Showing Others the Love of Christ: "Let love be your highest goal..." -- (I Corinthians 14: 1)

I’m back! Well, I didn’t really go anywhere, but my life has been on a fast-track for the last four weeks, which did not give me any time to write for the blog, so I feel like I have been gone a long time. I have also have felt like the woman in a variety act who had been given four or five plates to twirl on separate sticks. In this particular variety act scenario, she has to keep running back and forth from plate to plate in an attempt to keep all the plates twirling on the sticks in the air so they won’t fall and break. Certainly, without God’s help and peace, all my plates would have all come crashing down leaving me unable to get everything accomplished that needed to be accomplished. But, the Holy Scripture tells me that, “I can do everything with the help of Christ, who gives me the strength I need.”  -- (Philippians 4: 13. NLT). Moreover, God, the Father, loves us so much that He will never forsake us or let us down. (See Hebrews 13: 5b). We just have to trust in and have faith in God that He is watching over us and helping us even when we can’t see His specific plans for us.

As I mentioned in my last blog, although my husband and I always try to listen for God’s instructions and try to be aware of our spiritual responsibilities, it has just been in the last few months that the Lord has really put some important life changing thoughts in our minds and hearts. When we realized that God wanted something new for our lives, my husband and I focused in on listening for what God would have us do with this next stage in our lives; the retirement stage. 

As we listened and prayed we both felt that the Lord wanted us to sell our present home and move to a new area. So, we put our home up for sale with plans to move to the Springfield, Missouri area to be closer to our family. We want to be closer to my parents in order to help out when needed, and in order to be able to see our son, his wife, and our grandchildren more. Not only would we enjoy being around my parents, but we feel that we can also speak into our grandchildren’s lives with the wisdom and love that we have received from Christ. We also believe that we can offer our Christian hearts in servanthood to that area of the Midwest by getting involved with a new church family, mentoring for the Lord, and just letting our Christ light shine wherever we can. For some time, we have truly felt that God was nudging us in that direction, but little did we know that it was going to be more than a nudge.  It was actually going to be more of a push. But even with the push, everything would fall into place as we heeded God’s message to us to move to another area of the Ozarks.

God had impressed upon our hearts the need to move, but if we were going to move, we knew that the first thing that we had to do was to put our home up for sale. Then, God started showing His guiding protective hand in each situation we encountered. Indeed, God did some amazing things for us so that we could know just how much He desired for us to move, and to show us that His hand is always there to support and protect us. Even though, we knew that God opens another door when one door is closed, we witnessed first-hand God’s mighty hand of love. As humans, though, we sometimes need reassurance that we are doing the right thing even though in our heart of hearts we believe that we are doing what God wants us to do. But, all along the way, God reassured us and even gave us daily assurances so that we would know that this was indeed what He wants us to do and so that we could then feel comfortable in our decision.

The first assurance given that we were doing what God wanted us to do, came when God found a buyer for our home in just six days. Our home sold quickly when other homes in our area had been on the market for months or were just not selling. But, to make things even more exciting and to show us that He had this all planned out and would be with us every step of the way, God gave us a cash buyer. This meant that we would not have to wait to see if the buyer could get his financing through a mortgage company. The purchase could be made outright and quickly.

Obviously, God wanted us to completely trust in Him and accept His plan for our lives. We certainly did trust God, and both of us had faith that everything would work out. But, if we hadn’t trusted in the Lord, we might have had some fear and concern when we found out that the buyer wanted possession of our home in just eighteen days. However, even in accepting this stipulation for the contract and in the overall quickness of this move, God was telling us to completely trust in Him, and we did.

 Although we did not know how we were going to manage to get out of the house by the contract’s closing date, especially since we had no home to move into, we trusted the Lord for answers, and we believed that God would help us find a place to live, which He did. We also believed that God would open doors to make this move all come together for the glory of God. Indeed, we never once doubted that God loves us or that He would be there for us every step of the way. We had no doubts about God’s love, because in loving all of us, God had already given His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and then to arise from the grave conquering death so that we could have eternal life. Purposefully allowing His only Son to be crucified had to be one of the hardest things that any father would ever have to do, so working out the logistics of this move for us was an easy and simple thing for God.  Still, it was just another way for God to show us how much He loves us and all of His children who are obedient to His voice.

