WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE NEED IT – Part 1 of 2

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  (Philippians 4:6)

Few people have witnessed more miracles than George Müller (1805 – 1898).

Along with pastoring one church for sixty-six years, Müller established the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He cared for 10,024 orphans while establishing 117 schools for their education throughout England. Adjusted for inflation, George Müller raised $150 million dollars for those kingdom causes. This is an incredible sum of money by any standard, but what makes it even more remarkable is the fact that George Müller never asked anyone for anything – not a single penny. He made a covenant to ask only God. Müller figured that God knew exactly what he needed and when he needed it, and God could make provision for it. It is estimated that Müller experienced thirty thousand specific answers to prayer, as recorded in his journal. Time and time again, food would be dropped off on their doorstep right when they ran out, a donation was made right before a bill came due, or a plumber offered his services right when a problem needed to be fixed.

I live by an Oswald Chambers maxim: “Let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” So I’m not prescribing George Müller’s methodology across the board. I think it’s okay to verbalize a need or ask for help, but shouldn’t we put it to prayer first rather than last? And why do we take matters into our own hands when we can put them into the hands of God? Few things are harder than letting go and letting God, but that’s what George Müller modeled. And I can think of thirty thousand reasons to follow his example. 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible” 

#6026

ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT)

Do you need encouragement right now? My best advice to you is to go encourage someone else. Are you caught up in your own needs? Go fill the needs of others. You’ll reap what you sow, and the love you give will return to you.

But some people have actually told me, “I don’t know anyone who needs encouragement.” Would you like to know the best place to find them? In your church.

Fred Smith, a businessman, asked a church usher about his responsibilities. The man said, “Nothing more than being there, shaking hands, finding my place in the aisle, taking the offering, and showing up for an occasional ushers meeting.” Smith thought this didn’t sound very biblical, but he observed in the conversation that this man had a passion about the ministry of hospitality. So many people come to church filled with cares and anxiety, the usher had noticed, and they need a warm handshake, a listening ear, perhaps a hug. The man found his place to serve God quietly but profoundly.

This weekend, make it a project to go to church simply as an encourager. Ask God to direct your steps to someone who needs a dose of love. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#5925

HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE

“Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing. Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 2:4-5 LB)

Hurt people hurt people. If someone is hurting you, that person is doing so because he or she is hurting. We need to look beyond people’s faults and see their needs. Then we can learn to love.

Have you discovered that the most obnoxious people and the least loveable people are those who need love the most? The people we would rather ignore are the ones who desperately need massive doses of love. Everyone needs love. If a person can’t get love, he will strive for attention. And if he can’t get attention, he will work at attracting negative attention. Subconsciously, he is saying, “I will be noticed, one way or another.”…

If instead of thinking about a person’s faults we begin to think about their needs, it will change the way we feel. 

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5795

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV)

The Church is in the world to save the world. It is a tool of God for that purpose; not a comfortable religious club established in fine historical premises. Every one of its members is required, in one way or another, to co-operate with the Spirit in working for that great end; and much of this work will be done in secret and invisible ways. We are transmitters as well as receivers. Our contemplation and our action, our humble self-opening to God, keeping ourselves sensitive to His music and light, and our generous self-opening to our fellow creatures, keeping ourselves sensitive to their needs, ought to form one life: mediating between God and His world, and bringing the saving power of the Eternal into time. We are far from realizing all that the human spirits can do for one another on spiritual levels if they pay the price; how truly and really our souls interpenetrate, and how impossible and un-Christian it is to “keep ourselves to ourselves.”

-- Evelyn Underwood in “The Spiritual Life”

#5451

SIGHS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS

“In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.”  (Romans 8:26 Amplified)

Sometimes words can get in the way.  When my spirit is sighing with the weight of the world, it’s encouraging to know the Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. A sigh is nothing more than a letting go. Like letting go of all your breath. We have to let go before we breathe in again.

The Spirit of God joins in the sighing, a mysterious conversation that goes on within the very being of God. These divine groanings reach to the depths of our deepest needs and reach up to the heights of God’s grace. 

