photo #7410048

Acts Of MercyMatthew 6:1-4“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”It has been wonderful to see the church reach out to those that are currently in such great need. God’s people have been sending relief to people in need since the inception of the church. In Acts 11 we see the church sending “relief” to those in need during“a great dearth throughout all the world”.A pastor friend of mine from the western part of NC recently said, “It is the church that is leading the way in helping people. The church was the first ones to start bringing us help.” In our text the word “alms” means acts of mercy. And here we find a gentle, but cautious, warning from our Lord when we do our acts of mercy. The warning from Jesus is do not do your acts of mercy before men that you may be seen of men. No man can be another man’s judge in these matters, so one must allow their own heart before God to guide them.Let’s give!People are in great need.Let’s show the love of Christ through our acts of mercy. But may each us be careful that we do not sound our own trumpet when we give. If we are recognized before others for our giving may it come from the Lord. 😊