Lend Your Hand

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

[Romans 12:15, NIV]

We have two hands that help us run operations in our lives, yet there are times we wished we had more hands to enable us work faster and better. Such is life around us; events in our lives or in the lives of those around us sometimes require more than two hands to handle.

When people rejoice over victory in their lives, we may think they don’t need any helping hand. The bible teaches us to be there for these people at such times as they rejoice, sharing the weight of their joy and the demands of their celebrations. Sharing your joy with someone can be very fulfilling, knowing that the person was there to hear all the excited ranting and join in the singing and dancing. Lend your hand to someone who is rejoicing not by leaving a quick comment of congratulation but by establishing your impact in the person’s joy in a way that leaves an indelible memory. Easy as this sounds it takes maturity in a person to share another’s joy, as emotions of jealousy, personal loss and defeat could cloud one’s judgment. It is encouraging to know that lending a hand in such a season is the will of God for His Children and characterizes Christian maturity.

Season’s of loss or grief can be very unbearable for a person. Most people want to recoil and stay away from the rest of the world, hoping they would wake up one morning and find it was all a dream. These are times when two hands are most insufficient. These are times when an extra hand is most needed. Children of God are encouraged to give pillars of support to one another during these times, which could happen to anybody. Signing a condolence register or sending a word across may not suffice. It is the support that makes an impact that counts. We can ‘give a hand’ to grieving friends and family by understanding their sorrow and not expecting them to ‘get over it’ overnight. We can be quiet, listen and pray for God’s help. Most often than not, we would find opportunities to help lighten the burden without carrying the load to our shoulders. Only God can lift the burden’s of life at the foot of the Cross of Calvary. I pray the Spirit of God to open our eyes to see around us opportunities to rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep.

Prayer: God of love and compassion, please fill my heart with your qualities. Condition my heart to love and have compassion for others in their times of joy or weeping. Fill me with wisdom to see how I can make a real impact in the circumstances of others, even though I get no credit for it let your good name be glorified. Teach me your ways, blessed Holy Spirit I pray.

One-Year Daily Bible Reading Plan - Sep 11 2010 - Ezekiel 43-46 (OT), 2 Timothy 3 (NT).

Those I Will Honor

Those who honor Me, I will honor...

[1 Samuel 2:30, KJV]

There are certain honors and recognition we will desire but will take so much from us to achieve. When it comes to our Christian walk, we can gain the honor of God. This is a priceless and invaluable honor which we should desire, and may not take so much effort from us for we have the Holy Spirit to help us.

What does it mean to honor God? We honor God when we make it our main goal in life to please God, to do His will, to love Him and to serve Him.

We honor God by accepting His gift of Love (His son) and trusting Him with our whole hearts. Jesus tells us that it is God’s will that “all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father” [John 5:23;24]. In return, God honors us by giving us eternal life.

We honor God with our substance [Proverbs 3:9-10]. God honors our substance by rewarding us richly.

We honor God by setting our love upon Him [Psalm 91:14, 15]. In return for our love, God promises to honor us by delivering us and lifting us up, answering our prayers and being with us in trouble.

We honor God by surrendering to Him and serving Him [John 12:20-26]. As we do so, He will make our lives spiritually fruitful. We honour God with our bodies and with our lips.

You may feel overwhelmed when you try to honor God yet you fall short in some areas. You may feel you are not worthy of His love when you find yourself doing things that do not please God. Beloved, know that nothing can separate you from the love of God, and what God has done for you is not by your effort but by His grace. If you feel you have fallen short in honoring God, ask the Holy Spirit to help you and teach you how to honor God.

Prayer: My Loving Father, thank You for Your honor that is available to me. As I grow in the knowledge of You, I realize it is Your plans and desire for me are only good. Father, help me identify areas of my life where I fall short in honoring You. I pray the Holy Spirit will teach me many more ways in which I could honor You. May my heart be aligned with Yours. May my understanding of Your love for me and my acceptance of Your love drive me to honor You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Anticipating Joy

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV]

A large part of life is centered around anticipation. As such, the enjoyment in many of life's events are built on the fact that we have time to anticipate them. We look forward to vacations, sporting events, major events eagerly, running through our minds the fun, challenges and excitement they'll bring. These events even grow in value because of the amount of anticipation with which we look forward to them. While waiting for the event we willingly and gladly endure discomfort, stress, inconvenience, pain because we know the joy of the event will reward us with much more pleasure.

