GO BEYOND GOOD INTENTIONS

Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi

James2:15" If a brother or sister be naked, and  destitute of daily food,  And one of you say unto them, Depart in  peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not  those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
       The church of Christ is an extension of God's loving  hands towards humanity.  The scriptures describes the church as the body of Christ. We make God visible to humanity and are instrumental to the answers to the prayers of many.
         We are blessed to be a blessing to others, that is what it means to be the salt of the earth. In Isaiah 61:3 we are called trees of righteousness. A tree serves as shade and a source of food .It's branches produce fire needed to keep warm. A tree lives for others.   This is a true picture of what the church is, therefore, it should not be a strange thing to have so many persons seeking for help from us. The scriptures says in 1John 3:16 -17"Hereby perceive we the love  of God, because  he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for  the brethren.  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his  brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from  him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" this scripture teaches that whatever we have is not just for us but those around us. It is not God’s will for anybody to suffer lack in his church. Poverty is a creation of man ,it is the byproduct of human selfishness and the church has a mandate to eliminate poverty wherever it is found.
       God daily places people in need of help along our paths and expects us to be the good Samaritan .(Luke10:25-37) He has also put in our hearts the ability to identify persons who need help, the scriptures says in James 1:17 " Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it  is sin." neglecting those who need help when the lord prompts us to help them gives Satan the advantage over us.It leads to guilt ,failure and depression .
       True freedom attained when we serve one another in the love of Christ (Gal.5:13-15) As members of the body of Christ , we need each other and whatever we have as gifts have been given to us for the benefit of all. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NLT says "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." Your full potentials cannot be attained until you come to the realization that whatsoever the lord has given to you is for the body of Christ and should be so treated.  The scriptures says in 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen." When we withhold our gifts from the church for whatever reason, it leads to poverty (Prov.11:24)
     The excuse that a member of the church of Christ is an enemy is no good reason not to lend a hand when needed  (Matthew 5:43-48).It is in doing good to those who do not deserve it that our true Christian nature is revealed and developed (Matthew 10:39)Therefore, we should devote ourselves to doing good (Titus 3:14) We should be imitators of Jesus Christ who did not  seek to please himself, the scriptures says in Romans 15:3 NLT "For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”
         Attending to the needs of the helpless is an act done to the glory of Christ (Matthew 25:34-40) therefore we should not be weary in doing good especially to God's family (Gal.6:9-10) remember whatever you do to someone today, someone else  will do to you tomorrow (Matthew 7:12). We are admonished to love one another in response to God's love for us (1John 4:9-21) our love should be deep-rooted (1Pet.4:9-10) and demonstrated through our service for others (1Pet.4:9-10) .Christian love requires a devotion to one another (Rom.12:9-10) do not crave  honour and prestige but a readiness to serve others (Matthew 20:20-28) Jesus demonstrated this by washing the disciples feet( John13:2-17) this is what leads to promotion in God's kingdom.
    Heavenly Father forgive me for my sins against you, I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation. I receive him as lord and saviour and receive grace for unlimited supplies to help those in need in Jesus name.
Prayer / counseling + 2348098536911 ,+ 2348035536911 Email : Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com

Pics credit : pixabay / Hans fotos