Are we His Body?

If we are to be the family of God we need to start acting like one. There are people out there who have been through things that we wouldn’t even imagine going through. We need to reach out to them and let them know that God is with them and he cares. The body of Christ is for all who want it. He didn’t give his life only for those who are up to “social standards”. Let all who knock enter for the door will always be opened to you. Who are we then to refuse ANYONE!! You can come to him in torn clothes, no shoes on your feet, starving, with nothing to call your own, and he will open out his arms and welcome you. There is no guest list when it comes to the house of worship. We don’t have to have a reservation or call ahead. All we have to do is open the door and he will be ready and waiting. He bought you with his blood and you are his. He wants you to come to him.   The amazing thing is that we owe him nothing. He paid for our tickets to everlasting life with Him and all we have to do I love Him. That’s it. We have someone who wants to love us the way that all of us want. It’s an everlasting, eternal, and unconditional love that no earthly person can provide. Just Him, just our Lord and Savior. And it’s all just a word away. All we have to say is Jesus come!! That’s it. Jesus come!!

 

If we are the Body by Casting Crows

It’s crowded in worship today As she slips inTrying to fade into the facesThe girls’ teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know Farther than they know

CHORUSBut if we are the BodyWhy aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing? Why aren’t His words teaching?And if we are the Body Why aren’t His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? There is a way

A traveler is far away from homeHe sheds his coat And quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances Are better out on the road

CHORUS But if we are the Body Why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing?Why aren’t His words teaching? And if we are the Body Why aren’t His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

Jesus paid much too high a priceFor us to pick and choose who should come And we are the Body of Christ Chorus If we are the body Why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing?Why aren’t His words teaching? And if we are the body Why aren’t His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way Jesus is the way 

 

“Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.”

This was written by a  of Metro Denver Hospice Physician and sent to me by a dear friend.

I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and wanted
to share it with my family and dearest friends. I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in
traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and
die – I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only
that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot
to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn’t even turn over. Before I could
make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the “quickie mart” building,
and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so
I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs
than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really
haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I
helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her.. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman,
the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in
a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept
saying ” don’t want my kids to see me crying,” so we stood on the other
side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California
and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, “And you
were praying?” That made her back away from me a little, but I assured
her I was not a crazy person and said, “He heard you, and He sent me.”

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so
she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked
to the next door McDonald’s and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift
certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the
kids in the
car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries
and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend
left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew
she wouldn’t have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation
had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5
years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them
and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids
they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were
going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for
safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, “So, are
you like an angel or something?”

This definitely made me cry. I said, “Sweetie, at this time of year
angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.”

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else’s miracle. And of
course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and
got me home with no problem. I’ll put it in the shop tomorrow to check,
but I suspect the mechanic won’t find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the
flutter of their wings…

Psalms 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

This prayer is powerful and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue to pray for one
another.

Here is the prayer:

“Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends,
relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new
revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to
their spirit  this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your
peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence
through Your grace, In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.”

When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, “Jesus, could You
please get that for me?”

Who Are We?

I often wondered if a bad person is bad out of their own free will or if it is a consequence of their parent’s choices. At the age of 23 I have been through more in my life then most people who are a lot older then I have. At the age of two I was taking from my mother and father because of sexual abuse. I, along with my two sisters, was placed in a foster home. There we were hit and made to eat nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We stayed there for a year until our grandmother called the police because of the bruises she had found on us. My grandmother and her husband later adopted us when I was at the age of 4. Growing up the only thing I was allowed to do was go to school, work, and be involved with the Catholic Church. My grandfather was a man who could drink. He would drink so much that at times he couldn’t even stand. I remember when they would fight I would hide behind the couch in the living room with the phone held tightly in my hand ready to call the police if my grandmother ever asked. Growing up, I can remember being called stupid and worthless just because of whom my parents were. I was told that I would never amount to anything more then the space I took up. If I was to do the littlest thing wrong I would have to remainkneeling on the wall for 3 days at a time depending on what I did. (Kneeling on the wall meant to kneel beside an empty wall and put your hands over your head. Only moving to eat, use that bathroom, and go to sleep). Sometimes, if I was lucky, I would be sent to the sewing room which was a dark room at the end of the house. When I was sent there it would be for a week or two at a time. I grew up always having the things in life that I needed to survive physically but emotionally I was starving for the kind of love that a parent has for their child. The kind of love you hear about in the bible when Mary held her baby son. Two day’s after my 18th birthday, I rented an apartment and moved out. I started having a life. I would go see friends and do stuff that I was never allowed to do at home. I was finally free from everything that ever hurt me in life. It was a new start for me.  In April of 2002, 3 months before my graduation, I was raped by my sisters boyfriend. I was a so ashamed I never told a soul. Back when I was 15 I had met a guy on the internet. We used to write letter and call each other all the time. I had told my parents that he was a pin-pal from school. We had stopped talking a year before the rape. When I was raped the world end as I knew it. I stayed in my apartment locked in the bathroom most of the time. I came out only to eat whenever I could stomach it. I stopped going to work and school. My whole life was gone. I was saving myself for my husband and then some guy comes along and takes the most important thing to me. The one thing that is priceless.  At this point in my life, I was stripped of pride, love, self-worth, and the grace of God. I went from serving God my whole life to thinking that God no longer loved or cared for me. I was totally alone. I felt as if everything I had worked for so far in life was gone and I would never be the same again. This whole time I was so angry at God for leaving me and allowing someone to hurt me like they did. My whole life I was trampled on and he allowed that to happen. I WAS HIS FAITHFUL SERVENT AND HE COULDN’T EVEN PROTECT ME!! WAS I THAT BAD IF A PERSON TO DESERVE THIS LIFE THAT HE GAVE ME? ALL I WANTED WAS SOMEONE TO HOLD ME AND TELL ME THAT I WAS WORTH SOMETHING. THAT WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME THOROUGHOUT MY LIFE WASN’T MY FAULT.  I can honestly say to you that I was wrong. God was there and I believe that with my whole heart. I now know that my God was there with me threw it all. That every heart ache and every tear I shed he felt and he cared. He had a plan for my life if I would only trust and believe in Him.  I am so glad I did.In June of 2002 I got an email from Eric, the guy I was talking to on the internet. I was too ashamed to tell any one else but the moment I talked to him I broke down crying and I told him. I had not talked to this man in over a year and I felt as if I could tell him anything and it would be ok. We had never even met. He lived in the other end of the country from me!  Two day’s later we met for the first time, and 5 months later, we were married.  Our God is so amazing that all we need to do is trust Him!! BEILIVE THAT HE IS THERE, BELIEVE IT. We have all heard the poem FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND.  Well it’s true; at the darkest times in our lives our Lord carries us. He’s been there; he knows our pain because he feels it right along with us. There is nothing you and I can go though that he hasn’t already been through himself!! NOTHING!!! I always wanted someone to hold me and tell me things are going to be ok. God has. He has clothed me in his blood which he shed on the cross. He shed that blood for me. And he shed that blood for you. He is waiting for you to come to him and let him heal you; let him clothe you in his loving blood. Let him be the light that can light your way and the arms that can lift you up when things seem so low and you can’t go anymore. He is the only one that will never hurt or abandon us. What a friend we have in Jesus!!! He wraps us in the one thing only he can give.. everlasting peace!!!Heavenly Father, I come to you as a child wanting the love of a father. Clothe me in your blood and give me the peace and rest that only you can give. Bless me and keep me in your loving care always. Be with me as I go about my day and lead me in the path you want me to go. In your precious name I pray, AMEN.