Thought for the day...

Look to the Needs of Others

BY RICK WARREN — OCTOBER 15, 2019

1.1K


“Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand” (Philippians 2:4 The Message).


The starting point for all happiness is the moment you shift the focus away from yourself. If all you think about is yourself, you’re going to be a pretty miserable person. If you truly want to be happy in life, you have to care about the needs of those around you.


Paul cites Timothy as an example of this in Philippians 2:20-21: “There is no one like Timothy for having a real interest in you; everyone else seems to be worrying about his own plans and not those of Jesus Christ” (TLB).

Most people don’t get up in the morning and spend energy thinking about how others are doing. Most people are only concerned with their own problems. And that’s why most people are unhappy with their lives!

If you want to be one of those rare, unselfish people, change your focus. You have to shift your focus away from yourself and toward other people. It’s not something that comes naturally; you have to learn to do it.

On many occasions, I’ve missed the needs of people around me that I love because I wasn’t paying attention. I wasn’t taking an interest in them. I hadn’t shifted the focus from me toward the others in the room. Because I wasn’t looking out for their needs, I missed chances to help. And that grieves me a lot.

Instead of grieving missed opportunities, be intentional about looking away from yourself and toward the needs of others, where you’ll find happiness in serving God through serving others

 

October 15, 2019
Verse of the Day
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5 NIV

 

October 16, 2019
Verse of the Day
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV

 

Your bucket list
By Linda Buxa
Do you have a bucket list? My kiddos make one each summer, and we complete about 75 percent of it. Not bad, considering we have diverse personalities and interests. We watch movies, paint faces, have water fights, and go to the beach. Most grown-ups set their sights higher: swim with dolphins, visit European cathedrals, see the majesty of Alaska.

God has a bucket list for his family members to do on this earth too.

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22).

Thanks to the God of peace who sanctifies you, you can complete 100 percent of these!

 

October 17, 2019
Verse of the Day
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 7:25 NIV

 

​

You go first
By Jason Nelson
An important safety tip for early season ice fishing is to politely tell your fishing buddy, “You can go first. I’ll be right behind you.” Then if you fumble a bit with your equipment, you can buy some time and keep an eye on him as he heads out on the ice. Soon enough you will know if it is safe to follow.

Everything about our lives is venturing out on thin ice. The ice is treacherous. There is always the risk of breaking through and going down, way down. I guess we could just stay off the ice. Or we can follow the One who has tested what lies ahead and knows where it’s safe. If I can mess up my metaphor, where us sheep may safely graze.

Our heavenly Father saw from above that the ice was really thin.

He spoke to his beloved Son: “’Tis time to have compassion.
Then go, bright Jewel of my crown, And bring to mankind salvation.
From sin and sorrow set him free; Slay bitter death for them that they
May live with you forever.”—Martin Luther

God said to Jesus, “You go first.” Jesus obeyed his Father’s will. He was born of a virgin mother and came to be our brother. In his everyday, perfect life; substitutionary death; and victory-sharing resurrection, Jesus went first. We call after him, “Wait up! Savior, we follow on, guided by you.”

 

October 18, 2019
Verse of the Day
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

 

​

His eyes are on the workplace
By Pastor Mark Jeske
Where does worship happen? Well, in church, of course. In your home, when you sing and pray together. In your quiet place, when you read Scripture and talk to God. But don’t forget about your workplace.

Seriously—God is intensely interested in what goes on in your place of employment. He wants to see how you treat your customers and your fellow employees. He wants to see how you treat your boss and the quality of your work when nobody is watching. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23,24).

Those promises are a great comfort when you work at a place that isn’t fun anymore. Maybe it never was, but it can still be a place of worship for you. Anybody can complain and grumble and mail in a performance. A worker who has decided to be positive and happy and cooperative can infect everybody else to be positive and happy and cooperative.

So whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. Know that God is watching you, smiling at your efforts. You can smile too, since you know that you will get two paychecks—one on payday and one in heaven.

 

October 19, 2019
Verse of the Day
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:4 NIV

 

The eyes of your heart
By Sarah Habben
Richard Peck’s novel A Year Down Yonder is set during the Great Depression. Fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent downstate to live with Grandma Dowdel while Ma and Pa scratch out a living in Chicago. Problem is, Mary Alice’s grandma is tough as nails.

Turns out, though, that Grandma Dowdel’s crusty exterior hides a tender wisdom that allows her to see her granddaughter with the “eyes in the back of her heart.”

It’s a poignant phrase, isn’t it? The eyes in our head gather essential information. But the eyes of our heart grasp what is hidden.

The apostle Paul had something to say about the eyes of our heart too. In his letter to the saints in Ephesus, Paul describes the invisible riches we have in Christ. And then Paul prays for his readers: “. . . that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18,19).

Through Baptism and the Word, the Holy Spirit has pried open our spiritual eyes. The merest squint reveals the search beam of Jesus’ love. But let’s not be satisfied with a peek. Let’s make it our life’s ambition to open wide the eyes of our heart, to know God better. Let’s linger over his Word, the better to see what is invisible: A call to hope. A heavenly inheritance. God’s power.

What a wonderful view.

 

October 20, 2019
Verse of the Day
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Isaiah 60:3 NIV

 

October 21, 2019
Verse of the Day
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 NIV

 

Revelation benediction #1: Read, hear, believe
By Pastor Mark Jeske
The last book of the Bible intimidates Bible rookies. It is couched primarily in the language of visions and dreams and needs some care in interpreting and understanding. And the content of those visions is so scary! Things do not look good for the church until Jesus comes back. Even the rookies, however, can see that there is an unbelievably happy ending for Christians.

In the meantime, to give encouragement and hope to the believers as we struggle along, waiting for our final redemption, the Lord gave seven “benedictions” or “blessed statements.” These statements describe happy outcomes for the people who do certain things. Here’s #1: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).

The Bible, including its priceless Revelation at the end, does not self-read or self-hear or self-believe. It is a stunning gift of God, but that gift needs to be received gladly and thankfully and then used. It is not intended as a decorative object in homes and churches. It is a working document, living and breathing, pulsing with spiritual energy, and deep with wisdom for the Christian life. It reveals Satan for the ugly terrorist that he is but reveals Christ our Savior in his sacred and triumphant glory.

You will be blessed when you read it and hear it. You will be blessed even more when you believe it.

 

October 22, 2019
Verse of the Day
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV