Seeing Jesus In The Underdog

You did it to Me.
Matthew 25:40 NAS

Daily Bible Reading:
1 Samuel 11-13, Luke 24:45-53, Psalm 63, Proverbs 22:17-23

A minister on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia noticed a homeless man coming towards him. He was filthy and his beard was caked with rotten food. He was holding a cup of coffee and the lip of the cup was dirty. Staggering up to him the homeless man exclaimed, “Hey, mister. You want some of my coffee?” The pastor really didn’t, but he thought it was the right thing to do, so he said, “Sure, I’ll take a sip.” When he handed the cup back he remarked, “You’re generous giving away your coffee.” Looking at him the derelict man replied, “Well, it was particularly delicious today, and I think if God gives you something that good you should share it!”

The pastor continued: “I figured I was being set up and it would cost me five bucks. So I asked him, ‘Is there something I can do for you in return?’ The man answered, ‘Yeah, you can give me a hug!’ (To tell the truth, I was hoping for the five dollar option!) He put his arms around me, and I suddenly realised he wasn’t going to let me go! People were passing by and staring at me. There I was, dressed in my establishment garb, hugging this filthy man! I was embarrassed. Then little by little my embarrassment changed to awe. I heard a voice echoing down the corridors of time saying, ‘I was hungry; did you feed Me? I was naked; did you clothe Me? I was sick; did you care for Me? I was the homeless man you met on Chestnut Street… did you hug Me? For if you did… you did it to Me.’”

Inner Beauty

Beauty, the… kind… God delights in.
1 Peter 3:4 TM

Daily Bible Reading:
Ezekiel 27:25-30:26, Luke 21:25-38, Psalm 78:40-55, Proverbs 20:22-24

A lady was applying face cream when her little girl asked, “What’s that you’re putting on, Mum?” “Moisturiser,” she replied. “The sales lady said it would make me beautiful.” With an honesty only children have, she replied, “Mum, I don’t think it’s working.” There’s nothing wrong with looking good, but there’s much more to you than your clothes and your hairstyle. Plus, you can go broke fixing up the outside, because “what Mother Nature giveth, Father Time taketh away!” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To find beauty we must carry it with us.”

It’s a big mistake to focus on the outside and fail to appreciate the inner qualities God’s given you. Solomon said, “Beauty is… [not lasting]” (Proverbs 31:30 AMP). When God made you He didn’t just decorate the outside, He gave you “inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind… God delights in.” However, because Peter also talked about “fancy hair, gold jewelry… fine clothes” (1 Peter 3:3 NCV), a few well-intentioned people have used that to create a legalistic standard by which to measure and judge others. Does the Bible teach us to dress appropriately? Absolutely. Paul writes: “I… want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety… appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 NIV). But when you focus on the wrong area you get the wrong results. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

Don’t allow what you see on TV or in the mirror to define your worth. Work instead to develop the kind of inner beauty God commends.

Safe In God’s Arms

Underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV

Daily Bible Reading:
John 4:4-26, John 7:37-41, Exodus 17:1-7, Isaiah 35:1-7

During World War II, six-year old Jill Briscoe’s family was evacuated to the English Lake District. Recalling a particularly scary night, she writes, “A storm had broken over our heads. Rain, like giant tears, slashed against the window and thunder grumbled. I didn’t like storms, and I was old enough to understand that an even bigger storm was raging, a war involving the entire world. But it seemed far away. The fire was warm and my father was relaxed in his big chair. Suddenly, aware that I needed reassurance, he put down his paper and smiled, ‘Come here, little girl,’ he said in his quiet but commanding voice. And then I was safe in his arms, lying against his shoulder and feeling the beat of his heart.

“Looking back, I realise how my Heavenly Father shelters me from the storms of life. When sorrow swamped me at my mother’s funeral, I sought reassurance in my Father’s presence. When the winds of worry whipped away my confidence as I faced gangs of young people in street evangelism, I glanced up to see my Father’s face. When floods of fear rose as I waited in hospital for the results of frightening tests, I sensed my Heavenly Father say, ‘Come here, little girl.’ I climbed into His arms, leaned against His shoulder and murmured, ‘Ah, this is a grand place to be.’”

The Bible says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). If life’s storms are overwhelming you, climb up into your Heavenly Father’s arms, feel the beat of His heart, and rest assured He’s bigger than the storm you’re facing.