DIRTY FEET-SMELLY FRIENDS-JESUS’ CHOICES?

Jesus chose those 12 and surely eyebrows raised then as now. Consider seeing them sitting in the dirt eating fish Jesus cooked for them.  Smelly fishermen and others gathered with Him, and Him soiled from prepping the meal for them. . . FOR THEM!?

Sadly, so VERY sadly we are no different today!  Those whom we judge are not soiled, OUR OWN HEARTSAND MINDS ARE AND THIS MUST CHANGE!  Surely, you noticed the reaction at church to these:

• the single mom with 4 kids
• the lady who coughs so much
• that guy with the cane
• the teenager alone
• the elderly lady with dirty hair
• the old man with a wrinkled shirt
• that odd smell

Do you sit  near the pew they select?  Welcome Them?  Introduce yourself?   Hug?  Shake hands? Introduce them to others?  Escort them to coffee?  Jesus was waiting for you by the door!

 

Matthew 25:31-46

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “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. ³⁵ 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, ³⁶ 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.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “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.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

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The “It Tastes Like Chicken” Gospel

I come from a long line of sensible people.  Church going folks.  I always assumed the two concepts go hand-in-hand.  You know what?  I can’t say I’ve ever found the word sensible in the Bible.  Okay, so I decided I needed to look that up and since cyberspace provides worlds of opportunity I can tell you that one quick click revealed that the word appears just twice in the entire Bible.  Twice!  So, since my “sensible” approach to life is no longer working and since it seems the Lord has crazy and amazing (though not entirely defined yet) plans for me, I’m thinking that with just two uses of the word “sensible” that’s not much of an endorsement for MY PLAN.  Well, as it happens my sensible approach is no longer working anyway . . . so it’s time to totally trust in the Lord.

Trust.  I don’t like that word.  When people say “trust me” it usually means “I know you’re not going to like this, but . . . “  You know, it’s not unlike those times someone has tried to get me to taste something I thought looked “funny” and they wouldn’t tell me what it was, but said it “tastes like chicken.”  Well, the only thing I care to consume that tastes like chicken is chicken.  Seriously.  So, back to trusting.  Not a fan of trusting humans.  Experience hasn’t changed my thoughts on that, but trusting in the Lord . . . hmmm.  So, back to my Bible research.  As it happens, my results for “trust” were quite a bit different compared to my research on “sensible.”  That word appears 164 times.  Okay, that’s an improvement of about 98.5 percent!

So, I’m going with trust.  I’m listening to the Lord.  Seems I’m not the only one in favor of throwing out sensible in favor of something better.  Here are a few related opinions on a different approach to life.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing
to be achieved.” —  Jeremy Kitson

“In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only
by pressing the limits do you ever find them.”—  Dr. Joyce Brothers

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.” —  Mark Twain

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” –Psalm 31:14

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THE COOKIE GOSPEL!

Okay, it is difficult to find a Bible translation with the above book in it, but stay with me!

One of my favorite things to do is bake for folks.  My late Mother did also and so it stirs up happy memories, so when I began to have some limiting physical challenges as she had, I could not do exactly what I used to do.  This was the stage at which Mom gave up.  So, my reaction?

• What?  I cannot bake?
• It was fun!
• People were happy!
• Dang, what good am I?

For a while I wished I could do what I “lost”and pouted!  That blessed nobody!  Eventually, the Lord spoke louder and got my attention.   He gave me a heart and mind and I gave up too soon!  If I was meant to accomplish something, He would provide a way!  So, when He said “make a different cookie!”  I realized if I had quit sulking, I might have gotten a lot  more baking done a lot sooner.

This isn’t really about cookies, though the story is true.

When the road turns in a new direction, the trip isn’t over yet!  His plan is ALWAYS best.  There have been loads of surprise road blocks in my life, but when I FOLLOWED HIM, what He planned was SOOO MUCH BETTER than mine!  Can I get an AMEN?

BAKE COOKIES!

White chocolate chip cookies

1 cake mix (I used butter pecan)

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

choc chips of your choice (I did not measure)

Mix well and bake at 375 for about 9 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet, pay attention as time may vary.  Should be light brown on bottom and will be very soft until cooled!  I made mine just under golf ball sized. Smaller will need less time and ovens vary!

Laugh!  I always have a few cake mixes, when they are on sale, and dislike cake generally.  VERY handy for baking all sorts of non-cake treats in a hurry!  As for cake, I prefer my ice cream solo!

 

 

 

 

 

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BASKING IN YOU

The Way You Love Me

As I hold your hand

And we take our morning walk

My heart leaps within me.

My desire becomes less and less

Of what the future holds.

As long as you hold my hand

Tomorrow and other tomorrows

Matter not.

I am basking in today!

By Martha L Shaw – © 1-14-2015

SPREAD THE GOSPEL

A new flower grows

A mature plant dropped its seed

Grace pours down like rain

By Martha L Shaw – © 2016

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No One Can Come To Me . . .

  In John 6 we read that Jesus said “no one can come to me unless the Father draws him” and at first glance this can be startling.  Perhaps it never startled you, but it did me.  However, after meditating on it and just being with Him, I came to find that words which sounded as though they were excluding were actually giving me life, ETERNAL life!

We are perhaps, at this moment (well, I am) singing a familiar song in our hearts.  This song brings tears to my eyes and sends my heart and soul soaring! For, you see, we were drawn in.  We love Him because He first loved us!  How amazing is it that with all my flaws and constant mistakes . . .  my hurts, my weakness, my stumbling, He chose me for His own?  Life is amazing not because I got it right, but because He transforms it, transforms me, and most of all draws me close and loves me!

Are You One in Ten?

Wow, I woke up tormented today by voices in my head which spoke of gloom and doom and lack of hope.  I considered writing about it, but didn’t want to fan the flame, so I read some.  As I read, the loud voices in my head continued their firm stand on things, but the voices of heart and soul began to whisper . . .

I quickly began to feel the peace pouring out of that place and the whisper won out over the loud voices.  What I read spoke of all that’s real and of being Christlike . . . the truth didn’t need to shout . . . shouting is for the untruth.

I also read that only one in ten in any given group of Christians are truly ready to take on our commission and are willing to do the work.  Initially, this sounded discouraging.  Not so. 

When I was last working, back in MA before a move and a bad economy shifted things, I recall the sales part of my banking career and the truth that our great product was likely to be met with only one “yes” in ten attempts to sell it.

Know what?  When those one in ten who want the good and the real and are willing to do what is necessary to be what they truly are . . . when that one in ten who buy the good product at a high cost over the cheap imitation . . . suddenly, the product sales go up, because those one in ten reflect its glory so brightly.  Suddenly, the number of those whispering the truth is growing and those who have to shout to make the lie heard?  They are growing fewer.

Are you one of the ten?