generosity. Their gift would keep working until Christ returns. How could their gift keep working until Christ came back? Here is one way: Their gift to Paul enabled him to transmit the Gospel to that generation. That generation would transmit the Gospel to the next generation. That process would keep going until Jesus Christ returns. Now that is an investment impossible to calculate. Like their gift, we can regard our support of the Lord's work as paying dividends until Christ returns. Paul also tells them that their partnership validates the Gospel. It is having the effect in them he said it would have. The Gospel had changed them from the inside out and caused them to focus on what is important, that is, living a "pure and blameless life" centered in Christ. They were doing this in anticipation of His return. He is glad that they are not just sitting in the pew holding their hands and watching the skies. They were seeking to be a witness and making difference in their world. We should do the same.