Matthew 14:13 - 14

Matthew 14:13 - 14 “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

I’ve been trying to get ready for a trip to my denomination’s National Missionary Convention, but the time I need for preparing keeps getting eaten away. My job demands so much extra time, and then the little emergencies of life eat up more time.

Last night, instead of being able to finish up my last-minute reservations, my daughter’s friend who lives with us needed to talk about her relationships, and I listened, and then I noticed my dog panting and shaking uncontrollably, so I had to take her to the pet emergency hospital. We were there long enough that I was too tired when I got home to do anything but sleep.

Today I hoped to leave work early, so I could finish getting ready, but that didn’t happen. And as I walked out to my car, I had such a longing to get away alone and pray. Some time to be quiet, to listen for His voice and find out if I still remember the sound of it. It seems so long. When I realized how much I missed my time with Him, I had to fight back the tears.

On my drive home, I had the Christian music station on, and the Lord spoke to me through the songs they played. He had compassion on me, the way Jesus had compassion on the crowd. And after He restored my soul through the music, He helped me have compassion on the girls when I got home.

Is your life too busy for you to spend time with the Lord? Are you letting the demands of the people around you build resentment in your heart, or compassion? Come to the Lord--briefly if that’s all the time you have--and let Him heal and restore you. Then let Him help you be a blessing to the people in your life.

Brenda

Philippians 1:3 - 5

Philippians 1:3 - 5 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

I wrote a Bread several months ago about my decision to go to Poland. My church has been the sole support for a minister, Jerzy, in northeast Poland for over twenty years, and this past September his church celebrated their 60th anniversary. They asked us to send some people from our church to celebrate with them. So I went, with two other women, and spent a week there.

It was such a blessing, for us as well as them, to spend time together. Jerzy’s enthusiasm was boundless. He told us about the activities he was involved in and his passions, like astronomy and geology, or Teutonic knight battle reenactments, and how he uses them to reach people for Christ. He shows them the stars through the telescope on his roof and then tells them of the God who created the heavens and the earth. He dresses as a warrior, remembering that we do battle against the powers of darkness in the name of Christ here on earth.

We shared meals with church members eager to speak to us and be reminded again that, even though we live halfway around the world from each other, our hearts are joined together through our faith in Jesus.

They were strengthened and encouraged by our visit. And we were blessed beyond measure for having gone. On both sides, the joy overflowed.

I don’t often think of the missionaries we send or the foreign ministers we support, except when I receive emails from them. But I need to. Through my prayers and support, I share in a partnership with them as they share the gospel with a lost world. And through contact with them, I can minister to them. It seems like such a little thing, to send an email or a letter, but I know it means so much to them.

What encouragement can you offer to those who serve on foreign soil? How might you minister to the ministers? Take a few minutes today to make contact with just one. You may find a new friend and a partner in the gospel.

Brenda

John 13:34

John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

A missionary my church supports in one of the former-Soviet Central Asia republics has been forced to leave that country because they’re not renewing foreign visas. Evangelism is not permitted there, so I’m concealing her name, that of her adopted daughter (U), and the little boy from the orphanage (T) that she helped reunite with his grandmother. We got this email from her on the eve of her departure:

In about 6 hours, we will fly out of the country. Simply said, I am not ready to go. Saturday we visited T and family. I called in advance and told them I did not have time to visit long and that they need not prepare a meal. Silly me. They gave us everything they had. We ate nonstop for 6 hours. U couldn’t even bend over to put on her shoes as we left.

T entertained us with his dancing and he refused to speak a word in English but his own language was perfectly understandable. His grandmother sat next to me and wept, as she talked about how she was losing a "sister". It took me a minute to realize she meant me, one because she’s a grandmother (and I don’t see myself as that old) and also because I wasn’t aware she perceived the relationship as such. It was such an honor to spend time with the family and I have great hope for them.

Sad news continues to hit us all here, as people go and others are soon to be deported. Keeping faith isn’t the hard part, it’s the loss that accompanies relationships. Friendships are different here; appreciation runs deep and is expressed often. In a country so oppressed in so many ways, the people show resilience and continue to give love despite not having much of anything else. Their gifts of hospitality and mercy are evident.

A song has been going through my mind for several weeks now, "They will know we are Christians by our love." I am horrible with music and can’t sing a note if my life depended on it, but the song soothingly plays in my head. In fact, it’s not the whole song, but just that one line. "They will know we are Christians by our love." I can’t even remember where I ever heard that song actually played, but that one line keeps playing over and over in my head. "They will know we are Christians by our love." I’ve started to process it as an admonishment and an encouragement; to examine myself, not just behaviorally, but inwardly. As Christians, we will fail, we will face painful trials, others will judge us for our shortcomings and our task is simply to love, whether or not it is painful, whether or not it puts us in uncomfortable territory, whether or not we are condemned by this world. Love will stand.

If I look at my life from my own critical eyes, I see so much wrong with it: wasted time, flawed relationships, and a multitude of transgressions. "They will know we are Christians by our love." At times, I even despise myself. "They will know we are Christians by our love." It’s amazing that someone like me could be placed in a place like this and that God could do wonderful things through such a dreadful being. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

Love will stand.

Let us live our lives in such a way that people will first see our love.

Brenda

Romans 16:20b

Romans 16:20b “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

II Corinthians 13:14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Colossians 4:18 “I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”

Ephesians 6:24 “Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

There’s a pattern here. Every single one of Paul’s epistles (plus Hebrews) closes with grace. All of them. No exceptions.

A psychologist once said that the things we say will often tell more about ourselves and the things we value than they do about who or what we’re talking about. This seems true for Paul. He valued grace.

Grace and mercy are frequently confused, but they’re not the same. Mercy is withholding punishment from someone who deserves it. But with mercy, though unpunished, the person remains condemned.

Grace is altogether different. Grace is a gift given to people who absolutely don’t deserve it. This was Paul, a man who consented to the murder by stoning of Stephen, a man who persecuted the people of God. He deserved condemnation and death. He got not just mercy, but the gift of salvation that removed forever the condemnation for his sins. He received the gift of being called to speak for God Himself, to see the fruits of is labors, to receive in abundance the love of God and His people. At times these gifts seemed almost more than Paul could believe, and the realization of them expressed itself as joy.

When I talk to Christians and look at their lives (my own included), those lives don’t look much like Paul’s. Joy is often missing. Too many of us seem to be living lives that received the mercy of God but not His grace. Too many of us still feel condemned for our sins. This sense of condemnation is wrong, because there is no condemnation in Christ.

Romans 3:21 - 24 “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by is grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

May the abundant grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be yours.

Brenda