In reply Jesus said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have.' Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
Good Tuesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. I am sorry I am late, but I was being busy being blessed by God. I was out picking up bread that was donated to the food pantry, and it was a good day for us. Today, Tuesday, we pray for the cures for diseases, like cancer and kidney problems, but not limited to them. Also today pray for Vicki and Josh and their home and health concerns. Pray for Tiffany on her quest for her first home ever. Also please pray for the family of Brian. I have withheld the last name till this hits the news. Brian, one of our military, lost his life yesterday in Afghanistan on his third tour of duty (roadside bomb). I will bring you more on this later... right now, right now let's just stop and pray for our Military.
Dear Father in Heaven, I do not understand war, but You have told us not to be concerned as these things will happen, that there will be wars and rumors of wars. Still, Lord, when we lose any of our fine men and women, we hurt, and the nearer home, the deeper the hurt. Please, dear Lord, bring our men and women home safe and soon, and please consider bringing peace to the world and we know that will only occur on the return of our Lord... Help us to get ready for this. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Helping Others Day 2 Luke 10:30/36 30 - In reply Jesus said. " A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have.' 36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" (NIV) New International Version
First, the answer to the question from yesterday.. You remember the teacher of the law was testing Jesus and asking questions and I mentioned we are not to test God, except for one thing. Pam Bower answered it correctly when she said in our giving...
In Malachi 3:8 - Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, How do we rob you? In Tithes and offerings 9 You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the WHOLE TITHE into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. TEST ME IN THIS, SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that you will not have room enough for it. (NIV)
Now let me go back to the scriptures of today and of course in helping others the parable or story of the Good Samaritan should always be on our mind. What would you do on this very day if you came upon, let's say, came upon a car crash, you are the first one there and you can hear calls for help? Would you stop, or would you drive on by? Now once there are many who have stopped it might be best for you to go on, but I am asking if you are first one there. Would you drive on by thinking if I stop and help I might get sued? If your answer is you are afraid of being sued, do you know we have Good Samaritan laws now that protect those who stop to help? Folks, we must stop and help, first of all it is the law, if you are first on the crash you are required to stop and help. But let's forget laws for right now. What is the right thing to do according to Jesus? If not sure, go back and re-read the scripture of today, if still not sure, go back and read it again and again and again until you find out in your own mind we are to help. Or, just do this, put yourself in the seat of the one in the crash. It is a dark night, it is raining or snowing and you slide off the road, people are hurt, and no one stops to help...
Ok, now you saw the question from Jesus, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" And the answer was of course was the one who had mercy on him, the fallen one... and that was correct, and now for my question...
Which of the people in the story if this were to happen today would be our neighbor? Before I tell you my answer, I would love to hear from you. Oh, I am getting hard in my old age, making you work a little. Please respond, it becomes more like a study than just me writing to you.
Let me tell you just a tad about another person in the story that was every bit as good as the "Good Samaritan." This in my humble opinion would have been the innkeeper. We often think of the innkeeper who had to tell Jesus there was no room in the Inn for our little baby Jesus to be born, but let's today look at the innkeeper in this story. The "Good Samaritan" brings in the man he found along the road and tended to him, as told by Jesus, then leaving some coins or money for the innkeeper to watch over the man and take care of him till he has healed. Now the innkeeper had some choices here, he could have turned down the money, and did nothing, or he could have taken the money and still did nothing, even maybe putting the man, who had nothing, remember he was stripped of everything, even his clothes (I wonder if he had clean underwear on that day?) Only I would think of that!! Anyway, back to the innkeeper, he could have just pocketed the money. While the story seems to not talk about that person, I have good feelings about the innkeeper and how he went about "helping others". What have you done lately to help others? The other day coming home from our concert we stopped to eat. There were military folks at the table beside us, in uniform... Grant and Wanda Crockett picked up their tab as we all said thanks to them for their service. Grant is an Army Disabled Veteran from Viet Nam days. Thanks, Grant, for your service to our country and thanks for taking care of those young ones of today's Army National Guard.
So just let me wrap up this message today. We say some folks walk away from helping others. How many rewards in heaven will a priest, pastor, get for not helping someone? Folks, God holds us to a higher standard, he does, we are indeed accountable to Him for those He trusts to us. And folks, if you indeed are a Christian you are accountable to Him also.. Think about it, it just ain't about going home, it is about doing good while you are here, and although you cannot work your way into heaven, you need to be working once you are saved. More on that another day... Tomorrow, more on Helping others...
Now go forth and share your blessings and tomorrow we are not going to just talk about helping others we are going to be talking some from our "feet". Anyone other than Pam know what I am talking about when is say that? love ya, Pastor Dan.
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