This is the role of hope in our Christian lives today, whereby we anticipate a greater reward with God. We anticipate a greater joy in Heaven. The height of our anticipation makes us not to worry about our light afflictions here on earth. We look forward to an eternal peace and salvation from all the troubles we may pass through during the night time. The Psalmist says, 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.' (Ps 30:5). He is declaring the comforting idea that our sorrows here on earth last for a short time and are nothing compared to the anticipated joy in heaven which lasts forever.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17, we are reminded that our light afflictions which is for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Those of us who weep now can dwell on hope instead of hopelessness and anticipation instead of sorrow. It may be nighttime in our hearts, but just ahead lies the dawn of endless joy in the morning.

Prayer: Dear God, please keep in my remembrance such anticipated joy and hope that will give me the strength to endure every nighttime in my life. Open my understanding to see what great things lie ahead of me, and for me to know that the present pain is temporary. I trust you Lord to bring me your joy here on earth and eternally in heaven, in Jesus name.

One-Year Daily Bible Reading Plan - Sept. 08 2010 - Ezekiel 37-39 (OT), 2 Timothy 1 (NT)

Expectations

According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

[Philippians 1:20]

We all have expectations! We expect that people will be nice to us, that we’ll have good health, great marriages, faithful friends, successful careers, but what do we do when life doesn’t live up to our expectations? Paul show us how to deal with it. He faced broken expectations of place, people, and the future, but he calmed his heart in one truth. To use every phase of his life to magnify God.

Despite his wonderful expectations, Paul was stuck in prison. Sometimes we get stuck in a tough marriage, an unrewarding job or a challenging neighborhood and it’s easy to get discouraged. Paul encouraged himself to be positive amidst it all. He believed that his suffering helped to advance the gospel (Phil 1:12). Maybe people haven’t lived up to your expectations. Paul expected other believers to encourage him, instead some were actually glad he was in jail and were preaching out of ‘envy and strife’. Paul’s response to them was that ‘Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice’.

Maybe it’s an uncertain future, loss of a loved one, loss of a job or a health crisis. Despite his broken expectations, Paul declared, ‘For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:21) Let us adopt Paul’s only expectation – for Christ to be honored no matter what.

Prayer: Dear Lord, give me the courage to make your honor my expectation. For only then will I not be disappointed. I commit my broken expectations to you that you’ll turn them into your glorify and for my good. Thank you Lord for your ever enduring faithfulness.

One-Year Daily Bible Reading Plan - Sept. 07 2010 - Ezekiel 34-36 (OT), 1 Timothy 6 (NT)

Nutritious Food

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart...
[Jeremiah 15:16, NKJV]

Slow thoughtful absorption of the Word of God with quiet reflection on its implication and application is very high in nutrition. His Word provides all the ingredients we need to thrive spiritually. When we read God's Word, we have to be doing more than checking it off our to-do list. We have to read it to digest it. For then it transforms into life and power in our spirit man.

Like physical food which has the essential nutrients to keep our bodies going strong, the Word of God has essential nutrients to keep our souls going strong. The Word of God sufficiently gives us a direct connection to the one who sustains our souls. The Word of God provides vital nutrients to the brain that make us wise and discerning, thereby avoiding pitfalls.

The Word of God gives us a daily check-up, revealing the condition of our hearts, while giving us preventive medicine against sin. It detoxifies and cleanses us through with forgiveness, peace, hope, and comfort. God's Word provides the nourishment that Christians need if we're to grow. May we find time to dwell and delight in the Word of God for the nourishment that makes us grow.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I give you my whole heart. I desire to have your Word in me Lord but need to make out the time for You.. Holy Spirit of God, let the consciousness of your Word increase in me, help me to make out the time to intentionally dwell in Your Word. Lord please take first place in all I do. Thank you Lord for your Word.