Helping Those in Need

Galatians 6:2 (Amplified Bible)
Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking in your obedience to it.

These days, I'm enjoying some 'quality time' with my amazing elderly parents(the best EVER!!!). But TIME being limited between us "kids", the assistance of many meals from their home church, The Lighthouse Tabernacle, has been such a needed act of kindness for them! There are days my parents would be without proper meals if not for this help! For this we are so very thankful!!!

The Bible teaches us to "share each other's burdens" and how can we better do this but to take care of our elder parents, or neighbors, friends or even strangers who we can SEE are in great need of assistance?? Sharing those burdens often includes offering our presence and spiritual support. It can also include much needed acts of service. Cooking meals, cleaning, providing transportation, errands - whatever is needed. James makes it clear that words need to be supported by acts. We need to ask God to help us be sensitive to all the needs and to give us wisdom to help in anyway we can!

James 2:14-17 (Amplified Bible)
What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no good works to show for it? Can such faith save his soul?
If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,
And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep yourself warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do?
So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).

Prayer
Father, as we reach out to help people who have needs, help us to truly share their burden in prayer and spiritual support and also practical acts of service. Help us to be sensitive to their needs and give us wisdom in responding. In Jesus' name …

He Hears our Cry

2 Samuel 22:7
"In my distress I called upon the Lord; I cried to my God, and He heard my voice from His temple; my cry came into His ears."

We don't always understand WHY things happen the way they do, or WHY they can't be OUR WAY all the time. God knows. God cares. God understands. We can always have faith in Him that He is working things for our good!

Lord, Thank you for hearing my prayers when I cry out to you!!! You are trully faithful in all things.

Little i

John 3:30-31 (AMP)

"He must increase, but I must decrease. He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.
He Who comes from above (heaven) is far above all others; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth his words are from an earthly standpoint. He Who comes from heaven is far above all others far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence."

i was reading of a woman who was in church and the words to the worship songs being sung were displayed on an overhead projector. This woman noticed that all of the places where it said, "I", the typist had mis-typed it without it being capitalized. This became annoying to the woman, until she remembered a scripture found in John 3:30 which states, "He must become greater; i must become less." (NIV) The woman then began to wonder if someone had purposefully put a "little" i throughout the song! She began to feel the Holy Spirit take her a bit deeper with, "Why are you stressing about capitalizing the i?" He asked. "Why does it NEED to be capitalized? Who decided that? Maybe the person printing the overhead recognized that "i" am not important - - but I AM is!"

i thought WOW, that's COOL! We don't NEED to capitalize ourselves with a capital letter "announcing" ourselves!

Truthfully, self-sacrifice and having a servant's heart does not always come easy, but it IS the way Jesus taught for us to walk in. It is also the way to be HAPPY!

PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for your example that you lived for us and the grace you so freely give. Give me a servant's heart, daily. Where ever you lead me, and whoever you direct my path to, help me to serve them with a cheerful heart as You love through me. You give me reason and purpose for living.

TRUTH*"loins=mind"

"When Paul wrote, "having your loins girt about with truth" (Eph 6:14, KJV), what was he really trying to tell us? Yes, Jesus said He is 'the truth', but there is more to consider in what Paul is saying. First one must understand the literal meaning of this phrase before advancing into the spiritual meaning. The Literal Meaning: Mainstream Christian views on this passage often agree that Paul was in prison and looking at a Roman soldier's uniform when writing this letter to the Ephesians. When Paul mentions, "having your loins girt about with truth" (Eph 6:14, KJV), he is referring to our protecting the pelvic region of the body (which is very vulnerable). This action was common practice for most of the people living in this era, not just the Roman soldiers. To gird your loins during the Roman Era meant to draw-up and tie your lower garment between your legs as to increase your mobility and agility. This prevented the loose ends of the tunic from becoming snagged on something or entangled with your feet which would cause you to stumble or fall down when moving about quickly. How to gird your loins: This was accomplished by pulling up the fabric of the knee-length tunic so the length in front stopped at your upper thigh, and collecting the excess material in your front. (You pull the material forward so the back of your tunic is snug against your backside.) Next, you tuck the extra front material down between your legs and gather it behind you. At this point, you collect half of the material behind you evenly on each side of your back (left and right). The final step involves wrapping each side of the material around your waist and tying it together in front. The Spiritual Meaning: So one part of what Paul is trying to tell people is, "to secure anything that will cause us to stumble or fall down when moving about quickly in the Christian daily battle". We should always be spiritually sharp, alert and ready to respond with spiritual mobility and spiritual agility. With this understanding, we can now examine the things that cause Christians to stumble or fall down in their Christian walk (or faith). A specific list of these things does not exist, however the Bible provides insight into this area starting in the Book of Genesis and ending with Revelation (basically the whole Bible). Instead of discussing a list of things that make Christians fall, let's instead examine where the battleground is found. With this knowledge, we can be better prepared to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph 6:11). So where is this battleground? The answer can be found within I Peter 1:13-16 (KJV). "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ: As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy'."I Peter 1:13-16 (KJV)Peter is discussing the same thing Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6:14. Both men are trying to help Christians understand the importance of being spiritually mobile and spiritually agile in order to protect, guard, and defend your most vulnerable areas of personal weakness (the old sin nature, temptations, and areas you struggle in daily). The key point in "having your loins girt about with truth" is for Christians to surround or wrap our minds in God's truth and the scriptures (not our own humanistic or personal truth). I Don't Get It: Understanding that the spiritual battleground for the Christian is found within the mind is critical. You can't fight a battle if you don't know where it is. Control of the thoughts we think to ourselves (self-talk) is where the most fierce spiritual battles occur and the average Christian doesn't even know it. This is even more true for the non-Christian who is oblivious to the war."

Prayer:
"Heavenly Father, as I seek to know You and the "truth" that is in You, I pray that your Holy Spirit leads and guides me and protects me from the things that trouble my mind. I pray for your healing power to continue to flow through my veins, and be that still small voice of truth to my soul. Remind me to "take captive" every thought by realizing if it brings me down with a heavy load, it's NOT from YOU! "

Put on God's Whole Armor!

Ephesians 6:11 (Amplified)
Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil."

I woke up today (worked graveyard and slept this morning) and I was saying OUT LOUD, "Put on the whole armor of God." I knew what I needed to READ!!

Toward the middle of this chapter, we gain insight into the spiritual war that all believers are in. In the Joyce Meyer Bible, she writes, "Our enemies are not natural, but spiritual. We can never win our battles if we fight against the wrong source in a wrong way. We ten to think that people or circumstances are our problem, but the source of many of our troubles is Satan and his demons. We cannot fight him with carnal (natural) weapons, but only with supernatural ones that God gives us for the destruction of Satan's strongholds."

We've talked about this many times in our home; about "putting on God's armor" before we get out of bed! So here it is:

V.10-18
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.


Prayer
Oh, Lord, help me be strong in YOUR power and not try to WIN ALL in my own strength. So far, it hasn't worked a bit!!! I need you, Father; so very much. I recognize that I can do nothing without Your guidance in my life. I want to FIND you in the wind, rain, sunshine and birds singing. Walk with me as I step out to become the woman YOU would have me be in every way; a woman of destiny and purpose, hand in hand with her Creator!

Becky