In Christ Alone

Have you ever wondered why Jesus came as a baby, quietly into this world? God could have sent Him as a Man, or an Angel, or any other type being to get our attention. It was foretold He would come and He did, yet he came as a human child. Not a child of royalty, but a child of poverty, and was raised as such. Jesus knew what our children of today suffer and we turn our heads to Him just as we turn our heads to them. Jesus mother Mary was an unwed mother when she became pregnant, basically, betrothed but unwed. She was frowned upon by her neighbors, friends and family. Our society has become rather calous to this inmost cases today, but then it was still a dishonor to the family.
Jesus life started much like clildren today. It also continued that way. Today we have opportunities to haelp children to get abetter start on life through organizations like Save the Children.
My mother, like several parents, left when I was very young. I prayed evry night for years that God would bring my mommy home and I know there are many children that do. John 20:30, Jesus says "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." If we can Help one child believe that Jesus is there for them we may give them hope.

Mark 10:14 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Children by nature are innocent, in that they are unknowing of most worldly things. When you tell a 3 year old you are going shopping she doesn't care that she needs a coat, she just wants to go! The disciples were trying to keep the children from bothering Christ when he spoke the scripture above. How much are we like little children?
As adults we have to plan ourselves to death sometimes, not thinking of the outcome. Christ also left us a command. James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and fautless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. How do you think we fare in keeping this command?
Here in this country we have more need than abroad to feed and shelter orphans than abroad. Yes this is a little known fact. People are more than willing to feel sympathy for people outside than admit we have it in our own backyard.
Yet we do have a committmet to take care of the orphans outside our great country also. Not long ago I learned of the awful, in my opinion, conditions in China, when it come to orphanages and adoptions. I sat in my church and cried listening to the speaker and my heart went out to the little girl on the screen. But every Sunday our lives are brightened by Hannah and soon will be by Sam!

I received news this past week that I had lost my full time job with mixed feelings. I had been praying to God to get me out of this dysfunctional situation and lead me into something of his will, but it wasn't until I knew for sure that I lost it. I guess you could say I wasn't trusting Him to lead me as I had asked. We have bills to pay etc. as everyone and I have control issues!

I went to church Sunday and my daughter ask me if I was going to help with Vacation Bible School the next day. I had gone to a planning meeting and said I would help if I wasn't back to work but I had really volunteered my husband. So here I was. I had asked Him to lead me to do His work hadn't I? Wasn't this His work? After all aren't I the one with the Lens on Saving the Children? Shouldn't I be the first one to step up?

The sermon had been about John Chapter 6 where Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount and the Miracle of the Feeding the 5000. But the sermon wasn't about the miracle. It was about Jesus wanting to feed the hunger we have in our hearts that He wants to feed. The hunger that leaves us feeling alone, empty, useless, tired, unloved, unwanted. The hunger that only He can feed. The one that He was trying to feed with His sermon that day. The one that we have to give our trust to Him completely for Him to fill.

Yes, I helped with VBS this week and I'm so grateful to Him that I did. I recommend it to anyone! I watched little girls (and boys) learn so much this week and it was so wonderful. To see the love of the Lord on their faces was the best gift He could have given me at this time.

I'm still hungry and until my situation gets better or where He wants it to be I will continue to go where He leads me at church. I have volunteered to do more in two other groups. But I will always remember this week that He led me to VBS with these little girls and how great it was for all of us. I will always thank Him for that.

Do you still have dinner with your family at the kitchen table? Do you still say grace at the kitchen table? Do you still have a kitchen table?

Many of us don't have a table in our kitchens any longer or have our 3 meals together as a family. It's just not feasible in the fast paced age we live in. What about the one meal a day that we do try to have together? How do we use that time? Do we teach our children to rush their food down to get to the next thing on the agenda? Do we ignore them so we don't have to become involved in their lives?

When Jesus and the disciples were at The Last Supper, His command to them was to "do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19. This applys to all our meals also. Jesus gave His body and blood so that we may be saved. Praying at our meals reminds of this whenever and wherever we eat.

If we have one meal a day with our family and pray first, we set a very important example for our children. We can use this time together to spend quality time, something we hear about often. This is a good time to make decisions. Together as a family hold them to the Light of the Lord and see how they look from the family point of view. Ask for God's guidance and it will be granted. James 4:2 Tells us, You do not have because you do not ask God.

So bring back the Table, be it Kitchen, Dining, Picnic, Patio, whatever, and grt that family together and give them and God a chance.

