Thoughts for Life: #5 Bless Others

~ Poh Fang Chia- The room was splashed with an assortment of enchanting colors as women in beautiful saris scurried around, completing the final touches for a fundraising event.

Upon hearing about the financial situation of a Christian school for autistic children, these women from India not only heard the need, but they also took it to heart and responded. (Google image, Indian Women in saris)

Nehemiah did not allow his comfortable position in life as servant and confidant to the most powerful man at that time to nullify his concerns for his countrymen. He talked to people who had just come from Jerusalem to find out the condition of the city and its citizens (Nehemiah 1:2).

He learned that "those who returned to the province of Judah . . . are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire" (v. 3).

Nehemiah's heart broke. He mourned, stopped eating, and prayed, asking God to do something about the terrible conditions (v. 4). God enabled Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to lead the rebuilding effort (2:1- 8).

Nehemiah accomplished great things for his people because he asked great things of a great God and relied on Him.

Let's pray-

"Open our eyes, Lord, to the needs of those around us, and help us to become passionate and creative problem-solvers who bless others."

Today's Bible verses-

Hebrews 13:5, AMPC “I will not in any way fail you, nor give you up, nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree, leave you helpless nor forsake, nor let you down by relaxing My hold on you!”

Psalm 23:4, AMPC “Even though you walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, you don’t need to fear evil, for I am with you, My rod [to protect] and My staff [to guide], they comfort and console.”

Matthew 28:20 “Remember, I am with you always.”

Quote for today-

~ EM Bounds- "Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God's infinite grace and power. All that God is, and has, is at the disposal of prayer. Prayer can do anything that God can do, and as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent."

Words of wisdom-

~ How many prayers has the Lord answered that you haven’t noticed? Ask Him to show you how and when He answers them. Let’s develop a watchful eye, so we’ll see how He does.

Today's question-

How is forgetfulness a blessing?

God's given His children many blessings, and our ability to forget things that caused pain or trouble, can prove to be good. As we release bad memories into His care, not allowing them to hold us to the past, we can actually recall good things that happened.

God promises to bring good from our bad experiences, as He knows how to do that. It's His desire to cause things to be beautiful, (from the beginning of time), so His desire is to bring something good from hard times. His Faithfulness is seen in our situations, as He'll create blessings to come from what we go through, and help us to not dwell on those trying times.

The mystery of our God is that He can make good come from the challenges we face, both in lessons of life that refine us and how things turn out to His glory. He wants us to be joyful in the work we're presently in. We'll find strength in knowing that He helps us do our best in what we do. If we are in a "secular" work that can honor and bring praise to Him, He'll see it as a spiritual calling.

God tests us daily to see where our hearts are, and what our perspective on life is. We're not in heaven yet, but we're on our way!

Upcoming posts

#6 Listening

17th-- Thursday's post by David McCasland

It's Who You know

19th- Saturday's post by Dave Branon

#7 Texting God

22nd- Tuesday's post by David McCasland

#8 Miracle Rain

24th- Thursday's post by Poh Fang Chia