THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR

 The story of the good Samaritan is a commonly known story, but we often ignore the lessons we ought to learn from it. Below is an excerpt of this parable :

 The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

 ²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
   ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
 ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
   ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
 ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
 ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
   ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
 ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
   Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”


For God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us - a sinful and perishing world -  in order to save mankind from eternal damnation.. But Salvation is conditional on believing in Jesus Christ and His work of atonement for one's sins. Though many people have found out how to escape from the eternal condemnation that awaits all men, most of such are so concerned about themselves that they ignore the feeble ones who happen to be in the claws of the enemy,  and who shall face eternal damnation should they not discover that there is only one name by which one can be saved.
As Acts 4: 12 puts it - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."


Many people have chosen the wider road that leads to eternal condemnation. They live for themselves and have no respect for God. Some have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof. Just like the man in the parable who was robbed and beaten, many have been robbed of salvation by the enemy of this world -the devil, and are in dire need of a good neighbour. Yet, all the good neighbours are simply passing by and are unconcerned. Just like the priest and Levite,  many God fearing ones are busy working for themselves, and selfishly ignoring those in need of the message of Salvation.


The Samaritan attended to the needs of the man who had been robbed and took him to an Inn where he could be restored . We as Christians need to attend to the needs of those around us, especially those who need to be saved from the doom ahead of them. We must sacrifice our time to pray, and must exercise self control in order to reflect Jesus in all our ways. We must draw near to God so He can rub off Himself on us in order for us to reflect Him in every way. Our aim must be to draw all men to Jesus - and lead them to God's Kingdom.

Please let God's Spirit minister to you and make a decision to be an ambassador for Christ from now onwards. For he who wins souls is wise -  Proverbs 11: 30.
















WHAT IS NEXT?

WHEN GOD DOES NOT SHOW UP!

EPHESIANS 6:13   -  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

1 KINGS 18 tells of the great contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, in which Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call for fire from their god. The prophets of Baal were unable to do so, but when Elijah called on God to send fire , God responded pronto, and proved to all that He is God Almighty. 

When God shows up in the above manner, our faith in Him in re kindled, and unbelieving ones turn their hearts towards Him. However Hebrews 11:32-40 brings out a contrast in how God operates: And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

The above passage initially talks about God's generals who made great exploits in His name, and then right afterwards we learn of others who through faith in God suffered unduly - were flogged, stoned to death, were sawed in two etc. WHERE WAS GOD??????

WHERE IS GOD?????????????????????????????????????????????

Sometimes, we are made to wonder where God is . The above martyrs  who suffered, did suffer for believing in God. They had faith in God , and were equally commended for their faith in verse 39 of Hebrews 11. However, unlike Gideon  et al , these ones did not receive the promises of  God on Earth. Simply put, God did not show up in their case.

I always do enjoy reading about Shadrach., Meshach and Abednego in Daniel Chapter 3. These three young men were in trouble for disobeying King Nebuchadnezzar whilst obeying God.  When confronted by the King , they answered in this manner - ¹⁶“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

Young Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted in God and believed He would deliver them. Yet at the same time, they seemed to understand the WAYS OF GOD as well as the ACTS OF GOD. They knew that God's ways are definetely not man's ways, and that He could choose to show up or not, depending on His ultimate plans. To these young Hebrew men, their faith in God was not going to be based on what God could and would do for them. Their faith in God was steadfast and was not going to waver, come what may.
PRAISE GOD!!!!

What was the outcome of their faith? God did show up in the hot furnace and delivered them . They came out unscathed by the fire. The same fire which even killed those that escorted them to it. God is wonderful!

I wish I could say that God always shows up in this manner, but the Bible does not teach us so. There is the story of Lazarus  who fell sick, and how Jesus delayed in going to see him, and alas he died. God appeared to have failed Lazarus. But in the end, Jesus raised a dead Lazarus from the dead, and indicated that his initial delay was intended for God's glory to be seen.

Also we know of how Jesus was chosen by God to die for a sinful world  in order to save a fallen mankind. Jesus felt forsaken when on the cross - he actually cried  out  - Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Jesus actually felt forsaken by His father.  But God had to do so for a greater plan of His to be accomplished. There are times in our lives that God may not show up when we expect Him to because of His ultimate plan to show His Glory. He may wait for the worst case scenario before He steps in, in order to receive more glory.

 Sin separates man from God. In the book of Joshua chapter 7 , God again was no where to be found at a time Israel needed Him most. They were at war with  Ai , and were defeated. Joshua the leader of Israel went before the Lord to question why He had let them down at such a crucial time. In the end, Achan's sin was detected as the cause of why God had turned His eyes away from Israel. God does not dwell where sin abounds. Therefore, our sin can cause God not to show up when we call, especially when we are not repentant.

Just as we read earlier in Hebrews 11,  the martyrs believed God but did not receive the promise. And why was this so? The word of God puts it plainly in Hebrews 11 :39 - 40   ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 


In all things we must give thanks to God, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus.






























WHAT IS NEXT?