1-2 "Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”
3-6 "That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!"-Romans 15:1-6 (The Message)
Just letting you all now this might be my last one for this week until next Tuesday because I'm going with my college girlfriends on a much needed summer vacation. We will be too busy listening to country music and roaming the country streets because we are headed to Nashville, TN on Wednesday. Yes, I will also write about it will I get home because it will be a trip to remember. I'ms sure of it!
As, I think, I've said before my church is doing a series on the life of David and it is hitting me pretty good. So good that I am doing the verses that they give in the bulletin to read every day during the week. This is the first series that I am actually doing those verses. I might be two weeks behind but I'm still doing them. These 6 verses were some of those verses and here what they mean to me and how they hit me hard.
The title is "Learn from the stories of others" for a reason. That reason is this: "we can all learn something from each other whether good or bad". It says that if we are strong and able that we should help those who falter. To me, that means get in their lives and live it with them. Listen to them when they need a listening ear. You might learn something useful especially if you are younger then them.. They could lead you to right and wrong things to do. We shouldn't do what is most convenient for us because then we might miss out on something that we needed in our lives. Sometimes God asks us to do things in our most inconvenient times but really it is the right time for you or that person you are helping.
When we come across someone that could use our help, we need to ask ourselves "How can I help?" and then go do it. That is what Jesus did. He went and helped people who needed the help. It didn't make his life any easier by avoiding the people's problems. If he did, we wouldn't be here today. God wants us to be alert for what He will and can do next in our lives. Learning from others' stories can strengthen and teach us things that we might not learn otherwise. It is how our dependably, steady, and personal God develops the maturity in us that we need to get through hardships and easy things in life. It shows us how to get along with each other because if we understand and learn each other's stories then we can see who people truly are and why they do what they do.
So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. I know it isn't the easiest thing to do. Trust me. I still have a hard time doing it but I know I need to go deeper and get to know some of the people around me. I know I have doubted and hurt some people that I never meant to hurt but yet I did because I didn't take the time to stop, think, and ask them about their stories of life. I know for me just waiting on some people or just knowing they are not where they should be or want to be yet is the hardest thing for me. God is teaching and growing me in patience in the knowing that they're not ready and won't be for awhile. Then I also know that God is teaching me self-control in a lot of ways too like to hold myself back when it is not the right time to jump in on different things.
It is hard to share our stories but once we do, we have helped someone grow into the person that God wants them to be wether it is just a little bit or a lot. We can all learn something from everyone. God puts certain people in our paths for certain reasons whether learning from them or teaching them. You will never know until you each share your story with one another.
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