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Scripture for the day: Matthew 6:3-4 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will himself reward your openly.
Thought for the day:  There was a man traveling with his family from Alaska to Colorado to attend a Bible college.  He had been called by God to enter the ministry and had sold his house, quit his job and loaded all he owned into a U-Haul truck.  He, his wife, and their two small children piled into the front seat of the truck and headed south, their automobile being pulled along on a trailer hitched securely to the back of the U-Haul.  God had called, they were answering, and life was good!
 Somewhere in Idaho the family stopped at a motel along the highway for the night.  They prayed and thanked the Lord that their journey was nearly done; just two more days and they’d be in Colorado.  Each one took their overnight bag into the motel room and settled down for some much needed rest.  In the morning the man went out to put their bags back in the truck only to discover that during the night someone had stolen the truck, along with the car on the trailer in the back.  The only thing they had left was the clothes on their backs and whatever was in the overnight bags.
 Well, they called the police of course, but there was little hope of recovering their lost possessions.  The man then called a nearby church of their denomination and spoke to the pastor.  He came and picked them up at the motel and took them back to the church.  He then made just two phone calls.  The first was to a parishioner who had spare rooms in his house so the family would have somewhere to stay.  The second was to another parishioner who had the gift of organization.  Within two days this hapless family had another U-Haul crammed full of all the furniture and household needs they could hope for – and TWO cars!  Soon they were on their way to Colorado once more.
 This is a true story; I know the man whose possessions were stolen.  There are hundreds like it.  I could tell you of the man who needed just two more courses to finish his studies at the same Bible College.  He had run out of money and had no prospects for raising any more before the bill came due.  Another student had been particularly blessed by the Lord went and paid his bill anonymously.  A man and his wife, along with their five children, took the last boxes of macaroni and cheese out of their cupboard to donate them through a “food pounding,” to an unnamed family in the church who was in great need.  Later that day some men from the church delivered their macaroni and cheese back to them, along with everything else that had been collected that morning.  And on and on the list of stories could go.
 But here’s the point – when the man told his story of being rescued and provided for in Idaho, whom do you think received the greater glory?  Oh, he talked of the tremendous generosity of the church folks and the helpfulness of the pastor, but he never failed to give God the glory; He, after all, knew where the resources were.
 And the student who had no money to pay his bill; to the best of my knowledge he never knew who paid for those last two classes.  But I know this; every time he’s told that story, our Father in heaven receives praise for having put the person with enough extra to help in the path of the one who needed it.
 Do you think those five children of the family so in need of food in their cupboards will ever forget the day God answered their prayer in such a marvelous and unexpected way?  
 When we pray, when we fast, or when we are led of God to provide some charity for another, it is enough to know that our Father in heaven knows what we’re doing.  If our motives are pure we will want no more than to see His name lifted up and glorified.  Most of the heroes of Hebrews chapter 11 went unnamed.  Many of the great men and women of the church down through the years are known only to God – and that’s probably the way it should be.
 To God – and God alone – be the glory!
Now go take on your world.  -  Bill