Things Happen For A Reason (submitted by Pastor Rob Reid)

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.  They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.   On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.    On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall   of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.   The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone  the Christmas Eve service, headed home.  On the way he noticed that a local business was  having a flea market type sale for charity, so he  stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,  handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth  with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross  embroidered right in the center. It was just  the right size to cover the hole in the front  wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.  B y this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria . The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria . When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas  Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the  spirit were great. At the end of the service, the  pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door  and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized  from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the  pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he  wasn't leaving.  The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.  The pastor asked him if he would allow him to  take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor  had taken the woman three days earlier.  He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine. True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid  who says God does work in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for  you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you. His  promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares we know He will see us through.  S o when the road you're traveling seems difficult at best, just remember I'm here praying and God will do the rest. When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what  ever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with You. Amen.

Last Night I had A Dream; God's Lesson to Me

The water was still, calm and tranquil as I looked out the balcony windows.  The sky was blue without a single cloud floating by.  The temperature was a perfect 74 degrees.  Life was good.  We were enjoying our first cruise.  The week was going by in such a rush that soon we would be back at port.  We were sure this would be the first of many trips to come.

As the day progressed the sky began to change.  Dark, thunderous, menacing clouds began to hover over our ship.  Lightening began to lighten the sky with its brilliance.  The sound of thunder was close, too close to enjoy.  In our room we noticed the day of light escaping and the beginning of evening approaching.  The rains came.  The rains continued to come.  Soon a storm was all we could see or hear.  We were enveloped in the raging water, rising and rising around us.  Soon the water was over the boat.  We were safe inside.  But the water was around us and over us.  All we could see through the windows was water. 

I felt like Noah in his ark only we could not open the windows and peer out.  As the water continued to downpour, I noticed a little bit of seepage coming from around the top of the tall, tall, windows.  Concerned that it was about to shatter the pane, I prayed.  Don’t know why I waited all day before I turned to prayer.  “Lord”, I prayed simply, “Please, stop this rain and protect us.”  The simple prayer of the faithful.  That is all He asks.  Pray in faith and believe. 

Instantly, I saw the water recede.  The windows became clear.  The ship thudded onto solid ground.  The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky.  “WOW”, I thought.  What an answer to prayer.  As I looked out the window over the valley the grass was green.  Birds where chirping in the nearby trees.  Butterflies with their brilliant colors were swarming back and forth within the buds of the apple orchards enjoying their nectar.  In the distance I could see cattle gently moving in the warm air and enjoying their meal.  Order had been restored.  Life was going on.  God was faithful.

I awoke with a real sense of God’s presence.  He once again was telling me, showing me, that He is listening to our prayers.  He wants to hear from us not just in the battle times, but also in the good times.  To be thankful to Him and to bless Him daily.  This was a vivid description of a lesson He was showing to me. 

What is He trying to teach you today?  A lesson on prayer?  A lesson on gratitude?  Maybe, He just wants you to know that He is nearby.  As close as a prayer mumbled from your heart.  He has told us “that He will never leave or forsake us.”  So, lift up your need today.

The Parable of the Spoon

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”  The Lord led the holy man to two doors.  He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.  In the middle of the room was a large round table.  In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. 

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.  They appeared to be famished.  They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.  The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.  The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door.  It was exactly the same as the one before. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water.  The people were equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.  The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”  “It is simple”, said the Lord.  “It requires but one skill.  You see, they have learned to feed each other while the greedy think only of themselves.”  (Author Unknown)

Which room would others say we were in?  Are you one that is seeking only for yourself without thought of your neighbor?  Are you one who walks by when you see someone in need and say “someone else will meet that need?”  God calls us each one to work within our world to help those who are hurting, hungry, homeless and the list goes on and on. May you be one that is in the room where all are helping each other.

Psalms for Refreshing

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.    Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.    I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.   My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.    On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.   Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.    My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.   They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.    They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.   But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.    Psalms 63

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.    He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.   How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down-- this leaning wall, this tottering fence?   They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah   Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.   My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.    Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah    Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.  Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.    One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,   and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.    Psalm 62

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.   But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.  They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.   Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.    From their callous hearts comes iniquity ; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.  Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.    Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.    They say, "How can God know?  Does the Most High have knowledge?"   This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth.    Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.   All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every  morning.   If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children.    When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me    till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.    Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.  How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!    As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.    When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,   I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.    Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.    You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.   Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.    My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.    Psalm 73

Who Is My Neighbor?

Scripture - Luke 10:30-37

Three common types of people reflected in this passage;

A.   What’s yours is mine - Robbers

B.    What’s mine is mine - Levi/Priest

C.    What’s mine is yours - Samaritan

Four truths brought out in these verses;

1.     Pay attention to hurting people.

2.     Pay attention to the Holy Spirit who leads you to people in need, to help them:  Get involved with their lives, this involves time to “hear from them”.

3.     Show mercy, compassion, empathy.

4.     Share your resources.

This passage started out with the question:  WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

            Friends, relatives, coworkers and someone CLOSE TO YOU EMOTIONALLY,

11 Cor. 1:3-5.  Where you have been, you can help others. 

            Every Christian can impact their world, ONE PERSON AT A TIME.  Every church can help many people through their members. 

            Hurting people in need can be helped by individual Christians and Churches.

WHERE DO YOU GET STARTED ?  Psalms 139:23-24 (questions for reflection)

1.     Do you intentionally help hurting people in Jesus name?

2.     Are you inclined to get involved in people’s lives or keep them at a distance?

3.     Do you talk yourself out of helping people in need?

4.     Are you willing to invest/commit time to help hurting people?

5.     Are you willing to share your resources with the needy?

6.     Are you willing to build friendships with hurting people in need?

7.     Are you more merciful or judgmental?

8.     Are you more like the religious leaders in the parable or like the Good Samaritan?

I pray that this prayer might be one each of us can honestly and openly pray to the Father:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your continual ministry to help me.  Help me to seek  out someone in need and get involved with their life.  Lead me to share or minister and make a difference in their life.  I give my talents, my resources, my availability and my total being to You.  Please use me as your instrument to touch hurting lives.  In Jesus Name, Amen.