Saturday, September 6, 2008

Feeling God's Pleasure

One of the members of an email list I am on wrote of "feeling God's pleasure" because of her writing. She refered to Eric Liddel in the movie, "Chariots of Fire." Eric spoke of this sense of God's presence when he ran.

As children of God we are to strive to please God in all we do. A recent conversation I was hearing was not exactly uplifting. The comments might have been true about the absent person but the words conveyed could have caused hurt. I started to say something as a joke but I stopped and said, "I'm going to keep my mouth shut." The woman transacting business with me shared with me she needed to practice not reacting when things on the borderline of unkind were said.

When I went to prayertime this morning,I thought about what had happened. I decided the Holy Spirit had constrained me at that time. I felt thankful that He cared enough about me to stop me from adding to the problem of an uncontrolled tongue.

I hope to always be able to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Needy People

We are all needy people. Yes, even the ones who are in church every Sunday. Some of our needs are visible to others. But some people's needs are emotional or spiritual. No one is exempt from having things in their lives they can't quite get a handle on.

People need the Lord. They might need His comfort. Sometimes they need His direction. They might need God's wisdom. Others might need His guidance. We all need His love.

Sometimes, I awaken in the morning and all I that comes to my mind is the needs of people. God placed this thought on me this morning. A lot of the needs we hear about or know about we can't do anything for except pray and listen.

Several years ago, I read a couple of books written by a pastor's wife in Indianapolis. She and her husband were having a difficult time with a teenage child. Her husband decided to share their story with a people in a small group setting. The reaction from that group was "You're a preacher; you shouldn't have any problems." My heart broke for this couple. God was
not honored by that response. The group missed a chance to minister to this pastor and his wife.

I want to challenge people to do the following. Whenever you are out shopping, going out to eat, picking up dry cleaning, buying groceries, ask God if the person who waits on you or passed you by has any needs. And the listen to what He tells you.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...