Feed His Sheep

A headline in yesterday’s news reads “Ogden man gets up to 5 years for burrito theft”. I’m sure many people read the story and thought well this guy is a habitual offender, it’s time the justice system threw the book at him. As humans we instinctively judge people we don’t know based on “facts” that may or may not be represented accurately or completely by the media. I have a personal experience to add to this particular story. If I were to title my headline it would read “Self proclaimed Christian turns hungry man away, calling him a ‘bum’”.

My ex-husband and I were in the Great Harvest Bread Co. on 25th Street in Ogden a few years ago getting breakfast. This same gentleman in the headlines ducked his head in the door and asked the young man helping us if he could have a slice of bread. The young man replied “they’re fifty cents”, the homeless man politely said “ok” and was on his way. I immediately kicked myself out loud for not being faster so I could buy the hungry man some food. The young worker replied “that’s ok, he’s just a bum”, then went on to tell us how excited he was about his upcoming church mission. My ex and I had quite a discussion after that about how misinformed this young man was about the gospel he was so excited to be preaching. Whether the young man was just following store policy on a street known for homeless loitering is not the issue. What offended me was a fellow Christian saying someone is sub-human and doesn’t deserve kindness. I have remembered that event every time someone needs assistance that requires a quick reaction on my part. I never want to regret again that I could’ve helped someone but didn’t grab the opportunity.

I was driving to work early one morning recently and spotted a young female pulled off to the side of the road with her hazard lights flashing. I immediately thought “I wish I could help her but I don’t know how”, then I thought “call Highway Patrol”. My next thought was “no don’t interfere”. I pondered for about five seconds and pulled out my phone and reported it to UHP. That lady will never know that another single female called in on her behalf out of concern, but I empathized with her and assumed she was probably stressed and maybe wasn’t thinking clearly. Knowing someone cares about you in times of crisis is sometimes all that is needed to bring back peace, focus, and a resolve to keep going. When I am the recipient of an act of service I am reminded that God is watching out for me and sending people my way to bring me His blessings.

Are you one of the people God will entrust to carry out His work? It is easy to fall into a habit of only performing service when it is asked of us by our church, our family, or another organization. Developing that natural instinct to seek opportunities to serve takes time and effort on our parts. God will test you by sending you smaller tasks like calling Highway Patrol or buying a man some food, and if you prove yourself worthy you will start receiving more and more impressions to help others, both in big and small ways. The true test is once you start receiving the impressions on a regular basis will you obey them? It sounds daunting, but really it is the true joy of the Lord to feel His love for others and be able to carry it out on His behalf. Doing so not only increases our love for our fellow humans but for God as well.

Am I perfect about following through on all the impressions I receive? Not hardly, but I am more aware of them the more I come to have a personal relationship with Jesus. One thing that has helped me be more observant of service opportunities is to specifically thank God in my prayers for the acts of kindness I received that day and ask Him to bless the individuals who provided the service. This can prepare us to be His servants because we recognize how much He relies on us as humans to help each other and we begin developing a desire to pass along the service we have received.

Colossians 3:23-25 states, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as a reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” A kind deed to a hungry man might have kept him from serving a prison sentence for stealing two burritos…or not, who knows? Ours is not to judge the outcome, but to act based on the present circumstances. Often we are prompted with a feeling of compassion toward someone in need and immediately start rationalizing why we shouldn’t help them because they are probably going to use the money for drugs, or they should get a job, or why can’t they take care of their own family, or we shouldn’t interfere, or any of the other quick judgments that can be made. That initial feeling of compassion is God’s love for that person being sent to your heart. The judgments that follow do not come from God. It is up to us to decide which to heed. Of course there will be times when it is impossible to act but if we are doing our best I think that’s all that is required.

As a side note, my ex returned to Great Harvest a few months later and asked how the young man’s mission was going and was informed by another employee that he had returned home after serving only a couple months of his two year mission. We didn’t want to judge the young man but wondered if perhaps his spiritual maturity level had something to do with his decision. When you are mature in your own knowledge of the gospel, it is so much easier to reserve judgment of others and to show them the same type of love and compassion Christ Himself would’ve given while he was here on earth. As Christ said, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Do your thoughts and actions towards others demonstrate your love for God?

Food for thought.

