[She] was always doing good and helping the poor. Acts 9:36

This is the description of a woman whose name was Tabitha in Aramaic and Dorcas in Greek. She was a disciple, that is, a follower of Jesus in the early church. She lived at Joppa, a port city. Tabitha made it her special concern to sew coats and garments for the poor. It happened that she became ill and died. There was much sorrow in the church. When the Christians heard that Peter was at a nearby city, they sent for him. In a miraculous way Tabitha was brought back to life in answer to Peter's earnest prayers.

What we want to notice in the life of Tabitha was the way in which she translated her faith in Jesus into very practical and simple ways of meeting the needs of the people around her. Today we might ask, "How many coats and dresses did she sew? Could it not have been done more efficiently if a society had been formed to do more?" Maybe so. Sometimes we need that also. But the point is that Tabitha didn't wait for that to happen. She started where she was -- with what she had -- because her love and concern for the poor, which she had received from her Lord, was heartfelt and needed to be expressed.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, remind us again of the truth that when we show love to those in need it is shown to You; in Your name. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Daniel 8-10    Philemon

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