Helping Others

When you see someone who seems to need help, or asks for a favor, for what reasons might you hesitate? Yes, there are some areas you need to be discerning about. For instance, if someone on the street asks for some money, you probably usually shouldn't just hand them money, because the truth is, they might spend it on alcohol or drugs, & that won't help them. But what is okay to do? It's up to you & the leading of your heart, but I'm of the impression that giving someone some food to eat or gas for their car - for some examples - isn't going to hurt anything. But what if it's a scam & they don't really need your help, or what if they're bad people & helping them might hurt someone else later on?
The first example that comes to my mind is Clark Kent (a fictional character). Some of the people he saved turned out to be bad people, & if he had not saved them some other people would not have been hurt later, but at the time he saved them he didn't know that. He came to the realization that it was his responsibility to save anyone he had the opportunity to save - whom to save & not save was not his call. We don't have superpowers like Clark Kent, but I think the principle can apply to us, too.
Maybe you think, "I have needs, too; why should I help someone else?" Sometimes that's a valid argument, & it's no reason to feel guilty if you're unable to give; but the widow in Mark 12:41-43 & Luke 21:1-3 who gave everything she had comes to mind. If you know Jesus as your Savior, just do what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.

Checkers

Re: previous post - If you don't like to think of yourself as a "grape" or a "pumpkin", "tomatoes" & "watermelons" would also fit the analogy. The point is, true Christians all bear the same fruit of the Spirit, but it can grow different ways.

I thought of another analogy that fits with the sovereignty of God in our salvation (keeping in mind that no analogy fits perfectly, but they can help you think) People are kind of like checker pieces that God moves around. He is able to move every piece, but when a piece is "kinged" it's kind of like when a person is saved. First, his identification is with the King (Jesus Christ), & also now he can be moved around much more - more useful to God. People are responsible for the choices they make, just like checker pieces reap the consequences of where they are moved. Now God doesn't make any mistakes as a person playing checkers can, so the analogy breaks down there; but the point is Someone Else is in control of your life, so yield your life to Him!

For sale on EBAY

John Schneider (Bo Duke/ Jonathan Kent) is selling the General Lee on EBay! You got $2.5 million just lying around?

Grapes or Pumpkins?

One of the biggest things I've had to learn that I am still learning, is that people are all different, & because they are different, they do things different ways, & the things that work for one person won't work for another. That may seem obvious to you, but let's analyze it a little more (because that's the kind of person I am!)
Some people are like grapes -- I am one of them. Grapes grow on vines, but they need to be hung up & given structure or they won't grow. For me, without structure I couldn't function. It seems everyone in my immediate family is like that, so for a long time I was under the assumption that everybody is like that. But my wife, Angie, has taught me that not everyone can work that way -- some people work better without structure! Angie & I were talking about this last night, & we came to the conclusion that some people are like pumpkins. Pumpkins also grow on vines, but if you hung them up like grapes, they couldn't grow! They need to be left alone to grow along the ground -- & they bear fruit!
God has created you to be the way He wants you to be, & if you have accepted His Son Jesus as your Savior, you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, & you will bear the fruit of the Spirit; but different Christians bear the same fruit in different ways.