Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
He went around doing good.
Is there better advice for how to live life? Here are a few thoughts on doing good.
1. Do something good today because that is what you were made for. The New Testament doesn't teach that you are by your good works but you were most definitely saved FOR good works. You don’t have the capacity to do every good thing...but you were made to do some good things. In the area of your strengths and gifts and capabilities, do some good things tomorrow.
2. Do something good today because you doing good will please your Father in heaven. Jesus made it clear, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) It's the "doing" that shows the reality of inner, genuine saving faith.
3. Do something good because the good things you do are the building blocks of a better world. It is true, we reap what we sow. Do good and good will come from it.
4. Do something good today and don’t let the devil keep you on the sidelines. Evil will whisper in your ear, "Who are you to try? You're a nobody and your efforts will be wasted." Ignore that nonsense.
5. Do something good today and don’t listen to your excuses. “It’s not my job.” “I”m too busy.” “I’m too old.” “I’m too young.” “I don’t know how.” Ignore this nonsense too. Refuse to listen to your excuses.
6. Do something good today and don’t let past failures stop you. You may think the mistakes you’ve made in the past disqualify you from doing good today. If only people without past failures were eligible to do good then good things would never be done. Samson and Peter and Paul and many others...did their best work after they’d made serious mistakes.
7. Do something good today even if it seems like it's too small to matter. Only God gets to decide what’s big and what’s little when it comes to doing good. I suspect the widow who did a small good thing in giving her mite to the Temple treasury is glad she didn’t think that act too small to count. I imagine that the boy with his lunch of fish and loaves is glad he was willing to do a small thing as well. You may have a sense of exactly what you could do and yet you hesitate because it seems so meaningless. Do the good things that are in your path regardless of how small they may seem.
8. Do something good even if it involves a task that seems too big for you. If God puts the big job in your path, find the first small thing you can do towards tackling the big job and get after it. Every big job gets done because someone makes up their mind to start it.
9. Do something good today because your family needs it. Family is responsibile to take care of family. Today there is some good thing that needs to be done for a family member. You can turn a few spare minutes into a chance to bless and help your spouse or a child or a parent. You can warm their hearts and create the kind of family spirit that we all want in our homes. It may just be that someone else in the family is watching and the next generation may end up doing even more good things because of what they learned from you.
10. Do something good today for the glory of God and the love of others. Don’t get caught up in the need for applause or affirmation.
11. Do something good today because you need it. There is nothing that will bring you greater joy than doing good for others. The secret to self-esteem is to forget about yourself and do good for others. The more you focus on others doing good for you, the more miserable and unhappy you’ll be. You will never be more satisfied and fulfilled and happy in life then when you are doing good for others. Today, for your own sake, do something good and you just will find yourself at the end of the day, maybe a bit tired but able to look back with joy and gratitude on a day full of good things done.
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