Joanne Lowe's Meditations

GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:6 (King James Version)

The last two days I have been listening to a series of sermons that a pastor friend sent me. I stayed up all night Sunday listening to them because my heart was so touched by what the pastor said in the sermons. One of the sermons touched my hungry heart so much that I cried through the entire sermon.

In one of the sermons, the pastor challenged the congregation to take their shoes off so they could be given to people who need shoes. The pastor said “It’s warm today. You can walk without your shoes to your car.” The people in the congregation that day might not have been able to give any money but they could have given their shoes had they chosen to do so.

To some of us that may sound crazy and not very practical but if I had been there that day when the sermon was preached, I would have gladly taken my shoes off and given them away. It is very important and also urgent that we get out of our comfort zones and reach out to people in need.

We do need to give our money to people who don’t have enough money to buy groceries or pay their rent or their utility bills. However, there is another kind of need that is far more urgent and that is the need to comfort and encourage people who are hurting emotionally.

In one of those sermons, the pastor told about going to a leper colony and hugging the lepers. For those of you who have been on my mailing list for any length of time, you know that I spent over thirty years confined to mental hospitals off and on and in that time not one person hugged me. I had been told so many times as a teenager at school that I was fat, ugly, and stupid, and didn’t have a right to live that I really believed it.

O that we would love Jesus so much, that like that precious pastor who hugged the lepers, we would hug people who are hurting for Jesus. Remember, Jesus hasn’t been here for over two thousand years. He has left us to hug for Him.

When is the last time you hugged someone for Jesus? When is the last time you hugged your spouse or children and told them that the hug wasn’t from you, it was from Jesus? Are you willing to shut off the television, get out of your comfort zone and love others to Jesus?

Remember, the level of our service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him. How much do you love Him and how much are you willing to do for Him? Only you can answer that question. We are either serving Jesus or we are serving satan. The choice is yours. Will you commit today to serve Jesus for the rest of your life?

Joanne Lowe

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com