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	<title>DEEPERDEVOTION.com</title>
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	<description>Delivered Monday through Friday, our daily devotions are the perfect companion to your time in the Word. Biblical, consistent, and with over three years of back content, DEEPERDEVOTION.com is a great resource for everyone. Check us out on the web at www.deeperdevotion.com</description>
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		<itunes:summary>Delivered Monday through Friday, our devotions are the perfect companion to your time in the Word. Biblical, consistent, and with over three years of back content, DEEPERDEVOTION.com is a great resource for everyone. Check us out on the web at www.deeperdevotion.com</itunes:summary>
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		<title>God&#8217;s Waiting Room</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/787</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/787#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:32:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Corallie Thornton
Proverbs 20:21
An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.
What an amazing statement! Quite often when we are waiting for a breakthrough, we want it now! We don&#8217;t want to wait&#8230; we want it yesterday.
Are you frustrated that your desire to minister is going nowhere? God gives you a promise, and you get so excited that you want to do it right away. But God doesn&#8217;t work that way. He must first establish things in you you&#8217;ll need for your ministry. If you started without these things, you wouldn&#8217;t make it.
God uses this waiting period as an establishing period in our lives. If you had your breakthrough or your ministry right away, it might not last until the end. God needs to firmly establish in you some principals, which will enable you to cope with what He has prepared for your life. 
So don&#8217;t get frustrated if you seem to be going nowhere. Remember that God might be testing your endurance. 
&#8220;Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.&#8221;
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		<item>
		<title>Do Not Say &#8216;Tomorrow&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/786</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/786#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2004 10:49:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">2003631405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It happened so quickly. One moment the white pickup and its trailer were directly in front of me, the next moment it was on the other side of the road and a old red Thunderbird was up against a telephone poll.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Glenn Ansley
James 4:13-14 
Come now, you who say, &#8220;Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.&#8221; Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
It happened so quickly. One moment the white pickup and its trailer were directly in front of me, the next moment it was on the other side of the road and a old red Thunderbird was up against a telephone poll. 
We we&#8217;re doing about 50 M.P.H. when the two teenagers in the Thunderbird ran the red light. I remember seeing them out of the corner of my eye, quickly glancing at the light to make sure I wasn&#8217;t the one running it, and then forcefully slamming the breaks and jerking to the right in my effort to avoid the collision that was taking place directly in front of me. Six lanes of traffic came to an immediate halt. I had narrowly escaped a horrible accident.
Close calls will always make you question life. What if I had been going a little faster or that Thunderbird had been going a little slower? What if the Thunderbird had collided with the back of the pickup and spun into me rather than the front of the pickup and into the telephone poll? Why had the Lord protected me and allowed the couple in white pickup to be hit?
Life is full of surprise and tragedy. It can happen to the most unlikely individual in the most inopportune time. James tells us that life is like a vapor. One day we&#8217;re here, and the next we&#8217;re not. I realize that the Lord doesn&#8217;t want us to question life after narrowly escaping disaster; He wants us to answer life every single day. He wants us to live for Him rather than ourselves. His gospel and the love of Jesus must continually be expressed to others. And most of all, His gospel and the love of Christ must be present in our hearts. 
As far as I could tell, there were no serious injuries in the accident I saw last week. God had given them a second chance as well. I pray that it serves as a wakeup call in their lives. If they have resisted the gospel in the past, I pray that this would now open their eyes. If they are believers, I ask that the Lord would help them to reevaluate their life. 
I pray the same for you&#8230; hoping that tragedy is not needed to see this come about.
