Walking Close

Tuesday February 24, 2015

In 2014 a pod of pilot whales was found floundering in perilously shallow water off the shore of Florida, America. Forty or fifty short-finned whales remained close to a narrow shoreline - choosing not to swim out to the deeper waters, where they would be safe. Several of the blackfish were ill, which caused conservationists to worry. Pilot whales are intensely loyal creatures, and when one in their group is sick or in jeopardy, the rest of the pod simply will not leave. They form a circle and stay close together.

The Scriptures call God´s people to this kind of life, where we stick close to each other and find our life alongside others. We´re called to help meet one another´s needs, to tend to one another in our time of weakness and to protect one another during perilous stretches that we will inevitably endure. If any find themselves overwhelmed by temptation, we shouldn´t reject them, but "gently and humbly help them back onto the right path" (Galatians 6:1). If any find themselves in distress or grief, isolation or pain, we should "share [their] burdens" (v.2)

We may not know what to do or say. In fact, we may have no idea how to help. We can, however, simply walk close to our brothers and sisters. We can put our shoulder next to theirs and say, "I don´t know what to do. I have no answers here. But I can carry your burden alongside you."

I find it instructive - and hopeful - that Paul didn´t say we´re to fix one another´s burdens. We´re simply to bear them. Their burdens are also our burdens, and - in time - our burdens will also be their own. Let´s choose to walk next to our hurting brothers and sisters in Jesus today. - Winn Collier

Read
Galatians 6:1-3
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other´s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

John 13:-34-35
A new command I give you : Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Question to Ponder
Are there any people you believe God would have you walk beside, bearing their burdens?
How can you begin to share your burdens more freely with others?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015

Serving Together

Tuesday January 20, 2015

After I moved to Africa, a couple living in America contacted me and said, "We´d like to make a financial contribution to help you with your ministry in Uganda." Because my job at the time didn´t require that I raise funds, I thanked them but declined their generous offer.

My friends were eager to help feed the hungry, show hospitality to strangers, clothe the poor and provide the thirsty with a drink as believers in Jesus are told to do in Matthew 25:34-39. For some reason, however, I didn´t think that I should accept money from them or anyone else at that time.

One month later, however, I was visiting some children at a rural hospital in northern Uganda when I met a little boy in desperate need of medical treatment that his family couldn´t afford. It was then that I believe that the Lord impressed on my heart to tell my friends about him so that together we could help him. And, of course, when they learned of his needs, my friends gave joyously and generously on his behalf.

As I spent days in the hospital tending to the child and visiting the sick (v.39), I was strengthened by my friends' prayers, emotional support and financial gifts. They helped equip me to minister lovingly to the little boy and other patients at the hospital. Conditions there were so bleak that "crowds of sick people - blind, lame or paralysed" were forced to sleep outside on hard porches, much like the poor and hurting described in John 5:2-4.

Today, consider how you can unite to serve "the least of these" through your local church and personal giving (Matthew 25:40). I can attest that, even in the face of suffering, few joys compare to working with others to help those in need. - Roxanne Robbins

Read
Matthew 25:34-40
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "

Mark 2:1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He´s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying "We have never seen anything like this!"

Question to Ponder
How could you serve with others this week to bring glory to God as you help those in need?
Why is it important to work with others - those who know the true nature of the need and those who are in need - before moving forward with ministry plans?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue