Reading the Bible fervently? No problem. Reading good devotional material? A snap. Service to others? It's one of my gifts. Preaching and proclaiming? I can do that.
These are the things that come fairly natural after years of being in love with and serving King Jesus. And while there are many, many areas in need of improvement (including those listed above), the one area I constantly struggle with prayer. I try. I determinedly set my mind to do it. I set aside time. I try spontaneous prayer. But I always seem, to myself, to come up short for what I think is a dynamic, vibrant prayer life.
I recently re-read a statement made by Richard Foster on prayer where he says...
"The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives - altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it."
I long to be that person who "prays without ceasing." But maybe I have to learn to accept that my attempts at prayer are always going to be messy, short of my ideals, and just not perfect.
I pray that I give myself, like Christ has given me, the grace to pray. He does receive us with "all our mixture."
Amen...
Monday, August 8, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
There But For the Grace of God Go I...
As I continue to read through the Bible two times per year as one of my spiritual disciplines, today I am finishing up time in Joshua and moving into Judges. As I reflect back on Exodus, Deuteronomy and Joshua, one of the things that jumps out at me is the continual encouragement from God that He is on the side of the Israelites.
As they were coming out of Egypt and being pursued by Pharaoh and his army, God told them, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. He will fight for you today."
In Deuteronomy, over and over, the Israelites are reminded and continually being taught that it is the Lord who is their helper and He is with them, goes before them and will deal with their enemies. (Deuteronomy 1:29; 7:18; 20:1; 31:26). And in Joshua, when the Israelites were setting about conquering the tribes in the promised land, the Lord says to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel..."
When I look at these wonderful promises from God, I often think, "How could the Israelites see such provisions from God and in one or two generations be totally rebellious to Him who has provided so much for them?" He took them out of captivity. He provided for them throughout the wilderness experience. He took them to a land promised to their forefathers. He went with them and even prepared the way before them by taking care of their enemies. How could they in a few short years forget about God's goodness and provisions for them?
And then I think, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
How often to I let the problems of my life cloud my ability to see God's goodness and grace? How many times do I take my eyes off God and focus on my problems or either rely on my abilities and wisdom to address the issues in my life? How frequently do I forget to acknowledge that our God is awesome, powerful and has His best intentions for my life? In short, like the Israelites, He is constantly fighting for me.
It is easy to judge others' actions and reactions. It is hard to acknowledge that we are not much different than the things we judge in others.
My prayer for today is that I will not be afraid. I will stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. And I will rest in the comfort, knowledge, and assurance that God will fight for me today.
Selah!
As they were coming out of Egypt and being pursued by Pharaoh and his army, God told them, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. He will fight for you today."
In Deuteronomy, over and over, the Israelites are reminded and continually being taught that it is the Lord who is their helper and He is with them, goes before them and will deal with their enemies. (Deuteronomy 1:29; 7:18; 20:1; 31:26). And in Joshua, when the Israelites were setting about conquering the tribes in the promised land, the Lord says to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel..."
When I look at these wonderful promises from God, I often think, "How could the Israelites see such provisions from God and in one or two generations be totally rebellious to Him who has provided so much for them?" He took them out of captivity. He provided for them throughout the wilderness experience. He took them to a land promised to their forefathers. He went with them and even prepared the way before them by taking care of their enemies. How could they in a few short years forget about God's goodness and provisions for them?
And then I think, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
How often to I let the problems of my life cloud my ability to see God's goodness and grace? How many times do I take my eyes off God and focus on my problems or either rely on my abilities and wisdom to address the issues in my life? How frequently do I forget to acknowledge that our God is awesome, powerful and has His best intentions for my life? In short, like the Israelites, He is constantly fighting for me.
It is easy to judge others' actions and reactions. It is hard to acknowledge that we are not much different than the things we judge in others.
My prayer for today is that I will not be afraid. I will stand firm and see the Lord's salvation. And I will rest in the comfort, knowledge, and assurance that God will fight for me today.
Selah!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Participating in the Divine Nature...
The Apostle Peter says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4).
These are a loaded two verses so let me try and unpack them.
First of all, Peter says that God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. This is good news to a lost and dying world. It is good news to a fallen world that needs a fresh touch of God's divine power. We see that this divine power comes from God through Jesus by faith (verse 1, previously). Isn't it nice to know that even though "fallen", we can experience the power that gives us all we need for life and godliness?
And we know this to be true through, "..the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God wants to display his great and awesome power through our lives not necessarily or solely for our benefit but for His own glory and goodness. What I glean from this is that I have to constantly remind myself that it is not about me; it is all about God and His glory, His goodness.
What really excites me about this short passage is what Peter says next in verse 3. "Through these...you may participate in the divine nature (of God) and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil." I don't know about you, but I grieve to see how much of a grasp that evil has on our world. When I see hunger, poverty, war, exploitation, etc., I wonder, "where is the hope?"
In this short verse, Peter says that the hope is in His (God's) divine power and that through the promise of that power to followers of His Son, Jesus, we can "participate" in the divine nature...
The word "participate" here is the word "koinonea". We generally interpret this word as "fellowship". But the word usage here is much deeper than what we understand as fellowship. It is a unity of relationship where we become one in God through Christ and He becomes all that He wants to in us. When we are "in Christ" and He is "in us", we can then participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. And we can move on to be beacons of God's power to others, our neighbors and society as a whole.
Participating in the Divine Nature is the first step in not only transformation of our own selfs but of the communities and societies we live and move in. And God wants, even desires, for us as His children to experience that power in our lives. Us participating in the Divine Nature and living that nature out in the world is a way in which He receives glory and honor.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Radical!
These are a loaded two verses so let me try and unpack them.
First of all, Peter says that God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. This is good news to a lost and dying world. It is good news to a fallen world that needs a fresh touch of God's divine power. We see that this divine power comes from God through Jesus by faith (verse 1, previously). Isn't it nice to know that even though "fallen", we can experience the power that gives us all we need for life and godliness?
And we know this to be true through, "..the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God wants to display his great and awesome power through our lives not necessarily or solely for our benefit but for His own glory and goodness. What I glean from this is that I have to constantly remind myself that it is not about me; it is all about God and His glory, His goodness.
What really excites me about this short passage is what Peter says next in verse 3. "Through these...you may participate in the divine nature (of God) and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil." I don't know about you, but I grieve to see how much of a grasp that evil has on our world. When I see hunger, poverty, war, exploitation, etc., I wonder, "where is the hope?"
In this short verse, Peter says that the hope is in His (God's) divine power and that through the promise of that power to followers of His Son, Jesus, we can "participate" in the divine nature...
The word "participate" here is the word "koinonea". We generally interpret this word as "fellowship". But the word usage here is much deeper than what we understand as fellowship. It is a unity of relationship where we become one in God through Christ and He becomes all that He wants to in us. When we are "in Christ" and He is "in us", we can then participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. And we can move on to be beacons of God's power to others, our neighbors and society as a whole.
Participating in the Divine Nature is the first step in not only transformation of our own selfs but of the communities and societies we live and move in. And God wants, even desires, for us as His children to experience that power in our lives. Us participating in the Divine Nature and living that nature out in the world is a way in which He receives glory and honor.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Radical!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Search for Significance...
Psychologists tell us that one of the deepest human needs is for us as humans to find our significance in this life. Appropriately, every person eventually struggles with the question, "do I matter" or "what difference does my life make"? This is called the search for significance.
In the greater story, God's story, we are called to step out of our small worlds and see the world and ourselves as God created us to be and to become. If we look only through our own filters, we will always come up short because we are comparing ourselves to the world's standards and we can never be enough. However, if we learn to find our significance in who God says we are and in Him, we find peace, joy and, ultimately, our significance.
Peter points this out in his first letter. In chapter 1, verse 3, he says, "In His great mercy, He (Jesus) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade..." He continues in verse 9 to say, "...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." And this is so amazing and so far fetched that God would love us so much that Peter says, "...Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:12)
He continues to describe how significant we are to God by saying, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:19). Furthermore he states, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
He then caps this whole reminder of our significance in God by declaring, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In our day to day lives when we are trudging through the mundane, we should take time to remember who we are. We should also remember to realize that who we are and what makes us significant is truly found in our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ. If I look for my significance in the eyes of the world or men, I will always be found wanting. If I listen to God and find my significance in Him, I will delight to find that I am chosen and belong to Him.
It cannot get more significant than this. Who am I? I am God's beloved and redeemed. I belong to Him.
Amen!
In the greater story, God's story, we are called to step out of our small worlds and see the world and ourselves as God created us to be and to become. If we look only through our own filters, we will always come up short because we are comparing ourselves to the world's standards and we can never be enough. However, if we learn to find our significance in who God says we are and in Him, we find peace, joy and, ultimately, our significance.
Peter points this out in his first letter. In chapter 1, verse 3, he says, "In His great mercy, He (Jesus) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil or fade..." He continues in verse 9 to say, "...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." And this is so amazing and so far fetched that God would love us so much that Peter says, "...Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:12)
He continues to describe how significant we are to God by saying, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:19). Furthermore he states, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
He then caps this whole reminder of our significance in God by declaring, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In our day to day lives when we are trudging through the mundane, we should take time to remember who we are. We should also remember to realize that who we are and what makes us significant is truly found in our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ. If I look for my significance in the eyes of the world or men, I will always be found wanting. If I listen to God and find my significance in Him, I will delight to find that I am chosen and belong to Him.
It cannot get more significant than this. Who am I? I am God's beloved and redeemed. I belong to Him.
Amen!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Life as it was Meant to Be: The Significance of the Tree of Life
As per my last post, we catch two glimpses of life as God meant it to be in the Bible. One is the garden of Eden before the fall (Genesis 2:4-25) . The second is the New Heaven and New Earth found in Revelation 22. It is also interesting to note that these are also the only two places in the Bible that we find the Tree of Life.
God created everything and then planted a garden in the east. He put man there to enjoy and for Him to enjoy. He gave man responsibility to work the garden and take care of it. He made all kinds of trees pleasing to the eye and giving food to man. He also placed two specific trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man was free to eat of any fruit of any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and was told that if he were to eat of it, he would surely die.
Enter the serpent. See the woman disobey. See the man disobey alongside of her and also fail to protect the woman. See God punish the serpent (Satan), man and woman. The ground is cursed because of man and now he must be tied to it forever to produce food by the sweat of his brow with the ultimate end of returning back to dust. Woman has her pains in childbearing greatly increased and is placed under the rule of her husband.
Then, as God drives them out of the garden forever (at least in this life), He places a cherubim and flaming sword to guard the way back to the garden and more importantly the tree of life.
I propose that the "tree of life" is to be taken as a symbol of what God meant our lives to be. Perfect. In the garden. No death, no tears, no pain, no sickness. Most of all, we were created to be in perfect fellowship with Him, walking with him in the cool of the day, sharing our intimate secrets.
The reason I say that the tree of life symbolizes all of this is for the simple fact that we do not see the tree of life again until the end of time. And that tree of life is rediscovered by man in the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth. John the Revelator is shown by the angel the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God. It is coming down the middle of the great street of God. And on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing fruit and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Notice what Revelation 22:3 says now that the New Heaven and New Earth are a reality and that the tree of life is back within grasp: "No longer will there be any curse." (Rev 22:3). God is now back with His people to be reunited. Life for man is now restored to life as God always meant it to be. Man will see God's face once again and there will be no more night. We will be His people and God Himself will be with us. He will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will have passed away. The curse is broken!
I recently heard a pastor say that the bad news always precedes the good news of the gospel. The bad news is this: you and I are under a curse. It came when sin entered into this world by the choice of our forefather Adam and foremother Eve. The good news is that there is a way back to the life, the paradise if you will, that was lost. That way is through the cross and the blood of Jesus.
I don't know about you, but I look forward to one day seeing God face to face and tasting of the tree of life so graciously provided for us.
That will be life as it was meant to be!
God created everything and then planted a garden in the east. He put man there to enjoy and for Him to enjoy. He gave man responsibility to work the garden and take care of it. He made all kinds of trees pleasing to the eye and giving food to man. He also placed two specific trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man was free to eat of any fruit of any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and was told that if he were to eat of it, he would surely die.
Enter the serpent. See the woman disobey. See the man disobey alongside of her and also fail to protect the woman. See God punish the serpent (Satan), man and woman. The ground is cursed because of man and now he must be tied to it forever to produce food by the sweat of his brow with the ultimate end of returning back to dust. Woman has her pains in childbearing greatly increased and is placed under the rule of her husband.
Then, as God drives them out of the garden forever (at least in this life), He places a cherubim and flaming sword to guard the way back to the garden and more importantly the tree of life.
I propose that the "tree of life" is to be taken as a symbol of what God meant our lives to be. Perfect. In the garden. No death, no tears, no pain, no sickness. Most of all, we were created to be in perfect fellowship with Him, walking with him in the cool of the day, sharing our intimate secrets.
The reason I say that the tree of life symbolizes all of this is for the simple fact that we do not see the tree of life again until the end of time. And that tree of life is rediscovered by man in the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth. John the Revelator is shown by the angel the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God. It is coming down the middle of the great street of God. And on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing fruit and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Notice what Revelation 22:3 says now that the New Heaven and New Earth are a reality and that the tree of life is back within grasp: "No longer will there be any curse." (Rev 22:3). God is now back with His people to be reunited. Life for man is now restored to life as God always meant it to be. Man will see God's face once again and there will be no more night. We will be His people and God Himself will be with us. He will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will have passed away. The curse is broken!
I recently heard a pastor say that the bad news always precedes the good news of the gospel. The bad news is this: you and I are under a curse. It came when sin entered into this world by the choice of our forefather Adam and foremother Eve. The good news is that there is a way back to the life, the paradise if you will, that was lost. That way is through the cross and the blood of Jesus.
I don't know about you, but I look forward to one day seeing God face to face and tasting of the tree of life so graciously provided for us.
That will be life as it was meant to be!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Life as it was Meant to Be: The Haunting of the Sacred Romance
Do you ever get that feeling of overwhelming awe? Or do you ever get that sense of things all coming together at the right place at the right time and a sweeping emotion of "everything is right" comes over you?
It might happen at a picture-perfect sunset. It could happen when your favorite team overcomes all odds and wins the championship. It happened to me at the birth of all three of our children when I got to see and hold them for the first time.
These are moments in our lives when we realize either consciously or sub-consciously that there is something deeper, more meaningful, more permanent than life as we know it. Eldredge and Curtis says this is the "haunting of the Sacred Romance." In other words, these are snapshots of the true story that we all are living; the life God has planned for us from the beginning of time. I call it "glimpses" of "life as it was meant to be."
From the cradle to the grave, we are all on a journey. And the journey is not just about this small, insignificant life we live here on earth. It is about eternity and a life forever with our Creator-Lover who has made us and called us according to His purposes.
Our lives at best here on earth are dim shadows of who we really are and forerunners of who we are to become. The great enemy, Satan, would like nothing more for us to believe that our short stories here on earth are the ultimate reality. In fact, that is how he lures many of us away from the Sacred Romance. He convinces us that what we are experiencing here and now is the best that it is ever going to get. So, we just settle...
I challenge you to remember today, that the best of the best that you and I experience here on earth can never compare to the worst in the Kingdom to come. My imagination is too small when I think of eternity with God. I sometimes think, "C'mon, there has to be more than attending an eternal worship service (not that this is totally bad)..."
Imagine the greatest elation/joy that you have felt in this life. Multiply that by one million and think, "Gee, this is what God has planned for me for eternity."
The next time you or I are moved by a great story, stirred by some great music, touched by a scene in nature, or just given a moment of rapture, I hope we take time to reflect that this is just a taste of what God has prepared for us.
The wise writer of Ecclesiastes says that, "He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Today, give thanks to God when He gives you glimpses of how life was meant to be. Also, celebrate that one day, for those who know His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior, all of life will be like that moment and immeasurably more than you or I could ask or imagine.
Selah!
It might happen at a picture-perfect sunset. It could happen when your favorite team overcomes all odds and wins the championship. It happened to me at the birth of all three of our children when I got to see and hold them for the first time.
These are moments in our lives when we realize either consciously or sub-consciously that there is something deeper, more meaningful, more permanent than life as we know it. Eldredge and Curtis says this is the "haunting of the Sacred Romance." In other words, these are snapshots of the true story that we all are living; the life God has planned for us from the beginning of time. I call it "glimpses" of "life as it was meant to be."
From the cradle to the grave, we are all on a journey. And the journey is not just about this small, insignificant life we live here on earth. It is about eternity and a life forever with our Creator-Lover who has made us and called us according to His purposes.
Our lives at best here on earth are dim shadows of who we really are and forerunners of who we are to become. The great enemy, Satan, would like nothing more for us to believe that our short stories here on earth are the ultimate reality. In fact, that is how he lures many of us away from the Sacred Romance. He convinces us that what we are experiencing here and now is the best that it is ever going to get. So, we just settle...
I challenge you to remember today, that the best of the best that you and I experience here on earth can never compare to the worst in the Kingdom to come. My imagination is too small when I think of eternity with God. I sometimes think, "C'mon, there has to be more than attending an eternal worship service (not that this is totally bad)..."
Imagine the greatest elation/joy that you have felt in this life. Multiply that by one million and think, "Gee, this is what God has planned for me for eternity."
The next time you or I are moved by a great story, stirred by some great music, touched by a scene in nature, or just given a moment of rapture, I hope we take time to reflect that this is just a taste of what God has prepared for us.
The wise writer of Ecclesiastes says that, "He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Today, give thanks to God when He gives you glimpses of how life was meant to be. Also, celebrate that one day, for those who know His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior, all of life will be like that moment and immeasurably more than you or I could ask or imagine.
Selah!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Signs and Wonders and Kingdom Impact
In Luke 7, there is a great story about Jesus raising to life the dead son of a widow from a village called Nain. By Luke's account, Jesus has just finished teaching the great sermon on the mount (or level place) and was going through the local villages and towns. As he passed through Nain, he saw a dead person being carried out of the town gate. This dead person was the only son of his mother and she was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."
He then went up and touched the coffin and said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Then, to the amazement of all present and the obvious rapture of his grieving mother, the young dead man sat up, began to talk and Jesus, Luke says, gave him back to his mother.
A number of things strike me about this story in relation to the Kingdom of God. For one, the compassion of Christ for one who had lost so much. "His heart went out to her..." Second, the authority of Jesus to say to the dead young man, "...I say to you,get up!" and then the great gift made as He, "...gave him back to his mother."
But the thing that intrigues me the most is the reaction of the crowd of on-lookers. "They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.'"
"God has come to help his people." When we minister to people physically in the name of Jesus, the whole goal should be to point people to the Father and His Son, Jesus. When we respond to a disaster event in Japan, a chronic hunger problem in sub-Saharan Africa, an urban slum and its needs in a mega-city in India, our goal to have the people whom we minister to say, "God has come to help his people!"
A mentor of mine always taught me that when we are finished working in a community with our development projects, the highest praise from the local people is that they do not build a statue to us, but rather give glory to God.
Jesus used compassion and life touching ministries to point people to the Kingdom and to God. Our compassion ministries and demonstration of the gospel through acts of kindness should ultimately be about making His kingdom and the King Himself known.
What do people see and say when we help them in their hour of need? Do they applaud us or do they see that through us, God has come to help them? More importantly, what do we do to make sure that they don't applaud us but see God's Kingdom and His fingerprints in our acts of service and ministry to them?
It's a good question...
He then went up and touched the coffin and said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Then, to the amazement of all present and the obvious rapture of his grieving mother, the young dead man sat up, began to talk and Jesus, Luke says, gave him back to his mother.
A number of things strike me about this story in relation to the Kingdom of God. For one, the compassion of Christ for one who had lost so much. "His heart went out to her..." Second, the authority of Jesus to say to the dead young man, "...I say to you,get up!" and then the great gift made as He, "...gave him back to his mother."
But the thing that intrigues me the most is the reaction of the crowd of on-lookers. "They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.'"
"God has come to help his people." When we minister to people physically in the name of Jesus, the whole goal should be to point people to the Father and His Son, Jesus. When we respond to a disaster event in Japan, a chronic hunger problem in sub-Saharan Africa, an urban slum and its needs in a mega-city in India, our goal to have the people whom we minister to say, "God has come to help his people!"
A mentor of mine always taught me that when we are finished working in a community with our development projects, the highest praise from the local people is that they do not build a statue to us, but rather give glory to God.
Jesus used compassion and life touching ministries to point people to the Kingdom and to God. Our compassion ministries and demonstration of the gospel through acts of kindness should ultimately be about making His kingdom and the King Himself known.
What do people see and say when we help them in their hour of need? Do they applaud us or do they see that through us, God has come to help them? More importantly, what do we do to make sure that they don't applaud us but see God's Kingdom and His fingerprints in our acts of service and ministry to them?
It's a good question...
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