Ephesians 5:19-20
Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sunday is phone day...
Usually starts in the afternoon around 1 p.m., the calls start coming in.
It is one of my most favorite times of the week.
Being as I am a "Saturday Night" pastor, by the time I get to Sunday, it truly is a day of rest. The week has taken from me and I seek to only rest and be with my wife.
Come the afternoon, I begin to receive calls from those I've come in contact with at some time in the past. Yesterday was no exception. Young man calls from Mississippi asking for help. But it isn't help for himself, he's doing fine, it's help for a young lady who goes to his church. Seems as though she had hidden her addiction for some time, but now the problem has grown and it is beginning to surface for everyone to see. Isn't that the way addiction plays out? We begin thinking that we are in control of the using. We regulate how much and when. We set rules and boundaries for our using. Maybe only on weekends. Definitely no needles. Such gives us a false sense of security as we believe we are taking the steps necessary to control, monitor and direct our using. But addiction is a beast that refuses to be tamed. In fact, it will devour the one who thinks they are in control.
Anyway, this young man called on behalf of his church looking for a program that this young lady could go to. We talked for about a half hour as he shared the victories of his life. Things aren't 100% on top yet, but he has made significant progress in turning his life around. You could hear peace in his voice as he talked. The kind of peace that only comes from God. He thanked me for Rapha and for my being there when he came through the program. Calls like this are payday for me. We shared our goodbye's and I closed our conversation by telling him that I love him.
Later another call came in...
This one was special....
It was from someone I met when I first started at Rapha. I have watched this individual fight a battle that others would have simply surrendered to the darkness and died. Not this one...Oh he's made some boneheaded choices and there have been times I wanted to take him out back of the shed and just slap him till I got tired. But he has never given up. Yesterday he was driving home and just had to call me. He'd had an epiphany. He was telling how he'd gotten to this point when suddenly the tears came. I heard sobs as he tried to tell me what had happen. "God really loves me, doesn't He?" Now this may sound foolish to some, but for this individual the reality of such a thought was being manifested in his life.
In spite of all the dumb, bad choices this man had made.....
In spite of all the trouble he had caused his family....
In spite of the cheating, lying and manipulating....
He was bathed in the knowledge that God loved Him and desired to have relationship with this man.
A new man drove home after our conversation.
If you look closely along the highway, I'm sure you'll find the body of an "Old man" that was done away with because of a heart that turned to Christ.
An old man that use to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate.
That man is dead...
This new man is like a clean slate waiting to be written on by God.
Yep....
It was a good Sunday....
God on you...
mb
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