Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

Psalm 41:1-3 KJV

Those that help the helpless will truly be blessed. I read this passage and feel that this is the best medicine a man could ever receive. The word tells us that He who helps the helpless will be blessed. It doesn’t stop there though. The Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive. The Lord will help those who help the helpless overcome all the devil’s attacks. He will give to him healing and strength when he is sick. This sounds to me like the best medicine a man could ever take. Help the helpless, and let the Lord bless you.

And it came to pass, when they were come, that He looked on Eliab, and said, surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.

But the Lord said unto Samuel,  Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

1 Samuel 16:6-7 KJV

The Lord sent Samuel to anoint the king; God had already chosen who would be the king and Samuel thought he knew. God points out the trouble with how man chooses people for certain things: Man looks at the outer appearance and God looks at the heart. It’s natural to figure that the more powerful looking person would be better for the job, but that’s not necessarily the case. I’ve seen strong looking people who couldn’t do any more than a smaller person. I’ve seen people who talked a good game, and used really big words who really didn’t know much at all. But you take a man whose heart is committed to serve the Lord, and there’s nothing on this earth he can’t do. When a man’s heart is set on God, that man is empowered by God. That’s the kind of individual you want to appoint to be over things. This is the leader you want leading others. Not to say this individual won’t make mistakes, because they will. We are human. But just like David, there are people who, on the outside may look like they can’t do what needs to be done. Pray and ask God to help you discern in these kind of decisions. Don’t just judge by what you see on the outside. What matters most is the condition of an individual’s heart.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Matthew 7:7-8 KJV

Jesus encourages us to persevere in prayer. I’ve often heard people say they felt like they were bothering God by asking so much. That is not true. We are told to keep asking, to keep seeking, and to keep knocking. We have to understand that God knows what’s best for us, and often we think things should happen right away. Sometimes they do, and sometimes it takes time, but, ultimately, God knows best. We are instructed to keep praying about it though. Don’t let the devil tell you to quit praying for things. We are told in the scriptures, “you have not, for you ask not.” Keep on asking. Jesus says it will be given unto you. Keep on seeking God, and He will be found. Keep on knocking even if it may seem He’s not listening. If we listen close enough, we might find that He’s standing at the door knocking for us to open it up to Him.

Don’t let up.

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

1 Timothy 4:16 KJV

As believers, we must all take heed unto ourselves; this applies, even more so, to those that are leaders. People are watching us. Some are saying, “If that is Christianity, I don’t want it.” We must make certain that we have our own life in order before we can help others with theirs. We have to live lives of holiness. We also must make certain that what we share with others is truly the word of God. We have to study God’s word so we can rightly divide the truth. The bible tells us that in doing so we will save ourselves and those who hear the things we say. Let us look in the mirror and make certain that we are who we are to be in Christ. Are we demonstrating Christ-like ways in our walk? Are we teaching the whole word of God, not watered down, nor added to? We must examine ourselves. Lives are at stake.

Then said Jesus, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.

Luke 23:34 KJV

Jesus truly taught us a valuable lesson in this passage. He had been mocked,  He was rejected, and He had been beaten. He was hung to die on the cross. Even in the midst of all this going on, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Maybe you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. Maybe this someone isn’t truly saved and born again. Pray that they be forgiven and saved before it’s too late. Jesus took on all this so we could be forgiven. He set the example for us when He prayed for the very ones that tortured Him. The least we can do is pray for the ones we can’t seem to get along with.

“Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11:24-26 KJV

Jesus teaches us to pray in faith, believing that we are receiving. We need not pray if we are going to doubt it’s going to happen. Believe that all things are possible with God. Jesus also goes on to talk about hindrance to prayers being answered. We are told that if we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven either. To harbor hate or to resent is sin. Sin can and will hinder God from answering our prayers.

Isaiah 59:1,2 says: Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear; But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have his His face from you, that He will not hear.

It is clear that our sins hinder our prayer life with the Lord. Don’t harbor unforgiveness. Forgive and move on. After all, there’s not one of us who doesn’t need to be forgiven ourselves.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Will you forgive and be forgiven today?

Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

Proverbs 23:4 KJV

It can be a battle to live this life and not give in to the fleshly cravings of being rich.

The world has a way of pulling at you through the love of money. We are told that the love of money is the root of all evil. The problem with seeking to be rich is that you’ll always chase it. It’s natural that the more you get, the more you want. Jesus teaches that it’s hard for the rich man to enter the kingdom of God. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to get rich and not serving God. You cannot serve God and mammon. It’s not that God doesn’t want you to have something on this side of heaven. It’s that the more we have on this side of heaven can distract us from devoting all we have to God.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

Scripture splits people into two categories: a person is either in the natural or unspiritual; or the person is spiritual. The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. One must have the Holy Spirit to understand the things of the Spirit. The natural man often blames God when things don’t go like they should in his eyes. The spiritual man knows that God works all things together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. We must make certain that we are spiritually sound. We don’t want to be carnal or worldly; we don’t want to be in the natural state.  Those who are in the natural, are walking as men walk. Worldly christians stand a greater risk of falling away or being led astray by false teaching. Make certain that we are being spiritually minded in all we do. Being spiritually minded means that we believe in Jesus and His ways and yield to Him. We need to be spiritually minded to understand the things of the Spirit of God.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1 KJV

We can often get caught in situations where there is hostility or someone upset. As hard as it may be, we must operate according to the scripture. When responding towards hostility, the soft answer will get you further. This is not to mean that we let someone walk over the top of us; we have to handle these situations carefully. Often, we snap right back at someone who snapped at us and it only escalates. Try responding with a soft answer. Sometimes to be the bigger person we must have the softer answer.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 10:32,33 KJV

In order for us to be acknowledged in heaven, we must acknowledge Jesus Christ before others here on earth. Jesus is clear in His words. If we acknowledge Him before men, He will acknowledge us before God in heaven. If we deny Him before men, He will deny us before God. Often it seems We can acknowledge Christ on Sunday morning at church, but it seems to decline depending on the crowd that’s around through the week. Don’t let that be the case. We can acknowledge Christ by being open about our relationship with Him to others. Don’t hesitate to tell others where you stand with Christ. Don’t hesitate sharing your testimony about what Jesus has done in your life. Even when dealing with those who oppose Christ, we must stand up for Jesus.

Standing up for Jesus is the least we can do because He didn’t just stand for us; He hung for us. He hung to the point of death on the cross for us to be free.

Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Acknowledge Christ before men, and you will be acknowledged before God in heaven.