Although our move to Springfield would end up being a two-step move for us, everything would work out. Moreover, we discovered that everything was happening in God’s timing. For example, we found that within the first five days of the eighteen days that had been allotted for us to move from out home, that with God’s help we would actually find a home in the Springfield area that is everything we could have hoped for and more.

Every day of this adventure things just started falling into place even though in this earthly realm it would have seemed almost impossible to accomplish what needed to occur for this move. More and more plates, i.e. decisions, responsibilities and important situations to be handled, were given to us, and as each plate was added to a stick we needed to keep all the plates twirling or spinning so they wouldn’t fall and break. Without God, though, we could not have handled each situation, for decisions and responsibilities were coming at us fast and furious. But, our faith in God meant that it was actually God who was taking care of each situation and it was God who was helping us to keep all our plates in the air, still spinning and not falling or breaking.

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. … By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. … It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” – (Hebrews 11: 1-3. NLT).

The beginning of anyone’s faith is belief in God’s character. We need to believe that He is Who he says He is. We then have to believe that in all of God’s promises, including His promise of Salvation for those who will believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, we must believe that God will do what He says He will do in order to exhibit our true faith. True faith, then, is believing that God will fulfill all His promises even if we don’t yet see those promises materializing. For example, we believe that God sent His only Son to give us Salvation and eternal life, even though we have not yet died to see and experience eternal life. We also believe that someday, we will have a glorious home in Heaven with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we believe that God watches out for His children, because He says that He does. We also believe that God will provide for our needs. So, it doesn’t surprise us that God is right there beside us to help us move to Springfield. Nor, should it surprise us that God is there opening doors and helping us to find just the right home for us. Now, back to my story of God’s faith, protection and love.

As I mentioned, the first plate started twirling on a stick on the Sunday we accepted the buyer’s offer and thus had a contract on our house. But we still didn’t know where we would move. The next plate that had to be put in the air on a stick was the plate that represented our search for a home to move into. What were we to do? But, instead of worrying, we trusted that God would show us what we were to do next. Consequently, my husband opted to take two days off from work that very same first week, and he and I went to Springfield to look for a home on the Thursday and Friday. Surprisingly, by late Friday afternoon we had actually put an offer on a home in the Springfield area. Again, God had provided! But, other plates would now be added to twirl in the air on sticks, because we would have addendums, inspections, etc. that needed to be taken care of on this new place even while we were taking care of similar paperwork, inspections, etc. on the house we were selling. We also had to keep straight the paperwork and decisions that needed to be made quickly and timely on each different home, and that was difficult as well. Obviously, things were becoming complicated and were moving fast. However, God would continue to provide what we needed even as He gave us peace and assured us that we were doing the right thing.

God’s amazing support and His given assurance that we were doing the right thing did not stop with His help in finding us a new home or in the selling our old one. For even while we were still looking at a home in Springfield that we would finally decide upon to purchase, we received a call from an acquaintance friend who had heard through the grapevine that we needed an apartment for the next six months, i.e., until my husband retires at the end of this year and we finally take up residence in the Springfield area. In this unexpected call, God was showing us that we were resting in the palm of His hands, and that He had the perfect place for us to move into for the next six months.

But, God’s assurance and provision did not stop with just getting us an apartment. For, God was blessing us daily. Along with the blessing of getting an apartment, we also received many other blessings as well. Some of these blessings became evident when we finally saw the apartment. For, not only did this acquaintance friend have an available apartment, but the apartment had been newly renovated with all new appliances including a new washer and dryer, new carpet, and new flooring throughout. We knew that we were certainly being blessed with a nearly new apartment for a very reasonable rent. Moreover, God used the blessings of this apartment to remind us to keep our faith in Him and that He had His hand on our total move and would be with us every step of the way.

 Among the many other blessings received from this apartment was the blessing of it being a ground floor apartment. Why is that a blessing and why would we see God’s hand and assurance in this apartment? Well, God knew that I needed a ground floor apartment, because with my disability I have a hard time climbing steps, so He provided for my need and blessed us by giving us a ground floor apartment. Now, I can still bring home the groceries and carry them in by myself, and I do not have to fear falling down some steps. God was again assuring us that no matter what happened that we would have a roof over our heads and a place to lay our heads at night.

