Door of Reconciliation

I have been thinking a great deal about Connie Rhodes (see previous) and remember that one of the things she taught me was about using the door of reconciliation. She showed me a picture of a door with a hole in it and one person reaching through the whole to the person on the other side.

I cannot remember what my problem was at that time but it was an issue with someone. She told me that forgiveness was a key to reconciliation and THAT SOMEONE HAD TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO PUT A HAND THROUGH THE DOOR as it only could fit one hand and wrist.

This stuck in my mind as a good visual. By the grace of God, we can be the first to forgive. The first to say "I'm sorry" and reach out to the person on the other side. The first to communicate anyway we want DIRECTLY to the other person.

God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. We have power to forgive within us. We have grace. Is there someone you need to reach out your hand and forgive?
Take a few minutes and think about this.
The Story Of The Door Of Reconciliation - from Services of Halton

Family

We are all aware of what a biological family is. But, there are family connections in friends, and even those who have been influenced by our parents values by either living with us through adoption or influence.

Because parents have a set of values that are given to their children there is a common bond in these things. For example, in my family growing up, my mother was very keen on education. All three of us daughters got teaching degrees and spent some time out there as teachers.

Beyond the common bond of blood, we have the common bond of shared influence, values and memories.

When we come to faith in Christ we are born again into the family of believers that is worldwide. We have a common teaching (The Bible) and we have a direction for our lives through that word. We are related not by the blood line but we are integrated to one another because inside us we have the same Spirit that cries out "Abba, Father". We have a heavenly Father and we share Him with each other. That is why we pray for each other and root for each other and I sure hope LOVE ONE ANOTHER which is a command.

I can remember my Dad saying when we sisters were having a fight with each other. "Will you girls just knock it off." By this he meant that we didn't need to do this and he was directing us to stop doing what we did right now.

Of course, Christians have fights with each other. We are human. We misread each other. We judge each other thinking we know ..but we don't. Only our heavenly Father can judge. He alone is the righteous judge.

We are born into a biological family but look around because beyong this if you have asked Jesus into your life and have accepted his death on the cross for your sins, you have a BIG BIG spiritual family with all kinds of relatives.

You have brothers, sisters, mothers and dads. You have, in fact, the body of Christ and you are very important in it. You can get taught. You can get corrected. You can get redirected. You can also help others. Pray for others. Love others. In fact, if you take this very seriously, you will discover that in the body of Christ there is a miracle for you.

Momentum

In memory of Connie Rhodes who went to be with the Lord a few months short of her 105 birthday

What can I say about Connie? She was a true friend of mine and a true friend of Project Lost Sheep. She lived in Menlo Park the entire time I knew her and lived independently until the last few years.

She was someone you could trust when you needed advice because she had walked with the Lord a very long time.

One time a number of years ago I was very discouraged about Project Lost Sheep. We had a meeting coming up but my heart wasn't in it. I was tempted to cancel the meeting.

Sitting at her kitchen table in her small apartment in Menlo Park I poured out my hear to her over a cup of tea. She listened carefully. She wrote things down on little scraps of paper. She had a bird clock that would sing on the hour. (she loved birds). She had many friends even in her golden years and a wonderful family. But the thing I loved about her most was her heart for the Lord was so constant.

She looked me in the eye after I told her I wanted to cancel the meeting and said. "Momentum, Joyce, momentum. Never forget momentum."

We held the meeting and went forward. When I think of Connie I smile. She kept me steadfast when I would have wavered. She is missed by me and the Project Lost Sheep.

We honor Connie Rhodes for her life, her example, her always being there. We will certainly miss her and look forward to our reunion someday.

Foundations

If you have ever had a house built or done an extensive remodel, you know that the foundation part really takes a great deal of time, energy and money.

The whole has to be dug. The borders set. The markers put in. The concrete poured. It seems endless and in fact NO ONE EXCEPT THE TERMITE INSPECTOR may ever see that. However, the foundation is vital for the building. If it isn't right the entire edifice will be unstable.

Whether we are laying a foundation for a building, a friendship, a marriage or a Christian work, these
things must happen.

l. there must be a plan done by an expert.
2. there needs to be checking of the specifications.
3. there needs to be time- no rush.
4. there needs to be capital to finish.

Jesus said "a wise man builds his house upon the rock." Luke 6:48.

The rock represents a stable foundation. When winds or other trouble comes the house will not blow down or be destroyed.

I have been thinking recently of the seven years of foundation work that went into the Project Lost Sheep. We prayed. We waited. We had pastoral advice. We put down a deep foundation of friendship on the team. We asked God to direct us. We called prayer home base. We weren't building it for ourselves. We wanted God's work to be established...even when we weren't sure at all what the building would look like!

Think about it....

Looking At The Children Of Your City

One of the things we all struggle with as Christians is to get the Lord's priorities first and not be so concerned with our agendas.
In San Jose,where a new Project Lost Sheep group is forming, I have given the ad hoc team the assignment of LOOKING AT THE CHILDREN OF YOUR CITY.

This is so important because if we don't see the children, we can't see what Jesus wants us to do to serve these children. Children are important to Jesus. He said "let the little children come unto me for of such is the kingdom of God."

