Undeserving

Acts 20:35 (NASB)
³⁵  "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 


Over the years my family has received. We have received a lot. There is no way I could recount all the blessings. Here are just a few. We have received:  (3) vehicles, suits of clothes, a television, a washing machine, a high end bicycle, books, down payments for houses, and tens of thousands of dollars. I am not exaggerating. Three times we have received gifts of $10,000. We have been given beef. God used one group of ladies through their business to pay our house payment for over a year when the church we planted disbanded many years ago. We have been blessed with more meals than I count including our breakfast this morning. It is very humbling and we are so grateful. God has used people to help us every step of the way of our ministry.

Even to this day it is tough to always make ends meet. Every week there is enough provision. For years we have trusted the Lord to provide to share Christmas with our family. One year someone left a sizable check in our mail box without even an envelope. We pray and trust God. Just this week we received a blessing from someone anonymously. God uses a wonderful couple from west Texas to send us monthly support. God uses them to help us out of the tight spots. We do not understand why they love of so much and are so willing to sacrifice so often to help. The beautiful people of Seminole, TX have sent my family over $80,000 over the past four and a half years to help us in ministry and life. These gifts came from individuals. Time and again we have been moved to tears when these love gifts came at just the right moment. God has provided in different ways  over the years using different people. We thank God for each and everyone He has used to partner with us.

We are so underserving. We have done so little to ever give back to other people. We have loved those we served. I preached and prayed my heart out in each setting. Brenda planned and organized events like VBS. I write these posts hoping they might minister to someone. I wrote a few books hoping to minister to those I could touch in person. It is not much.

And yet each year time and again we are blessed by people who love us. The gifts come in at different times at the most needful times. Three different times we've received gifts to equal the amount we needed for some major car repairs. More than once people sent provision to us helping to buy school supplies and school clothes for the boys. And it seems overhear for more than a decade some people feel prompted to send us money to help with Christmas.

There is no way I can adequately express my true gratitude with words. I know we are not deserving. There are many more needy people and deserving people than the Edwards. We have food to eat, clothes to wear, a home to live in, and vehicles to drive.

For years we have asked God to be on the other side where we do the giving, we do the blessing and we meet the needs of others. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. We thank the Lord for those times when have given to others in need. It is our true heart's desire to bless people abundantly. It seems we are always trusting God for our next need. I CAN HONESTLY SAY WITH US THE GOSPEL IS NOT FOR SALE. MONEY HAS NEVER BEEN THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN ANY CHURCH WE HAVE EVER SERVED. WE NEVER EVEN ASK WHAT THE SALARY IS. WE GO WHERE GOD LEADS AND TRUST HIM TO MEET OUR NEEDS. HE HAS. HE DOES. HE ALWAYS WILL.

All I can do is say, "Thank you." Thanks to God and to each and every person He has used to provide for my family over the years. Those love gifts have literally bought bags of groceries, shoes and tanks of gas when we had nothing over the years. Please do not get me wrong. We have more than we deserve. I will sleep in a warm bed tonight. Each morning I'm able to take a warm shower. Our pantry is full. I have firewood to keep warm on winter nights. We have closets full of clothes. The boys will enjoy another blessed Christmas this year because God used people to help us. Loving, generous and unselfish people.

Why has God chosen to bless us through people who sacrifice so much. WE ARE NOT DESERVING. Not in the least. We have done so little for the Kingdom. We have not served large churches nor seen incredible results. Though it has been my prayer to stay in one church for a long time we have moved around many times. We have loved the different flocks we served. We sought to pour our lives and God's word into those people. We left those congregations with many tears to follow what we believed were the calls of God on our lives. I write to help people and have given away more books over the years than I have sold. YET, WE HAVE GIVEN SO LITTLE BUT RECEIVED SO MUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS. WE ARE NOT DESERVING.

I still hope and pray our ministry will touch people. That is why we minister. That is why I preach. That is why I write. TO ALL GOD HAS USED OVER THE YEARS TO HELP US IN OUR TIME OF NEEDS I SAY THANK YOU. WE HAVE NOT TAKEN YOUR SACRIFICES FOR GRANTED. I ALSO SAY GLORY TO GOD. HE IS A FAITHFUL PROVIDER EVEN WHEN WE ARE UNDESERVING.