Happiness to Be Able to Help Dignify those who are down on their luck; in the margins, the untouchable places. Psalm 41:1-3

Psalm 41 The Message

41 ^1-3 Dignify those who are down on their luck;
    you’ll feel good—that’s what God does.
God looks after us all,
    makes us robust with life—
Lucky to be in the land,
    we’re free from enemy worries.
Whenever we’re sick and in bed,
    God becomes our nurse,
    nurses us back to health.

^4-7 I said, “God, be gracious!
    Put me together again—
    my sins have torn me to pieces.”
My enemies are wishing the worst for me;
    they make bets on what day I will die.
If someone comes to see me,
    he mouths empty platitudes,
All the while gathering gossip about me
    to entertain the street-corner crowd.
These “friends” who hate me
    whisper slanders all over town.
They form committees
    to plan misery for me.

^8-9 The rumor goes out, “He’s got some dirty,
    deadly disease. The doctors
    have given up on him.”
Even my best friend, the one I always told everything
    —he ate meals at my house all the time!—
    has bitten my hand.

¹⁰ God, give grace, get me up on my feet.
    I’ll show them a thing or two.

^11-12 Meanwhile, I’m sure you’re on my side—
    no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp!
You know me inside and out, you hold me together,
    you never fail to stand me tall in your presence
    so I can look you in the eye.

¹³ Blessed is God, Israel’s God,
    always, always, always.
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Happiness to Be Able to Help

41 ^1-3 Dignify those who are down on their luck;
    you’ll feel good—that’s what God does.
God looks after us all,
    makes us robust with life—
Lucky to be in the land,
    we’re free from enemy worries.
Whenever we’re sick and in bed,
    God becomes our nurse,
    nurses us back to health.

A compassionate heart is not among the most popular qualities in our world today. If you want to climb to the top, people say, you often have to trample on others. Compassion is considered an attribute of people who are weak.

But what does the Word of God have to teach and admonish us about this?

The Bible says, “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak.”

And this does not mean just thinking about people who are disadvantaged; it means caring about them, doing something about it, entering the moment. (Read, Study, Pray, the Parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 15:11 – 32)

People who care are those who open their hearts with the willingness to share what they have with people in need. God’s generosity goes hand in hand with his compassion and his care as people seek to show God’s love in this world.

We find happiness not when we have everything in our hands but when we look beyond our own needs, our own biases and prejudices and also agendas to share with people in need, giving from our abundance as the Lord has given to us. (Read, Study and Pray over Genesis Chapter 1)

The generous person sows happily and reaps the blessed fruit of God’s ongoing favor. God himself multiplies our sowing so we can continue to give generously.

From the beginning, God provides for us and gives us health and strength to do more by spreading his love to others. When we open our hearts, souls, hands, and pockets, move our feet, to share from all that God has given us, we find joy and happiness too in giving freely as the Lord gives, without strings attached.

The Gospel is Good News for all, Without Exception!

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Romans 14:10-14 Amplified Bible

¹⁰ But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you again, why do you look down on your [believing] brother or regard him with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God [who alone is judge]. ¹¹ For it is written [in Scripture],

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³ Then let us not criticize one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block or a source of temptation in another believer’s way. ¹⁴ I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled, and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean.

The Ministry and Mission of Passing Judgment or the Ministry and Mission of Extending God’s Forgiveness

To people outside the faith, Christians often seem like Goliath sized hypocrites who look on the rest of the world with great scorn and in high condemnation.

We are seen as highly critical and massively self-righteous. And sometimes it’s true. Sometimes our rejection, our rhetoric and derision make Christ look bad.

We condemn those who have heard only judgment and long for grace.

We disapprove of people who have made life choices different than our own. We wish common sense were a little more common in them but not any of us. Our impatience with others for whom Christ died shows how much we need him too.

Sometimes we lack wisdom, maturity, impulse control, we have been hurt, and our hearts cry far out for justice. We want to take judgment into our own hands.

We want to maximize our vengeance, we also want our maximum retribution.

Yet, Jesus teaches that the critically essential part of forgiveness involves our stepping back from our worldly desires, allowing God to take care of justice.

