How do we praise Him?  We can praise His Name.

There’s a poem by Cecil F. Alexander (1848) called “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and it begins:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

I was thinking about that today because one of the joys of gardening and feeding the birds is the short window of migration when these jewels of nature wing their way through my yard.  The year round residents of goldfinches and cardinals and blue jays have been joined by migratory indigo buntings and rose-breasted grosbeaks.  It will not be long before the scarlet tanager and the Baltimore orioles and hummingbirds will be here, too.  In their colorful beauty and their cheerful song, I am certain they are praising the LORD.

Strange to think about, that the lightning and hail, snow, clouds and wind can do the LORD’s bidding.  It’s even more strange to think that they praise Him.  How do they praise Him except to obey?

I wonder what sea creatures do when they praise the LORD.  Does praise just happen in their doing what they were created to do?

Everything that has breath received its life from its Creator.  Therefore, it is only fitting that everything that has breath should praise the Lord.

When we live the Risen Life calling Jesus “Lord,” we become a living demonstration of God’s faithfulness.  The result is that He takes pleasure in us.

• He delights in making righteousness spring forth upon the earth in the form of believers living true to His Word.
• He delights in our praises, with His people acknowledging the One True God and reflecting back to Him the goodness He showers upon us.
• He delights in our being a testimony to the nations that He is the Sovereign God whose loving care extends to all.

Just as seeds sprout from the ground because of an unseen power, when we respond to Jesus as our Savior, then we spring forth as His holy garden covering the earth.  We are brought to life through His powerful Holy Spirit and will be Living the Risen Life as His Delight.

When we call Jesus “Lord” we can have a peace that passes all understanding because it’s a peace that He gives.  The world might promise peace and try to achieve it through compromise, collaboration, and consensus.  But, that’s not the kind of peace that God gives us.

Peace that characterizes the Risen Life is a peace with God.

How is this different?  Well, our Father didn’t send Jesus to compromise His holiness with our sin (as if it was a priority to take a balanced approach).  He didn’t send Jesus to collaborate with us (as if our ideas were even on the same plane of wisdom as God’s).  Jesus didn’t come to achieve consensus among a million brothers all of whom miss the mark of His perfection.  (He stands alone).

The reason why God gives us a peace that the world can’t give is because it is a superior peace bought with the blood of Jesus.  It is a peace of reconciliation based upon His characteristics of righteousness, holiness, love, sovereignty, wisdom, mercy, truth, and forgiveness.  It is His character that defines His peace and it explains why we do not need to be troubled no matter what the world brings and also why we do not need to be afraid in any circumstance.  Our peace is with God when we are Living the Risen Life.

How many times have we heard someone say, “Oh grow up!” and agreed that the person being addressed needed to show more maturity and responsibility?

The Bible exhorts us in many regards to mature in our faith.  But God also calls us to become like little children.  You see, maturing doesn’t equal independence, necessitating letting go.  Maturing in faith is a continual growing in dependence, compelling us to hold tight.

Yes, the Bible insists that mature faith and childlike faith are not incompatible at all.  Indeed, when we see God as our Father, we will welcome His tender care, humbly accepting that He knows our frames are weak, our inabilities are part of our human condition, we cannot grasp true wisdom on our own, and like little children, we desperately need our Father.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that when we call Jesus “Lord” it should change the way we live, the decisions we make, the politics we hold, and the way we use our time and resources.  The Risen Life is not a series of prohibitions, but a call to live like redeemed people.

Are you at a loss for ways to help?  If there can be 50 shades of gray and 50 ways to leave your lover, there must be at least 50 ways to help others in a far more redemptive way than those.   I have compiled 50 suggestions and you are welcome to add your own ideas via comment here or on Facebook.

Why should we help others?  Because when we do, we are serving Jesus.

Matthew 25: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” (Matthew 25:40)

Oftentimes, we’ll hear people talk about donating time, talents, or treasures to help those in need.  These general areas show how we can—in large and small ways—share our Risen Life with others.  Here are 50 ways:

