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It’s Jesus Inside of Me That Makes Me Want to Do This

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What Does Jesus Working in You, Make You Want to Do?

Now there’s a question for you to think about.

Pastor Lee shared a story about Trevor Ferrell, who at 11 years old was moved to help homeless people in Philadelphia in the 1980s. His story garnered a large public support and Presidential recognition. In an interview he was asked what made him do this work, he responded…

“It’s Jesus inside of me that makes me want to do this.”

Jesus wants to work in and through all of us…if we will just let Him. The problem is, most of us think we’ve got this. We don’t need any help.

In Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and His followers are on their way to Capernaum. Along the way some of the followers were arguing about who was the greatest. They were looking at it from a selfish worldly perspective. They weren’t thinking about what they could do as a team, with Jesus and each other.

Jesus told them that to be truly great they needed to be focused on helping others, not what was in it for them. It’s so simple kids can do it (Mark 9:36-37).

We need to be focused on what we can do for others…not what’s in it for me.

Putting other’s first doesn’t mean that they are more important than we are. It means that we have been given certain skills, abilities and insights that will make the world better if we share them with the people who need them.

The Disciples were competing amongst themselves, each wanting to be the greatest. We are competitive by nature. This can be a good thing if we are clear on what we are competing for.

Pastor Lee told another story about a medical student who was extremely competitive. He consistently scored at the top of his class, but it was beginning to take a toll. He was feeling overwhelmed and burnt out.

During a school break he went on a mission through his church. While on the mission he found a new and refreshed since of purpose and decided to take a semester off and continue working in the mission.

In a letter home to his parents, he wrote about how nice it was to not feel the pressure to be the best. He went on to tell how great things were. He said, currently he was ranked second and if things continued the way they were, he thought he would be first in a couple of months.

He was seeking greatness. I’m not sure that he was clear on what that was. We’re all seeking it and many of us aren’t clear on it either.

Greatness isn’t about me, it’s about God working through me.

Throughout history God has used normal people to do great things. He has given each of us something that is special to us. It’s up to us to find that thing and use it to make the world better.

It’s Jesus working inside of me that makes me want to do this.

Whats It Take to Be A Good Samaritan?

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It’s Less Difficult Than You Might Think

 

 

The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most popular stories in all of literature, most everyone has heard it. What is it that makes this story so popular? It’s because it goes right to the heart of who we are made to be. We’re told to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”


This is what a Good Samaritan does.


A Good Samaritan puts others needs above their own. They look for ways to help others. This is true in every area of life: work, family, play, it doesn’t matter.

 

 

We’ve become separated from and distant to others. This is in part to the excess use of social media, electronic communication, etc. It’s much easier to be less civil to someone digitally than in person.


As human beings we were made to be connected, it’s in our DNA.

 


Albert Einstein put it like this, “A human being is a part of the whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”


Helping others is how we free ourselves.


In the final two episodes of the “Seinfeld” show the main actors of the show witness an overweight man getting carjacked while they’re waiting on a plane. Instead of helping him, they crack jokes about his size while Kramer films it all on his camcorder, then proceed to walk away. The victim notices this and tells the reporting officer, who arrests them for not helping the man. At their trial the District Attorney’s opening statement is, “the defendants have ignored their Good Samaritan Law and mocked the victim of a mugging.” Comedy tends to follow social reality. Just because comedy does, this doesn’t mean we have to. We can choose our reality.

 


To be a Good Samaritan doesn’t mean that we have to rescue someone from a burning building, save someone who’s drowning, or stop a carjacking, it means we need to show compassion. Being a Good Samaritan can be as simple as opening a door or helping someone who has fallen.


Being a Good Samaritan is simple, it means caring enough to do something to help others.