For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm116:8,9)
How wonderful and merciful our God is! We were all deserving of death, but instead, He delivered our very souls from it! He wipes away the tears from our eyes and keeps our way steady through His word by keeping our feet from falling. Now we can say that we will walk before the Lord in the here and now! We don’t need to wait to leave this earth to live in eternity. Eternity started the moment we were adopted into God’s family through trusting in Jesus Christ. We are living eternity now!
What a gift to be alive at this very point in time to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. We are to share the very life that God has given us with a dying and lost world. God’s love in and through us will reach out and save that which is lost.
We as God’s own are blessed to be a blessing. Let us pour out of ourselves the very nature of Jesus into others and strive to live holy and pure lives before our God. If you see a need, don’t just pray for that need to be met in that persons life, meet it. If someone is hungry, feed them. If someone is cold, clothe them. If someone is sick, nurse them. We are to be Jesus in this earth, not just a spectator hoping that God magically works on someone’s behalf. James 2:16 says,”If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” Share the very gifts God has given you, with others and enjoy the very return of joy on and in your own life.
When we help others, collateral blessings fall all around us. Many times when confronted with those walking toward our cars asking for money, we automatically judge that person by what they look like or how dirty they are. We say,”I already know what this person will do if I give them anything, so I won’t.” Regardless of what we feel or think, Jesus always had compassion on all who were oppressed or marginal in society. What comes to my mind when I see someone in need is that I once too was homeless and I see the hopelessness in their faces and realize I may be the only Jesus they see. The other thing that comes to mind is the scripture in Hebrews 13:2,”Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” We never know the impact we have on others.
Every person has a special gift or giftings that the Master has placed inside of us to share with others. Make an effort to search out the gift that He has placed within you and utilize it for the glory of God in the land of the living.
Pastor Michael Cannatello
lazarusministry.com