1. Volunteer your time to be a Christian mentor, or a Catholic or Jewish Big Brother or Sister.
2. Serve at a food pantry sponsored by a local church or Christian organization.
3. Organize or staff a bake sale, plant sale, or rummage sale to benefit Christian missions or poverty reduction.
4. Volunteer at a women’s shelter or help to prevent human trafficking.
5. Pray for those in the persecuted church, the imprisoned, the terminally ill, and the unemployed.
6. Provide meals to the homeless through PADS or other emergency relief group, serving up compassion at a local shelter.
7. Visit prisoners and teach Bible studies there.
8. Work on a Habitat for Humanity home.
9. Befriend your neighbors and invite them to come to church events.
10. Pray for Israel.
11. Provide babysitting to teen moms so they can attend Bible studies.
12. Drive the elderly to doctor’s appointments or bring them to church.
13. Go on a mission trip to provide medical care or engage in poverty reduction efforts among the poor.
14. Pray for your elected leaders.
15. Volunteer for Vacation Bible School and early childhood ministries.
16. Mow the lawn or shovel snow for someone who is sick
17. Design “fashions with a conscience,” raising awareness, and donating the proceeds of those items to help rescue children out of the sex trade.
18. Write and send greeting cards to the sick, the lonely, and the bereaved.
19. Knit hats for premature babies, make quilts for cancer patients, or volunteer at your local hospital or nursing home.
20. Engage in literacy programs or teach English as a second language.
21. Begin a blog or write letters to the editor upholding Christian values of compassion, love, and mercy.
22. Adopt-a-Highway in the name of your Christian group and engage in regular care for the roadside cleanup.
23. Use your business skills (e.g. legal, accounting, fundraising, program implementation, etc.) to benefit a parachurch or charitable ministry.
24. Run for public office and bring Christian virtues to policy decisions.
25. Sponsor and coach a youth basketball team in the inner city or in a poor neighborhood.
26. Write songs and perform music in a benefit concert or to raise awareness for a Christian cause.
27. Use your technology background to develop web sites, do analytics, and help to bring charitable organizations into full utilization of social media.
28. Organize or sponsor a Christian group to walk or run in a charity event for special needs children, natural disaster relief, or for victims of tragic events.
29. Give free haircuts to the poor once a month.
30. Get involved with Doctors without Borders or provide free dental care to the poor.
31. Teach business, technology, or entrepreneurial skills to those living in poverty.
32. Adopt a child or become a foster parent.
33. Become a Christian venture capitalist who provides start-up funds to train and then help former convicts start legitimate businesses that will hire other former convicts.
34. Train or coach others on how to use their skills and abilities for God’s glory, multiplying our efforts.  Organizations like Scholar Leaders International train pastors to multiply Christian efforts overseas.
35. Participate in urban gardening programs to bring children into a caring community before they become involved in gangs.
36. Supervise a disabled child or handicapped adult to give a caregiver a break for an hour each week.
37. Offer career counseling or job placement to the chronically unemployed.  Better yet, give them a job and train them with the skills they need to move forward.
38. Repair cars or provide no-interest vehicle purchase opportunities for single moms.
39. Read, listen, or see events around you for ways you can help others: holding doors, helping people across the street, offering your seat to a person with limited capabilities, or letting women with crying babies ahead of you in line.  Never underestimate the witness of small acts of kindness.
40. Donate furniture, clothing, and household items to Christian organizations like Love, INC, and the Salvation Army.
41. Get involved with Samaritan’s Purse as a disaster relief volunteer, as a provider of ducks and chickens, etc, and participate in annual events such as Operation Christmas Child.
42. Provide a scholarship for a wounded serviceman, police officer, or firefighter to get education and new employment possibilities.
43. For every dollar you donate to an alma mater or arts or education foundation, donate a dollar to assist someone in poverty have access to clean drinking water.  Make your donations make a real difference for the Kingdom.
44. Sponsor a Compassion International child or through another Christian organization.
45. Support missionary efforts through parachurch ministries like Hands and Hearts, International to provide medical and poverty reduction care to the poorest of the poor.
46. Donate money to help organizations such as Wellspring Living to rescue and restore girls who have been victims of sex trafficking.
47. Take every dollar you would have spent on lottery tickets and spend it to provide food for a Christian food pantry or give to an organization like Food for the Poor.
48. Donate Bibles through the Gideons to put in hotel drawers to offer hope to those in crisis.
49. Support Catholic Charities through financial donations.
50. Partner with Christians at your local church to provide funds for church-sponsored projects.

 What ways will you add…?

Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.

Did you catch it?  “You give them something to eat.”  Imagine the disciples’ surprise at being commanded to feed such a multitude!  They probably felt the same helplessness that we feel when we hear in Romans 12:13 “Share with God’s people who are in need.”

Of what help can my contributions possibly be toward the magnitude of the problems facing the planet?  The disciples looked at what they had in the physical realm (loaves and fish) and a hungry multitude.  What did Jesus say to them?  “Bring them here to me.”

Our material possessions can go only so far to help the poor.  Make no mistake, it is right and proper for us to help those in need.  But note that Jesus didn’t say, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”  Nope.  That’s humanity trying to solve humanity’s problems, which are well-intentioned efforts, but sadly, they are inevitably flawed ones.  Give and create a dependent.  Teach and create a defiant self-reliant.  Jesus wants better than that.  He wants disciples.  So He says, “Bring them here to me.”

Jesus takes the loaves and fish and does a miracle.  What is humanly impossible, God does by multiplication.  He takes what little we can give and when we bring what we have to Jesus, then the Son of God multiplies our efforts for His glory.  The greatest glory isn’t in a full stomach for a meal, but in full redemption for an eternity.  It doesn’t mean we ignore the physical needs, but it does mean we see them in light of the greatest glory.  The greatest glory is not in loaves or fish.  It is in disciples, taught to rely upon God.

Notice the truth that Jesus speaks here: John 6: 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

We should always be on the lookout for how the physical needs of others can be God’s means of our bringing them to Jesus.  Then we will be Living the Risen Life by Sharing—in all the best possible ways.