Happy Jesus Day

As we talked…  I expressed to him the heart of our Savior.  The longer we visited, the more he become uncomfortable.  Every human, deserves our love and respect, as they are children of God. Each one made in his image… given a purpose… given a part of his spirit.   Because each person holds Christ DNA in them, we are to love them all.  He commented,  “what about the guy that steals from me”?  Jesus says give him your coat also.  “What about the guy who harms me”?  Jesus says turn the other cheek so he can hit it too.  He was struggling.  He was having trouble understanding, because the world he was raised in, taught just the opposite.   Then he commented.  “if he has done something to me, then he loses my love… my respect”.  So now we are ranking sin based on what is important to you?  Should we operate off of Christ standards… or our own?  Christ and God do not rank sin.  One is bad… the next is the same.  However, we operate from our own scale.  We see sins’ in a hierarchy.  The lie I told yesterday, could not be as bad, as the murder he committed.  It is but for the GRACE of our Savior that any of us can rest.  I for one, am so THANKFUL, that my Savior does not lose love and respect for me, because of my actions.  Matthew Chap. 5 – 7

I Love You!

Perry

Monday! Most of us don’t like Monday! To me, it offers new hope and a chance to be back with the people, I love to work with.  However, this particular Monday, was a day full of disappointment and frustration.  There were times, I felt as though it couldn’t get any worse.  People who say they love you… but leave.  People who say they want what is best… but do not do their best. Religious leaders who reflect only the world.  Then I saw it! Our Saviors letters and the stories he left for us.  It only takes a moment to remember… it’s all about Jesus.  Doesn’t matter what others say or do.  It’s all about Jesus.  Doesn’t matter what the outcome is.  It’s all about Jesus.  Doesn’t matter that others are rude and angry.  It’s all about Jesus.  Doesn’t matter if the world likes you, or not.  It’s all about Jesus.  When the world knocks us down.  When others disappoint.  When people could care less about you.  When the world shows hatred… malice… envy…  violence and indifference.  All that matters is Jesus.  When he is front and center in your life, you will return hatred, with love.  Malice, with compassion. Envy, with sharing. Violence, with peace.  Indifference, with caring.  It’s simply all about Jesus.  What a comfort that is… in this crazy world.

Ephesians 1:20-23

I Love You!

Perry

So many! As I stand on 16th street in Denver, so many people. Sitting. Standing. Walking. I try to see each one. I don’t want to see a forest… I want to see a tree! So many, that it would be easy to look at them as a crowd, but I desire to see a person. To notice each. To try to see Christ in this one and that. As he stopped to ask if I had a cigarette, I noticed his face was severely disfigured. He was missing his nose along with other scars. Now homeless… I asked if he could use some money. My heart aches as I think, but for the grace of God… go I. If I had a handicap such as his… would I be on the street, as well? Did he turn to drugs to run from the pain? Did he turn to the street to escape the ridicule. I tried to visit with him, but he was gone as fast as he came. I would have told him that one day there will be no more scars. One day his nose would be whole again. For now, all I can do is pray, that he finds peace in our Savior. Our Savior always saw the person… and not the crowd. I pray that he blinds me, to the mass of people, and leads me to the one that needs a kind word. We can make a difference… we just have to take the time. Luke 15:4

I Love You!
Perry

Do you struggle to understand as I do? Daily I see people, many who call themselves Christ followers, doing everything, but reflecting the heart of the Savior. Daily I think: Everything I do… everything I say… the way I act… the way I conduct business… the way I treat others… is a direct reflection on the one I love. When I wear the name Christian. When I profess to follow Christ. Others look to me… to see what HE is like. Do I truly understand his heart? Do others see him in me, or the world? I go to a Christian concert, and I watch as people shove to be first in line. As they throw down their trash. I observe, as they yell at each other over a parking place. Is that Christ? I experience church leaders who are deceitful… hurtful… and self-serving… Is that Christ? When I was a kid, I behaved, not because I was afraid of getting in trouble. I was good, because I wanted to reflect well on my earthly father, whom I adored. Should we not do even more, for our heavenly father? Tomorrow, as you go through your day, look to his heart in everything you do. Reflect his love to everyone you meet. Above all else be the mirror of his spirit. That, and only that, will bring others to him, and put a smile on his face. Ephesians 5:1-10

I Love You!
Perry

Five thousand had come. Matthew says men, which meant many women as well. All they heard was grumbling, and throws of insults, as everyone was hungry. As the twelve checked their bank book, they soon realized, they had not enough money to feed the crowd. They were frightened… worried… afraid of what the people might do. How easily they had forgotten who was with them. Who was standing near. They forgot who was about to speak, to this mob of people. Yet while they worried, Jesus took five loaves, and a few small fish, and fed the thousands. In the blink of an eye… problem solved. He not only fed them, but had twelve baskets, of left overs. What seems like an insurmountable problem to us… is but a whisper to God. What seems like a never ending nightmare… is but a day dream to our Savior. Are you standing near to him, yet have forgotten who he is? Are you listening to him speak, but don’t trust him to solve the problem? No matter what… when… or how big… he will turn a few loaves, into a feast. You simply have to trust… hand it to him… and watch him work. Then when he is done, sit back, and listen to him speak.
Colossians 1:17