-- Marty Haugen

#5354

MEASURED GRACE

“[God] gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”  (James 4:6 NLT) 

[God] supplies perfectly measured grace to meet [our needs]. For daily needs there is daily grace; for sudden needs, sudden grace; for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace. God's grace is given wonderfully, but not wastefully; freely but not foolishly; bountifully but not blindly.

-- John Blanchard in “Truth for Life: A Devotional Commentary on the Epistle of James”

#5031

LISTENING TO ONE ANOTHER

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  (Philippians 2:4 BSB)

Truly listening to someone requires a lot more work than you probably think. Most of the time, we are spending our time thinking of what to say back to the person and inserting our opinion rather than listening to what they’re actually saying. Step back and listen for two things: what the other person is feeling and what the other person needs. Give them a chance to express those feelings and needs, and repeat back what they’ve said so they understand you are hearing them. Give them your full attention and be present in the moment. This will give you the ability to actually understand where they are fully coming from instead of only understanding half of the story. 

-- Adapted from Megan Bailey at beliefnet.com

#4966

TRANSFORMED BY THE SPIRIT

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”  (1 Corinthians 2:13 NIV)

Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers, creator and host of television's "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," once gave an address describing the time he was a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and attended a different church each Sunday in order to hear a variety of preachers.

One Sunday he was treated to "the most poorly crafted sermon I had ever heard." But when he turned to the friend who had accompanied him, he found her in tears.

"It was exactly what I needed to hear," she told Rogers.

"That's when I realized," he told the audience, "that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her -- and as it turned out, for me too."

-- Victor Parachin in “Christian Reader”, Sept/Oct 1999


#4722

YOU GROW AS YOU SERVE

The determination to minister in love to anyone who enters our workday world produces an unexpected by-product. Throughout the New Testament, we find a principle of gain and loss, of life and death. “In seeking the glory of God and the good for our fellow-creatures,” as Jonathon Edwards put it, “you take the surest way to have God seek your interests, and promote your welfare.”

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24-25)

The caring soul can’t lose. Make your priority other people’s and you’ll add a foot to your spiritual stature. Learn to feel the throb of another’s heart and your own will beat stronger. Lose your life in the lives of the needy for Jesus’ sake and you’ll find it. Leave your self-interests and personal preoccupations behind and see what wonderful things God has in store for you.

-- Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors, in “Side by Side: Disciple-Making for a New Century”


#4715

THE ANSWER TO OUR DEEPEST NEED

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong.  Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed.  More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them.  Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'." (Mark 7:20-23)

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security.

By His death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.  In this way He supplied the answer to our deepest need.

-- Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha Course booklet "Why Jesus?"


#4675

OFFERING CHRIST

“Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’"  (Acts 3:4-6)

As I thought about our church and the many other churches within our community I wondered, what we can actually offer. Most churches do not have the financial and material resources that most unemployed people need – such as housing, food, utilities, jobs, and medical resources. But I was reminded once again of what the church DOES have. Churches DO have Jesus! And Jesus is who people really need. Jesus can bring people into a relationship with Almighty God who Himself owns all the resources on a thousand hills. And He’s the One the church can offer to the community. The church’s mission is to introduce people to JESUS.

Scripture says “My GOD shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Philippians 4:19) Only Jesus can truly satisfy the emptiness in the human heart. Only Jesus can forgive sins. Only Jesus can encourage us by His abiding presence in overcoming fear. There is no better way to encourage someone than to tell them about Christ and His love.

-- Michael W. Bilsza, excerpted from a letter to the editor in the Coshocton Beacon


#4635

EVERYTHING YOU NEED

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)

What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you don’t have in life.

May I meddle for a moment? What is the one thing separating you from joy? How do you fill in this blank: “I will be happy when _______________”? When I am healed. When I am promoted. When I am married. When I am single. When I am rich. How would you finish that statement?

Now with your answer firmly in hand, answer this. If your ship never comes in, if your dreams never come true, if the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you are sleeping in the cold cell of discontentment. You are in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd.

