V.O.D.: Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. —Exodus 3:1
M.O.M.: Ephesians 4:31
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.(English Standard Version)
Today's reading: AMOS 4-6 REVELATION 7
Blessings
A friend wrote me this note this morning:
I picked up a "stop-light" guy who held a sign "need a job". Quizzed him briefly and agreed to pick him up at his house yesterday morning. He's 32 and his wife was leaving for her home-health-care job that she does about 10 hrs a week when she gets a call. (Their house was a shack with holes in the walls and its cold here; he says his bathroom floor fell through and he's gathering stuff to fix it. It looked uninhabitable) She was worried at first when I asked her if Rusty was here...she said "Yes, why?", but then was so excited when I said "he's supposed to work with me". She replied, "It's the first time someone actually came to pick him up for work. Then she said, "OH!. I have the sox...he's going to need them." Her ride came and she had to go. Rusty ran down the road to exchange with her before they were gone. Not sure if she gave him the sox then or not, but I don't need to know.
Maybe that's the truest love I've seen in a while, a poor couple sharing the one pair of socks, and the wife concerned for his well being, willing to do without so he wouldn't suffer during the day, and excited to support her man.
It shames me to look around at what I have at times. We call it God's "blessings"...but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's just a distraction. "God forgive me for my sins and guide me. May I see clearly the opportunities that you send and not be distracted, amen."
(end of note)
On Friday, December 12, 2020, our title was 'Kissing Calves".
The Israelites lived in the land 'of milk and honey' and it seems that all that prosperity just gave them another excuse to walk away from their true God. Does any of that sound familiar?
Prosperity in America is excuse for contempt. We are surrounded by so much that we seem to be more and more caught up in self preservation. The more we can spend and save, the more we spend and save for ourselves. Statistics show us that we spend more than we save.
We call a lot of what we have amassed 'blessings' as if all we have is our entitlement. I have heard motivational teachers say we should know who we are and live as 'children of the king' suggesting that we should be surrounded by the signs of the successful.
What does the scripture say?
Luke 12:15
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
1 John 3:17
16 By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? (We lay down plastic so easily...)
What are we doing? This is the season where we look for the best we can give to those we loves the most.
Matthew 5:46 says, " If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that.
If we give waiting to see what is in our next present...? If we give expecting something in return...?
I pray for not only the day when I don't question what is in my next present but the person in need I can pass it on to.
This season is about the eternal gift God gave us in Christ Jesus and about how many we can pass it on to.
What have we done? This season pray that the day will come for all of us when our lives are laid down as freely as the plastic in our pockets. This season ask, "What's really behind my wallet?".
Father in Heaven,
I confess-all I have is not from You. Lead me to lay down my life. Lead me to be a joyful giver who does not feel entitled to anything.
Comments