Remember The Poor

When is the church at her best?

Is it when she is doing praise and worship? Is it when she holds bible studies for members? Evangelizing the lost? Tithing? Growing in numbers? Raising up leaders?

All of those matter and are very very important. However, I believe the church is at her absolute best when she is loving and serving the poor. When , in the words of Bob Pierce, our hearts break over the things that break the heart of God.

There are times I wonder as a pastor if I or the church I serve ever does anything right? When I get in a leadership funk, I chastise myself for not doing right. In those times, I abhor the thought of facing God one day and give an account of my leadership to Him, let alone my life.

But when a church member confides to me that on her birthday, she bought numerous pairs of slippers for the purpose of giving them to any street children she sees without slippers, then I know the church must be doing something right. When a Life Group leader tells me she and her members set aside part of their holidays to serve food to families living in the cemetery, then the church must be doing something right. When a student of mine tells me she captured a burden for the precious Mangyan people and wants to minister to them, then I know even I sometimes do something right.When the church tithes her thirteenth month pay and bonuses to bless poor families, then we must be doing something right.

It is during these moments that I feel being a pastor is so worthwhile. When our people finally get it, and becomes the hands and feet, eyes and ears, indeed the BODY of CHRIST to a lost and dying world, it's worth all the sacrifices and heartache of serving God full-time.

Beloved, this holiday season, in the midst of gift giving and receiving; of food, fanfare, and fellowship; of family and friends; may we never forget the poor amongst us. May we be the church to the lost, the least, and the last. Jesus died for them too. As a matter of fact, Luke 4:18-19 tells us, it is precisely to the poor that the good news be preached; to the last and the least that the church minister to.

Christmas is for them. May the church never ever forget that.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

Life can be summed up in three words-yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is our own mini version of God's Trinitarian character. Who we are today is a result of the cumulative choices we made yesterday ; the person we become tomorrow is a result of who we are today.

Yesterday is a lesson, tomorrow is a dream, today is a gift.

We have all heard of the phrase,''past is past.'' But the truth is, the past continues to live within us, whether good or bad, whether we like it or not. We are but dwarfs who stand on the shoulders of the people of yesterday. Even our hurts, our pain, our failures play a vital part in making us who we are now.Our task is learn from the past, honor those who deserve honor, and be better than the dishonorable.

Tomorrow is spelled as a four letter word-H-O-P-E. If we do not have hope for the future, then it's useless whether we live through the night and wake up in the morning. Why bother living if life is but a death sentence? The reason why we pray that God extend our life is not only the chance to see tomorrow, but to be part of tomorrow. If our generation cannot be the best, let the generation after us be!

As important as yesterday and tomorrow are, the most important thing is still NOW. We are not promised in the Scriptures a tomorrow, nor can we change our past. Today is all we have. But what a difference TODAY can make. One decision to forgive, one decision to commit, one decision to love, one decision to start TODAY can create a lasting impact for eternity. May we not hold back what can and should be done today for tomorrow.

The one common denominator our yesterday, today, and tomorrow have is JESUS CHRIST. God was in our past, God is involved in our present, and God is already in the future. He is working, visibly or invisibly, quietly or loudly, clearly or behind the scenes all this time in our lives because we are His personal creation. No life is perfect, but God is present to shine a light into whatever dark areas we have, and He fills whatever empty spaces in our souls.Our trash is God's treasure; He is the Master Alchemist.

 We must learn to see God in the three tenses of our lives-past, present, and future. Only then can we have peace. Only then can we have courage. Only then can we be truly alive.