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		<title>Out of the Miry Clay</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/783</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/783#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2004 11:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">324503037</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["True to his character, he had found a mud hole formed by the previous night's rainfall and was inventing several different ways to get in trouble with it."]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Glenn Ansley
Psalms 40:2
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; 
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
The church Kristie and I attend hosted a picnic at one of the local lakes last Sunday night. It was the perfect way to spend the evening with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our church must have about one million members under the age of ten. These kids were running around like everywhere like maniacs. Many of them played down by the lake while others kicked a soccer ball around on the grass. My eyes were on Christian though. Christian&#8217;s a third grader in the Sunday school class Kristie and I teach. True to his character, he had found a mud hole formed by the previous night&#8217;s rainfall and was inventing several different ways to get in trouble with it. Mud was everywhere.
Our church didn&#8217;t meet to make mud pies and watch ten-year-old boys get in trouble though. As a body of believers, we came to celebrate and witness the baptisms of several new brothers and sisters in Christ.
One by one we listened to them give their testimonies of God&#8217;s amazing grace. Shortly thereafter, they were all led out into the lake to be baptized.
As I reflect back on the event, I realize just how much it did have to do with mud! Much like David in the Psalms, we had gathered together to jointly praise God for pulling us out of the muck and the mire we once enjoyed so much.
I think about Christian being covered with the mud and realize how great a symbolism baptism is. Not only are we proclaiming ourselves dead to sin and raised again with Christ, but we also are publicly proclaiming our own purification from the sin that once covered us like mud. 
A new life, represented by immerging from the water, leaves us clean and spotless before the heavenly father and all those who agree with one mind.
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Walk the Talk!</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/779</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/779#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2004 11:22:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[People who just talk about doing things, then don't do them, really bug me.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Corallie Thronton
James 2:14-16
What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, &#8220;Go in peace be warmed and be filled,&#8221; and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?&#8221;
People who just talk about doing things, then don&#8217;t do them, really bug me. I hate it when Christians talk about serving God, and never get around to actually doing it. This Christian life is a practical one. I like people to be practical in their Christian walk.
I absolutely despise it when all Christians do is talk. I would much rather be out doing it, then just talking about it. What is the purpose of faith, if you do nothing with it? Suppose you can help someone, but you don&#8217;t. Where is your faith really at?
I want you to seriously ask yourself this question. Where is my faith at? Am I spending my time doing too much talking, and not enough walking?
It doesn&#8217;t do us any good to just sit in church and hear the Word. That&#8217;s what many Christians do though; they sit in church. That&#8217;s all they do. Doesn&#8217;t do anybody any good to just hear it, you have to do it as well. 
I can sit in my garage, but that doesn&#8217;t make me a car. No matter how long I sit in my garage, no matter how much I talk about being a car, do you think that will make me a car? I can sit in church all my life, but that doesn&#8217;t make me a Christian. I can talk about it, but that doesn&#8217;t make me a Christian.
Don&#8217;t be one of those people who just talks about serving God. Go out and do it!
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Life in the Fast Lane</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/778</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/778#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2004 11:05:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I had the opportunity to attend a conference a couple of weeks ago. Third year in a row...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Jeff Fields
Luke 5:36-39
And He was also telling them a parable: &#8220;No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. &#8220;And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. &#8220;But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. &#8220;And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, &#8216;The old is good enough.&#8217;&#8221;
I had the opportunity to attend a conference a couple of weeks ago. Third year in a row. With out fail, each time I returned home with new wine. Sweeter to the taste, more fragrant, more desirous and full of satisfaction. The problem with having God touch you deep in your soul is that you can&#8217;t bear the taste of old wine any longer. It offers no fulfillment and the aroma has grown stale. It&#8217;s kinda like the glory days of youth gone by. You can never go back. And even if you could, why would you?
Sheri and I spent the weekend with TJ and Tara over Easter and celebrated his birthday at Outback Steak House. TJ gets the same thing every time he goes there. I gave him a hard time about trying something new, but as the person took our orders, he chickened out and got the Alice Springs Chicken&#8230;again. His thinking is&#8230;he likes the taste, he knows what he is gonna get. Nothing wrong with that. Most of us are like that. We are comfortable with what we know. 
