Hands of God

We have all been a situation where we have needed a hand up. The Lord has offered His hand on countless occasions, and we are too busy paying attention to the crashing waves to look to the Lord that is offering His hand to us. His hand holds us up when we are weak and heavy laden. We all experience times of helplessness, but we are not alone. There are many ways that we could describe the ways that the Lord helps us out. We should be willing to offer the same help to those that are less fortunate. So many people go into these situations expecting blessings if they do so, but that should not be the reason why we help others. We should help others expecting nothing in return, because Jesus did that during His earthly ministry. He fed the five thousand, healed many people on countless occasions, and ministered to those that have committed what we would consider to be far greater sins than any we have committed. We know that God is no "respecter of persons", and neither should we be. "And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him."(Eph. 6:9) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"(Romans 3:23) The Lord directs to opportunities to help others, so when He leads do not ignore the chance to show Christ through you.

We have raised our hopes and our cities high
We have followed fragile dreams
But only One could take the measure of our goals
And we've stumbled over the trials of life
And we've wrestled the unseen
But only One can calm the storm inside our souls

In the hands of God we will fall
Rest for the restless, and the weary
Hope for the sinner
In the hands of God we stand tall
Hands that are mighty to deliver
Giving us freedom

When our strength gave way to the weight of guilt
'Til we strained for every breath
Only One could lift our shame and make us well
And when all is finished and we face
The fearsome power of death
Only One has overcome the gates of hell

You're amazing
You're amazing, You are
And we praise You, Lord
For what Your hands have done
(In the Hands of God- Newsboys)

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be Your hands. Let us reach out to all that know not God and rescue the perishing.

The Voice of Truth

The most important part of the body is the voice. The reason why I say that is because it how we communicate our thoughts. We may not utter every thought with our voice, but if it is worth saying it will be vocalized. "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another."(Eph. 4:25) It is better to speak the truth than to lie. Even the smallest lie can start us down a road to larger lies. It is like saying it was only a small sin. Let us call it what it is and tell others about the truth of salvation. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"(Eph. 4:15) We are representing Christ to this world, and we need to do so in love. So much hate is present in this world, and we have the absolute truth of God's Word.

I want to "speak every man truth." It is hard for some people to listen the truth. It is our job to do so in love.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
(The Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns)

Let us proclaim the message of salvation to all.

How Are We Presenting the Gospel?

We cannot take the presentation of the Gospel lightly. God's Word says in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus was doing what He said here, and Zacchaeus was the one for whom He was looking. The Word of God can minister to those that are in luxurious places, but it can also minister to those of low estate. The salvation message is available to all people, but it is ultimately their choice.

We all have a pride issue, and that includes even me. Are we too saturated by our status to visit with those that are less fortunate? During Christ's ministry here on the Earth, did He minister based on statistics? Is one person more valuable than another? We seriously need to open our eyes, because we are missing our opportunities to present the salvation message to those that need it.

There is a reason that I entitled this blog, "If We Are the Body." We are all an integral part of the Body of Christ. We all have our place. One part is not more important than the other. We do not need to be tearing apart the body, to serve our own selfish means. I did say selfish, and I do mean it. Nobody is better than anybody else, so don't act like it. If we come together as the Body of Christ; we will be able to make the body stronger and therefore present the Gospel in a better manner.

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way
("If We Are The Body"- Casting Crowns)

If that does not paint an accurate picture of how the church looks to those outside the Body of Christ, then I don't know what does.