Easter
It’s that time again when we stop for a moment to reflect on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate! We sing and praise! We come before the Lord with thankful hearts for the salvation He brings to those who surrender to Him. He made a way for us so let us rejoice in His goodness as we join together to worship Him. I hope you will make a plan to come out on Good Friday, April 18th at 6:30 pm, for our Night of
Worship. This is always a great time of worship and a wonderful opportunity to join our hearts in praise and reflection on what Jesus did for us on the cross. This is also a great chance for us to invite our lost friends who may be more open than normal to come to church. So I hope you will join us for a great time of worship!
Be the Samaritan
I imagine we all know the story of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke chapter ten verses twenty-five through thirty-seven. A lawyer tries to put Jesus to the test by asking Him how to “inherit eternal life.” Jesus responds by reminding the lawyer to love God and to love his “neighbor as yourself.” As you can imagine a lawyer doing, he had a follow-up question; “who is my neighbor?” Jesus proceeds by using the familiar, at least to most of us, “Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
What we say matters. What we do as believers matters. How we live our lives both at home and out in the world matters! I am sure that for some of us, we find it easier to help those in our circle who look, talk, and act like us; as I often do as well. Jesus cautions us, however, that sometimes we fail to even help those from our closest communities, just as the priest and Levite did by passing by the wounded man without offering help.
One commentator wrote, “The Samaritan proved he was a good neighbor by his gracious actions toward the man who had been attacked by robbers.” It is not enough for us to call ourselves Christ-followers but then “pass by on the other side.” We must take every opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we help those in need, period. That is the charge God has laid on our lives as His children as we remain here on Earth. We are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
Love you and mean it!