Religion is comfortable. Heavy, but comfortable. Demanding, in a legalistic sort of way, but at least you know what to expect. No taste, but you&#8217;re not looking for taste, only to feel full. The stench of old wine can be covered up with busyness and self-serving ideas. The skins may leak but there is a line in the budget to cover maintenance. After a while, the old wine becomes as Jesus said &#8220;good enough.&#8221; Good enough to get by, good enough to yield a good day, good enough to yield a good job, nice house, good enough to build the ivory tower we look at the rest of the world from, good enough to put a time table on the God who lives outside of time.
The wonder of God is missing from our lives. We have taken a &#8220;full life&#8221; (John 10:10), life in the fast lane, full of wonder and imagination and we have turned it into something we can explain and structure. 
Try something different. Begin now to pray. Linger long with the Father in prayer and communion. Call your friends and ask them to pray. Pray with fervor for a move of God. Pray for the opportunity to make God famous. Pray that Sunday worship will be filled with the unexpected, that the Spirit of God would break the hearts of His people. Pray that the watches and clocks in our Churches will become secondary to what and how He wants us to respond. Pray for your Pastor. That God would bring Him to His holy mountain and give him a message for the Church. That the power of God would flow freely in you, unhindered and that revival would begin with&#8230;
Me. And you.
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		<item>
		<title>Dumb As Sheep</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/777</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/777#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2004 10:39:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Sheep are pretty dumb.  As a matter of fact, they almost totally incapable of taking care of themselves.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Scott Meier
Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Sheep are pretty dumb.  As a matter of fact, they almost totally incapable of taking care of themselves.  I remember when I worked in my first church there was a family that raised sheep.  They had many stories of how the sheep would get tangled up in the fence or would get lost in a grove of trees in the pasture.  Not being able to find there way out, especially at night, this family shared how they would be awakened by the sound of the sheep crying in the night.
In the twenty-third Psalm, the Psalmist is comparing himself, and ultimately you and I, to sheep.  It was an analogy that was probably a bit of an insult to those who heard it many years ago, for they would have been well aware what he was saying is we are all incapable of taking care of ourselves.  So incapable, in fact, that we all need a shepherd.
In John 10:11, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd.  Again basically reminding those who hear these words that we are incapable of taking care of ourselves.  In the previous verse, John 10:10, Jesus has just stated that He came to bring us a full and abundant life.  That life, that a relationship with Christ offers, is one we cannot get any other way.  Just like a shepherd tending to his flock, Jesus came to tend to us and to our needs:  Our needs today and our needs eternal.
It is so easy for you and I to get tangled up in a life of sin and to find ourselves so lost all we can is cry out.  It is at those moments that Jesus comes rushing to our aid and to our side.
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		<item>
		<title>Control Freaks and the Yoke of Christ</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/774</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/774#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2004 11:05:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">88825241</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most of my life is marked by things that I have absolutely no control over. Although I have prided myself on being a man in control of his surroundings, the truth is I am not.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by  Jeff Fields
Marked by the &#8220;otherness&#8221; of God
Matt 11:27-30
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  &#8220;For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.
Most of my life is marked by things that I have absolutely no control over. Although I have prided myself on being a man in control of his surroundings, the truth is I am not. Something happened today that although it may seem as insignificant to some, it gave me a sense of desperation. Like there was absolutely nothing I could do to change the outcome. I made calls, felt like I had been wronged, misused and just a number. Nothing helped. There was nothing I could do.  the feeling in the pit of my stomach was heavy&#8230;it hurt&#8230;I felt cheated&#8230;then I remembered.
I am not sure I have ever controlled anything. My ego tells me I have always been in control. Today Jesus reminded me that He has always been in control. Every thing that has ever come my way has first passed through His hand. He has never left me with out a covering, with out place to go, with out love and with out understanding.
