No one stands as tall as a Christian on his knees
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. (James 4:8, NLT)
Think about this question for a moment:
Where would you be if God had not been by your side?
God is with you. As a matter of fact, He is closer than anything you could ever think of. I have known this since I was a little boy that a Christian can’t be lonely because God is always with His children.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3 NLT)
God gave you to your parents as a gift, a gift that He never takes His eyes off. That was why David said that even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. (Psalm 27:10 NLT). He loves you and cares about everything you do. He knows that without Him, you can do nothing. He is your strength in all your endeavours.
God has promised that He will never leave nor forsake His children. He is with us but often we go astray. We feel very restrictive when we are close to Him. That is because he wants us to shine or be different everywhere we go. We cannot do what others call fun and this causes the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. When the spirit dominates the flesh, we stay close to him and do what His Word tells us to do. On the other hand, when the flesh dominates the spirit, we do what He does not want us to do which draws us from Him.
God never forces us to stay close to him. He has given us freedom to choose what we want to do. So when we go astray like the prodigal son did in Luke 15, he stays and waits for us to come back to Him. He has stretched His arms to welcome anyone who comes home. As the day goes by, Our Father wait to see His children who have gone astray make decision to come back to him. If you are doing thing(s) that is/are contrary to what the Word of God says/say, then there is a gap between your Father in Heaven and you.
If there is, know that God is waiting for you to bridge that gap. Because he wants you back, He sent Jesus to die on the Cross so that He can have relationship with you. It is not too late. He is waiting for you with open arms so run to him while there is time and say that “Father I am sorry for following my own ways. I have sinned against you. Please forgive me and lead me through your path of righteousness. From today, I choose to say No to the desires of the flesh. I have come to your presence once again and there is no turning back. Be my strength from today in Jesus’ Name. Amen”
Be encouraged to close the gap because without Him, there is nothing you can do.
I will close with this:
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (James 4:8, NLT)
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9, NLT)
In February 2011, one of my workers came to my house to talk about his family issues. After hearing his story there was nothing I could do than to grant him the loan he came for to pay his son’s school fees. He promised to return the money before the month ends. The month ended, the year 2011 ended, 2012 ended, 2013 is about ending, and I haven’t received the money. He had different reason(s) any time we talked about it so I finally decided to write it off as bad debt. I was helping a brother in need but I ended up losing.
In 2012, several other people came for money they promised to pay back but they never did. The story has been the same this year.
Someone asked me why I have not learnt lesson(s) from the past? Or why do I still open up to people when they are in need?
I told him what Paul said to the Galatians that “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good…”. As Christians our job is to be our brother’s keeper. Proverbs 3:27-28 says “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
Some people will pay you evil for good but that shouldn’t prevent you from extending helping hands to the needy. Always remember that God has blessed you to be a blessing. I had had similar experiences in the past but I am not going to let that discourage me from doing what is good.
In the same way, don’t let what people do hinder you from receiving the best from the Lord. Keep doing your best. Keeping helping those in need, don’t get tired.
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The Generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24-25, NLT)
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who closed their eyes to poverty will be cursed. (Proverbs 28:27, NLT)
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9, NLT
God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7, NLT)
Uplifting Christ 