Matthew 5:43-48 Amplified Bible

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^[a]love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵  so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. ⁴⁶ For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? ⁴⁸ You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Romans 12:18-21 Amplified Bible

¹⁸ If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will heap ^[a]burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome and conquered by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We may need good boundaries with those who are still broken, and God ordained civil authorities to restrain crime—but God alone is the judge.

Practically speaking, looking scornfully at our neighbor makes it difficult to share our witness.

If we Christians shared the truth of how we have fallen down, the world might receive us better. Admitting our brokenness would allow Jesus’ restoration to shine brighter. If we approached each other as fellow sinners pointing the way to salvation in Christ, to be forgiven, maybe more sinners would follow Christ.

How can we be more Christ like in our relationships, in our responses, in our conversations, and less biased and prejudiced with those ‘different neighbors’?

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible

²³ 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴ 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

How can you show and extend grace today?

How can we show and extend the Love of God to everyone today?

John 3:16-18 Amplified Bible

¹⁶ “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸  Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because ^[b]he has not believed and trusted in the name of the  [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

This passage is perhaps the best-known and best-loved verses in the Bible.

It comes in the context of a middle of the night secret conversation between Jesus and a beyond reproach highly respected Scholar, devout Jew, Nicodemus.

It is then put into action in the following chapter of John, when Jesus converses with a woman on the opposite end of the social, moral, and religious spectrum.

This teaches us something important: that the good news of Christ’s coming is not limited to highly respected pious people, like Nicodemus, but shatters all boundaries to extend even to the dejected, rejected, like the woman at the well.

The contrast between these two individuals is stark. Nicodemus was learned, powerful, respected, and theologically trained.

The Samaritan woman at the well was uneducated, without influence, despised, untouchable, illegal and immoral – everything those Jews of that day rejected.

Jesus’ interactions with both, however, display that all humans need a Savior.

Nicodemus’s meeting with Christ makes it clear that we can never do enough good to save ourselves.

Conversely, the Samaritan woman’s experience makes clear that no one can ever do enough bad to be beyond Christ’s reach.

Hardcore Truth be Revealed, We all, without exception, live under God’s wrath and judgment until we welcome the light of Christ’s salvation—whether you’re a Nicodemus, a Samaritan woman, a Levi/Matthew, or somewhere in between.

The whole world needs God’s Son; and God has given the whole world His Son.

Hardcore Truth: Because the gospel of Jesus does not discriminate, neither should we in proclaiming it.

While both Nicodemus and the woman at the well needed to hear the same good news, Jesus masterfully shared it with each one of them in a personalized way.

He did not engage them with the same formulaic conversation; with biased or prejudiced rhetoric, He met them where they were. He simply asked questions that had ultimately revealed their sinful hearts and God’s loving heart for them.

Just as God invites all to hear His gospel, so He invites all who are changed by this gospel to be the agents of change for others.

After her conversation with Jesus, the Samaritan woman ran back to her town, telling everyone of how He knew everything she had ever done (John 4:39).

The people then responded to her words and sought Jesus out.

This should encourage all of us, and especially those of us who lack confidence in extending the gospel invitation to others.

When God is at work, we’ll be amazed at what happens!

“For God so loved the world…” Such love has come to live in any who believe.

It empowers each of us to do what is necessary to live as God commands. It saves you from the chains that tie you to your past—be it a past of piety and of high pride, like Nicodemus’s, or a past of sordid decisions and shame, like the Samaritan woman’s. It spurs you to share this gospel of Son-giving, life-bringing love with those around you. Whoever believes will have eternal life.

In the name of God, the Father and God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, forgive us for judging one another. Search us, Test us, Teach us, Show us how to shed our biases, prejudices, share our brokenness and to point others to Christ. Lord God, help us to open our hearts, extend our hands and feet to care about others and to share from the abundance you have given us. In the name of Jesus, Amen. Amen.

103 ^1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!

^3-5     He forgives your sins—every one.
    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

^6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.

^19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
    he rules over us all. He’s the King!
So bless God, you angels,
    ready and able to fly at his bidding,
    quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
    alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
    everything and everyone made by God.

And you, O my soul, bless God!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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