“But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:12-13

Jesus didn’t restrict His ministry to one day of the week, but continually
served others wherever He went.

An older, feeble lady was led to Christ by a young Pastor. Eager to serve,
she asked the Pastor about the different ministry opportunities in his
church. After he listed ministries such as singing in the choir, caring for
children in the nursery, staying late to clean the church, and helping plan
ladies’ events; this lady realized she wasn’t physically able to participate
in the ministries offered through the church. But one thing she could do was
play the piano. Because the church already had more than enough piano
players, this elderly lady thought of a way she could use her piano abilities
to encourage others.

The next day she called the local paper and placed an ad that stated,
“FREE-hymns played over the phone to help encourage anyone who needs it.”
That afternoon she received her first “customer” and played several hymns for
him. Afterward, he explained his troubles to her, and she was able to comfort
him with Scripture and assurance that God’s love was extended to him. Over
the rest of her life, this lady was able to see many people saved,
encouraged, and strengthened through playing godly hymns to those who called.

Like this elderly lady’s church, many churches offer ways to be involved in
ministry and serve God each Sunday and Wednesday. While these ministries are
important, ministry isn’t meant to only be accomplished at church.—

Jesus’ mission wasn’t to sit in the synagogue and discuss theology with the
religious leaders. He did minister in the temple and even to the religious
leaders, but His focus was on the sick, the lost people who needed His saving
grace. His mission was to reach out, past the borders set by the religious
leaders, and minister to the spiritually sick.

As Christians, it’s always a blessing to be around God’s people and serve
alongside others who are like-minded, but, as was Christ’s mission, we are to
be the salt and light of the earth. Our mission is to not only serve at
church, but to serve others wherever we go. We are to carry our ministry
beyond the boundary of the church to the lost and hurting people of this
world.

God desires that you would continue ministering to people Monday through
Saturday. How can you minister? How about taking a co-worker to lunch when
they’ve had a bad day, taking your neighbor a meal, spending time with a
relative who needs Christ? Jesus didn’t restrict His ministry to one day of
the week, but He continually served others wherever He went. How will you be
more like Christ this week by serving others? (From Daily In The Word)

It was a stormy night in England in the mid of winter. A common lady was
sitting down to eat in her home that night when a knock came at the door. A
tall woman in a large overcoat and hat stood at the door, and said, “It
has begun to rain, and I was wondering if I could borrow an umbrella of
yours? I promise I’ll return it.” “Sure just a minute,” the lady replied. She
hurried to the back where she kept her umbrella. She had recently purchased a
new umbrella and had saved the old one, meaning to either throw it away or
give it away. She debated on which one to give the woman. She reasoned that
since she had been meaning to get rid of the older one anyway, she could
simply give it to the lady in the doorway. She grabbed the old, worn umbrella
that was missing a few pieces, and gave it to the lady. The woman thanked her
and was on her way. A few days later, the palace royal guard visited the
common lady’s home and returned to her the umbrella she had given the woman.
The woman had actually been the queen of England! Shocked and embarrassed,
the common lady lamented to the guards, “Oh, if I had only known it was the
queen, I would have given her my good umbrella.”

Just as this lady lamented “mistreating” the queen, how often do we mistreat
Christ? Consider Jesus’ words: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”
(Matthew 25:40). Christ tells us that how we treat others is how we treat
Him.—

We should consider these facts the next time we mistreat someone or look down
upon them. Our verses today remind us that God is not a respecter of persons.
Popularity, wealth, ability, or talent does not catch God’s eye and cause Him
to value one person over the other.(Paul Chappell)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. –Galatians 5:22-23

Two golfers stepped to the first tee on a local golf course. The elder of the two men was kind, while the younger was prideful and impatient. On the first and second holes, the young man made bad shots and began shouting at the caddie: “Keep your eyes peeled. I’m not here to do your job!”

Every bad shot thereafter seemed to be the caddie’s fault. After the first nine holes, the young man angrily discharged the caddie and carried his own bag. He said to his older companion, “I don’t like him. Thank goodness he’s gone!”

The older man said, “Several years ago, a kid from Yonkers, William, came here and was taken on as a caddie. He was a sweet-natured boy and everybody liked him. He had a club foot, but that didn’t affect his job. A doctor and member of the club became interested in William and took him south on a long trip.

“When they returned, William went back to caddying. The doctor, however, gave up golf for health reasons and died a few months later. I later played with William one morning and he gathered flowers all along the way. I asked him, ‘Who’s the girl?’ And he replied, ‘I haven’t any girl, sir. They’re for my friend, the doctor. Twice a week I take flowers to his grave.’ You see, the doctor took William down south to operate on his foot. He helped the boy, and William never forgot his kindness.”

The younger man said, “Now that’s a caddie worth having. What happened to him?”

The older man said, “He carried your bag today for the first nine holes.” (copied)

As we face the challenges of this day, let us yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to produce the fruit of kindness in our lives.

Average life spans are shorter than most of us realize. For instance, a face-lift lasts only six to ten years; a dollar bill lasts for only eighteen months; a painted line on the road remains only three to four months; and a tornado seldom lasts more than ten minutes.

There are differences of opinion, but most agree that the human life span averages somewhere between seventy-five and eighty years. That may sound encouraging to the young and disturbing to those in their sixties, seventies, and eighties. The simple fact is, however, nobody knows for sure how long he or she may live.

When we read and believe the warnings in Scripture, there is little doubt that life is short. James pulls no punches when he writes, “—For what is your life? It is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (4:14).

The average life span may be seventy-five to eighty years, but who can say you or I have that long? We may have less than two years or, for that matter, less than two weeks. Vanishing vapors aren’t known for longevity.

Since this is true, let’s do our best to make the time we have count. Rather than live with reluctance, let’s live with exuberance. Instead of fearing what’s ahead, let’s face it head-on with enthusiasm. And because life is so terribly short, let’s do everything we can to make it sweet. (By Charles Swindoll–Scripture reference changed to KJV).

Looking unto Jesus—consider him—. Hebrews 12:2-3   The need of the hour, regardless of the time, is to keep our focus on Christ. This quote from Turning Point illustrates:” In optics, focus is the point toward which light rays converge.  In geometry, it’s a special point used in describing conic sections.  When we concentrate our attention, we are focusing.  When we do it with others in an organized way, we’re in a focus group.  The Navy has a missile named Focus, and Ford has a car by the same name.  In sports, lack of focus is often the reason given for defeat; and players in a slump try to regain their focus.  When we take a blurred picture, it’s because we didn’t focus the camera on the right object.

In life, we find that Christ becomes blurred in our vision when we focus on our problems.  But when we put Him in the center of the picture, our trials are less of a focal point and more of a background blur.”   Whatever you face today, you will find great strength by keeping your focus on the perfections and power of Christ, rather than your problem.