Blessed by Blood - Martin Wiles

But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. Exodus 12:23 NLT

If I see blood, I just might not see anything else.

Needles I don’t like. And when those needles deliver blood—or more than likely take blood—I like them even less. A simple finger prick to check my blood sugar is enough to send me to the floor if I’m not already lying down. Which is why I normally tell nurses to let me lie down while they do what they have to do. Most say, “Oh, you’ll be alright.” And then they find out differently. “Oh, you don’t look so good,” they remark. And I want to say, “I told you so.”

After a stint in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer wherein I had to have blood given—and after having aged a bit and having doctors take blood to check various things—I’ve learned to stay upright when I see the blood, at least most of the time. Having to give my wife a shot for arthritis has helped to. Who would have thought I’d ever administer an injection?

Blood blesses, although the sight of it can sometimes make me see stars. Blood blessed the children of Israel who had languished in Egyptian slavery for 400 years. Deliverance neared, but in order to escape the final plague—the death angel passing through the land and killing all the firstborn children and animals—they had to smear blood on the doorframes of their homes. When the angel saw the blood, he would pass over.

The Passover—as God named the celebration—gave an early picture of what Jesus would do thousands of years later through His death on the cross. As the blood on the doorframes saved the Israelites in a particular home, so Christ’s blood saves us when we apply it to our lives through repentance and belief.

When Christ sprinkles our hearts with His blood, we enjoy guilt-free living. We know our sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven and no longer held against us. Instead of making me pass out, this blood revives my soul, and can yours.

Blood might not be the most pleasant subject, but it carries life within it—physical and spiritual. Have you been blessed by Christ’s blood?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the blood shed by Your Son for our salvation.

Tweetable: What does blood do for you? 

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The Greatest Giver - Martin Wiles

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

She gave until she could give no more.

Born in 1910 of Albanian ancestry, Mother Teresa was one of the most highly respected women in the world. In 1928, she journeyed to Ireland and joined the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Six weeks later, she made her way to India as a teacher to study nursing and eventually to move into the slums of Calcutta, India—home to some of the most destitute people in the world. 

Here she founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. The order organized schools and opened centers to treat the blind, aged, lepers, disabled, and dying. Under her guidance, a leper colony called Town of Peace was built.

Mother Teresa held international recognition for her charitable work among the victims of poverty and neglect. In 1968, Pope Paul VI called her to Rome to found a home there. In 1971, he awarded her the first Pope John XXIII peace prize. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, recognizing her work in Calcutta. 

As much as Mother Teresa gave—and as powerful as her example was—she doesn’t hold the greatest giver prize. God does. Jesus states how much God gave: His one and only Son. And for a purpose: that those who believed in Him would not suffer eternal death but have eternal life.

No amount of giving I do compares with the giving God does, but this failure-to-compare doesn’t relieve me of the responsibility to give as much as I can with God’s help.

Giving keeps my life perspective in order. I love to receive from others, but receiving isn’t what life is really about. God gave—and gives—and in doing so provided an example for me to follow. Life is about touching others in His name: checking on a friend who struggles with addictions or broken relationships, visiting a shut-in, carrying a meal to an elderly person, mentoring a child who has no father figure in their life, paying a bill for someone who can’t. The list is endless.

Like Mother Teresa, God gave when He didn’t have to, but love motivated His actions. As it should mine. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just pure unadulterated love.

Let God show you how to put your love into action.

Tweetable: Have you accepted God's greatest gift?

Prayer: Father, create in our hearts a love for others and, most of all, a love for You.

Tell us about a great gift someone gave you. 

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