When we have faith in God and when we allow God’s hand to be in the decisions that we make, God will arrange things that seem impossible or highly unlikely to occur in this earthly world just to show us that He is always with us and providing for us. In fact, God’s guidance is always there for His children, if we will just pray, pay attention and listen to Him. To highlight this truth, let me explain to you how this apartment came to be saved just for us and how it was simply waiting for us when we could finally get there to see it.

You see, when this acquaintance friend called and first spoke to us about the apartment, it was on the Friday of that first week, and we were a great distance away from the apartment. We were in Springfield looking for a home, so we couldn’t even see the apartment until the following Monday. We already had several plates or responsibilities twirling in the air that we are trying to keep from falling off their sticks. Now, we had another plate added to keep in the air. We needed to make an appointment to be able to see this apartment in order to either take it or not. But, there was no way that we could be in two places at once. Here again, though, God’s providence and provision was seen in action when this friend said that she would hold the apartment for us until we could get back into town to look at it. Although she already had a couple of people wanting the apartment, she was willing to wait until we could actually see the apartment, which would be nearly three days later. She was taking a chance by waiting for us to see the apartment. But, God had arranged it that if we wanted the apartment it was ours. Then when we finally saw the apartment on the following Monday, we knew immediately that it would be the perfect temporary home for us for the next six months. Thank you God!

God provides Christian friends to step in and help us.

Even though we had found a home to purchase in the Springfield area, the seller refused to accommodate our need to move our furniture into the home as quickly as possible by having a quick closing date. The seller was going on vacation and she would not be rushed. So, the closing date on her home had to pushed out into the middle of July. By the following Monday, though, we had already used seven of the eighteen days that had been allotted to us to move out of our home. How were we going to get everything out of our sold home, with some furniture going into the apartment and the rest of the furniture going into storage until we could close on our new home in Springfield? Suddenly with the storage of our furniture, we now had to have even more plates in the air twirling on sticks. Obviously, one of those plates would represent the moving and storage company that we lined up to move us.

Although I originally thought that I could do the packing, it quickly became obvious that I couldn’t. So, two days later we had to re-schedule with the moving company to have moving packers come in and pack the house, which they did just two days before we had to be out of the house. But even after the furniture and items were packed up and moved into storage, we would have to make sure that the house was spotless before we turned it over to the new owners. So, that meant that we would need another day for vacuuming and cleaning. My husband would have to take off another day of work. At the same time, we needed to transport some of our personal things and some furniture to the apartment, all before the closing day.  But, how were we going to get that furniture to the apartment? Now, even more plates or responsibilities were twirling in the air, and it felt like we had to keep running back and forth between all the plates to keep them twirling and not falling off their sticks and breaking.

It was at this point in that eighteen-day period that we knew we not only needed God’s support and help but we knew that we were going to need the support and help of our family and our Christian friends if everything was going to happen on time. We needed help. So, we called our son and he took two of his very precious weekends to help us with the move to the apartment. His wife also helped pack some of the items that we would need at the apartment. We then called my niece and she came over for a couple of days to help pack. But, even with all their help, we truly needed more help. Certainly, we knew that God would help us, and we trusted in Him that everything would work out, even though in our rational minds we were not sure just how everything would come together. God, however, had long ago created the concept and process of developing relationships so that we could get the help that we need no matter the situation. In fact, God had created us to be in relationships.

God Created Relationships

Why did God create us to be in relationships? Well, you see, God was in a relationship. For, God had a relationship with the other essences of His being. In other words, all three essences of our Holy God communicated with each other. In fact, all three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in an eternal and infinite relationship with each other. So, when God created us, He created us in His image. This means that God created us to not only be in a relationship with Him, but for us to be in relationships with each other. So, God created humans with a longing to fill the God-shaped space in their souls with His presence. Humans could then have a close relationship with God. 

