Helping those in need....

 Galatians 6:2 :Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

Dear reader,

What's our daily thought usually about? Please, have you ever asked yourself what you can do to help someone who is in need today? How often do you set something aside to bless a needy person?

I know throughout the day, we are all enchained with many prevalent issues of life such that we forget to think outside our scope. We know we can't avoid the many incessant bills lying in wait for us. Many of us therefore fail to realize that we been commissioned by Jesus to help those in need.
There are so many people  who are experiencing a form of hardship and need help. Though there are network of agencies and organizations, both public and private which partially cater for the needs of these people, nevertheless there still exist poor people in all corners of society.

 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land (Deuteronomy 15:11). The Bible makes it clear that poverty will continue to exist in our world. Therefore we should show brotherly love to those who are in need.

Someone might argue that they are not better off to help another person. It's true. You have every right to say that or believe that but we must also realize that helping those in need doesn't necessarily require one to be wealthy in order to be a candidate. Helping the poor should be a genuine intent and also from our hearts. Helping a friend or stranger could be in the form of encouragement, in the form of prayer, in the form of giving financial or material assistance, advice, words of comfort and being compassionate. There are people we know or have heard about and even don't know who need our help. We should ask ourselves this question; "how can I be of help to someone today?"

Doing good to someone is like doing good to God. In Matthew 25:35-45, Jesus tells us to help those in need. He commands us to clothe those who are naked, visit  sick people in hospitals and in prison.This is part of our call as children of God. Jesus Christ tells us that as we did not do for those people in need, we didn't do it for Him. Also in Proverbs 19:17, the Bible declares that whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and God will repay Him. We are children of God and thus we should strive to follow what our heavenly father tells us.

For all you know, there is this poor person praying ceaselessly to God to help him survive for a night or a day. It's not that God hasn't heard his or her prayer, but it's because we are not fulfilling our call to bear each others burden (Galatians 6:2). God has always worked through people in order to attend to the needs of His children. Since we are not working towards fulfilling our calls, those in need continues to wait and thus suffer. Jesus said in Matt 25:46 that those who turn blind eye on these poor people shall go into eternal punishment. We should all pray to God to open our eyes and our hearts to identify and help those in need. Can we be the answer to someone's prayers? Can we be the miracle someone is waiting for?

Many times, our blessings come as a result of our help to the poor. "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38)." God promises us repayment of all our good deeds done to the poor. As children of God, we must abide in love as Christ Jesus loves us.

Finally, we must realize that our journey to meet the Savior (Jesus Christ) is a journey of faith and works. For the Bible says in James 2:14-26 that faith without works is dead. Jesus requires us to have faith in Him and love our neighbors as ourselves, which is the second greatest Commandment (Mark 12:31). We show our love to God through the way we love and help those who are in need. May God help us all to accept this call and make a difference in the lives of the poor people amongst us.

For further readings on helping the poor :{Acts 9:32-43, Mark 10:21, James 1:27, Matthew 5:42, Acts 20:35}

Just a reminder

What does God say about our hearts? Why is that one needs to have a change of heart when they become born again? Are we intrigued by the fact that without a beating heart, there is no life? Why do we have "broken hearts" from personal relationships? Why do we take issues of the heart seriously?

Well, here is a few biblical verses I found which really helps us understand why it is important to keep a just heart before God. In Proverbs 14:30, the word of God declares that " a heart at peace gives life to the body". From this scripture, we can say that a peaceful heart is a heart free from diseases, free from fear, discourage, worries and sadness. When you are convicted of sin, it shows that you don't have a peaceful heart.

We can never have a genuine relationship with God without totally giving our heart to God. Knowing about Jesus Christ does not bring us into a relationship with him. Our spiritual being changes when we give our hearts to God. Just as a man can never love a woman truly without giving her his heart, so can we not have a relationship with God except we surrender our heart to Him. The Bible says "For the eyes of Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). God wants to have a relationship with us, but He cannot have that friendship with us until we give our hearts to Him.

When God instructed Samuel to anoint David to be king, the prophet sought after those sons of Jesse with great physique but God said to Samuel that man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. God sees through our heart and knows everything that goes on in our hearts. Jesus told the pharisees in Luke 16:15 that the Pharisees are the ones who justify themselves before men, but God knows their hearts. We can hide our sins from men, but God sees all. Many times we pretend to be who we are not before our husbands, wives and friends but we forget that God has seen everything.

Brethren, if you have read about God, heard or know about Jesus Christ and have not given your heart to Him, then please hear me. God is reaching out to you. He wants to have a relationship with you. This is your time to open your hearts to Jesus to come into your life. Our life on earth will come to an end at a point. Don't wait after death to decide, because it will be too late.

Remember, it is never too late to commit your life and heart into the hands of the Lord.

Who is a Christian? How does a Christian look like in this pluralist and secular world?  Is it someone who was born in a Christian home and thus attained a "Christian" status? Or is it someone who goes to church every other Sunday? Is it someone who occasionally does good deeds or is it someone who has faith in Jesus Christ? Many of us who call ourselves Christians sometimes doubt who we are when others question our salvation. It will surprise you to know that Christians in the same church would have a different opinions as to what the definition of a Christian is. There might be similar answers but everyone defines themselves differently. Today, many claim to be Christians but don't really follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Their beliefs, doctrines and practices vary widely.

For me, firstly, a Christian means a follower of Christ Jesus. Therefore being a Christian is all about doing the will of God (our father) as Jesus told his disciples in Mark 3:35. One might ask; how do you know precisely the will of God and what is the will of God? Some, of course, will disagree.

To explain my point, it's important to understand what will means. According to a legal dictionary, one's will is the legal instrument that permits a person, the testator, to make decisions on how his estate will be managed and distributed after his death. This are two importance things that a will does: 1) It enables a person to select his heirs rather than allowing the state laws to choose the heirs. 2) A will allows a person to decide which individual could best serve as the executor of his "estate" fairly, while protecting their interest rather than allowing the court to appoint a stranger to serve as administrator.  

The will  of God is the Holy Bible. Again, some people might ask who are the heirs and who is the executor of the will of God? Jesus is the executor of the will of God.

A heir is a person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another. According to John 1:12, those who accepts the calling of Christ are given rights to become heirs if we believe and receive Jesus Christ.  Therefore we can conclude that Christians are heirs (children of God).

Also, we can confidently say that Jesus is the executor of the will of God. In Matt 28:18, Jesus told his disciples that " All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me" attesting to his role as the only lawful executor of God's will. Further, " I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me" in John 14:6-7 .  John 3: 35 and 5:22, 24 also affirm this.

Jesus Christ came to die on the cross for everyone but only those who believe in him receive eternal life. In John 3:16, the Bible tells us that Jesus was sent to the world and that whoever believes in him would not perish. God has called us all to him to be saved.

Therefore, to be a Christian (a follower of Christ Jesus) requires certain responsibilities on our part.

The scripture makes it clear that one has to be invited to become a Christian. There is a calling involved. Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are called, but few are chosen". This shows that before one can claim to be a Christian, he or she needs to respond to the calling. Responding to the invitation involves repenting of one's sins and baptism, receiving and believing in Jesus Christ as the Savior and son of God.  By responding to the calling, one gets the right to become a child of God (John 1:12).