Ogden Man Gets Up to 5 Years for Burrito Theft

Fear Not

I was planning to write about a different topic for this post but it seems that God is directing me to write about fear.  I received some texts this morning from a friend asking how to overcome fear and I think this topic is one that all of us need to be reminded of on a regular basis.  First of all let me start out by saying that SATAN IS REAL and he wants to enslave you.  In order to overcome fear we need to know who we are dealing with.  Satan has been called many things, including: Lucifer, The Father of All Lies, the Devil, Destroyer, Adversary, the Antichrist, Enemy, Serpent, Son of Perdition, Murderer, Liar, Prince of Darkness, Tempter…and last but not least The God of this World.  Yes, Satan himself is the God of our Earthly world.  Does that mean he has all power in this world?  Of course not because only God the Father is omnipotent, but it means that Lucifer and his followers have been unleashed to tempt and to try us while we are here on earth. Christ Himself acknowledges this when He is talking to his disciples before his crucifixion. John 14:30 reads “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming.  He has no claim on me”.  If Satan has no claim on Christ, that means he will have no claim on us if we follow Christ.  There are so many examples in the bible of God telling his servants not to fear. He tells Abraham in Genesis 15 to fear not because God is his shield.  In Matthew, God compares himself to a hen gathering her chicks under her wings for protection.  He tells Isaiah, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).  What God expects in return for His divine protection is that we follow Him.

I love John 14 so much, because Jesus at the very end of His life when He could’ve been consumed by His own fear is setting His disciples’ fears at ease.  They are terrified to face a world without their Master to lead them, and Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. They claim they will be lost without Him and He tells them He is the way and that anyone who believes in Him will do his works. He has given all of us a perfect example of how to act, a roadmap for how to live our lives. It is one of the greatest blessings of the Savior’s ministry that He came here to earth as a man and showed us the way. He didn’t just tell His prophets what to tell us to do, He did it Himself perfectly. We only have to do our individual best to follow His example, because we can never be as perfect as Him. The disciples had the amazing privilege of serving side by side with the living Christ, and they were naturally distraught that He was going to leave them. He is filled with so much love for them and for all of us that he gave us the Holy Spirit, a Helper, the Spirit of Truth, to be with us as our companion because He cannot be here physically with us (see John 14:15). How then can we fear when Christ Himself has given us all the tools to overcome fear? If we remain in fear, we are actually telling God we don’t believe Him when he says He can save us and protect us. It is a natural human instinct to fear, and that is exactly what Satan is counting on. If he can get us to forget who we trust in, if he can get us to think we have to rely on ourselves and not God, then he has got us in a very good place for temptation, fear, discouragement, doubt, etc. to take control of our lives.

It is up to us to choose whom to follow, and there are only two choices – follow God or follow Satan.  Jesus in speaking to the Pharisees stated, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).”  The Pharisees are a perfect example of following a set of rules rather than following Christ.  They had the Living Word physically present in front of them to teach them but they blindly held fast to their written traditions.  We do not have the living Christ here in physical form with us but we do have His word and we have the amazing power of prayer. I challenge you, the next time you start to feel fear, get on your knees and pray sincerely, tell God all about your fears and your concerns. And then get up and read the Bible. I promise you that a feeling of peace will wash away any fear and doubt you previously felt. It has happened to me so many times I can’t count them all.

If we choose to follow God, it means we accept Him as our Savior and we accept His will in our lives.  We are choosing to love God more than anything or anyone else on earth. If we do this, we will find true peace and the fear of man or of disaster or of death will no longer have a place in us.  Peace and fear cannot dwell in the same place, so the only way to remove fear is to replace it with peace.  I personally do not watch the local and most of the national news. It is full of fear based information and sensationalism. It is so common in society to see fear being used as a marketing tool, Satan really is the god of this world and the evidence is everywhere. I am not saying be ignorant and act like nothing bad is happening, but be discerning in what you listen to and read, and decide for yourself what is cause for concern and what is simply hype. And always remember that God is over all, and that He will protect us from evil if we love and serve Him. In contrast to all the horrible attributes and names given to Satan, Jesus says of Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  The superlatives given to Jesus in the bible include: King of Kings, Messiah, Emmanuel, Advocate, Almighty, Alpha & Omega, Arm of the Lord, Author of Eternal Salvation, Beloved Son, Blessed, Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, Creator, Deliverer, God’s Elect, First Begotten, Holy One, Judge of Israel, Just One, King of Kings, the Lamb of God, Lord of Lords, Mediator, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Rock of Salvation, the True Vine…and most important, Savior. That is all I really need to know to find lasting peace in this life, is that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that He died for me. That He overcame temptation and death and that He suffered for my sins, and that if I follow Him I will be perfected through Him and be able to return to live with God. If you know this, fear will not have room in your life. I pray that you will be able to find this peace for yourself.