Matthew 5:5 KJV
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Ephesians 4:32 KJV
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Titus 3:2-7 KJV
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
James 1:26-27, 2:1-13 KJV
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Our Ministry is called Help the Hurt Ministry because that is exactly what we strive to do. We want to help those who are hurting, whether they are lost or saved, old time saints or backslid Christians, rich or poor. Because whether or not you find yourself on a bar stool or church pew, one fact is true: you are a sinner in need of a Savior.
In the past week and a half, this fact has become glaringly obvious in my life. It is a fact that Brandon and I cannot seem to get away from. This obvious truth, that no matter our circumstances, we are all the same: wretched and vile sinners. Christ came to save each one of us. Not just those who are debt free and wealthy, not just those in designer clothes and expensive cars, not just those with mansions and perfectly manicured lawns , not just the beautiful, talented, and famous. He came to save me and everyone like me who is up to their eyeballs in bills and living paycheck to paycheck, wearing hand-me-downs and driving upside down gas-guzzlers, living in itty, bitty fixer-uppers with ain't-had-time-in-two-weeks-to-mow lawns, sleep deprived, can't sing a note, unheard of selves. For God so loved the WORLD. The world y'all! He didn't just pick the cream of the crop to give eternal life to, He picked us all and we only have to believe in Him.
And if our Creator, our Father, our Lord and Savior, didn't just pick those He deemed worthy, because let's face it, none of us would have made that list, then we ought not to either. We don't get to pick and choose who to love and who not to love, who to share the Gospel with and who not to, who we deem fit to darken the doorways of our churches and who ought to go back to where they came from. We all have sin in our lives, each and every one of us. None of us are perfect and none of us can claim to be. There are people all over this world, dying and going to hell because Christians will not take the time to witness to them, to share Christ's love with them because of the clothes they're wearing, the color of their hair, the piercings or tattoos on their bodies. Somehow, we Christians have become Pharisees and we are driving away the lost and the hurting in hoards.
Please note that I am not talking about the "wolves in sheep's clothing" that we have all encountered at some point within our churches, I am talking about the lost and dying, the Christians who are backslid and walking afar off, who are in need of our love, our help and our Savior. I am not so naive to think that everyone who sits on our church pews are there for help or to praise and worship our Lord. I know that there are dangers, that there are those who would come in to flaunt their sin and to mock us but I believe the Lord gives us the discernment and the knowledge to deal with these situations as they arise.
The scripture says it all, says more than I ever could. Blessed are the meek, the kind, the humble, the loving, the giving, to all men, for they shall inherit the earth. Pure religion and undefiled is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction. We must go to them, where they are, when they are hurting and cannot come to us. We've got to roll our sleeves up and get a little dirty once in a while. Sitting on a church pew service after service, never doing anything for God, never telling of His love and the blessings He has bestowed on you, causes a dangerous self-deception. When we do that we forget what we came from, we forget what God delivered us from, we forget that we are just as dirty and rotten as those we catch ourselves passing judgement on. We lose our meekness, our humbleness, our kindness, and our love for our brethren and for the world. We forget that we can be in the world, witnessing and sharing our Savior's love and still remain unspotted and not of the world if our faith and our hearts are where they should be.
If we tear down the proud wall of judgement we've built around our hearts and we remember that in the end, none of us are worthy to be called His, that we've all been offered mercy and grace by the Master and King of Kings, then perhaps it won't be so hard to extend that same mercy and grace to those around us.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth...
Revelation 21:1-8 KJV
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
