The past few days I have been pondering on the sermon outline given to me by my church's assistant pastor on God's compassion for the poor and oppressed. The more I gave thought to this, the more my eyes are opened to the needs of many individuals whom we sometimes fail to notice or, if I may put it truthfully, choose not to notice.
If we do the latter then it would probably mean we have to do something about it. Many times, for the sake of convenience, we would rather ignore than let God's prompting in our hearts to do something good for the poor and oppressed.
This is not just happening when we are walking in the streets, even in church we choose to turn a blind eye to the needs of members and friends.
I am guilty of the above-mentioned and it is something I pray God will help me change my attitude.
I was running around town area looking for candles which I need to buy for a couple whose wedding I am coordinating next week. When I was at Paragon Shopping Centre, I saw an old lady who is a familiar face in that vicinity, walking towards the bus-stop in front of Lucky Plaza after a day of selling packets of tissue papers. She was totally hunched and needed a walking stick to aid her movement. I have seen this lady for more than a year already and there was something on her which I noticed have deteriorated - the lump on her has grown considerably. I suspect it could be cancerous.
I decided to pace her to the bus-stop as there was a road ahead. The thing about her crossing the road is that she never stopped to look at oncoming traffic. She basically just crossed. As I noticed a couple of cars coming her way, I decided to do something which I know may have irked the drivers - I basically became a traffic warden and stopped the vehicles.
I thanked God the drivers were patient enough to let the lady trod slowly to the bus-stop. When she sat down on one of the concrete seats, I asked the lady which bus she was waiting for. She said she needed to take service 7. I looked at the electronic signboard which indicated the estimated time of arrival of buses, I noticed it would take another 7 minutes for that particular bus to arrive. I decided to wait with her.
After a while, the bus came. I assisted the lady as she boarded the bus. As the bus rode away, I prayed for God to have mercy on that aunty especially for that lump on her forehead.
During times when I chose to ignore rather than help, the main reason is that it will be a great hassle for me. If I may challenge myself and all who are reading this blog, let us begin to change our mindset - helping someone usually brings joy and satisfaction because we know a need was met. That was what I experienced today and during those times when I was aware of the needs of the people I come across.
Let us try one person at a time and if that little action can make someone's day. praise the Lord! :) Showing compassion to the poor and oppressed is definitely one responsibility a Christian cannot avoid.
Well, I guess today's encounter should aid me in my worship-leading preparation for Sunday. I have just been informed that the drummer scheduled for this Sunday has to go for an operation and will not be able to play. As much as I know it is alright not to have the drums, I also am struggling for the fact that it will change the dynamics of the songs which I have chosen. Hopefully the coordinator will be able to find a replacement. Even if he cannot, the worship still goes on and prayerfully God will make good of this new arrangement.
Time to end here. :)
"This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I answered. Then the LORD said to me, "The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!" Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?" — skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done. "Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day. "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. "In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, 'As surely as your god lives, O Dan,' or, 'As surely as the god of Beersheba lives' — they will fall, never to rise again." Amos 8:1-14
If we do the latter then it would probably mean we have to do something about it. Many times, for the sake of convenience, we would rather ignore than let God's prompting in our hearts to do something good for the poor and oppressed.
This is not just happening when we are walking in the streets, even in church we choose to turn a blind eye to the needs of members and friends.
I am guilty of the above-mentioned and it is something I pray God will help me change my attitude.
I was running around town area looking for candles which I need to buy for a couple whose wedding I am coordinating next week. When I was at Paragon Shopping Centre, I saw an old lady who is a familiar face in that vicinity, walking towards the bus-stop in front of Lucky Plaza after a day of selling packets of tissue papers. She was totally hunched and needed a walking stick to aid her movement. I have seen this lady for more than a year already and there was something on her which I noticed have deteriorated - the lump on her has grown considerably. I suspect it could be cancerous.
I decided to pace her to the bus-stop as there was a road ahead. The thing about her crossing the road is that she never stopped to look at oncoming traffic. She basically just crossed. As I noticed a couple of cars coming her way, I decided to do something which I know may have irked the drivers - I basically became a traffic warden and stopped the vehicles.
I thanked God the drivers were patient enough to let the lady trod slowly to the bus-stop. When she sat down on one of the concrete seats, I asked the lady which bus she was waiting for. She said she needed to take service 7. I looked at the electronic signboard which indicated the estimated time of arrival of buses, I noticed it would take another 7 minutes for that particular bus to arrive. I decided to wait with her.
After a while, the bus came. I assisted the lady as she boarded the bus. As the bus rode away, I prayed for God to have mercy on that aunty especially for that lump on her forehead.
During times when I chose to ignore rather than help, the main reason is that it will be a great hassle for me. If I may challenge myself and all who are reading this blog, let us begin to change our mindset - helping someone usually brings joy and satisfaction because we know a need was met. That was what I experienced today and during those times when I was aware of the needs of the people I come across.
Let us try one person at a time and if that little action can make someone's day. praise the Lord! :) Showing compassion to the poor and oppressed is definitely one responsibility a Christian cannot avoid.
Well, I guess today's encounter should aid me in my worship-leading preparation for Sunday. I have just been informed that the drummer scheduled for this Sunday has to go for an operation and will not be able to play. As much as I know it is alright not to have the drums, I also am struggling for the fact that it will change the dynamics of the songs which I have chosen. Hopefully the coordinator will be able to find a replacement. Even if he cannot, the worship still goes on and prayerfully God will make good of this new arrangement.
Time to end here. :)
"This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I answered. Then the LORD said to me, "The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!" Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?" — skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done. "Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day. "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. "In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, 'As surely as your god lives, O Dan,' or, 'As surely as the god of Beersheba lives' — they will fall, never to rise again." Amos 8:1-14
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