Hello Everyone.

The bible declares that we should say unto the righteous that it is well and because we are the righteousness of God by Christ Jesus, I have no doubt that it is well with you.

How is the 40days of Sacrificial Lifestyle going? Pretty well I expect. Let’s kick off this week by looking at a very famous bible story. It’s found in Luke 10 from verse 25 onwards. I have given a sub title to this week’s discussion and it is “Intentional Act of Kindness”

Luke 10

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbours as yourself.’”28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Something to challenge your thinking

Think about that story for a minute. A Jewish man was injured. A priest saw him, then a temple worker saw him too but they both probably just crossed to the other side. The thing is we really don’t know why these men decided to do nothing. In a hurry perhaps or they were just too preoccupied with their own issues and the thought of having to interrupt their day, perhaps give a statement to the police, wait by whilst you await the ambulance or the trouble of taking him A&E … all of that was just asking for too much but the thing is, if anyone should have stopped they should have been the ones. One, the person that was injured was their kinsman i.e from their tribe and nationality. Secondly they were religious people and people who were expected to know the love of God.

Okay, enough about them, how about us? When was the last time the plight of someone else really moved you to action? Say a car broke down in front of yours, would you just hiss or mutter words like, “just get out of my way” or just act like you actually didn’t see them? What about the elderly neighbours that might really appreciate your company, the desperate homeless person or anyone at all who needs a bit of help whatever that help might be.

Here is a bible verse that might help you further it’s Hebrew 13 from verse 1

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.² don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³ Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies”

Call to Action

• Ask God to help you see the world through the eyes of love and a heart of compassion
• Be on the lookout for that person at work, on the train, by the road side or just a phone call away who needs a bit of your attention
• You could make a list of people you already know that could do with some kindness
• Go ahead and deliberately be the voice and hands of Jesus. Remember we are the body of Christ, go on and be deliberately kind to someone or a few people for that matter this week
• Pray for people around the world who may be suffering either as a consequence of bad governance, war or religious persecution and ask God in what little way can you help

In Summary

People are suffering around the world and we all can cry out and say “God please do something” but I bet his answer would be “you do something, that’s why you are there” and we may ask “what can I do in the midst of all these chaos around us? And you know what? You could be right? But the fact is you don’t have to solve all the problems. The fact is you honestly can’t but we all can do something. If we all do our LITTLE bits, we would have gone a long way to making a BIG difference

Have a glorious week and remember, go on and intentionally show some kindness this week 🙂

Pastor Julius

PS: Want to catch up on the previous weeks?

• Week one Click here
• Week 2 Click here