Opportunity to Go and Do the Same

In the LA Times back in 2004 there was a story about a man who risked his life to protect someone else.  In the article it said, “The night Studio City resident Rene Navarro went to the aid of his neighbor, actress Anna Nicole Smith, he had hoped to persuade the man trying to enter her house to leave. Instead, Smith’s 6-foot-5, 230-pound former boyfriend turned stalker punched, kicked and threatened to kill Navarro. Though the assault left Navarro, 59, with broken fingers, head injuries and other wounds, his willingness to intervene convinced L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley to make him one of three recipients of the Courageous Citizen Awards in a ceremony Wednesday at the Pasadena Hilton.”  When Navarro went in to the situation he knew that he would be at risk for interfering.  It did not stop him.  He showed compassion and care for his neighbor.  However, later Navarro was recognized for his courageous act.  Although recognition for compassionate acts does not always occur, it is a great encouragement when they do.  Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan to give recognition to the fact that God appreciates and recognizes self-sacrificing acts of compassion to others.  Read Luke 10: 30 – 37.

30 Jesus took up [the question] and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

Jesus told the expert in the law and the others who were listening that they needed to go and do the same.  Although the good Samaritan sacrificed time and money and was not publicly recognized for his good deed, Jesus shows us that God is pleased when we respond to opportunity to help others.  What an encouragement to know that God is watching and is pleased by our choice to respond to these type of opportunities to help others.

 

Never Pass Up God’s Opportunity

There are several shows on TV that deal with buying storage units and then going through them hoping to find something of value buried in them.  It’s a risky proposition.  You can spend money on something that just holds junk that you need to get rid of.  It’s also a lot of work.  You have to lift, dig, shove, move, re-pack, refinish, research, find buyers and sell it all.  So the question is, “Is it worth the effort and money?”  Or should you pass up the opportunity?  One time according to Trutv.com “In 2000, the actor Nicholas Cage filed a police report claiming that an extremely rare comic book, Action Comics #1, (valued at more than a million dollars) had been stolen from his Los Angeles home. More than 10 years later, a collectibles expert was contacted by an anonymous man who found the book after discovering it in a purchased storage locker. The collectibles expert contacted a comic book expert who happened to be the same man who had originally sold the book to Cage in 1994. Despite having received insurance money for the comic, the actor was eager to settle up with the insurance company and retrieve his property.”  This is just one of many examples where the work was worth the effort.  This was definitely an opportunity that shouldn’t have been passed up.  Jesus tells a parable that teaches this concept in Luke 10: 30 – 35.

30 Jesus took up [the question] and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

We don’t really know why the two religious men passed up the man who had been robbed.  Perhaps they didn’t want to be inconvenienced or they knew it would cost them time and money.  Whatever the case the Samaritan stopped and took care of the man.  He gave up time and money to help.  It may not seem like an opportunity to help someone in need, but God sees it as an opportunity to share Him with others.  He gives us everything we have.  He gives us health, time, and money.  He expects to give of what we have to serve Him and others.   Every time to serve God is a great opportunity.  It’s opportunity that should not be passed up for our own selfish reasons.  If God shows us the opportunity and we know it is from Him, then we need to respond to the opportunity.  It is just common sense to not pass up God’s opportunities.  He will bless us for honoring Him and representing Him to others.  What we might spend in time and money will not compare to what we gain from God.  It’s like the great reward these storage unit buyers find.  

Here are some great opportunity quotes by some successful men:

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Edison

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles Swindoll

“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” Alexander Graham Bell

 

 

Seeing the Opportunity

Have you heard the expression, “If it had been a snake, it would have bit you.” or “It’s staring at you right in your face.”?  I laugh because I say these types of things to certain family members who can’t seem to find things they are looking for.  Sometimes we are so involved in what we are doing or have spent so much time looking we just don’t see clearly any more.  What is obvious becomes unobvious to us.  It’s the same with opportunities in our lives.  We may have been looking for work for a long time and as rejections pile up and time passes by we may not even see a job opportunity that someone has told us about as a job opportunity.  We see it as another rejection or as a hopeless cause to pursue.  We miss the opportunity that God may have opened up for us.  Look at the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10: 30 -35.

 30 Jesus took up [the question] and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

The first two men who came across the man who lay in the street wounded and robbed were supposed to be godly men.  One was a priest, the other a Levite.  Yet each one of them looked at the man and continued on their way.  Perhaps they figured he was going to die and it wasn’t their responsibility or their fault this had happened.  Perhaps they figured he deserved it.  Perhaps they figured he was just a robber lying in wait.  Perhaps they thought someone else would take care of him.  Perhaps they thought they had too much on their plate already serving God or meeting family needs.  Whatever the case they missed an opportunity to minister to someone in need.  They didn’t even stop to examine him to see what his needs were and see if they could help.  They missed an opportunity to be a witness for God.

We need to take instruction from these two men.  Take time to see things as opportunities.  Even a trial that comes upon us is an opportunity to serve God or witness for Him.  God always brings things in to our life for a reason.  We may think it will cost us too much time or money.  We may think it will over stress us.  We may think we don’t have the skill.  What we are forgetting is that God has placed many opportunities in to our life and expects us to respond.  He always provides the resources to respond appropriately.  If He is leading us, then we must respond.  We must not just walk on past the opportunity.  Follow God’s instruction to see the opportunities he lays in our path.

The Instruction Manual

Do you realize how lucky we are?  Do you realize how blessed we have been?  We have access to the Word of the Lord.  We have His instruction in one neat little place, the Bible.  All we have to do is read it and learn it and do it.  We will reap such great blessings from following His instruction manual.  This instruction manual helps us to follow the dotted line through life.  Back during the reign King Asa of Israel this is what the prophet spoke in II Chronicles 15: 1-7

“ ¹ The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. ³ For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law, ⁴ but when they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. ⁶ Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong; don’t be discouraged, for your work has a reward.”

In verse 3 we learn that Israel had been without the law or teachers to teach them.  They had no instruction and life fell apart.  No peace for the citizens of Israel.  Nation crushed nation and many conflicts arose during that time.  We are so fortunate that we have been blessed with such easy access to the Bible and to teachers of the Bible.  We can just turn on our internet and find teaching.  We can turn on our TV to find teaching.  We have Bibles everywhere.  If we want a peaceable country, peacable homes and a better life, we must turn to God’s instruction manual and learn of Him.  Are you taking advantage of the easy access while you have it?  Or are you taking your Bible for granted?