Oh the Savior's love

It was a relaxing day (though not over yet) with reading (Bible and Hudson Taylor bio), doing a little around the house and lightening the load of possessions. It is a joy hard to explain, ridding yourself of things not used anymore and things that are not a necessity. To not be burdened by the abundance of earthly possessions is a joyful thing indeed! I thank the Lord for His constant work in my life and the preparation for whatever lies ahead. While pondering His Mighty Love and Awesome Grace, I wrote these words down. To the praise of His Glorious Grace!

To pen the words,
my soul longs to say;
To tell thee of our Savior's love,
how He walks with me each day.

Oh what a struggle it is,
these words can't explain;
the volumes that could be written,
and still not obtain!

Most worthy are you, O Lord,
though short do I fall;
To tell of your great Mercy,
Thou deserving most of All ! R.B.

I pray you also come to know the Lord God more deeply and intimately each day. For does His Word not say, Draw near to Me, and He will draw near to You?? Indeed it does!

Reminder of God's grace

I was at a prison this thurs and fri for my job. I have to go to a few of these a year and am always thankful that I get to leave. With this job I have to go into each building and am surrounded by the inmates. I do have an escort but no one is armed because they don't take chances that weapons could be taken and used on the officers. It can be a little nerve wrecking at times but I trusted the Lord would protect me.

What hits me though is the fact of all these people that live in this little world. A prison is like a small enclosed city and some will live their lives inside. As I walked around and saw the sadness and despair in people's eyes, I was hit with the reality of God's grace anew. (and to think of how much better conditions are and how much better people are treated in the U.S. prisons than that of other countries)

I am thankful for His grace in my life, for where I was born and grew up, for how He watched over me and helped me make decisions. I realize that what separates me from the people locked behind bars is often one bad decision. Sometimes it's the fact that most are just not caught and these people were. This won't be a long post, I just wanted to share how God makes his mercy and grace real to me.

If I would have made different choices and taken different actions at certain times or in certain situations, then I could be sitting behind bars also. Some may be innocent and in other countries lots of precious souls are locked up for faith in Jesus. God's heart is for all and He wants us to care about all.

Matt 25:36 "I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

May you find His grace new and fresh in your life and be thankful for it.

Roger

Feeling inadequate

This image is from a recent article on the last Operation Christmas Child program from Samaritan's Purse. This was taken in Kenya. Look at their smiles, look behind them at where they live.

I wasn't planning on writing anything tonight, but as I was reading through some ministry updates from different organizations, I wanted to express how I am feeling. The title I chose for this post sums it up. As tears filled my eyes reading about all the poverty and the devastation in many countries lately, it saddens my heart.

I don't know what to do with these feelings, I want to help, to do more, more than just give money. I know it takes funds to provide the necessary help being provided, but I don't feel it is enough for me. I like to help physically but I'm not feeling a specific direction to go.

Sometimes I feel like all I do is "wait", and the encouragement I get is to "wait". The books I read talk about how we need to "wait" and so many verses I find in the Bible say to "wait on the Lord". Well, I hope my time of waiting is almost over, but is waiting ever over?

In Haiti, the rainy season will be coming soon and there is a worry about the spread of disease because of the bodies still buried under the ruble. The make shift shelters they have are not adequate. One organization is making sturdy shelters that are 12'x12' and have a steel roof. They have the roof slanted to catch rain water, then it goes into a storage tank, then through a sand filter. It costs around $1,000 for a shelter with bunk beds and the water storage, the sand filter is $100 more...... Lord help us be your hands and feet.

Am I just going to be a sender? Do I have to be in a job I don't like to make money to support others? Time, I guess time will tell. If anyone reads this, pray for me. I will try to patiently wait till whatever is next.

Roger

Finished series

...On radical faith by David Platt. It has made me think and look at what I have been taught. I knew God wanted us to be generous and give cheerfully, but these verses really make you look at what we are called to. I am doing some changes and will be selling some things, and looking at living even more simply.

I have traded in my "smartphone" today for a basic messaging phone and dropped my data plan and will be saving $20 month on that. For $20 a month you can partner with a Child Survival Program in India. Compassion has many others to choose from at different costs. The information for this one is here.

I will be doing other things but I am not going to share much if anything else, because I don't want it to come off as bragging, even though most will think this kind of living is dumb and not worth it.

I like this quote that David said, something like, I don't think anyone will be standing before God someday and He will say, "I think you gave too much to the poor and didn't spend enough on yourself." Hmmm probably quite true. We seem to always be looking out for ourselves, yes? One motto is : Look out for number one. I guess this is true if your number one is God.

Not trying to EARN salvation, just responding to the love, grace, and forgiveness I have been GIVEN, that was BOUGHT at a PRICE, when JESUS DIED for ME.


Growing closer to Him, Roger