You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need.

-- Max Lucado in “Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Bear -- The Promise of Psalm 23”


#4624

PRAYER IS A RELATIONSHIP

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)

Prayer is not a one-way conversation where you simply recite everything you want God to do for you. It is a two-way fellowship and communication. You speak to God, and He speaks to you. Prayer also includes listening. In fact, what God says to you in prayer is far more important than what you say to Him. After all, God already knows what you’re going to tell Him, but He has amazing things to reveal that you don’t know.

Prayer is a relationship, not a religious activity. Through prayer, you adjust to God; God doesn’t adjust to you. He wants you to pray, but He doesn’t need you to. You, however, need to pray because of what God wants to do in your life during your prayer time.

When the Holy Spirit reveals a truth to you in prayer, He is present and actively working in your life. This kind of prayer is a divine encounter.

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”


#4615

THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)

Our happiness is greatest when we contribute most to the happiness of others.

-- Harriet Shepard 


#4454

PREACHING CHRIST

“You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake.”  (2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT)

The One we preach is not Christ-in-a-vacuum, nor a mystical Christ unrelated to the real world, nor even only the Jesus of ancient history, but rather the contemporary Christ who once lived and died, and now lives to meet human need in all its variety today.

-- John Stott in “Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today”

#4101

WHERE THERE IS NEED, THERE IS GOD

Just as water is ever seeking the lowest depths in order to fulfill them, so is Jehovah ever seeking out [our] need in order to satisfy it. Where there is need, there is God. Where there is sorrow, misery, unhappiness, suffering, confusion, folly, oppression, there is the I AM, yearning to turn [our] sorrow into bliss whenever [we] will let Him. It is not, therefore, the hungry seeking for bread, but the Bread seeking the hungry; not the sad seeking for joy, but rather Joy seeking the sad; not emptiness seeking fullness, but rather Fullness seeking emptiness. And it is not merely that God supplies our need, but He Himself becomes the fulfillment of our need.

-- Roy and Revell Hession in We Would See Jesus


#4044

INTERRUPTIONS TO OUR SCHEDULE

Jesus wants us to see that the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or in a classroom are not interruptions to our schedule. They are there by divine appointment.  Jesus wants us to see their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and He wants to give us the courage to reach out to them.

-- Rebecca Manley Pippert

#3830

INTERRUPTED BY GOD

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.  God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.  We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps -- reading the Bible.  When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised athwart our path to show us that not our way, but God's way must be done.

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) in Life Together

#3808

A LESSON IN GIVING

An old man showed up at the back door of the house we were renting.  Opening the door a few cautious inches, we saw his eyes were glassy and his furrowed face glistened with silver stubble.  He clutched a wicker basket holding a few unappealing vegetables.  He bid us good morning, and offered his produce for sale.  We were uneasy enough that we made a quick purchase to alleviate both our pity and our fear.

To our chagrin, he returned the next week, introducing himself as Mr. Roth, the man who lived in the shack down the road.  As our fears subsided, we got close enough to realize it wasn't alcohol but cataracts that marbleized his eyes.  On subsequent visits, he would shuffle in, wearing two mismatched right shoes, and pull out a harmonica.  With glazed eyes set on a future glory, he'd puff out old gospel tunes between conversations about vegetables and religion.

On one visit, he exclaimed, "The Lord is so good!  I came out of my shack this morning and found a bag full of shoes and clothing on my porch."

"That's wonderful, Mr. Roth!" we said.  "We're happy for you."

"You know what's even more wonderful?" he asked.  "Just yesterday I met some people that could use them."

-- Mark Tidd


#3523

AN EXERCISE OF LOVE

It makes a great difference in our feelings towards others if their needs and their joys are on our lips in prayer; as also it makes a vast difference in their feelings towards us if they know that we are in the habit of praying for them.  There is no chasm in society that cannot be firmly and permanently bridged by intercession; there is no feud or dislike that cannot be healed by the same exercise of love.

-- Charles H. Brent (1862-1929)


#3326