Tag Archives: helping others

January 27, 2023 · 5:27 AM

Called To Serve

From the moment you’re born, people take care of your needs. At first it’s because you can’t do anything for yourself. As you get older, it’s because it’s easier to do it for you than to wait for you to do things for yourself. This trains your brain that life is all about you and that others should take care of your needs. It creates a thought pattern that is counter to God’s design for you. His idea is that we should serve others, not the other way around. God is the one who said that it’s better to give than to receive. He wants us to look out for the needs of others and take care of them. Life is not about you. It’s about showing God’s love to others who often don’t deserve it in our minds. Take a look around you today and find someone to serve. Do it unto God and then begin to make a habit of it. You can develop this Christlike character by overriding the way your brain is wired.

Here are some Bible verses on serving others.

1. Take a constant interest in the needs of God’s beloved people and respond by helping them. And eagerly welcome people as guests into your home.

Romans 12:13 TPT

2. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

Romans 12:7 NLT

3. And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Matthew 25:40 NLT

4. You are to lead by a different model. If you want to be the greatest, then live as one called to serve others.

Mark 10:43 TPT

5. Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace.

1 Peter 4:10 TPT

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January 5, 2023 · 5:30 AM

People’s Potential

Years ago I knew a man who made his living on dumpster diving. During the day, and often at night, he would drive around looking in dumpsters for things people had thrown away. He would then take them home, repair them, refinish them, and then sell them. He had an eye for breathing life into things that had been discarded, and he wasn’t too proud to go into dumpsters to get those things.

He reminded me of the gardener that Jesus told a parable about in Luke 13:6-9. The master had purchased a fig tree, and year after year, he had come to it to get figs. After a few years, he became upset. He told the gardener to chop it down because it was a waste of soil space. But the gardener replied, “Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer. Then if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down’” (GNT).

Both the gardener and my friend had an ability to see potential where others saw none. They both understood that it would take work to bring about restoration, but they were both willing to do it. It makes me question how I see people. Am I like the gardener or the master? Am I looking for the potential in others, or my self? Or am I quick to discard them as useless? I think if we truly looked in the mirror, most of us are like the master, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

When I was a kid there was a song about an auction. At this auction the auctioneer held up on old, dusty broken looking violin. He asked who would give him a dollar for it. Then a man walked up, dusted it off, tuned it, and began to play. When he finished playing, the auction asked, “One give me one thousand. Who’ll make it two?” The people asked what made the change, and he answered, “It was the tough of the master’s hand.” There’s no one that God can’t touch, repair, use and increase their value to others.

Photo by Johann Siemens on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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October 28, 2022 · 5:47 AM

Helping Someone

When you see or know of someone who needs help, do you feel bad for them, and then go about your day? Or do you allow your schedule to be disrupted? I always think of two stories when I’m faced with that scenario. First I think of the Good Samaritan who disrupted his day to render aid while everyone else passed by. The other is in Matthew 25 when Jesus was telling the people about judgement day. He separated people into two groups. One group visited the sick, clothed the naked and ministered to prisoners, the others did not. He said that when we help the least, we’re helping Him. I can’t help but wonder what His response will be to me if I say I was too busy, too distracted or too apathetic to help someone in need. Who knows if God changes our path or someone else’s some days so that He can express His love through our help.

Here are some Bible verses on helping others.

1. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts of the Apostles 20:35 NLT

2. And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

Titus 3:14 ESV

3. Help carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2 GNT

4. If you think you are somebody too important to stoop down to help another (when really you are not), you are living in deception.

Galatians 6:3 TPT

5. Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.

Hebrews 13:16 GNT

Photo by Matthias Zomer:

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March 18, 2022 · 5:33 AM

Be A Blessing

I was talking with someone recently about how incomes have fluctuated during the pandemic. Some people’s income increased and many’s decreased. They were saying how theirs decreased, but they wanted to maintain their giving level through their season of having less money. They were following a Biblical principle of giving. No matter how much or how little we have, we are to give to God and others. I cant help but think of the widow’s mites. We don’t get to see the blessing side of her story, just the obedience side. I believe God opened the windows of Heaven and blessed her because she continued to give and bless others no matter how little she had.

Here are some Bible verses on blessing others through giving.

1. Do not neglect to do good, to contribute [to the needy of the church as an expression of fellowship], for such sacrifices are always pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16 AMP

2. The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].

Proverbs 11:25 AMP

3. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.”

Deuteronomy 15:11 AMP

4. When you are generous to the poor, you are enriched with blessings in return.

Proverbs 22:9 TPT

5. Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith!

