Challenged at the moment …..by a situation I see, a person in need, crying and screaming for help in all sorts of arenas and all I have to give her is the gospel. All I have to give her is Jesus who loves her and He is her provider. All I have to give her is a hug and yet her needs are immediate and what can and do I give to her to help her in her time of need?
Challenged at the moment ….. by having been in a conference where the wealth of nations is evident as we sit in comfortable seats, all dressed in lovely clothes, where it has cost so much to come here, to pay to go to the conference, to pay for accommodation, listening to preaching about going to the nations, and yet right on the door is a person in need of love, in need of something that is going to cost me something that perhaps wasn’t on the plan or the willingness of my giving, something that I realise is sacrificial giving that is going to cost me time, money, something so out of my comfort zone or what I am used to dealing with.
Challenged at the moment …..by a message that has shared about putting things on the altar and yet God revealing to me there are offerings that we give on the altar that we give willingly, we let go after a massaging of the heart, an encouragement to let go and so we let it go and yet when there is more of a cost to the sacrifice that perhaps we don’t want to give, that perhaps its not giving out of a joyful heart, but rather out of the command of word of God to give to those in need, and I realise there is more of a cost and I find myself holding back and not putting it on the altar….
Challenged at the moment …. by the attitudes and responses of my own heart.
Matt 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
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