Pursuing the Presence, Purpose and Power of a closer walk with Christ

Archive for March, 2013

Brushed by an Angel


ArcangelGabrielAngels. Have you ever entertained them unawares? What do I mean, entertain? And unawares ? I know I’d want to be aware of an angel, wouldn’t you?

Years ago, there was a popular TV program called, “Touched by an Angel”. The angels in this series intervened in the lives of people who would be featured in the weekly episode. They were entertaining angels literally. However, the Bible suggests we do the entertaining, not angels entertain us.

I read different versions of the following verse and have seleted the following: Hebrews 13:2 KJV “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.” And the New International Version, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

I recently traveled out of state and visited a small local church while there. The hospitality shown to my family and I was wonderful. I asked the superintendent if there was any particular place we were to sit and he replied, “You may sit wherever you like, but angels may brush up against you.” I chuckled at what I thought was a joke and had a passing thought that I might sit down on an angel unawares. However, as the congregation stood to sing, I felt someone brush my left shoulder and back. I looked over beside and behind me, but no one was sitting in the pew behind us and my daughter sat far enough from me that there was space for another person to sit in between us.

Then, the light went on in my head. I turned around and leaned over close to where the superintendent was sitting two pews behind and said, “Were you just joking about an angel brushing up against us?” “No, Ma’am. We are to remember to entertain strangers because they may be angels. There might be an angel up there in front of you and you’d not know it.”

I smiled and said, “An angel just brushed his wing up against me.” He gave glory to God and I joined in the praise, too.

May God bless your week and let me know if you’ve been brushed by an angel.

Category:

Inspiration

Tagged with:

Sowing Seed


sowerAbout this time of year, in the colder regions where  some of us live, many people come down with a case of cabin-fever.  You know, the blahs, doldrums, sick and tired  of this cold, dreary weather that is putting its damp on my style.  Among the remedies for cabin-fever  featured  on television  are construction projects, home improvement ideas and beautifully  landscaped displays resembling the Garden of Eden. I, myself,  begin to dream of the possibilities of what the planting season will bring and get the “green-thumb urge” to go out into the fresh air wearing my work clothes, gloves and boots and begin sowing seed.planting seed_upd

Jesus spoke of sowing seed that is of a spiritual nature but illustrated it so simply in the Parable of the Sower.  “As he was scattering seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:4-9 NIV

I thought about this passage many times before, but in regards to  the context of verse nine; primarily how much of a crop is produced. Recently, a friend spoke to me about my writing and the neighborhood ministry I had been working on for the past several years. She expressed how I had let it fall by the wayside.  I couldn’t get the phrase, “fall by the wayside” out of my mind so I  googled it . There in verse four of the King James Version,  I read a similar expression, “some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up.”  I’ve thought about the neighbors/readers who may have been  searching for Christ, and how I neglected sowing the seed of love. How many opportunities to reach out to them fell by the wayside? I’ve resumed writing and have gotten the “green-thumb  urge” spiritually  to  plant the seed of love by helping others in my neighborhood find peace, love and forgiveness through Jesus.

I encourage those of you  who read this post to think about how God may want you to sow seed. Do you sense an urgency to do something God has planned for you alone to do?  Perhaps you have a desire to visit the sick, work the line in a soup kitchen, donate clothes that you don’t need to those who have little,  or reach out to a neighbor.  Perhaps you have an emptiness within, the blahs or lack an interest in spiritual things? Are the activities in your schedule crowding out time that could be spent serving God? Do you hear God calling you to plant seed for his kingdom so it will produce a crop that is a hundred, sixty or thirty times greater than what was sown? Let’s get busy about his business of planting seed.

Father, help us make you our priority each day. Forgive us for missed opportunities and help us sow the seed you’ve given us while it still may be planted in the hearts of men and women.

Category:

Inspiration

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud