Things To Remember

Daily Inspiration from the NIV

[An expert in the law] asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.... "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Luke 10:29-34, 36-37

My Thoughts about It All

I do love to read the Bible. The problem is, if you do not have a servant's heart (which we are not born with) we tend to wrestle with just about everything God tells us to do, especially if it takes us out of our comfort zone. Believe me, I know this first hand about myself. I'm good about praying for people, but when it comes to "going out of my way the majority of the time I fight myself over it. I'm truly getting better, but believe it or not, it is hard, but you know what? I think it's hard for me to overcome because I don't allow God to do His job which is to help me or to put what I need in my spirit to do what He wants me to do. I'm trying to do it by myself, and that never turns out right. I'm so busy praying for other people and asking God to intervene in this situation or that one, I forget to ask Him to work on me, so that when I help others I will be in His perfect will and result will come. I won't see change until I change. I won't change unless I ask God to help me change, It is then, I will receive the "Servant's spirit and attitude, which in turn will change my whole world.

My Pastor prays a scripture that I wish I would get into the habit of praying Every Morning before I rise out of bed; Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. I sincerely believe if I would start praying this scripture each day, I would see a change in me, my attitude and the world around me.

I know in today's world it is so scary to put ourselves out there, to be vulnerable to others. There are so many scam artists, thieves, and worse just waiting to get the chance do hurt unsuspecting people. I used to be a very trusting person, but now I can't say that. Years ago, I would have offered rides to anyone I saw walking down the road whether my husband was with me or not. Now, I stop for women and that's all . If a man is broke down, I'll ask him if I can call someone for him, but won't let him in my car. The person who did that is long gone. I loan money, but I don't expect it to be repaid, therefore I don't loan large amounts. I have turned into the person I said I never wanted to be. I saw people like this when I was growing up and remember thinking how selfish, that's cold not to pick them up, and so on. Now I understand, but I don't think God wants us to be skeptics. I keep thinking maybe if I pray about it first The problem with that is by the time I pray, I'm either past them or haven't gotten my answer, so I keep going. I did that the other day. I saw a man stranded on the side of the road, while I was headed to town. I live about 5 miles out. I kept on going. Then I started feeling guilty so I turned around and went back. He said he was waiting on a friend to pick him up so I left. What if I had kept going, and that was actually my chance to do what God wanted me to do? That would be disobeying God, especially if that little voice inside was telling me to stop. (which it was) and I kept going until the guilt hit. If I had not turned around, and something would have happened to that man, it would have been on my conscience for the rest of my life.

I chose these pictures for a reason. To me, the Lion stands for Jesus helping me to overcome obstacles which hinder me in doing His work. The Lamb is meek, which means having a "servant's attitude, and the cross of course is the price "the Lion or Lamb paid for me, thereby making me realize that if He can die for me I should be able to do His will for Him.

Now, remember, this is not a lecture. I guess you could call this a reflection of me looking back at me and mulling over what I need to do for my life to be better and make a difference in this world.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

PJ