H.E.L.P. part 2

Hey there! If you are joining me for the first time, you have stepped right into the middle of a series! Don’t worry, you don’t need to clean your shoes.

The first part was last week’s post, H.E.L.P. Click here to catch up.

Alrighty! Jumping in where we left off…

The word HELP is an acronym.

H – Holy Spirit

E –

L –

P –

So now, we come to the E. I hope you like different languages because we are about to head to Greece!

The New Testament was written in Greek. It was a common language at the time of Jesus. I do not claim to be any type of scholar but I have learned some things. Let me share one thing I have learned.

The Church is a great help when it comes to living for God.

This entry is from biblehub.com. Biblehub.com is an excellent resource when digging into God’s Word. I copied it from this web page.

1577 ekklēsía(from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom.”

The definition you just read comes from the word “church” used in Matthew 16:18.

Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia)”

H – Holy Spirit

E – Ekklesia

L –

P –

The second form of divine help is the church.

With that statement, there can be a myriad of ideas as to what the church is or should be.

Let’s go back to that definition. We are “people called out from the world and to God.”

When we get together for church, we celebrate this idea that God has called us out! He has purpose for us. And by worshiping Him with other believers, we can keep moving forward in our pursuit of Him!

As to which specific church building should a person attend? That is highly subjective because of so many differing reasons.

Here is my simple formula for deciding:

  1. Is the church bible-based with its teaching and doctrine?
  2. Do you feel challenged and encouraged when learning about God and His Word?
  3. Is there music that is within your range of liking?
  4. Is there a place within the church that you can help and share your talents?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then you may have just found your church home!


The reason I write about a local church is that I think that it is supremely important to be connected to a body of believers.

Through COVID and 2020, my family and I have not been to church but for a few weeks. It has been terrible.

It is really difficult to live for God as a lone ranger. The Kingdom of heaven is not for mavericks!

The Holy Spirit resides in each believer. That form of help cannot be taken away.

The church, ekklesia, is also available for anyone. Make use of that help today.

H – Holy Spirit

E – Ekklesia

L –

P –

God will help you everyday. He might just choose to a church.

Two forms of help explained. Two more to go. See you next week.

Blessed. 1 syllable or 2?

Recently, our pastor has been preaching a series entitled, “Upside Down Kingdom”.

He is drawing from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. The first 12 verses of Ch. 5 are called the Beatitudes. You can listen to the first sermon here.

central church logo

This morning, I woke up with a moment of clarity.

Being blessed is not about accolades or accumulations but about my attitude.

How easy is it to think that if I have stuff (money, home, car, kids, wife, dog, talent, good looks, job, etc) then I am blessed. The result of God’s blessing is reduced to things. This type of thinking is how the world thinks.

Well friends, that kind of thinking is wrong. We live in an upside down kingdom. Jesus clearly mentioned what it means to be blessed. Here are his words from Matthew,

3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (underline mine)

This is not the time and place for a full explanation of these verses. But there are two things that I will highlight:

***The word blessed means happy, fortunate, having received God’s favor.

So yes, one can argue that being blessed means you have stuff.  After all, God is giving you His favor. He likes you. He can give you things. But I don’t think that is the primary evidence of a blessed life. That brings me to the second point.

***All of the things in these verses are internal properties, not external possessions.

Do you see the contrast?

My first blog of 2018 said that I was going to try to answer the question, “Who Am I?” Click here to read it.

And to answer that question today, I would say that I am blessed!

blessed 2

Not because of what I have but because of Christ’s work in me. His Spirit has enabled me to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peaceful, and persecuted.

His work on the cross is what makes this type of living even possible. It would be absolutely crazy and foolish to think that I could be blessed (according to Matthew 5) due to anything that I could do.

Jesus did it all. I did nothing.

As I get ready to sign off, remember this:

Being blessed is not about accolades or accumulations but about my attitude.

Go out into your world and have the right attitude.

God will help you.

Then He will bless you.

And that is a good thing.