But, God also gave humans the desire to be in relationships with other humans starting with our providential family relationships and expanding out to relationships with other people, which meant that humans could be there for each other not only in the best of times, but also in the worst of times. That is why the servanthood of Active Relational Christian Mentoring is so important. It is through our Christian mentoring relationships that we can help others and empower them to be all they can be for God, themselves, their family, and their friends.

It is through our active relational Christian mentoring that we can be there for others within the family of God as well as be there for those who still need to come to know Christ. But, we do not have to be in a mentoring relationship to receive help or give help. We can also just be there for other people no matter what the need or the reason. All we have to do is to in action just love others as we love ourselves, and be willing to be a servant for God.

It was at this point in the over-all time frame for getting out of our house that my husband and I knew that we, too, needed to call upon the relationships that we had developed over the years with our Christian friends. But, for us, it has always been hard to reach out and ask other people for help, because we are used to giving help instead of asking for help. Little did we know, though, that it would be our Christian friends and our relationships with them that God would use to again bless us. For, with a little help from our friends, we would actually get out of our home on time and into our apartment.

Showing our Christian Love by helping Others

Most of us do not want to have to ask other people to help us, because we want to be independent, but there are times when we need our friends. We are even more thrilled when our friends suddenly offer their help without being asked to help. The Scriptures tell us that “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” – (Proverbs 17: 17. NLT). Not only does true friendship produce loyalty, but true friendship means that we are available to help our friends when they have a need, are in distress, or are having some personal struggle.

There is a vast difference in knowing someone by name and in actually being a friend to that person and a help. In fact, Christ set up the church family to be those true friends who in living for Christ would reach out to help another Christian even if we don’t know them well. Because we have the commonality of knowing Christ as our Savior and the commonality of living for Him, we are to be true Christians or the type of people who reach out to help others; to even help those that we don’t know well when they need our help. However, in our world today, lending a hand isn’t the most common thing to do. Sadly, even those who claim to live for Christ, often fail to produce the fruit of love and caring by helping those in need.  But Jesus said, “So, now I am going to give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” – (John 13: 34, 35. NLT).

Unfortunately, there are many Christians who do not love others the way that Christ wants us to love each other. There are still others who are fair weather friends. They are only there during the good times and fail to help during the bad times. Are you a fair weather friend? Are you a friend until someone actually needs your help or until you have gotten everything you need from your friend and the relationship? I certainly hope not! I pray that you will step up and help other Christians whenever you can even if they aren’t your closest friend.

If you are a Christian, you should love others and have a desire to be there for them if they need you. Certainly, true Christians know that we are to help our fellow Christians when they find themselves in a bind, or when they need our help. Moreover, through Christ and His words, every Christian knows that we are to “love others as we love ourselves”. However, it is often easy to just say that we love another person. Then, when it comes to actually taking time out of our own lives to do something for someone else, we suddenly draw the line on our obedience to Christ’s admonition to love and help others, which He gave in the example of the “Good Samaritan” who truly took care of a hurt and the needs of a desperate man who had been beaten by robbers. In this parable, while even those who claimed to be righteous and honorable passed this wounded and beaten man leaving him to die, the good Samaritan stopped and helped the man. The Samaritan took time from his busy day to do something for a man who couldn’t do for himself.

Jesus told the parable this way, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him for dead. And by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day, he took out two denari and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands? And He said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Go and do the same.’”  -- (Luke 10: 30-37. NASB).

Although, most of us would help someone who was hurt or sick, how often do we neglect to help those who aren’t sick, but just need an extra hand? We need to remember that Christian love, and all love for that matter, is an action word. It is not just in saying that we love someone that we show love, but it is through our actions that we show that we indeed love that person. In other words, we have to be unselfish with our time and our ability to work or help another person. It is only through the display of our love for our fellow man, that we can truly show someone that Jesus loved them so much that He laid down His life for their sins on that cruel cross so long ago. Through Christ’s love in action, we all have been given the opportunity to spend eternity with Christ and His Father.  All we need to do is repent of our sins and believe on the risen Son, Jesus Christ, and then ask Him to come into our heart. Christ will immediately change your life with a rebirth that gives you eternal life.

