We should never let the opportunity pass us by to show mercy to that one 
in need of it because we will never fully comprehend how our simple act of 
love can change their life for the better. The simple acts of love that 
we do to help someone else become better, stand taller and rise higher 
will have a ripple effect that will reverberate through the hands of time 
much more than we could ever think or imagine. It may be a simple act to 
us, but to the recipient it can mean the whole world because we never 
truly know what that one is feeling on the inside. So many people are 
good at putting on a brave face, but deep down they may be struggling, 
discouraged, depressed and feel like giving up. That is why we should 
always take the initiative and try to make a bad situation just a little 
bit better.

When we help someone else believe in themselves again, we are sowing seeds 
into their life that will have an eternal effect. The change that happens 
within them will also affect those that they will encounter. The simple 
ripple that we started will continue on long after we are gone from that 
person or situation, but the effects of what we started will continue to 
ripple through from one life to another. We can't possibly know of all 
the good that will happen because of our initiative, but that should never 
keep us from being proactive and starting ripples in the lives of all who 
need a simple touch of mercy, affirmation, encouragement or inspiration.

What a great gift it will be in Eternity when God will reveal to us the 
multitudes of lives that were changed for the better all because we took 
the time to invest in lifting others up and reminding them of how special 
they truly are. I pray that you will be a life changer and use the vessel 
that God has given you to bring about a positive change in others that you 
will be proud to have been a part of. I know that is a prayer for my own 
life and may it be yours as well.

I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to do all that you 
can with what you have to bring about a positive change in those who need 
to be lifted up.


THE ENCOUNTER

One day a woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar sitting
on the corner. The man was elderly, unshaven, and ragged. As he sat there, 
pedestrians walked by him giving him dirty looks. They clearly wanted 
nothing to do with him because of who he was -- a dirty, homeless man. But 
when she saw him, the woman was moved with compassion.

It was very cold that day and the man had his tattered coat -- more like 
an old suit coat rather than a warm coat -- wrapped around him. She stopped
and looked down. “Sir?” she asked. “Are you all right?”

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer 
things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like that she had never 
missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make 
fun of him, like so many others had done before. “Leave me alone,” he 
growled.

To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her 
even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

“No,” he answered sarcastically. “I've just come from dining with the 
president. Now go away.”

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand 
under his arm. “What are you doing, lady?” the man asked angrily. “I said 
to leave me alone.”

Just then a policeman came up. “Is there any problem, ma'am?” he asked.

“No problem here, officer,” the woman answered. “I'm just trying to get 
this man to his feet. Will you help me?”

The officer scratched his head. “That's old Jack. He's been a fixture 
around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?”

“See that cafeteria over there?” she asked. “I'm going to get him something
to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile.”

“Are you crazy, lady?” the homeless man resisted. “I don't want to go in 
there!” Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. “Let
me go, officer. I didn't do anything.”

“This is a good deal for you, Jack,” the officer answered. “Don't blow it.”

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got 
Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was 
the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left 
and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The manager strode across the 
cafeteria and stood by the table. “What's going on here, officer?” he 
asked. “What is all this. Is this man in trouble?”

“This lady brought this man in here to be fed,” the policeman answered.

“Not in here!” the manager replied angrily. “Having a person like that 
here is bad for business.”

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. “See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll 
let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place.”

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. “Sir, are you 
familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?”

“Of course I am,” the manager answered impatiently. “They hold their weekly
meetings in one of my banquet rooms.”

“And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly 
meetings?”

“What business is that of yours?”

“I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company.”

“Oh.”

The woman smiled again. “I thought that might make a difference.” She 
glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. “Would you like to join 
us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?”

“No thanks, ma'am,” the officer replied. “I'm on duty.”

“Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?”

“Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice.”

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel. “I'll get your coffee for you 
right away, officer.”

The officer watched him walk away. “You certainly put him in his place,” 
he said.

“That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this.” 
She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared 
at him intently. “Jack, do you remember me?”

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. “I think so -- I 
mean you do look familiar.”

“I'm a little older perhaps,” she said. “Maybe I've even filled out more 
than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very 
door, cold and hungry.”

“Ma'am?” the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a 
magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

“I was just out of college,” the woman began. “I had come to the city 
looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my 
last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the 
streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I 
saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something 
to eat.”

Jack lit up with a smile. “Now I remember,” he said. “I was behind the 
serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something 
to eat. I said that it was against company policy.”

“I know,” the woman continued. “Then you made me the biggest roast beef 
sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go 
over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into 
trouble. Then, when I looked over, I saw you put the price of my food in 
the cash register. I knew then that everything would be all right.”

“So you started your own business?” Old Jack said.

“I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started 
my own business that, with the help of God, prospered.” She opened her 
purse and pulled out a business card. “When you are finished here, I want 
you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my 
company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for 
you to do around the office.” She smiled. “I think he might even find the 
funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and 
get a place to live until you get on your feet. And if you ever need 
anything, my door is always opened to you.”

There were tears in the old man's eyes. “How can I ever thank you,” he said.

“Don't thank me,” the woman answered. “To God goes the glory. Thank Jesus. 
He led me to you.”

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance 
before going their separate ways. “Thank you for all your help, officer,” 
she said.

“On the contrary, Ms. Eddy,” he answered. “Thank you. I saw a miracle 
today, something that I will never forget. And...And thank you for the coffee.”

She frowned. "I forgot to ask you whether you used cream or sugar. That's black.”

The officer looked at the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. “Yes, I do 
take cream and sugar -- perhaps more sugar than is good for me.” He patted 
his ample stomach.

“I'm sorry,” she said.

“I don't need it now,” he replied smiling. “I've got the feeling that this 
coffee you bought me is going to taste as sweet as sugar.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

By Ed Price


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Philippians 2:3-7 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in 
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not 
every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the 
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself 
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in 
the likeness of men.”

Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that 
is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; 
but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure 
of faith.”

1 John 4:10-13 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved 
us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God 
so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at 
any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is 
perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, 
because He hath given us of His Spirit.”

John 13:12-15 “So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His 
garments, and was set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have 
done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If 
I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash 
one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as 
I have done to you.”

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today’s Selected Poem: REACHING OUT
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem153.htm

Today’s Selected Testimony: MY LIFE CHANGE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony164.htm


In Christ’s Service,

Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry