Extend and Reciprocate (and other devotionals)

Extend and Reciprocate

Today's reading: 2 Kings 4:8-17

The interaction between Elisha and the Shunamite woman puts before us a sweet picture of people being thoughtful and kind hearted as they reach out to help one another--as they are able. The Shunamite woman was wealthy and as such, able to offer lodging and food to Elisha as he traveled back and forth by her home. Elisha accepts the offer and, at some point in the future, is moved to reciprocate the help and kindness he has received to this woman. Being a man of God, Elisha's help is miraculous, and results in a barren woman conceiving and giving birth to a precious son.

What are some of the benefits of reaching out to help, assist and support others?

~Tami~

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There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God (Heb. 4:9).

The rest includes victory, "And the Lord gave them rest round about;... the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand" (Joshua 21:44). "Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).

An eminent Christian worker tells of his mother who was a very anxious and troubled Christian. He would talk with her by the hour trying to convince her of the sinfulness of fretting, but to no avail. She was like the old lady who once said she had suffered so much, especially from the troubles that never came.

But one morning the mother came down to breakfast wreathed in smiles. He asked her what had happened, and she told him that in the night she had a dream. She was walking along a highway with a great crowd of people who seemed so tired and burdened. They were nearly all carrying little black bundles, and she noticed that there were numerous repulsive looking beings which she thought were demons dropping these black bundles for the people to pick up and carry.

Like the rest, she too had her needless load, and was weighed down with the devil's bundles. Looking up, after a while, she saw a Man with a bright and loving face, passing hither and thither through the crowd, and comforting the people. At last He came near her, and she saw that it was her Saviour. She looked up and told Him how tired she was, and He smiled sadly and said: "My dear child, I did not give you these loads; you have no need of them. They are the devil's burdens and they are wearing out your life. Just drop them; refuse to touch them with one of your fingers and you will find the path easy and you will be as if borne on eagle's wings."

He touched her hand, and lo, peace and joy thrilled her frame and, flinging down her burden, she was about to throw herself at His feet in joyful thanksgiving, when suddenly she awoke and found that all her cares were gone.

From that day to the close of her life she was the most cheerful and happy member of the household.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

~L. B. Cowman~

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Discovering Our True Identity

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Many Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. They know they’re saved, but they don’t really know what to think about themselves. Let’s take a little test. Do you consider yourself a sinner saved by grace or a saint who occasionally sins? Both statements are true, but the first one dwells on your past identity, whereas the second focuses on the Lord’s perception of you.

If you are a believer, God’s Word says that you are a saint (v. 2). But too many of us still see ourselves as the same old sinner, who’s been forgiven and patched up and yet is basically unchanged inside. But the Lord says anyone in Christ “is a new creature; the old things passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s what being born again is all about. We can never go back to the way we were.

The solution to this identity crisis is to change the way we think about ourselves. If we don’t, we’ll rely on how we feel, and Satan will bombard us with reminders of our failures and sins. He wants to keep us focused on being a sinner, because he knows that the recognition of our sainthood will lead us to live like saints. We’ll be motivated and empowered to obey God, and the Devil will lose his foothold in our lives.

Jesus didn’t come just to save you from hell; He wants to live His life through you. In Christ, you have a new identity which has replaced your old one. If you will focus on who you are now, your actions will follow, and you’ll experience the enjoyment of a victorious Christian life.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Do You Cherish God's Word?

Psalms 107:20 says,

He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

God has given us His Word for our benefit, and yet so many Christians ignore it to their hurt.

It is like the story of the woman a preacher went to visit one day.  She lived in a dilapidated house.  As long as he had known her, she had struggled with poverty.  Twenty years earlier she had been the housekeeper for the wealthiest woman in town, but the wealthy woman had died.  So this housekeeper moved into an old shack.

As the pastor was visiting her, he noticed a document framed on the wall.  He said, "Do you mind if I borrow this for a few days?"  She replied, "Well, you can borrow it, but please bring it back.  Although I can't read, it is very important to me.  It is the only thing that the lady left me when she died.  It is very valuable to me.  It reminds me of her.  So make sure you bring it back."

He took it and had it investigated and authenticated.  It was the will of the woman who had died, and in the will she left her housekeeper a fortune.  The housekeeper could have had any house she wanted in the whole city and had servants of her own, but due to her ignorance, she lived in poverty and had a rough go of it all those years.

That woman reminds me of a lot of Christians.  They don't read their Bible, but they admire it because it reminds them of God.  They haven't taken time to find out the inheritance that belongs to them as believers.

God's Word is a light to our path.  It is our guidebook for life.  It is bread for our spirit.  It is our strength.  It is our refuge in troubled times. 

Cherish God's Word.

~Bayless Conley~