just keep your eyes open

It has been said that, “The Smallest Deed is better than the greatest intention!” How can we begin looking for ways to love one another practically, even with just the smallest of deeds? I think the best way to do so is by looking at what Jesus tells us He is looking for from us while He is away, in Matthew 25:31-46. In this passage of Scripture from Matthew 25, Jesus says that what separates God’s kids from the rest of the rat race (or Goat Race) is how we love other people. If you read through that section of Scripture it is easy to see that both groups of people, God's sheep, and the rest of the Goat Race are truly only separated by one glaring fact - what they did and did not do for other people.

Jesus tells us in this passage of Scripture in Matthew 25:31-36:

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. THen the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."

We see here that what Jesus wants us living for in life is to help those in need by:

Feeding those who are hungry (Mt. 25:35a)
Giving water to those who are thirsty (Mt. 25:35b)
Being hospitable to those without a home (Mt. 25:35c)
Giving clothes to those in need (Mt. 25:36a)
Visiting the sick (Mt. 25:36b)
Visiting prisoners (Mt. 25:36c)

These are the things that Jesus considers important for us to be busy about. These are the things that Jesus was talking about when He said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your 'GOOD WORKS', and give glory to your Father in Heaven" (Mt. 5:16). This is how we can begin looking for ways to practically serve others in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18-19). This is a good things for us! Listen Christian, if you have been falling short in this area, don't be discouraged by this or feel condemned. Be encouraged that you now know what you can begin focusing on from here on out. God just wants you to begin keeping your eyes open for the opportunities that He brings your way, and then respond to those opportunities to the best of your ability.

Now mind you, some of you don't even have goose eggs in your bank account. In fact, for some of you, you have minus goose eggs. You are not going to be able to help somebody in need of money if you have minus goose eggs in your bank account. You can pray for them. You can claim the promise that "God shall supply all your needs" (Philippians 4:19). You may not be able to help a person financially, but you can certainly become their advocate to try and get them help. These are the things that Jesus wants us focusing on throughout our entire life. This is how we can begin looking for ways to bless each other. It's that simple. Just keep your eyes open, and look for ways to meet the needs of others. By doing so, you will be ministering to Jesus Himself (cf. Matthew 25:40).

When I was an Assistant Pastor, several years ago someone who went to the church I was at made some very bad business decisions and was in partnership with a crook. Because of these decisions he ended up going to prison for 4 years. Because I was the guy that was ministering to his wife throughout this ordeal I felt obliged to visit him because of this verse in Matthew. However, he was in an out of state prison that was too far for me to drive to, so I prayed about it and felt as if the Lord told me to write to him. And so what I decided to do was write him a letter of encouragement and include several photos that I had taken while on a recent trip to Israel. One of the amazing things about these photos is that while I was in Israel I prayed, "Lord, help me capture the beauty and biblical significance of Israel with these photos, so that they can be a blessing to others in the years to come." So now here I am writing to this person in prison, and the Lord puts it on my heart to include these photos from Israel with my letter. With these photos I wrote down the biblical history surrounding them. I included about 90 photos, and it took a lot of time and effort to do this, but I believe it is what the Lord wanted me to do for this person. So I finished this little project and sent the care package to this individual. This was about a year into his sentence. And some three years later after this person gets out of prison and was back at our church, he came up to me and told me that he was so encouraged by the photos that I sent to him, and that he set them up in his prison cell. And because of those photos God was able to use those photos to help him personally witness to over 200 people while he was there, and when he left prison he gave them to the chaplain to use with those he ministers to. And God was faithful to use that, because I wanted to be obedient to Matthew 25 with my life.

Do you see what great things that God can do when we in faith try to obey His word. I couldn't get to this guy in prison because it was just not logistically possible. But through prayer and God's leading I was able to be used by God to bless this individual and impact hundreds more. Remember what I said? If you don't have the goose eggs to help someone else, you can still be that person's advocate. This is just one example of how God can bless your efforts when you are willing to go the extra mile for someone. This is what God wants to do with you today! He wants to use you to be a blessing to others, by letting your light so shine with good works so that He can be glorified in your life. The only thing you have to do now, is keep your eyes open and respond to the things that God begins showing you. This is how we can continue living for eternity in the here and now.

Here are a few photos from the Israel Trip:

Where Jesus Preached the Sermon on the Mount