Bible Thoughts

November 12, 2000

The instructions of Paul are addressed to individual Christians. He is encouraging those who are disciples to be willing to lend a helping hand to those who are in need. The apostle wanted the Galatians to be especially mindful "of the household of the faith."

Many opportunities are offered to Christians to assist in the care of others. It may come in physical matters(food, transportation, etc.) or in spiritual matters(teaching, example, correction, etc.). Being aware of the needs of others and doing what one can to relieve their anxieties is appropriate for every Christian. Even a kind word, a pleasant thought spoken out loud, or pat on the back can mean much to those who are suffering. Encouraging fellow disciples to be faithful to the Lord and doing what one can to inspire such would be doing good to them.

The members at Glen Springs Road are conscientious in this area. There are those who visit the infirm, go to the hospitals, take food to others, run errands for the aged or infirm, see to the care of Christians who are in need of help or assistance, comfort the bereaved, etc. These disciples set an example worthy of imitation by the rest of us. They are truly doing good to all who need their help.

A commendation to those who sacrifice their time, energy, and funds to see that good is done to and for others. May their tribe increase.

The story about David and Jonathan is a story about friendship, about loyalty and about complete trust between two people. We can see the love they had for each other when we read about them in 1 Samuel. We read about the covenant they made, and how Jonathan intervened when Saul wanted to kill David and how he went against his own father to save the life of his beloved friend.

The story will live on forever and it should have some meaning for us, an example, some kind of lesson that we can learn from it. David and Jonathan had the same goals and is this not true for saints today, don’t we have a common goal? We should all be striving for heaven and because of this we should all have a bond between each other. That relationship we read about is for us to follow not just read about then forget about it.

So does that mean we have to spend time with every saint in the congregation? does that mean we have to share our problems with everyone?. In the story about David and Jonathan we don’t read much about the time they spent together. We read of the love that was shown when the other needed it.

This man had come to the end of his life and when he looked back he could see footprints in the sand, one was his and the other was his brethren. But every so often he

would only see one pair and he asked God about it. God told him the two footprints was when you were able to walk but when you could not, they carried you.

We don’t have to like the same things or spend all our time with everyone but we still need each other, we still need what David and Jonathan had.-Vaughn

In this dog eat dog world of puffed up chests and inflated egos how is it that man can still follow the Lord’s command to be humble? It seems as though we have developed the mentality that the only way to fight this fire is with the same kind of fire. When we look to the scriptures for our answers though, we find God advising us quite differently.

Many people have an incorrect perception of what it means to be humble. Self-deprecation is not humility. The Lord does not ask us to mentally beat ourselves down to the point where we are completely devoid of any strength at all.

Humility is defined as being a lowliness of mind. The Psalmist parallels humility with that of the fear of the Lord(Proverbs 15:33). In His command that we become humble, God is helping man to realize his true place and position in the universe.

There are many reasons why we need to have a humble spirit. Man in and of his own self will find very quickly the limit of his power as he chooses to exert his own influence upon this world. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”(Philippians 4:13). In this Paul was displaying to us God’s plan for the perfect relationship with man. God has planned, from the beginning, to take care of man as man acts to do the divine will. God has acted as a Father to mankind and expects mankind to act as His children. It is when we realize our place in the universe, including our limitation in self and strengths through God, that we can submit to Him and allow Him to effect His good work within us.

Humility is ultimately a sign of trusting in God. He has promised to take care of us. He has proven His ability and will to provide for man. It is now up to us to humble ourselves, trust in Him, and obey. When we realize this, we will find that all the dogs of the world have become much smaller than they once were and we will fear them all the less for the Lord is guiding our steps.-Joe Cook