Skip to main content

Thursday... It's a way to keep safer.


Thursday... It's a way to keep safer.

Do you remember the day when we had front porches? We now push a button in our car and our garage door opens and we drive in and then closed the door behind us.

I was reading this week of a study that showed where there is less crime in neighborhoods where there is interaction and involvement between neighbors. Friendly neighborhoods are safer. 

Do you know your neighbors? In one of our neighborhoods our neighbor went through a divorce and she needed her house painted, so I painted it.

I said all of that to say this. Proverbs 14:21 (NIRV) says, "It is sin to hate your neighbor. But blessed is the person who is kind to those in need."

We live in a brand new neighborhood and we have done all we can to reach out to each other. When Margaret and I had Covid our neighbors brought food and left it at our door. When we were gone one of our neighbors picked up my newspapers and when they were gone we went down and check on their home every night. We are a very friendly neighborhood. And we feel safe.

God wants to bless us and He wants to use us. The Amplified Bible says, "He who despises his neighbor sins [against God and his fellow man]. But happy [blessed and favored by God] is he who is gracious and merciful to the poor."

May dad used to say that people will give their money to send missionaries to go across the world but won't walk across the street to reach out to their neighbor. God wants to use us where we live. He wants us to build lasting relationships with those he has put into our lives. 

Peter over in Acts 10:28 & 29 (NLT) said while meeting with some gentiles, "You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for." And then verse 34, "Then Peter replied, 'I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.'" 

Back to Proverbs 14:21 (MSG), "It is criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor - what a blessing."  

Being good neighbors can make such a great difference in our lives and in their lives and we will be blessed for it. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Friday... So what is it that you really fear?

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT), "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Friday... So what is it that you really fear? Yes, fear holds us back. It seems to take hold of us so that we can't even really enjoy living. Now I have found that one of the best ways to handle fear is to solve the problem of what we fear. Let's say that death is what we really fear. Everyday we wake up afraid to get up because we are afraid to do anything because we are afraid to die. And that is so understandable. Now I have found the solution to fearing death. I have through faith taken care of my fear to die. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) says, "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 22 (CEV) says, "Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us." Death was not God's plan. Adam was created for an eternal life but he and his partner, Eve blew it and sin a...