As I fell on my face this afternoon crying out to this wonderful God, these words flowed from my mouth; &#8220;my sustenance comes from you oh God. What others do, what others say, where others lead, matters not. For in you and you alone salvation is found. Rest and security comes from your strong right hand, mercy flows from your throne, holiness surrounds you&#8230;and you invite me to find my rest in you.&#8221;
The awesome thing about knowing God is that He knows me. Knows my fear, knows my weakness, my heart. And in spite of that, He offers rest. 
Rest oh my soul, rest in the arms of the one who loves you and gave Himself for you. Wow. Can you say amen? I can&#8230;Amen!
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		<item>
		<title>What&#8217;s More Valuable?</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/771</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/771#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 May 2004 03:30:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[On their way to church on Sunday, my husband and two of his friends saw a stray puppy on the side of the road...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Kristie Ansley
Proverbs 31:20
She extends her hand to the poor; and she stretches out her hands to the needy.
On their way to church on Sunday, my husband and two of his friends saw a stray puppy on the side of the road.  Concerned for the dog&#8217;s safety, they pulled over, got out of the car, and tried to call the dog to them.  The dog immediately took off into the woods that border the road. Since they had no chance of catching up with him, and had to get to church, they got back in the car and continued on. 
Later that day, Glenn and I were heading out on the same road and we decided to check and see if the dog could possibly still be there.  As we neared the area, we saw the puppy standing on the small hill Glenn had seen him on earlier.  As soon as we got out of the car, he took off back into the woods.  By this point, we began to be concerned that no one was looking for this poor little puppy and that he would likely face the night in the woods all alone and possibly become prey to whatever else lurked behind the dense foliage.  We weren&#8217;t geared up for a hike and we had no idea where he could have run to so we gave up and headed home.
I take the same road in to work, so on Monday morning I decided to check for him.  No sign of him.  On my way home on Monday, I decided to leave some food out at the place where we had seen him and see if he would come out.  I waited for several minutes and gave up, figuring someone had picked him up.  Just in case he was still alive, though, I left some food for him.  
On my way into work Tuesday morning, I checked to see if the food was still there- it was gone.  As I was pulling away, I was almost sure I saw a puppy-like figure bolt into the woods.  In case this was him, I left some more food and checked back on my way home from work- it too was gone.  By this point, I was extremely concerned.  This poor puppy had been in the woods for at least three days now and was probably dehydrated and exhausted.  I left some food out and parked to monitor it.
As I was sitting there, I began the think to myself about how sorry I felt for this poor, helpless little puppy.  And then the thought occurred to me, there are millions of people in the world that are starving and I hardly bat an eye, yet when I see a puppy in danger, I am willing to give up my time and energy to ensure his safety.  What must God think of my extreme confusion of values?!  He must despise my level of concern for needy people and be enraged over the fact that I care more for a dog than a starving child in India.
Unfortunately, the puppy never emerged.  I will probably check for him again tomorrow morning, but this conviction has caused some serious evaluation for me.  I want to be a woman of God and I want my heart to be like His, but I am so often so far from what I should be.  I would like to be a Proverbs 31 woman and yet, my hand rarely extends to the poor and I never &#8220;stretch&#8221; out my hand to the needy.  I am praying today that God would show me the needy as He sees them, and that He will grant me a heart like His.
Lord, only You can take a wretched human heart and make it truly love.  Grant me Your vision to see the world as You do and grant me Your grace to step outside of myself.
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		<item>
		<title>Where&#8217;s the Respect?</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/768</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/768#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 May 2004 03:01:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA["If God created it, why can't I smoke it? God obviously gave me the desire for sex, so why should I wait?"]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Glenn Ansley
1 Corinthians 6:12
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
&#8220;If God created it, why can&#8217;t I smoke it?&#8221;
&#8220;God obviously gave me the desire for sex, so why should I wait?&#8221;
There is and endless source of similar justifications being used by you and your friends on a daily basis. Many of you justify your actions out of selfish want. Some of you do it out of ignorance. Romans 7:6 reads, &#8220;But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.&#8221; If you are a believer, both this verse and 1 Corinthians 6:12 applies to you. They don&#8217;t, however, give you the freedom to do whatever you want. In fact, they give to you an even greater responsibility: the duty to glorify God in everything you do.
