By Tom Shanklin

The happiest, most victorious and most on-fire Christians that I know are the ones that are doing something to help other people.

Jesus said, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”

The ability to receive is the key to the victorious Christian life. Eternal life is a gift to be received, not earned. Likewise, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, divine healing, and all the blessings of God are all gifts. We don’t earn them, we receive them by faith in a loving God. As the Scripture says, “…they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17, KJV.

But in order to complete the cycle, we must not only receive, but also give. The Dead Sea in Israel is a picture of this. It has only an inlet, but no outlet. The water flows into the basin and then evaporates. As a result, the pool of water is full of salt and nothing can live in it. Likewise, if our life is only about receiving, we will eventually lose the ability to support life.

If you want to keep your faith, give it away. Do something to help someone else know God, or receive from Him. Take the focus off of yourself and do what you can to help someone else and you will receive more and more of the joy and abundance of God.

Some of you may remember the testimony of Carol Kaufman of Le Sueur, Minnesota who volunteers as a proof reader for this ministry. In 2005, Carol was diagnosed with inoperable small cell lung cancer. The American Cancer Society says that only 15 percent of patients who have this condition survive for more than five years.

Carol stood on the Word of God concerning her healing. Besides her medical treatment, she listened to our Healing CD and received prayer from her pastor, Susan and me, and many others. Today she is alive and thrilled to be serving God. She says, “I am not a survivor. I am living for Christ. I am an overcomer.”

Carol has received a miracle from God. Her doctor said back in 2010, “You are a miracle. It isn’t just that you are free of cancer, but you look so good and feel so well. I can’t explain it!” Today Carol is not just surviving, but thriving. She received a new lease on life and she is using it to help others.

As long as I have known Carol, she has had a ministry to those who are down and out. Even while she was sick, she wrote letters to people in prison and encouraged hurting people on the phone or in person. Recently she was invited to participate in a Bible study in her town. Ladies from denominational churches who knew very little about the Bible began to learn about the New Birth and other subjects. Soon the group began to grow and the leader decided to start another group. Carol became the leader of the second Bible study. Now the women are excited about learning things that have been hidden to them and Carol is so on-fire about sharing the things that she has learned in church over the years.

We have some friends and ministry partners in Florida, Jack and Judy Hartman whose motto is “Blessed to be a Blessing.” Jack, a retired businessman, is 81 years old, but he’s not spending his days in the rocking chair. He’s busy writing Christian books along with Judy. They send boxes of these books free of charge to third world pastors all around world. Every month they receive a flood of grateful testimonies from people in impoverished nations who have been blessed by the simple and practical teaching. You can learn more about their ministry at www.lamplight.net.

I recently interviewed Pastor Virgil Amundson, pastor of a very successful church in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. He told me, “The greatest key to success in ministry is investing in people. The greatest resource we have is people. Invest in them. Bring them to their greatest productivity. We need to get out of ourselves and invest in others. We can find a way to assist people, to bless people, to encourage people. This is the kind of thing that changes the world.” See the article on Shell Lake Full Gospel Church.

So if you want to be happy, blessed, and fully alive in Christ and if you want to change the world for the better, get out of yourself. Do something to help someone else. You will find Christ being released in your life, and you will make room for more of His blessings to come your way.