Part 2 of 2 Parts
Well yesterday was the backdrop. Circling back to the 3:30 that morning. I woke up to scripture - the Word of God. I will share it and then I will talk about it in the context of receiving God's invitation to join Him, a crisis of belief, faith, action and a major adjustment.
"Then Jesus answered and said: 'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?' And he said, 'He who showed mercy on him.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'" - Luke 10:30-37
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." - James 1:27
"Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ....... “Then they [the goats, those on His left] also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”- Matthew 25:37-40, 44-46
A lot to take in - but there is a thread that runs through these verses - it has to do with compassion which has to do with the two greatest commandments - the summation of all God's commandments - love God and love others.
So - what is it that God wants me - actually Martie and me - to join Him in doing? As I said, we have just started leading an Experiencing God study. I received an email through our web site from a man in Austin, Texas. His aunt, who lives in Houston lost her house through a fire. She owned her house so she received a settlement from her insurance company. That is when she "fell among thieves". An unscrupulous contractor took all of her money and only partially rebuilt her home. She lost everything in the fire and only has a shell of a house which is unlivable.
The nephew has contacted other non-profits but they were unwilling to help. They walked on the other side of the road. Most, if not all, of the funding for rebuilds is designated for Hurricane Harvey or Winter Storm Uri damaged and cannot be used for other purposes. The loss of a home due to fire is not covered. The organizations the nephew contacted, apparently, were unwilling to "get out of the boat."
This week, I told the people in the study that "You can't lead where you won't go", "You can't teach what you don't know." and "You can only recreate what you are". It was what we called "Eating your own dog food" when I worked in IT at Gunter Annex for the Air Force. With respect to disaster relief, Martie and I were thinking that we had run the course. We figured that we had fought the good fight. We had kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7). We are confident, convinced even, that God is not done with us serving, but we thought we were done with home rebuilding. But then like the TV commercial selling something for 2 easy payments of $19.95 plus shipping an handling, God said, "But wait, there's more."
So we find ourselves, once again, at a crisis of belief. We know it is God speaking, the question is, "Are we willing to exercise faith and take action which will require an adjustment in our live and ministry focus?" A song just came to mind that describes our response.
"Yes Lord Yes, to Your will and to Your way. Yes, Lord, Yes I will trust you and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me with my whole heart I'll agree and I will answer, Yes, Lord, Yes."
What can we do but say "yes"?
Now what to do. Well - first of all we must validate what we have been told as true. Given that her circumstances are validated, then we must meet with the Aunt and assess her home. Determine must be done to restore her home to a livable condition. What we call sanitary, safe, and secure - no extreme make overs. Then we can determine the cost of the work to be done. Then we will make the need known to the Saints. Where God guides - God provides. We are hesitant to make a commitment to her until we know that God will provide the resources to complete the work. But we also know that we cannot experience God until we step out of the boat by faith in obedience to His calling. Such are the uncertainties when you cross the road to help someone in the ditch.
"So He [Jesus] said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." - Matthew 14:30-32
If we know it's God, why do we doubt God? Oh, you know the answer!
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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