Jesus Came for Sinners

Listening to a song on the radio this week got me to thinking.  So many of the songs on Christian radio stations are written by people who have struggled with sin and, through Christ, overcame and are thankful.  Have you ever stopped to think how often times the "worst" sinners go on to become the most devoted Christians?  I really believe the Lord does this on purpose. 

One example is Mary Magdalene in the Bible.  She was a prostitute but became one of the most devoted followers of Jesus.  Those of us that feel like we have been given a great gift are often very thankful for that gift.  We know what it feels like to have the embers of hell licking at our toes, so when Jesus gives a reprieve from our prison sentence we want to dance in the streets and tell the world!

Often times the Lord chooses the lowly, the sinner, the outcast to do His work and to showcase how freely given His love can be if we only choose it.  Take the birth of Jesus, for example.  God chose a carpenter and his fiancé to be the parents of his only begotten Son -  not a prince and his princess or a king and his queen.  No, he chose common, everyday people.  Then He allowed this Son to be born in a manger.  The shepherds, who were considered the lowliest of people back then, were the first to be told of His birth - by angels no less!

The Lord does nothing on accident. Everything He does has a purpose.  Within each of His children He sees their true beauty and the pure heart that lies within.  He can see who we are underneath our sins and knows what we can and will become.  He knows what a treasure we will be someday - the diamond inside the chunk of coal, so to speak. He knows what our gifts are because He is the One who has given us those gifts in the first place.  Each one of us has a purpose - a way that we are meant to serve the Lord with the talents that He gave us.

 The Lord is sending a message that being a Christian is not an elite club.  Jesus is welcoming you with open arms.  His arms are permanently open for ALL of us (they are nailed there!), ready to accept us and take the weight of our sins.  You don't need to be rich, beautiful or perfect - just ready to be His!

"Therefore accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7

If you don't have a church home and you are ready to be His, there are many churches in our community to choose from!  Leonard Christian Church has church services every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. followed by Sunday School at 10:30 a.m.  We'd love to see you there!

But For The Grace of God Go I

"But for the grace of God go I", Margaret would say as yet another lost or tortured soul had crossed her path.  Our Margaret was good at putting herself in others shoes and seeing life through their eyes.  Often times none of us around her ever even realized what an angel we had among us, at least not until after she died.  Then the many that she helped on a regular basis started telling their stories!

Yes, Margaret Smith lived as God intended all of us to live.  Her life could be an inspiration to us all.  "But for the grace of God go I"...Margaret's often-heard saying was her way of saying that she was very blessed to have all that the Lord had given her and also a way to say that we don't know how we would react in the same circumstances.  Standing in someone else's shoes things might look a whole lot different to us.  How often do we do that?  When someone hurts us do we only think of our feelings or do we try to see what it might be like living in their shoes?  Something to think about. I'm not saying Margaret was perfect but I do believe she had empathy for her fellow human and a heart of gold.

What was inspiring about Margaret's life was that she was living her life the way God intended.  She was constantly doing things to help others, but quietly and humbly.  She was His servant and dedicated her life to serving others.  Her work life was a service to others as a WIC clerk and then the money she made by doing this job as a servant she gave away to those that needed it. 

I was a single mom while working with her and I can remember having a wisdom tooth break off.  It was so painful and I didn't have a dentist at the time.  She called her dentist and made me an appointment for me and found out how much it was going to cost.  Before I left for the appointment she called me aside and handed me a check to the dentist for the full amount.  I was in tears because I knew I couldn't afford the appointment but I had to get it pulled.  She was just sweet and wonderful like that. 

Next week would have been Margaret's birthday, maybe that is why God put thoughts of her in my head today.  November 22- she shared the same birthday as my Grandma, maybe that is why she has a special place in my heart!  Miss you Margaret...Happy Birthday in Heaven!