Active Relational Christian Mentoring is just one of the many ways that Christians can reach out in love to help, support, teach, guide, and share with those who need someone to empower them to be all that they can be for themselves, their family and God. But, we don’t have to be a mentor to practice true Christian servanthood and show others that we care. In fact, each person has daily opportunities to help another of God’s children. Unfortunately, though, many times we turn our heads and pretend that we don’t see the need.

James, the brother of Jesus said, “So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ I say, ‘I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.’” – (James 2: 17, 18. NLT). While it is true that our good deeds can never earn us Salvation or get us into heaven, true faith is exemplified and evidenced through a changed life or rebirth through Christ. Among other things this changed life produces good deeds and love of our neighbor. Many of our good deeds come about when we reach out in servanthood to help others or mentor another for the Lord.

Receiving Christian love and help from our Friends

Why am I telling you about our Christian need to reach out and help others in Christian love?  Well, I am telling you, because like many people my husband and I suddenly experienced a need that only another human or two could help elevate. We already had so many plates twirling in the air that we just couldn’t add another one. Then, God provided friends to help us through that tough time. Suddenly we had people who actually reached out to meet our needs. Here again, we can praise God, because He provided for our need by sending friends and fellow Christians to help us. How were these individuals different from some other Christians?  Well, these Christians took the time from their own lives to step forward and help another Christian. Even if they could have been doing something else for themselves or their family, they came to help us. They cared that we needed help and were willing to step forward to help. Let me give you some of the highlights of our very fast move so that you can see how we were helped and the importance of helping another person whenever we can.

Time was winding down on the eighteen days that we had to be out of our sold home. We had already used nine of the allotted eighteen days. Now it was time to pack up the house. I actually thought that I could do most of the packing, but even with the help of a couple of friends and family, it became obvious that I needed the professionals to come in and pack us up. My husband had his job to attend to, so he couldn’t help pack, which meant that I would be responsible for the packing plate twirling on a stick. I was overwhelmed. But, then a couple of my Christian neighbors and friends came over and helped me to start packing. I was thrilled with their kindness. In fact, one of the ladies had just gotten back from a long trip and hadn’t even had a chance to unpack her car when she heard that we were moving. So, she and another neighbor came over and helped me get some things down that I couldn’t reach and helped to pack a couple of boxes. Even with their help, though, my husband and I realized that I just could not get the job done. So, we called the moving company that we had scheduled for the move and asked them to also come in and pack us up.

God had not only provided us with a moving company that could accommodate our short moving time frame during the height of the moving season, but He also gave us a company that could put most of our furniture and items in storage until we closed on the house we are buying later in July. God was blessings us with help that we needed along with the most advantageous timing to get everything accomplished. In other words, we realized that we had to turn over the spinning and twirling of all the plates to God. For, God is the one whom we can count on for help and support. He knows our needs even before we know that we have a need. God just wants our obedience, and our trust and faith in Him. Certainly, He can do a much better job of twirling all the plates and keeping them in the air than we could ever do. Moreover, God was not only able to help us keep the plates in the air, but He was also able to give us peace throughout the entire selling, buying and moving process.

In the meantime, though, additional responsibility plates were being added to our already long row of twirling plates, because we both had specific jobs that had to be accomplished within a certain time frame. I had the job of separating out the things and furniture that we would need for the next six months from the things that would be put in storage, as we would be living in an apartment until my husband retired. We had to have some things for the apartment, but other things we could do without until we got into our new home. So, I was working furiously trying to get everything done, while my husband was also working with both the real-estate agent for the home we were selling and with the real-estate agent for the home we were purchasing while still holding down his full-time job. Both of us, though, were beginning to have a little trouble keeping the two groups of papers and their time-lines separate while keeping all the separate deadlines on their own schedules that had to be met. It seemed like we were again up to our eyeballs in twirling plates. But, again God sent us help. For, suddenly a friend telephoned and said that she was coming over to help.

This was not the type of offer that is made with no commitment. This friend said that she would not take no for an answer and she arrived within ten minutes. Then she worked for several hours boxing up things that we would need at the apartment. But she didn’t stop there. The next day, my church friend showed up again and helped me. She was a life-saver in so many ways. Moreover, she did not stop with her help until after we were settled into the apartment. This friend could have just pulled the “let’s do coffee sometime” routine and offered to help, but then never made the time to help. Instead, she took at least five to six hours out of her own day for the next five days to help me.