I challenge you to apply the second and fourth clauses of 1 Cor. 6:12. First of all, &#8220;Not all things are profitable.&#8221; It&#8217;s important to recognize Paul doesn&#8217;t include the words &#8220;for me&#8221; after his saying. That&#8217;s because Paul is no longer at the center of the equation, God is. 
This principle must be the subject of the first question you ask for every decision you make. 
&#8220;Will God be glorified if I do this?&#8221; 
Not, &#8220;Will I get in trouble?&#8221; 
But only, &#8220;Will God be glorified in my actions?&#8221; 
The second question that should be asked is, &#8220;Will I be mastered by this? Have I become a slave to this habit?&#8221; If the answer to either of these is yes, you must determine not to go any further in what you are doing&#8230; regardless of who said it was okay, how fun it will be, or how popular you will become.
All things truly are lawful for the Christian, but not all things are profitable for the glory of God. Isn&#8217;t it about time you started thinking more about God than yourself?
Your greatest downfall isn&#8217;t a lack of obedience towards the law; it&#8217;s a lack of respect towards the Lord.
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		<item>
		<title>The Pain Next Door</title>
		<link>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/764</link>
		<comments>http://deeperdevotion.com/devotions/764#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 May 2004 11:07:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Ansley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">725012243</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Friends and family battle a multitude of inflictions. Seldom, however, do we look past our own pain to help those next door...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[by Glenn Ansley
Proverbs 24:12
If you say, &#8220;See, we did not know this,&#8221; does He not consider it who weights the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know.&#8221; But you did, and try as you might, ignoring it will never change the fact that you knew. Friends and family battle a multitude of inflictions. Depression, guilt, loneliness and suffering taunt us all on a daily basis. Seldom, however, do we look past our own pain to help those next door; even further from our minds are the sufferings of strangers. We rush them by every day of our lives. We know they are staggering, barely holding on, but we resist their need for deliverance. If we don&#8217;t notice, it isn&#8217;t our responsibility.
When will we realize that our self-deception, while beneficial now, will not hold up on the day of the Lord? Have we honestly forgotten that He has the ability to weigh our hearts and to know our souls? &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know&#8221; will not pass the Lord&#8217;s test on that day. Our selfish works, governed by the lies of ignorance, will be burned up like chaff when tested with His fire (I Corinthians 3:12-15). I challenge you to reevaluate your response to &#8220;those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter&#8221; (Proverbs 24:11). It is concerning our response to these that Solomon warns, &#8220;Will he not render to man according to his work? (24:12). 
Just as we are without excuse to our response, so are we to our obligation. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that it is our duty to assist those in need. Christ illustrates this importance through the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). Romans 15:1 commands us, &#8220;Those who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.&#8221; James 2:8 reminds us that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Not even our enemy, if he is hungry or thirsty, should be ignored. As children of God, we are to imitate the heart of Jesus. It is our responsibility to care for everyone need, even our enemies (Romans 12:20). 
I wonder how many times we have blown by those in desperate need of comfort because of our own selfishness. I am frightened to know that one day I will be held responsible for the lack of compassion I&#8217;ve shown to strangers, friends and family. How many times have you received encouragement and support from both those closest to you, and complete strangers? When was the last time you meditated on how Jesus reached out to you in your greatest season of need? It is my guess that even today you know of someone who could use encouragement or physical assistance. I challenge you to put off helping them no longer. Not only is it the right thing to do, but also it&#8217;s what we have been commanded to do by our Savior. When you stand before the Lord, will you be commended for your compassion, or judged for your selfishness?
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17).
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