Connecting Points

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Today’s Topic: We Are His Arm

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 59:1 (NIV)   Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

We really didn’t know what to expect. When we registered for our dining time we had the option of choosing a large table with other people, or a table by ourselves. We decided that since there would be so many other opportunities to meet people, we would choose a table by ourselves and spend that quality time focused on each other.

When we arrived at the dining room the first night we were ushered to our table by the head waiter fully decked out in a tuxedo. As we arrived at our table I quickly discovered what private table means on a cruise ship. Instead of several tables being pushed together to form a large table, the small two-person tables were spaced twenty-two inches apart. The gentleman at the table next to me was less than arm’s length away.

As we sat and reviewed the menu for the evening, it was obvious that our quiet private dinner would soon become a time of fellowship with the people at the neighboring table. I turned and initiated a conversation with a young couple. As we talked, we discovered their living status, state, and their professions. It was obvious that serving Jesus Christ was not on their radar, and that they were adrift in the sea of self-indulgence.

At this point it would have been easy for some who call themselves Christians to end the conversation and seclude themselves at their own table as best they could. But that’s not natural to my heart and certainly not a product of the love of Jesus that captivates us. So the conversation continued with this heavily tattooed bar owner and his live in girlfriend.

Eventually they asked me what I did for a living. Without hesitation I said, “I’m a pastor.” Denise and I both waited for their response. The woman spoke first. She leaned in towards me and with a soft and humble spirit said, “May I ask you a favor?” After I agreed, she told me the story of her best friend back in Texas who had just given birth two premature twins, and one of them had died the day the cruise left port. She was distraught that she couldn’t be there for her friend. She asked me to pray for her. I asked for the mother’s name and it was provided to me. When our food arrived, Denise and I bowed our heads and I prayed for that mother and for our new friends as they went through this time of grief.

On two more occasions during the cruise the Lord directed our steps to connect with this couple. On each occasion I asked how they were doing, and asked specifically about the grieving mother and called her by name. Then, when the cruise was over, and we got on the bus to return to the airport, there sitting right in front of us was this couple, and we chatted again and told them we would be remembering them and their friend in prayer.

I don’t know what effect any of that will have on their lives, but I’m not in charge of that – the Holy Spirit is. But God taught me an important lesson through that experience – a lesson that I was not aware I needed but now realize I did. I was forming judgments about people based on their external appearance and their public sin. I was creating small and subtle but unknowingly strong barriers between me and them. I was tending towards seclusion from sinners rather than intentionally engaging them. As the arm of the Lord I was coming up short.

We are the arm of the Lord to bring salvation to those who need it. We are the ear of the Lord to listen for people’s cries for help. We must overcome the fleshly desire to judge others and seclude ourselves from them. We must stretch out the arms of God’s love and embrace people where they are and show them that grace is available. No matter how they appear on the outside, and not matter what they have chosen as their lifestyle, they have the same spiritual need that we had before we met Jesus. Let’s introduce them to Him.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, February 06, 2012

Today’s Topic: Safe and Secure

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 59:1 (NIV)   Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

 Last week my wife and I went on an amazing adventure. For nine years we have been planning this trip, and every year that we thought we would do it something came up. Well this year our kids said, “Enough! No more excuses!” They put together a little incentive package with contingencies that forced us to make the decision and book the reservations. After all the years of hearing about all of their wonderful experiences on a cruise, Denise and I finally went on one. It was everything we expected and more.

While we were sitting on a beach on a small atoll called Cococay, I watched as a father took his little girl into the ocean for probably the first time ever. Dad and the girl stood hand in hand for a moment in water only six inches deep. Then the eighteen-month old girl let go of daddy’s hand and took a few steps out into a little deeper water. She turned and smiled at her dad, and he smile back.

Having discovered courage she didn’t know she had, the girl took a few more steps. It was obvious she was not used to the buoyancy of saltwater, and she worked hard to keep her balance. Then she took one more step, and as she turned around to catch her daddy’s eye for approval, she wobbled. She listed heavily to the right. Her left leg came off the white sand on the bottom. She tipped forward, and her face was very near the water. Her short arms could not reach the bottom to stop her descent.

I cringed in my lounge chair. I’m sure I made a visible move to get up. I will never forget the look in the little girl’s eyes. They were as big as they could be, and looked right into her daddy’s eyes and spoke louder than any words could have. “Daddy, help me!” By now her mouth and nose were under the water, but her eyes never stopped looking at her father. She needed rescue, and she knew that dad was the rescuer.

Her steps had taken her out of reach of her father. His arm could not grab her and lift her from where he was. She was unable to get to him. But dad saw her, and from her eyes he heard her cry for help. In two swift steps through the water he had her by the arm and lifted her into his. She threw her arms around his neck and hung on. Her eyes were facing me, and without a single tear they clearly said “I’m safe and secure.”

The dad did an amazing thing. It may seem so simple and natural that we lose sight of the amazement of it, but it is no less amazing. As his daughter’s eyes cried out to him, he did not speak to her about the consequences of her actions. He did not tell her to deal with the problem because she had put herself in that position. He did not correct her for wandering away from him. He did what any loving father would do, he rescued her.

Surely your Heavenly Father will do the same for you. His arm is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear. Cry out to Him, and He will make you safe and secure.

Pastor John