Start A Fire

Most of the people around me are looking at me funny these days.  A lot of them probably think that I have lost it!  If they only knew...I have finally FOUND it!  I have found this fire that burns in other Christians.  This fire that consumes you but never destroys you!  It spreads through you and makes you want to write songs and let everybody know it exists.  Now, if they would just stop looking at me like I was crazy! ; )

I have been a Christian for most of my life.  There were a few years when, I guess you could say, I was estranged from God.  Other than those years I have been a Christian in some form or another.  Until recently, though, I haven't been as passionate about my faith as I could have been. There have been times when I was just going through the motions and there have definitely been times when I wasn't as Christian as I should have been.  Yes, we are all sinners, and it is impossible to be perfect, but if we truly want to connect with Christ we have to turn away from the things that are keeping us from Him.  These things truly are keeping US from HIM because He is always there.  We are the ones staying away from Him.  We let these sinful things pull us away from Him and then our guilt from our actions keep us away from Him.  Anger, gossiping, profanity, judging others - these are just a few of the things that can drive a wedge between us and the Lord. There are many others but these are the ones I personally struggle with!

Life's distractions can get in the way and make for an apathetic Christian.  Been there done that!  We get into this routine of going to church mindlessly and then going home and forgetting about it, living our daily lives without a second thought to that Guy upstairs that happened to give His life for us.  No biggie, right?  Unfortunately, if we aren't connecting on a deeper level with Him then we are missing out on something pretty amazing.  For quite a while this had been me. 

Because of a few key things this year has been different for me.  I don't know exactly what the first spark was that started the fire, but I'm pretty sure it was when I started reading my Bible every day.  I've done this before, so this wasn't the only thing.  The rest can only be attributed to a really good preacher who seems to get to the heart of things when he is doing a sermon series.  There were two different sermon series that Heath preached on this year that both had a profound effect on my life.  The first one was "The Fruit of the Spirit", based on Galatians 5:22 which says "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  Now anyone who knows me knows that I try my best to be nice to others so some of these I was pretty good with but when we get to patience I had to take a look at myself and realized that I needed some work on that.  When we got to the last one, self-control, I knew I was in trouble for sure - especially when there is chocolate in the house!  Seriously, though, I have always heard various people talk about the fruit of the spirit but I had never considered how and where I was lacking.  I can remember one day in church thinking to myself that I was going to work to improve my weaknesses- and so it began.

The next important sermon series that got the ball rolling a little faster was called unChristian and it was based on a book by David Kinnaman that I am actually reading now.  This book is a real eye-opener and if you haven't read it, you should!  It speaks very bluntly to Christians about what people outside of the faith think of us and how they view us because of our actions.  The biggest complaint amongst those who are not Christians when they look at us is that we are hypocrites.  Don't worry this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to scathing things that might be said about us, but sadly you can also see the truth in a lot of the things that are said against us.  This sermon series also really hit home with me.  I started asking myself what others think of me as a Christian and if by looking at me and getting to know me would that lead others to want to become a Christian or would it make them want to run the other way? 

One morning soon after this series I made a decision to immerse myself in the Lord.  That morning I read my Bible like I always do, and then I downloaded some Christian books onto my Kindle.  When I got into the car I turned the radio over to K-LOVE, the Christian radio station and made it one of my presets.  I started talking to God and then actually LISTENING.  This is what true peace is.  No worrying, no thinking, just being - with God!  Now I know what all the hoopla has been about.  This Guy is pretty awesome!!     

Picking Fruit Along the Way

Sometimes sitting in church my mind tends to wander.  Usually it is after picking up on something the preacher has said and then my mind just runs with it.  This past Sunday was just one of those days.  The preacher said that our deeds won't get us into heaven.  Of course, I already knew this, but I always felt like doing things for others was very important and that it was something the Lord wants us to do.  So, this vision came to my mind.

Jesus always spoke in parables, for some reason I daydream in parables. :)

Imagine yourself walking along a path and along the path you find fruit lying on the ground.  If you pick this fruit up and put it in your basket and carry with you along the way, when you get to your Father's house, He will be very pleased because you have brought Him a basket of fruit.  If we don't pick up the fruit, it will lay and rot on the ground and be unusable.  Yes, if you show up with an empty basket, Your Father will still open the door and let you in, but just think of how much happier you would make Him if you brought the fruit with you!

Here is what the parable means:
Along our path in life, the Lord will place many people that we are meant to help.  If we lift them up and help them when they are in need and work to bring them to the Lord, then He will be very pleased with us.  If we don't reach out to these people, the Lord will never reach them, they will not become Christians and He will not be able to use them to better His kingdom.  Yes, He will let us into His house even if we don't do these good deeds, but He will be even more pleased with us if we help Him further His kingdom!

Go out and help your fellow man today!  Do something extraordinary for someone you don't know.  Let the Lord lead you to them.