Devotional 1-26-13

Sunday, a little late in the service, a young man came into our service. I noticed his back pack and his appearance. I knew that he was a "street person." He sat in the back. When we were taking up the collection of the money, I saw Lee Oxley pass the plate to him. The young man reached into his right pocket and pulled out a few coins and put them in Lee's offering plate. Lee patted him on the back to thank him for his meager offering. That touched my heart. On the way back from presenting our church’s offering, I stopped and told him my name and asked his. I shook his hand and noticed that his finger tips were black, probably from frost bite. I invited him to stay for lunch and told him to find me. I also noticed that Ann Ratcliff spoke to him several times, I assume to help him with our worship service.

After church, to my surprise, he was there for lunch. I immediately invited him to sit with me to eat. As luck would have it, Chuck Gruber sat near him too. I just started talking to him by telling him that I was glad he was with us and between Chuck and me, we gently got to know him a little bit.

He lived in Michigan and was headed to Florida to live with a friend (the friend died). He stated that he could not stay at the City Mission but was able to eat there. We talked about his family. He has a sister that he talks to and a grandmother that he was not able to see at Christmas (he bowed his head at this as he said he knew she may not see another Christmas). He probably could not stay at the Mission due to the alcohol that I smelled on his breath. He finally told me that he has been living in his tent on the river bank. He comes to Common Grounds. I invited him to come back next Sunday as we will have soup for him to eat.

Did he smell good? Not. He smelled of wood smoke from the river where he lives in a tent and a hint of alcohol. Did I go to church expecting to meet him? Not. Have I thought of him ever since I met him? Everyday.

His key statement to me was when I talked to him about his choices in his life. Simply he said it is freedom. It’s not up to me to make judgments but acknowledge having met him. Praying for him and others as it is very cold.

Jean Ramsey

Devotional 1-18-13

Name-Dropping

My eldest nephew currently works as a recruiter for a nonprofit agency which helps under-privileged children. Though it would be difficult to support himself in this job for the long term, he is perfectly content and I’m proud of him for it.

What do you think of my nephew? Good kid, right? And how does my description of him make me look? In spite of my many shortcomings, it might shed a more positive light on me because I spent time praising someone else’s good attributes. Why don’t we make more of a conscious effort to talk about the good people around us? It seems that we frequently mention or speak highly of people because of their popularity more than because of their conduct. How often do we drop a name for a more positive purpose?

The first of Jesus’ recorded miracles was in John 2, verses 1-11. He, as well as his mother and the disciples, had been invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee. In this familiar text, Jesus changes large jars of water into wine. I recently read a comment on this scripture saying that Jesus possibly attended this wedding because the hosts wanted the other guests to see that he and his disciples were a part of their lives.

Jesus may have been invited to that wedding to be a physical representation of the wedding family’s ideals. If your acquaintances were to describe your virtues based on others you seem to admire, how would you fare? I wonder about myself and now feel a need to look back through my Facebook history. From the books we are seen reading in waiting rooms to the bumper stickers on our cars, we are showing others who we might be. Add to that the way we act when trying to impress someone.

Without the physical, tangible Christ to invite to our homes, we need other ways to reveal our personal association with Him. An additional—and sometimes more effective—way to draw others to God is to tell others about the great people in our lives. In doing something this, I feel inner peace and see the meaningful relationships in my life. I hope that you are blessed in the same way.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 1-11-13

MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEART TO THE LORD

I love to sing. In fact, I have been singing since I was seven or eight years old, mostly in church choirs and with groups such as the Musical Arts Guild (which will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary this year).

Frequently, just when I need some encouragement or comfort the words of a hymn will come to me. The music of a hymn gets our attention but it is the words that can mean so much.

This morning the words of the hymn, "O Jesus, I have promised..." came to me just when I needed help and guidance. It surprised me that I remembered the words since I have not sung that hymn in years. I am convinced that the remembrance of the words came from Jesus Himself. It was His blessing to me for this day..

What a wonderful source of help and encouragement we find in our hymnal and in Ephesians 5:19, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making melody in your hearts to the Lord". Don't worry about "making melody", just speak to yourself in the words. What a blessing they can be.

Jean Dean