Time was running out and we were coming down to the deadline to be out of the house. We still needed some furniture moved to the apartment. Then on about the fourteenth day, I realized that I needed to call our pastor and tell him what was going on before he heard of our situation through gossip. So, I called our pastor to tell him that our home had sold unexpectedly and quickly. I also told him that we would be moving to another town within six months. He could have simply said it has been nice knowing you guys and then said good-by. But, our pastor is extremely devoted to Christ and truly lives for Christ day in and day out. So, it was no surprise that during our conversation that our pastor asked if we needed any help. Now, I knew that my son and husband were not going to be able to move a couple of large items by themselves, so I said that if he knew of a couple of men who could help them move a few items we would really appreciate it. But, then, our pastor did something that many pastors would not generally do – he said that he would find another guy to help him and that the two of them would be over to the house the next day to help move those large items. Sure enough, the pastor and one our church members, whom we had never met because he goes to early service, showed up to help. They were amazing help and we truly could not have gotten those things out of the house without their help. Both of these men expressed their Christian values in the way that they stepped forward to help another Christian in need. Again, we were blessed through God’s provision of these helpers.

At the same time that the pastor, his helper, and my husband and our son were moving things into the apartment, my friend who had been helping me pack showed up again to continue to help me to pack. Then the next day she showed up at the apartment to help unpack the boxes that she had just packed. Both of us worked hard those days. But, my friend didn’t stop there, for the next two days, this friend gave of her time and effort to do whatever she could to make my life easier. She knew that even though I might not have asked for the help, that I truly needed her help because of my physical disability and that I appreciated all she was doing. This friend was truly an angel that God sent to help me accomplish what needed to be done in order to make a home for us for the next six months.

We can never repay our church friend or the pastor and his helper. We can’t repay the neighbors that came to help, nor can we repay our family for their help. We can’t repay them because this whole experience had nothing to do with money. This was just their way of putting “loving their neighbor as themselves” in action.  It was their way of expressing their faith in Christ through their good deeds. Finally, it was their way of showing us that they loved us and really cared about our need. But, although we can’t truly repay them monetarily, we can know that God will bless them and that they will be rewarded for their good deeds someday in eternity. For, they expressed their Christian values and love through their actions. Moreover, they know that we will be there for them if ever they need us.

Whether you are engaged in Active Relational Christian Mentoring, or you are simply helping another person during their time of need, remember that you are not only blessing the one you are helping, but that you will be blessed and rewarded by God for your initiative and your desire to show your Christian love in action. The more that we give of our love and our time to others the more we draw closer to God through our obedience and our faith in our Savior.

I will end this week’s blog with what the Apostle John said. He said, “If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has not love is still dead. … We know what real love is because Christ gave up His life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help – how can God’s love be in that person. Dear children, let us stop just saying that we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything.” – (I John 3: 14-20. NLT).

I thank God for His love and the love of Christ. I thank God for His provision for our needs and for His blessings upon us. God cares about you too! He wants to be a part of your life and He wants you to not only know His Son as your personal Savior, but He wants to be there for you when you have a need. All you have to do is believe on the Christ as the risen Son of God. Then if you repent of your sins and ask Christ to come into your heart you will be Saved. Salvation and eternity awaits anyone who is willing to trust in Christ and His Holy Father. Remember, faith is the “confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” You can’t see God and His Son, but believe me, they are there for you and are just awaiting your decision to believe in faith and trust in them.

If you are already a Christian, please live a Christ-filled life through your love of others and your willingness to help other people who are in need. Remember, that we receive blessings for the blessings that we bestow on others. Love begets love and true love is never ending. So, reach out in love to help, support, share, mentor, and empower others through your caring kindness.

You can do it! You can reach out and help other women through the servanthood of Active Relational Christian Mentoring or you can simply serve others by helping them when they need help. Either way, in doing so you are living your life in Christ and allowing your Christ light to shine upon this dark world.

Remember:

“There are three things that will endure – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.”  -- (I Corinthians 13: 13. NLT).