I saw You

I saw You, Jesus, last week, sitting on the curb, Your eyes were tired and heavy and You looked kinda cold. I didn't recognize You so I drove on by. Someone else would help You, who had more time.
I saw You in church on Sunday, You were divorced and forlorn and Your kids were acting bratty. I judged You from my seat and pushed You from my mind. Someone more adequate would stop and be kind.

I saw You yesterday once more crying all alone. Your clothes where torn and grimy and You said that You were nine. I figured someone else would take you in; your'e not any responsibility of mine. So I passed You by. But then You pricked my heart, I remembered how You died, for the sin that was not Your “responsibility”...no it was mine.

I saw You today again, walking down the road; You leaned upon Your cane as the wind began to rage. This time I stopped and got You, I knew better this time, then to leave my Savior waiting for another “call themselves a Christian” to pass You by.

“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. 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, 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.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’

Matthew 25:34-40

Painting Pictures of Egypt

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

~Sara Groves

Mary's Song

And Mary said,
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for He has been mindful
of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is His Name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as He promised our ancestors.”
Luke 1:46-55

YOUR NAME

The Name of Jesus is a strong and mighty tower. Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God.(psalm 20:7)

Nothing to Bring to the Table

Often I live as though I need to bring something to the table in order to be used by God. Maybe a gift or experience that can be used to answer questions and comfort hurting hearts. That is when I forget that my greatest asset is Jesus Christ. I don't have to have been a prostitute to help a prostitute, I don't have to be an orphan to love an orphan. God gives us gifts to help people, but these gifts can only be used if they are fueled by Christ. Lately I've been figuring out that Christ doesn't need me at all.
And He doesn't need my failed attempts at helping someone on my terms, apart from Him.

In Acts 3 there is a story about a lame beggar who sat at the city gates begging for alms. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Peter didn't make that lame man walk, it was Jesus Christ.
Some of you may remember a previous post titled Crying in My Pillow
In that post I talked about a lesson I had learned the hard way. I had trusted in my strength to sustain me and my ability to love others to be sufficient. In the end I found myself burnt out and not really loving anyone.

Apart from Christ, we have NOTHING, nada, zippo, nothing. We have no resources to bring to the table, only Christ. The other day I was talking to a friend. She was hurting dramatically. She wanted answers. I found myself speechless. There was nothing I could think of that would be a comfort or help to her. That was when I remembered Christ. All I have is Jesus and that is all I need. He is the greatest hope and comfort. All I could do was show her the love Christ had for her.
Now don't get me wrong. We are Christ's hands and feet. One of the ways they will know the love of Christ is through us. But when we begin operating apart from Him, trusting in our ability and knowledge then we cease to show His love.
It is only when we surrender to Christ do we begin to truly love others.
And that is when beautiful things happen and when hearts are changed.~

The Right Decision

The right decision is not always the easiest. Actually it is sometimes the hardest and the most painful.
Recently one of my siblings made the right the decision when she chose to have her beloved dog put down when he continually had an issue with biting and had a strong dislike for children and strangers. She acted in love when she decided that her dog was endangering her young nieces and nephews and the other people who came in contact with him. And even though it was very hard, she chose to do the right thing.

I can think of another Man Who knew that the only way the people He loved could be free from sin and death was to lay down His life and die. This was for people that hated, betrayed, abandoned, scorned Him, and ultimately nailed Him to the cross. Yeah, Jesus acted in love. And it was hard.

Love is something most of us have no idea about. It is not an emotion but a choice; a choice to do the right thing if it hurts us; a choice to love unconditionally even if the love is not returned, a choice to stand by someone no matter what.

Another word for it is sacrifice.

True,steadfast, unconditional love will hurt. But I guess that’s what makes it true,steadfast…and unconditional.

In this is love, not that we have 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 also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:10-11