The Words of Jesus

“You have heard that it has been said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate those who hate you.’ But I tell you, love those who hate you. Pray for those who do bad things to you and who make it hard for you. Then you may be the sons of your Father Who is in heaven. His sun shines on bad people and on good people. He sends rain on those who are right with God and on those who are not right with God. If you love those who love you, what reward can you expect from that. Do not even the tax-gathers do that? If you say hello only to the people you lie, are you doing any more than others? The people who do not know God do that much. You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

I’ve been thinking about this passage a lot today. I recently heard a teaching on this that when Jesus was saying these words, it was when the Romans ruled the world. The Romans were cruel;  they used fear, torture and were basically what we now call terrorists. They were the group that everyone feared. They were the ISIS of the time.

Tonight my heart is heavy and grieving as I have read the countless posts and news articles concerning the Syrian refugees coming here to the States. Many do not want to allow the Syrians to come here for fear that hidden among them is an extremists. I don’t know about the many hoops the Syrians will have to go through before coming to the States, but I’ve heard and read that they must go through a lot before entering our country. This is the one thing I do know…..I met many Syrians who fled their country because if they stayed there, they would be killed. I sat and listened to their stories of how they children still have nightmares because of what happened to them in their country; how a man was shot in the leg as he was simply going to the store to buy food for his family. I heard of their longing to one day return to their homes, their businesses…..their country.

There is so much fear and so much anger. Yet the words of Jesus continue to go through my head.” Love your enemies; pray for them.” Our world has a huge problem and it’s not ISIS or our President. Our world is in desperate need of Jesus. Of the love and grace that only He offers. May each of us who follow Him, live out the words He spoke so long ago. 

Waiting For The Milkman

Sometimes it’s hard to simply rest and trust that the Lord will provide what we need. I can’t understand why since He proves faithful each and every time, but yet time and time again, I find myself becoming worried that it gives me a headache.

Today was a day where the worry was all consuming because I wasn’t sure how a need would be met. After some tears (and Advil for the headache), I was reminded of this story I had heard a long time ago about George Mueller who had had an orphanage. As I was driving, I thanked God for what He was going to do despite the fact that I had no idea how He was going to do it. May the next few weeks, I continue to follow the example of George Mueller.

The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat," the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in."

Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.

Don't Run Out Ahead of Him

“And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things too. Don't run out ahead of him.”

Looking for a job is not fun. Reading the many post; uploading your resume only to have to fill out the exact same info on the application. For some jobs, taking a test to see if you are a good fit. Finally getting an interview only to wait and then wait and then wait. The employer is not in any rush, but you are and each time you look at balance in the bank, the panic hits you.

My heart is filled with panic once a day at least. It’s usually after hours of reading job post and constantly checking my email to see if anything is there. It’s usually at this point, where I close the computer and walk away and pour my energy into something and not think about the fact that I am waiting.

Right now the Lord is teaching me so many things as I wait. Recently I read devotion where I was reminded that He is the God of abundance. He will never run out of resources. So I continue to wait. To look, to email my resume, wait and remember to not run ahead of Him.

So no more panic today….until tomorrow J