I Love You!
Perry

Do you give God what he asks for… or what he needs?  When this question entered my thoughts I found it to be strange. God doesn’t need anything from us.  The more I have contemplated, the more I have come to understand, the depth behind this question, the Holy Spirit put on my heart.  There are those that follow rules.  There are those that are happy to stand behind years of tradition, and years of never ending patterns, in a hope to find God.  They come to believe, that God wants us to follow this rule or that.  If we don’t give him what he asked for, he will be unhappy with us.  Some believe he wants us to perform a certain way.  After forty seven years of walking side by side with him, I have come to realize what he needs from us… is simply love.  What he needs… is simply a relationship.  True love means you don’t need rules that are written down.  True love means you will do what is needed… when it is needed… simply because you love.  I don’t wash the dishes because I’m afraid my wife will be unhappy if I don’t.  I do it because I love her.  True love means you don’t find favor with another, simply because they perform to a certain level. You find favor… because they are the one you truly love.

1 Corinthians 3:21 (msg)

I Love You!

Perry

He had no idea the affect he was having on me.  He made an impact on my life, after twenty short minutes of knowing him.  He was simply doing his job with fervor, with zeal.  After many times of being in Juvenile  Detention he joined a program that changed his life.  A year long plan that takes young people, in trouble and teaches them how to work.  How to do life.  How to love and honor others.  He was now back at the restaurant, that houses this program, as a supervisor and lighting up the room with his spirit.  Through tear filled eyes, I hugged this young man and told him how proud I was of who he had become.  Once a stranger… now a young man that had my heart!  You never know, each day, who’s life you are touching and how it can affect them.  Do you touch lives for good… or bad?  Are people better for having crossed your path… or worse?  It doesn’t matter where you are… who you encounter… as followers of Christ it is our job to show love.  To show hope.  To show a fervor for life. To create happiness and caring with everyone, each day. JD learned that lesson, at the young age of twenty.  I think we need more JD’s in this world.

Matthew 5:14-16

I Love You!

Perry

He could have walked away.  He could have stuck by his claim when he said “Woman it is not my time”.  Out of love for his mother, he went ahead and turned the water into wine.  Not just any wine, but the kind you find on the top shelf.  Wine that would cost several hundred dollars a bottle, in today’s world.  Why not cheap wine?  Why not wine that you would buy at the local convenience store?  Because he came to bring life… to bring it to abundance… not just a mediocre existence but life in full glory.  Should we not do the same, because he did and does?  “When you do something do it as if your working for the Lord”.  Christ never once said “I am only going to do a little because that is all you deserve”.  He never said “I am only going to save a few, because not all deserve my grace”. Instead he worked tirelessly, to fulfill the work of his father, and he did it in abundance.  Daily I encounter people who only want to get by.  Some who claim the title “Christian” but only want to do the bare minimum, in an effort to get a reward.  Those that want something for nothing.  In everything you do, whether for money or not, do it in abundance.  Then sit back and watch.  He will provide to overflowing.  Colossians 3:22-25

I Love You!

Perry  

Why do we insist on playing God?  Daily I have conversations with people that rank sin. They judge other peoples lives based on the sin they perceive.  Those who judge, based on one lifestyle or another, feed their egos by thinking that my interpretation of scripture is right, and yours is wrong.  Why do so many of us, presume to know the heart of God, simply because we can quote scripture, one after another?  When you understand the heart of our Savior, you see a man who embraced all people.  A man who took the laws of the time and threw them out the window.  A man who took every human, from every walk of life, and every lifestyle, and made them his own.  Jews… Gentiles… Samaritans… Prostitutes… Evil infested… Lepers… and everyone in between.  He loved them!  Accepted them!  Sat them in a place of honor and formed relationships with them. He cultivated friendships and sat down to eat with them.   It is not about keeping laws.  It is about love… it is about relationships.  Mostly It’s about forgiveness… and it is a place in the heart. 

2 Corinthians 1:24  (msg)

Matthew 7:1-5

I Love You!

Perry    

Her life seemed to be one tragedy after another.  As I listened to her story of abuse… of harm… of the attempt by her ex-husband to kill her… I thought of the goodness of our God.  I use to wonder how our God could allow so much suffering… so much pain.  If he is a loving God? If we are his children?  Then why does he not protect us?  Our God is so good, that he stands with us in the fire, of this broken world.  He walks with us through the pain… through the tragedy.  The cross!  The most disgusting torture device ever created, by the evil side of our nature, he used for glory.  He didn’t save his son… himself… from that tragic device. He embraced it and used it for good. He took his own son and proved that no tragedy, not even the evil of the cross, can keep us from him.   Every season in your life.  Every tragedy you have gone through.  Every illness or loss you have encountered, had a purpose. To be used for good and to bring glory to him.  God is good, all the time, whether you embrace him or not.  She made it through the fire, her ex-husband set to kill her.  The only part of the house that didn’t burn, was the closet she was in!  Our God is Good!!

Matthew 19:17

I Love You!

Perry