A Good Return on Investments

Happy Saturday, everybody! Today I thought that I would tickle your ears with how we can give back to the Lord God. I hope that this blog post blesses you as much as it did me to prepare it for you.

You remember last week that I told you about a lady who had recently lost her mother and about how, as she was going through her mother's things, she came upon a book of my poetry? She said the book had been marked on the page where the poem, "Happenstance" was printed. She said that the words of that poem reached out and touched her in a weary place in her soul. Then she thanked me for being the "limb that she was able to grab a hold of." Here is a copy of the poem:

Happenstance

In any new quandary in which

You happen to have been thrown

Look for similarities to past experiences

That you made it through and

By which you have grown.

You will find that fate, though fickle

Will often toss you a limb

That you can grab a hold off

Depending upon your whim.

 

In any new circumstance, always

Learn as much as you can

Because you never know when you

My need to draw upon your past

To tackle new jobs head on and

To perform accompanying tasks.

1 Peter 5

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Contemporary English Version
The LORD God gives me the right words to encourage the weary. Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Almighty LORD will teach me what to say so I will know how to encourage weary people. Morning after morning he will wake me to listen like a student.

That is what it is all about for me, being an encourager. And though I was the vessel that penned the poem, it was the glory of God shining through me that helped that young lady, you know? He knew that one day I would need to have written the words to that poem to pick that young lady up, so He had me to do it ahead of time. That is the beauty of the way that the Lord God works. And that is what is so phenomenal about His love for us and why I love Him so much. You see, He showed me before I was born that I am of great value to Him because of the price that He paid for me.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

That is why I keep doing what I do. I have to keep on doing what I do for Him because He has made a great investment in me and I want to make sure that He gets a good return.

If I can make the difference for just one person, then I know that my Father is pleased with the way I use the gift (s) that He gave me. I have listed several scriptures below that talk about the gifts that we have been given.

Matthew 25:15 And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability;…journey.

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”- Don't waste the gift that you have been given, but use them for the good of yourself and others.

1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Make sure that He is getting a good return on the investment that He made in you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. Be kind.

Hebrews 10:25 ESV
Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Come together and edify one another with love.

Proverbs 16:24 ESV
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 12:25 ESV
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

How about this God that we serve
He made you and me (our Creator)
He saved you and me (Jesus' blood)
He blessed and keeps on blessing you and me (gifts to use in service for Him)
He is preparing an everlasting place of abode for you and me
How blessed we are to be able to serve this Creator of all Humanity!

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My Point Is

Some of you have probably thought to yourself, "I don't have a gift." To that, I say, "Hogwash!" Everybody has something that they can excel at. Find something that you just love, love to do and do it in the name and honor of the Lord God. If you like to cook, do that, if you like to crochet, do that, if you like to manicure lawns, do that, if you like to smile and greet people, do that, etc.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because He Cares,
Alma L. Jones
Christian Poet & Author