Galatians 6:10 TPT

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February 1, 2022 · 5:54 AM

Give Something

It wasn’t that long ago that there were national headlines that read, “Philadelphia Subway Riders Witness Rape, But Did Nothing.” There is some dispute over those headlines, but there were a number of people there who were so busy on their phones that they didn’t even notice it happening right by them. Someone needed help, and no one ingervened. It reminds me of a TV show I’ve watched called “What Would You Do?” They have hidden cameras and have actors playing out different scenarios where someone needs help. Most people don’t get involved because it’s none of their business. The ones that do help, tell the reporter that they had to do something because no one else was.

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. A person had been beaten up and robbed on a busy road. People may have witnessed it, but did nothing. The next part is just as shocking. A priest sees the man lying there naked and beaten up, looks at him and walks by on the other side. Then a person who worked in the Temple came by, saw him and walked away. The least likely person to help walked by, saw him, had compassion on him and helped him. Jesus asked the crowd who acted neighborly towards the injured man. When they told Him the Samaritan was, He told them to go act the same way towards people.

Proverbs 3:27 says, “Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person” (MSG). In order to help others, we need to be aware of our surroundings and the people around us. We are God’s hands in a broken world. So many people that you know are in need of help one way or another. We can’t hide behind the excuse that we don’t know how to help them or we don’t have enough. If the boy that had the five loaves and two fish had looked at what he had compared to the crowd, he would have thought the same thing. However, when he was willing to help, Jesus took what He had and made it more than enough. Give what you can (listening ear, money, a room, etc.), and let God do the rest.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

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November 29, 2021 · 5:46 AM

Sharing A Burden

When I talk to leaders, I often have a conversation with them about the difference between empathy and sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand what someone else is feeling because you have been there yourself. Sympathy is acknowledging what someone else is feeling even though you haven’t experienced it yourself. They are slightly different, however Empathy can be much stronger because you can have a deeper emotional connection. Just because you haven’t experienced it yourself though, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t express sympathy. In both cases, you’re working to share the emotional load of another person.

Galatians 6:2-3 says, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important” (NLT). This commandment is given to all of us to help one another in whatever burden someone else is carrying. I’ve seen many believers back away from a situation because they couldn’t empathize with that person. The load of their situation was crushing them, but no one came to their aid. This where sympathy comes in. It can express itself by simply sitting with that person. Your physical presence tells them they’re not alone thereby taking some of their burden off of them.

Each of us have our own problems, but we are better and stronger when we carry them together. From the beginning God said it was not good for us to be alone. He built us for connection and to help each other. If you look around today, you will see someone in your path who is struggling to carry a heavy burden. Whether you can empathize or sympathize with them, it’s important to let them know they’re seen and they’re not alone. If you think back to a time when you were burdened down, you will remember how desperate you were for some acknowledgment that would give you hope and strength. Today, you have that opportunity to be that for someone else. Don’t miss that opportunity, and in doing so, you will fulfill the law of Christ in loving your neighbor.

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May 26, 2021 · 5:53 AM

Taking Initiative

After speaking at a high school chapel service, a young girl came up to me and asked how she could know what her calling was. I told her to find her holy discontentment and start there. She still seemed a little confused, so I asked her to think about things that break her heart when she sees them. Then I gave her some advice I heard Andy Stanley give: Do for one what you wish you could do for many. Sometimes we look at an entire problem, feel inadequate and give up. You may not be able to eradicate hunger in the world by yourself, but you can feed one person. Start there. Do for one what you wish you could do for many. When you prove you can be faithful helping one, God will empower you to help many. It all starts with one.

I can’t help but think of King David wanting to show kindness to Saul’s family. When he found out Jonathan had a son that was still alive, he had him brought in. Historically, when a new family took over the throne, they wiped out the bloodline of the previous ruling family. Jonathan’s son thought that was what was going to happen to him when the king summoned him. However, David placed himself in this young man’s shoes and decided to show him kindness. If the roles had been switched, he would have appreciated kindness to his grandson. He then did for one what he wanted to do for any in Saul’s line; he gave him a seat at the king’s table and restored his family’s property.

I know you probably grew up reciting the Golden Rule and were taught to treat others the way you want to be treated, but what if you used it as a measuring stick for fulfilling your calling? I love the perspective that The Message gives it in Matthew 7:12. It says, “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” When you have found your holy discontentment, do for one what you wish people would do for you if you were in that situation. Quit making the excuse that the problem is too great, you don’t have the resources to make a difference or that you’re not ready. Find one person in that situation and do what you can. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but you have to start. Put yourself in their shoes, think of what you would like for someone to do for you, take the initiative and do it.

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March 11, 2021 · 5:30 AM

Busy Work

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand busy work. I hate being given a task just for the sake of having something to do. I see it as a waste of time rather than a time filler. Nothing truly productive comes from it. I’d rather save my energy, brain power and time doing nothing rather than doing meaningless tasks. Whether it’s at work, home or wherever, we’ve all been given busy work since we were kids.

Sometimes doing things for God feels like busy work. I can’t see the purpose behind doing what He’s asked, so it feels like busy work. Whether it’s busy work or not, I obey because it’s God who is asking. Many times it’s simply to go somewhere, pick someone up, say something to someone, serve at an event or something like it. When I don’t get to see the impact or reason, it can feel like busy work to me.

I was discussing this with one of my pastor friends recently. Then I recalled a couple of events that I could barely remember doing, but the people I helped acted as if I had saved their life. The “busy work” on my part had a significant meaning to the person God was directing it toward. It was a great reminder that often what we do for God may feel like busy work at times to us, but to others, it’s life changing stuff.

Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 15:58, “Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless” (GNT). If you’re feeling like God has given you a lot of busy work lately, take heart. Nothing you do for Him is useless. It’s not a waste of your time, talents or resources. Often you’re changing lives without even knowing it. God doesn’t give out busy work to keep us occupied. He gives us work that we’re to stay busy at because eternity is at stake.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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September 9, 2020 · 5:56 AM

Preparing To Help Others

Several years ago I got a group of people together online who were going through difficult times. My plan was to meet with them each day for 30 days to provide them with encouragement from God’s Word as I shared the struggle I had made it through. I think we were about a week into it when one of the participants messaged me and said, “We get it that you made it through. What we need to know is how you made it through.” It was an aha moment for me as a writer, but as I went to answer her, I realized I hadn’t stopped to consider the steps I had taken to survive. The group quickly fizzled out because I didn’t have that answer. I wanted to help them, but just because I had walked where they were walking didn’t help them much. It gave them hope that they could survive, but still left them without a roadmap out.

There are several books of the Bible that share with us the struggles that David went through. He waited nearly 15 years from the time he was anointed king to becoming king, he ran from Saul, faced a coup from his son, sinned against God and so much more. His life was not perfect and he went through a lot. Reading about those things is inspiring, but it’s the Psalms that draw us in because they are the roadmap. They share how he survived those trials and consequences. He writes out where he put his hope, how he trusted God and that he needed a new heart. They speak to us more than the stories because as we go through difficulties, we need practical information of how to get through things.

2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God” (GNT). If you’ve made it through troubled times, think about how you made it through so you can help those who will go through something similar later. If you’re going through hard times now, keep a journal. It may be the key that helps someone else later. Your trials are not without purpose. Yes, they help purify you and strengthen you, but they’re also so that you can help someone else later. God helps us through difficult times, but there are practical things you’re doing or have done that other will need to know. Don’t get stuck without an answer like I was. Be prepared to help with a roadmap when the time comes.

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June 24, 2020 · 5:52 AM

Stop Procrastinating

Several years ago, I was in a meeting with my boss, his boss and a regional president along with the other managers in my district. It was the start of a new quarter and we had to come in, defend our numbers from the past quarter and project what we were going to produce next quarter. The big boss was known for how hard on people she was. The guy right before me, got to his slide about next quarter’s numbers and she stopped him. She asked, “What are you doing to get these numbers?” He said, “What we’re going to do is,” and she interrupted him. “I didn’t ask what you were going to do. I asked what you were doing.” He started the same way again. She interrupted again and said, “If you were going to get these results, you wouldn’t be waiting to do anything. You’d be doing it now.” She told him to sit down, looked at me and said, “Let’s jump to this slide on yours and talk about what you’re doing today.”

As hard as that meeting was, I learned a valuable truth. We talk about tomorrow a lot and the things we’re going to do, but the truth is that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. How can we put off doing something worthwhile that will be impactful to a time period we’re not guaranteed? James wanted to know this too. In James 4, he talked about taking advantage of the moment you’re given: today. In verse 17 he penned some tough words like that president in the meeting. He wrote, “So if you know of an opportunity to do the right thing today, yet you refrain from doing it, you’re guilty of sin” (TPT). Ouch. To not take advantage of an opportunity to do the right thing right now is sin.

My middle initial is “P”. People always ask what it stands for. I like to tell them, “Procrastinator!” James doesn’t leave us any room for procrastination though. Every one of us are presented with opportunities to help people and to make a difference, but we second guess ourselves and procrastinate. Procrastination leads to excuses on why you didn’t accomplish something. I don’t want to stand before God one day with a list of excuses why I didn’t do something when given the opportunity. It’s time that you and I start taking advantage of the opportunities God gives us to make a difference each day. It may not have the global impact we want or get the attention of others that we crave, but it will get results for the person or people you help and will be noticed by God.

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