He Loves them More

It has been a few weeks since my last blog… It has been a VERY busy for the past two weeks… Last week we went to Bloomington, Minneapolis to see our youngest daughter Talitha. She is an intern at the Teen Mania Honor Academy. It was a LONG DRIVE!!!! Over 1700 miles but it was exciting to visit with her… To see these wonderful young people in worship and praise was awesome. Last weekend Talitha was part of the support staff for Teen Mania's program "Acquire the Fire". Hundreds of young people coming to Jesus… Tremendous!!!

But then Monday Talitha got sick with a strange infection… With this MRSA stuff going on it was a great concern… The doctor put her on the strongest medication she could have… But then the words… "If this does not work we will have to put you in the hospital so we can give medication by IV… " You who are parents know what I mean… The doubt, the fear… Why didn't we see this last week WHEN WE WERE THERE… We might have been able to help… We might have been able to fix it…

It does not matter how old your children may be… you still want to fix things… BUT we all realize that with many things they are out of our control… We cannot FIX THEM! Too many times we make ourselves sick with trying to fix things… You name it… You have been there… sickness, loss, pain, mistakes, failures, sin… We want to do for our children just as we did when they were little… Sooth their hurts… band-aid their scratches and cuts… kiss their bo-bos and make them better… Make it the pain go away…

But we know it does not always work that way… I WANT TO FIX THIS LORD!!!! And he says "You can't… That is no longer your job… Leave it to me… I can!!!" That is SOOO hard!!!!

But then the realization… I Love my children! I love them deeply! I would do ANYTHING to protect them… Wouldn't you for those you love! BUT THINK!!! No matter how much YOU love them GOD LOVES THEM MORE!!!

Listen to these words…

Matthew 7:1-11

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

So we asked!!!! And God ANSWERED! The next day Talitha went back to her doctor and got a good report … It was not staph… Her white count was down… Her spirits up… She was being healed in the name of Jesus!

Does it always work this way… Yes!!! But we do not always get the answer WE want… And sometimes the choices are not OURS to make… Sometimes it is the responsibility of the child to ask, seek, and knock… That is when we stand with Jesus by the door, praying, waiting and ready to welcome them in…

Rev 3:20

Jesus says… Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

May all our children hear His voice! We love them… BUT HE LOVES THEM MORE!

Invisible People

Do you ever notice the invisible people? They are all around you everyday… but do you see them? They might be walking right past you in the malls… They seem to be everywhere… at your grocery store as you check out… Perhaps at the restaurant where you eat… or the stores where you shop… They are there… In the corridors of buildings, walking the halls of the hospitals, where you work… BUT DO YOU SEE THEM? What on earth am I talking about???? INVISIBLE PEOPLE… that seems ridiculous… But is it?

Every day we pass these people without noticing… We are so focused on ourselves… They are there… but to so many of us they are unimportant… therefore they do not exist… They are invisible…

Who are these people…

Perhaps one of them is the person who just looked at you as you past each other at the mall… It was your choice… you never made eye contact, or smiled, or offered a "Hello! How are you!"

Perhaps they were the person who helped you today… They checked you groceries… maybe even bagged them for you… Or it was the clerk at that store you went to just yesterday… You were so focused on you that you never bothered to look up and to say " Thank you… Have a Blessed Day"

Have you ever talked to your server at a restaurant… Ask them their name? Where they lived? Other questions that suddenly made them appear to you as important? Did you leave them a generous tip with a note to let them know Jesus loved them? What about the person that cleaned off the table… Did you tell them "Thanks… I really appreciate you…"

Go ahead… Stop some time and speak to the person cleaning the floor as you walk down that corridor… Just a simple "This looks great… Thanks for the work you do… Have a blessed day" could make someone's day… If nothing else… it will make yours…

I know this may be hard… but speak to that doctor, nurse, technician, aid, staff as you walk the hospital halls… perhaps even smile and say hello to some of the family standing out in the hall… They work hard and need to know that they are valued…

Okay... what about at work? You might be surprised at the number of invisible folks that are there… You look at them every day BUT DO YOU SEE THEM??? I guess the real question is "Do you care?"

Jesus when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt 9:36) What about us do we "see" the crowds of invisible people… The only way that will happen is if we look out over this crowd with eyes of compassion… with hearts opened recognizing their need… and willing to allow the Great Shepherd to lead us to be shepherds to His invisible fold… See the people… feed the flock…

John 21

15 Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

 

 

 

 

My First Blog Entry

Hey Folks! This is my first blog entry so let me share with you what I hope and pray to accomplish... I guess first of all I hope and pray it is readable... I have some issues with typing etc. so please be patient... I also pray that we have some thing worthwhile to share...

I plan to post things from my heart... it might be some thoughts that come up in my devotions or sermon planning... Maybe even some insights from personal worship... Who knows it may be about my grandkids...

I also want to learn about blogging techniques to share videos, pictures, other sites etc. But most of all I want to share my love for Jesus as Lord of my Life!

Here it is in a nutshell... Over the years I have learned some very important lessons... In the past two years especially I have learned these things… It is not about OUR success... It is about significance through HIM... It is not about OUR failures... It is about HIS faithfulness. It is not about OUR doing but about our BEING all God has called us to be... as a church, a family, and as individuals...

God Bless you all!!!