Children have something that we very much need. Jesus put the children in the center of the circle because the disciples were trying to keep them away from Jesus thinking he had more important things to attend to.

If we are honest and we look at our hearts, do we really care what happens to children that are not in our own family? Do we care about the children down the block or in the downtown. Do we care that children IN AMERICA have no place to play and cannot afford to go to camp and they are LOCKED in stuffy apartments by themselves to "grow up" informed by tv!
I can recommend that adults take a walk around the block or go to a park and watch children play. Really look at the faces. Look at a child when he is crying or laughing. Remember that every child is important to the Lord.
I was out recently and saw two children with their parents at a casual eating place. The parents were talking to each other. The children were not interacting with anyone except for their digital devices.
There are other children who are poorly dressed or not able to have parents who can help them with their homework. How would you feel if you had a family that could never help you with your homework?
Let's not just keep our eyes on those who are our own height. Let's look down and see what Jesus saw when he looked at children and then say.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THIS CITY FOR THIS CHILD?

Epiphany

Epiphany is 12 days after Christmas and it  marks the three wise men's arrival. First they came to Jeruslaem (see Mathew 2) and then after consulting with Herod & Co. they were redirected to Bethelhem.

The wise men asked "Where is he born King of the Jews."  Herod, the sly old devil, wanted them to tell him where this Christ baby was..."bring me word again that I may come and worship him also." Mathew 2:8 Of course his intention was not to worship but to kill this perceived rival to his power.

The wise men then got on their camels and proceeded to follow the star to Bethelem and they rejoiced and found Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped the Christ child.  (please note this correction from former blog of the location).

One of my favorite carols from ages ago..."we three men of orient are..bearing gifts we travel afar...field and fountan...etc. following yonder star." It may have been months or even years on their journey to worship the King of the Jews.

We always like the part about gifts: gold, frankinsense and myrrh. (Mathew 2:11)  However, there was another gift they all brought together. That was their total intent to find and worship this King. They left home, they had a very uncomfortable journey..they only had the star as evidence that they really were getting somewhere. God warned the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod. So they went back to their country another way.

What gift did they receive for this journey? They got to see the Christ child and they rejoiced with great joy.  Like divers finding a treasure trove after years of searching, they found what they set out to find. They didn't have the gold, the myrrh or the frankincense but they had two great gifts.

One: they had JOY.  Joy came with the worship of the little King of the Jews.

The second gift they had was GUIDANCE.  God himself warned them in a dream to go back another way.  They now had not an external star but the internal wisdom of God to set their course towards home.

Ephiphany has come to mean revelation. When you find the right journey, when you come to the right city, when you find the true one to worship, you will know why it was worth the trip.

Generosity

Have you ever received a gift that just made you want to shout and sing?

Imagine the City of Newark, New Jersey getting a generous check from a business ENOUGH TO REVAMP THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.  Now that is what is a gift to a city.

All of us like to think that we are generous.  Especially we like to think at Christmas that we are really giving to loved ones and ones in need and to churches, etc. But, soon that can pass and we become a bit more ourselves i.e. thinking about our own needs.

Think for a moment on the most generous thing that any human being has ever given to you.
Hint: it might not be monetary.  It might be time, friendship, or something really different.

 The wise men came bearing gifts for the Christ child.  They went first to Jerusalem and then were redirected (notice this correction) to the little town of Bethlehem where they found under the star that had stopped what they had longed for for months and years.  They found a gift that was so precious that they returned back home with that JOY that wasn't going to leave.  They took time to seek and find and to give gifts to this Child.

One day a poor widow put a few pennies into the offering and Jesus told his disciples she gave more than all the others because she gave what she had to live on.

God sees what we give and what we don't give. God never forces because what He wants from us is not our stuff but our love. However, if our stuff is an idol, it has to go.

Generosity. Think about it.  How can you express your love to God by sharing?

Waiting? or Waiting on God

I find the first of the year difficult.  It is a time where we make all kinds of choices that will make a difference in how we look, feel and who we serve.  The worldly focus is usual on self. Am I exercised enough, rich enough, disciplined enough.

Notice the 'I's.

One way to really get into trouble in our walk is to think IT ALL DEPENDS ON US.

Back to the Christmas story, after Christmas.
Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus have to wait until it is time to go up to Jerusalem for the offering.
They have two rather strange characters one an old man and one an old woman confirm that Jesus is the redemption of Israel.

The wise men come to Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. Gifts are given and then they depart another way home.

The taxes are paid, the baby is circumcised according to the law.
Still the young couple lingers..waiting not on what they want but on what God’s plan is for them.

It certainly isn’t what they thought. Joseph has a dream in which he is told to “flee” to Egypt because Herod is going to try to kill the baby.

What if they had not waited and listened to God? I wonder if God looks down at times and thinks ... if only they had waited for me instead of making their own choices.

Waiting isn’t easy. It is lonely, hard work and sometime we feel “lost”. Never mind. God never will lose his sheep. He knows where we are heading. We don’t.

May January find you waiting for your marching orders ... not your own but the Lord’s.