"Helping Others"
Discover this mystery as you help others face their days, you put life into your own. And life is exactly what many need.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Give and it will be given to you. That's a very easy statement to read, but not always such an easy one to follow. We tend to get very selfish in life thinking, "oh if I can get that new house, everything will be okay; oh if I can get that new job, I won't have to work around such difficult people; oh if I could just get that winning lottery ticket, everything would be perfect." KEEP DREAMING!!
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The more you want the more you feel you need. The more you make, the more you spend. The more you spend, the more you indulge. The more you indulge, the more you "think" you need. Key word there is "think."
I often hear people say "oh if I just had more money I would help someone, I would give more to the church." (speaking to myself here as well). Guys what your neighbor needs is not money, its love & kindness, simple acts of you making their life a little bit easier.
When we step out of our own box & look around we see a lot of un-organization and that's okay. Other people may not have their lives completely under control like you do. You may be raising 3 children like I am, or just 1, but my life is no more important than yours. You may have a million dollars in the bank or you may only have 10, but our ability to change the lives of someone around us is no different.
He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.
We all need each other at some point in time. So be there to lend a helping hand to someone who needs it. If you know you are going to the grocery story, call someone that you know might not have a chance to get out & ask them if you can pick something up for them. Older people are more eager to do this, not sure why our generation doesn't do this much, other than we are just too darn busy. God "wants" us to help those in need.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another
My husband loves being a police officer, but I truly believe it takes a very special and called person to accomplish this task. He is aware of his surroundings at all times. If we go out to eat he does not sit with his back to the door, he has to see who all is coming in and who all is going out. He has to have that mental picture of exactly what he is dealing with if something were to happen, he is always prepared. If we are out driving and he sees someone who may need assistance whether it is a broke down car or an accident, he never hesitates; he picks up his phone and calls the local police department to make sure someone has been dispatched to help. He doesn't expect anything back, he just loves helping others. Since it is a part of his daily job, he carries it over to his personal life. We should all do the same.
"The amount of people served, Will depend on you, It can serve the whole wide world, If you really want it to."
I am a loner, I like to be alone a lot of the time to just read whether it be self-help books, devotions, the Bible, but my husband is a go 'doer (ha new word). He loves to go out and just see people. He is definitely a people person, Opposites Attrack!!! Sometimes we venture out to Wal-Mart and my daughter will always say, "Mom, you now Dad will see 600 people he knows in there." I nod and say "I know, but let's be kind." We take our normal 2 hour adventure to get about 10 things, stop 16 times for him to talk to someone he knows or doesn't know, 2 potty breaks and 5-10 minutes of searching for reception so we can call and locate each other. I couldn't love him anymore for being so kind to people and even though I despise going to Wal-Mart I do it because my husband wants me there.
Christ raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
There is a sweet elderly man that lives at the front of our neighborhood named Willie. He has a chair that sits in his garage and he waves at every single car that passes. My husband has become friends with Mr. Willie and often stops to talk about funny things, or just to check on him. No matter what kind of day I am having I always know Mr. Willie will wave at us when we pass and it always warms my heart. He always checks on our children and my husband's health. Just a genuinely all around wonderful Christian man. Well, this Christmas my husband mentioned to me that we needed to get Mr. Willie a Christmas gift because it was starting to get cold outside and maybe a nice new flannel shirt would be great. So my daughter & I went to Belk's and got him a really nice shirt, wrapped it up and my husband took it to him. It made his day, he smiled from ear to ear, and it was something simple, but so thoughtful. Just a simple random act of kindness goes a long way and pleases God.
For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
A specific act of kindness doesn't have to be a sweeping gesture. Sometimes it may be something very simple, a well-timed word or a well-chosen gift.
- LOOK FOR A NEED
- BE WILLING TO SACRIFICE
- BE INTENTIONAL
- PRACTICE KINDESS
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Quoted from the movie, "Evan Almighty"
God: How do you change the world?
Evan: One single act of random kindness at a time
God: (Writes A.R.K. on the ground) Acts of Random Kindness
In most cases acts of kindness take little or no money at all. It may take the sacrifice of time & energy. It may require the discipline to be thoughtful of others needs and to make the effort to act.
How much is required:
- To cultivate smiling rather than frowning?
- To pay a visit (guilty here)?
- To say a word of encouragement or comfort?
- To show friendliness by warmly and sincerely shaking hands?
My husband's heart doctor is an older man, probably very close to retirement. He is a very direct, straight to the point and not much of a joker. So every time we go I just sit there quietly and do not say much unless I need clarification on something he has said. This past visit, he walked into the room and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. My husband and I were about to find out his fate when it came to ever being allowed back on the road as an officer. He immediately shook both our hands as he always does. I am sure he took one look at our face and could tell we were stressed to the max, especially Robbie. So after he sat down he looked at me and stared for a moment, then said 8 words that completely broke the tension, "I like all the colors in your scarf." By him taking the time to compliment me and say something kind, he helped me relax. That very unselfish moment on his part released all the built up tension in the room for me!
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it
I do not do all that I could do with random acts of kindness, in fact every single morning when I wake up I have to fight the devil off of my mind. He always hits me first thing in the morning with crazy thoughts of how the day is going to spiral downward as soon as I step out of the house. Once I weed through his wrath of crud, I like to call it; I refocus and immediately start listening to sermons in my car. It takes me a good hour to completely clothe myself in Gods amazing plan for the day and realize that my day is what I make it. I control my attitude with regards to the thoughts I let come in and what I let come out of my mouth. I know that acting on my feelings is not best, but truly going to God in prayer about everything before speaking is the key. I try to not do what I feel, but do what I know. What I know is God loves me unconditionally, accepts me right where I am at, but expects things of me. I try daily to do at least 10 acts of random kindness to people I come in contact with, some large acts, some small, some just acknowledging someone or praying for someone. I try to send out 2-3 cards in the mail a week to people I know that are struggling and could just use a moment of uplifting. It doesn't require much on my part, but it is expected of God. If you are feeling down, depressed, upset, worried, try taking 10 minutes and find someone to do an act of random kindness for, I promise you it will make your problems seem a lot less impacting. Just try it! Spread the good news!
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father, thank You for working in my life. Thank You for producing good fruit by Your spirit. I submit myself to You today and invite You to continue Your work in me. I bless You and honor You today in Jesus' name. Amen.
In all things, great and small, God loves us all,
Kylie Davis Note:
Views, Opinions, Prayer/Praise Request,
That was a good one! Most of the time, our calling in life is based on somebody else’s needs. In the business world, those companies that succeed are the ones that listen to their customers’ needs and produce results to satisfy those issues.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff! By nature we are ALL selfish but that is where the Spirit enables/empowers us to have the mind of Christ and think of others first. Servanthood and love are the verbs we need to embrace along with compassion, kindness and forgiveness.
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