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Taking Action |
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If you think about it and believe it you must also act on it!
This is not a theory. When you live and share your faith you
you become a shining light and a help to others. Taking action
means...
You are living the solution!
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| HELP OTHERS! |
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Are You a Giver or a Taker?
Sometimes I get really frustrated when I'm trying to do something and
I can't figure it out. The smartest thing to do is to ask for
help. But, I'm stubborn-sometimes I'd rather stew than admit
I need help. How prideful. How foolish!
On the other hand, when I help someone I always end up feeling
good. It doesn't matter whether it's a big or little thing.
I must qualify this statement, however. The help must be something
I'm willing to give. I'm not talking about offering help because
of selfish motives or resulting from orders.
Funny how motives affect behavior!
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Are you a servant?
Part of our walk as Christians is to be of service. Christ taught
and demonstrated this time and again. It's not about pleasing
your self. It's about loving others. If you love someone you
will gladly help him or her.
Some people bad-rap religion by accusing adherents of being hypocrites
and failing to live up to the standards they profess. It's interesting
to read what James says real religion is.
James 1:27
"Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father
means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles,
and refuse to let the world corrupt us."(NLT)
That seems pretty noble to me. It's pretty hard to argue with the
goodness of helping orphans and widows. They are typically in
the most need of encouragement and assistance.
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It's not the quantity, it's the quality
Anyone might give financially and figure that's enough. It's a nice
way to assuage your guilt. If the gift is given for the wrong
reasons then it is tainted. The money will probably still do
some good. Remember that Jesus warned against giving so as to
be recognized for your generosity. He said that person already
has received his reward.
What God really wants is a cheerful and willing giver. When you help
because you want to…and for no other reason, then you are
becoming more like Jesus. Getting to be that way is part of
the process. We grow into the image of Christ. Our generosity
will also grow the more we become like Him.
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But I'm not there yet
When I honestly look at myself and my attitude towards helping and
giving I'm often disappointed, if not downright disgusted. I'm
still so selfish and self-centered. Even worse, sometimes I'm
feeling self-righteous because I think I've grown so much. At
these times of soul searching I can easily identify with Paul
when he states in Romans 7:24, "Oh, what a miserable person
I am!"
We must not be too hard on ourselves. We also should not be too
easy. Paul knew in his struggles that what God is transforming
us into is at war with our fallen human nature. Part of the
transformation comes from helping others. You can't become Christ-like
unless you deny yourself and pick up your cross.
I find that the greatest inspiration in teaching me the proper
attitude needed to help people is in another of Paul's writings.
His exhortation to love in 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the finest
examples of Spirit-inspired writing to be found anywhere in
the Bible.
If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but
didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise
like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of
prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and
knew everything about everything, but didn't love others,
what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that
I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love
I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have
to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about
it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable,
and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is
never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth
wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always
hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages
and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only
a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But
when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and
reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish
things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror,
but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All
that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will
know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and
love--and the greatest of these is love.(NLT)
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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PHILIPPIANS 2:3-4
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"Don't be selfish; don't live
to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of
others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your
own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they
are doing."
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(NLT)
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