Encounter with God

So, Hubby  and I are sitting down watching TV a little while ago and someone knocks on the door. (It is 9pm). A small, very attractive 65 year old Thai woman is standing there and she tells Hubby  her family has thrown here out for swatting the baby(she is a nanny, I am assuming).

She then proceeds to squat down in a very humble position. She needs a ride to her friends house. So, we invite her in. She says she is from Bangkok and her boys are there and she is here(she came here with a sister and her sister is dead now). She was so sweet. Her name was Mei Lee. She says she attends a Christian church but is also Buddhist. She said they are very kind to her.

Hubby  got his shoes on and took her to her brothers house. They stopped by to get her stuff at this family's house and picked up her things. They were out on the porch. He then took her to her brothers and he was grateful Hubby had brought her.

A friend who is a missionary IN Thailand happens to have an older Christian friend here near where we live who is FROM Thailand. We hope to connect them and maybe she can help Mei Lee. 

I felt humbled because she told us she sees us outdoors when she goes walking and felt safe coming to our door! What a God thing...  Pray that if we have contact with her again we can minister to her more if needed.

When things like this happen....I am in awe that God chose us to help....his followers who are completely broken and spilled out...

Pro Life

from an article written by Wade Burleson (pastor Emmauel Baptist Church, Enid, OK)
"We Christians are "pro-life-that is-we believe in the sacredness of every human life. Our pro life arguments however, ring hollow when we remove churches from inner city neighborhoods where our presence could help those with poor quality of life; when we leave our states backlogged with tens of thousands of foster children on the rolls, forcing states to often give multiple foster children...;and when we do little or nothing for those lives that are trapped in hospitals and prisons... The blessings of a culture and community might soar more when God's people put more money, more focus and more energy into caring for the lives that are already here..."

I am proudly Pro Life. I though must clearly state that I am fully pro-life. What I see in scripture is that I must believe that ALL life is sacred to God....no matter what your actions have been. God longs for ALL people to know Him intimately and no person is less in His eyes than the other. Those who are already here are JUST AS IMPORTANT as those who are not yet born.

My prayer is that all my friends who call themselves Pro Life will take a stand for ALL LIFE. No one deserves death. Everyone deserves dignity and respect as everyone is God's creation. When we disrespect another human beings life...we are disrespecting the Creator of that life.

Just my thoughts today.

Invite the Uninvited.......

From a newsletter article I wrote back in Fall 2009.

     As I scanned the local newspaper yesterday, there were several articles that jumped out. One was an article on elder abuse, another on the problem of prostitution, another about the angst of finding a new school superintendent to come in and solve all the problems of public school education in our city. There were also the other typical articles we see often …crime, taxes, legislation. These problems could become overwhelming to those of us who are believers and it would be easy to skim the article and not think very much about it. The social problems here tend to make us feel helpless, like a turtle wanting to retreat into its shell and wait for Jesus to come back. Like it or not, for now, Jesus is keeping us here. I believe He is doing that for a purpose. All through the Bible, we hear about reaching the poor, healing the brokenhearted and feeding the hungry. I could write a list of scripture that would be a mile long. We read it, we know what the Bible says we are to do…..so are we?

    I was at my former church in New York City this past Sunday celebrating the end of 20+ years of fundraising to pay for a building that has become the center of activity for the neighborhood. There are adult literacy classes, job training, children’s tutoring clubs and many other things that have made an impact on the neighborhood and the city. They have gone on to help start new churches in the city and will continue on until the Lord’s return. The one underlying theme for everything that they do is this…. “Invite the Uninvited,” based on Luke 14:13-14 where Jesus talked about inviting those who you would not normally invite to your table….those who can’t repay you for your service to them.

    I sat in this celebration service and wondered about we Christians...here..in our city. Do we, as believers in Jesus, invite the uninvited? Could that mean our churches too? Do we pursue the “uninvited,” the “unclean” to be with us at our table? We can take that both literally and figuratively because in all that we do, according to scripture, we are to reach out to those who are not necessarily the best dressed, the best athlete, the best academic or the cleanest. Jesus said basically that it is really easy to invite your friends, colleagues and neighbors who are pleasant and can give back. It is very hard to sit with someone who has no table manners, who may smell funny or not know about the latest plummet in the stock market. Someone who can’t give back what you gave them.

Jesus says ….do the hard thing…invite the uninvited to your table. You will be repaid far more than pleasantries. You will see that reward on the day of his return! A beautiful blessing is in store for you. Try it…you may just be pleasantly surprised at what happens...to you!!