My Mother's Day present from my oldest daughter this year was a trip to see my son. The way gas prices are I hadn't seen him since last September around his birthday. I miss my son desparatly but he is in prison serving 6 to 11 years on drug charges. He's still my son and I love him unconditionally. Not what he's done but I will always love him. Seeing him in peison for the last 2 years has not been easy. Listening to him tell me he has had a staph infection 9 times in the last year isn't easy, or that he only gets $3 a month after his clothes, food and toiletries are paid for. You see our state even has the guards complaining because our govenor has leased everything out and cut expenses to a bare minimum.

My son has lost his faith while locked up rhis time. He is happy for his family but doesn't want us to talk to him about it. I remembered reading in the Bible about us taking care of the prisoners and found it in Matthew 25 where Jesus talks about sorting the sheep and the goats. Of course if He came back today my son would be with the goats I'm sure and I'm sad about that.

Jesus tells us "'I was in prison and you came to visit me.'" Then He says "'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these you did for me'" He is speaking here of when the Son of Man comes in all His Glory. This is only an excerpt of the text. Please read Matthew 25:31-46 to understand His meaning of it all.

If Jesus compares himself to a prisoner and our children are prisoners what are we doing to help them? Some are prisoners in their own homes, some in their own heads, some in theirs schools. Nowdays some are slaves to the internet or their playstations, or worse to human beings, or drugs.

We have to teach our children to love as Jesus said. It starts at home. Sometimes at someone else's home. Sometime our own home. It's never too late.

A Program of Feeding Children International

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Matthew 18:3-5 And he (Jesus) said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

There is a lot of meaning in those statements. Jesus was the Truth so we know what He said was the Way. Humbling ourselves as a child is merely simplicity at it's simplist. Welcoming a child in His name could be helping a homeless child to adopting one.

Missions is a ministry that I was never introduced to growing up. The church we attend supports many missions including the Kids Against Hunger and we plan to start our own satillite program soon. We also support adoptions, and international minitries. The one closest to our hearts is in Haiti where we have a church member named Jacque Rivette. Jacque has been in and out of the USA for years getting his education and is there now with his family trying to get his wife and son moved here with him. He has had to take over his father's ministry since he recently died.

We just had a team come back from there last week that took down skirts and blouses the ladies in the church had sew, and tennis shoes the children had donated from their closets. All for the children at the orphanage.

I started the power point for church this morning and watched as a film started of Jacque and his wife. We miss him so much, but I was so touched I cried when his wife, in French, thanked some people, me included. I had looked through my closet before they left and pulled out 2 dresses I'd never worn and sent them down for her. I'd been told already that she had cried when she got them, but to see her thank me, hit me hard. Two dresses I hadn't paid $10 for together and she had been that grateful.

Think what do you have you can give? If it's nothing, what can you be grateful for? Are You humble as a child?

In three of the Gospels the story is recorded of Jesus and seven of the remaining Disciples, after the Resurrection, where Jesus made His third appearance, after they had gone back to their old occupation.
They had put aside the teachings He had given them and were doing what they knew best and felt secure in to feed themselves and their families.
Yet their nets were empty until what they first thought was a stranger on the shore told them. John 21:6 "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the number of fish.
John 21:11 goes on to say, It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

At times I feel my nets are empty. What can we do at times like these? We live on a limited budget and are working and looking forward to tithing more to the Body of Christ, so as I've mention we give of ourselves in other ways to our Church family.
I pray, sometimes constantly when I'm on my job, frustrated, or tired. In times of crisis is when most of us reach for Him.

Is that the relationship He wants with us? Do you only want to hear from your family when they are troubled or in need?

Continuing in John 21 Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him but each time in a different question and He follows with a different statement when Peter answers yes. Studying this text in church was a revalation to me and I'll give you my version.

John 21:15 "Do you love me more than these?
Feed my lambs."

John 21:16 "John, do you truly love me?
Take Care of my sheep."

John 21:17 " John, Do you love me?
Feed my sheep."

Excuse my paraphrasing, as I want to make my point I have left out Peter's answer, yes.

Here is some of what came to my mind in studying this text.

When new people come to our churches what do we do with them? Do we open our arms as Jesus did? Do we introduce ourselves and welcome them? Or do we check out their clothing, at where they live and who they are or who they know?

With new Christians do we assume since they were baptised that they automatically know everything and can function now without direction from the rest of us? Or do we offer to teach them and mentor in the Lord's way?

Do we reach out to spread The Word to the world? Again this country is suffering from a lack of Christianity as much, if not more so than the rest of the world.