Do you follow Him?

Blogger's note -
Came across this poignant tale on Facebook; just had to share with you today - the Lord's Day. Perhaps you have read it before; if so, it deserves another look to refresh your faith and refocus your commitment to Him; if not, this could be the beginning of something wonderful in your life of faith.

WELCOME HOME

A pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon-to-be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service. Only three people said hello to him; most looked the other way. He asked people for change to buy food because he was hungry. Not one gave him anything.

He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was told by the ushers that he would need to get up and go sit in the back of the church. He said hello to people as they walked in but was greeted with cold stares and dirty looks from people looking down on him and judging him.
He sat in the back of the church and listened to the church announcements for the week. He listened as new visitors were welcomed into the church that morning but no one acknowledged that he was new. He watched people around him continue to look his way with stares that said you are not welcome here.

Then the elders of the church went to the podium to make the announcement. They said they were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation.

"We would like to introduce you to our new pastor." The congregation stood up and looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.

The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle.

That's when all the clapping stopped and the church was silent.

With all eyes on him, he walked up the altar and reached for the microphone. He stood there for a moment and then recited so elegantly, a parable of Jesus from the Bible...

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.’" [Matthew 25:34-45]

After he recited this, he introduced himself as their new pastor and told the congregation what he had experienced that morning.

Many began to cry and bow their heads in shame. "Today I see a gathering of people here but I do not see a church of Jesus. The world has enough people that look the other way. What the world needs is disciples of Jesus that can follow this teachings and live as he did. When will YOU decide to become disciples?

He then dismissed service until the following Sunday as his sermon had been given.

Blogger's closing note:
My prayer for you today - May God bless you today and every day, and may he encourage you to be a follower, not a fan - Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

Let's all 'do good works'

Today’s verse of the day from Bible Gateway is  
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As I read this verse, penned by the Apostle Paul in his letter to believers in Ephesus, a city in modern-day Turkey, the folks of God’s Country Cooperative Parish (GCCP) came to mind.

Locally, GCCP volunteers work hard every summer to fulfill Paul’s directive.

GCCP, which brings together United Methodist churches in Newberry, Paradise, Hulbert, Engadine, McMillan, Grand Marais and Germfask, coordinates with Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams from throughout Michigan and the rest of the country to assist local folks in need.

This group of Christian volunteers takes time from their summer vacations to make minor repairs to homes located in the GCCP area. VIM groups of United Methodists, coordinated by GCCP church and community worker Randy Hildebrandt, share their expertise throughout the 2,500 square mile area that encompasses these churches that operate under the GCCP umbrella.

According to the GCCP administrator’s Facebook page, “We are happy to host mission teams from all over Michigan and beyond to assist in sharing God's love with our hands and feet in minor home repairs - all summer long. We share God's love with a variety of outreach ministries in our seven communities.”

Basically, GCCP’s Mission Statement says it all, “God’s Country Cooperative Parish is to bring together people of the seven churches to provide mutual love and support for a greater impact serving Christ, community, and mission to all.”

Want to know more about this Christian team of workers, find them on Facebook by clicking here.  Be sure to take time to peruse the photographs from this summer’s projects. I promise, you will be impressed.

Perhaps each and every one of us can find a way, however small, to fulfill Paul’s directive as the folks of the United Methodist Church have done this summer.

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way.

It's been a while...

...Over two months to be exact, but I am now back at my computer with yet another attempt to share the goodness that is faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today I came across a verse I had not thought of in quite a while. Psalm 46:1 (NIV) reads, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

So very true, agreed?

God is there when everyone else fails you. God is there through the good times. God is there through the bad times.

Bottom line, God is always with those who profess Him. God is always there for those who accept His one and only Son as their savior.

There have been times when I have doubted his presence, which is the reason I stopped blogging for a while. When a seven-year-old is taken from this earth as the result of a senseless accident, it gave me a jolt that I am still feeling.

In fact, as a result of Taylor’s death and my father’s untimely passing, I stopped attending church.

Even though I read my devotional and the associated scriptures every single night without fail, I did not feel like I absorbed anything from this ritual. It was more a habit than anything. It really was not the spiritual experience I had found in the past through Our Daily Bread.

I also continued to play with the Joy Bells at Newberry United Methodist Church, but the “joy” was missing from my participation. I was having a hard time feeling any joy at all, much less any spiritual uplift from my faith in Jesus and my commitment to sharing his message in song or through this blog or through the associated faith-based Facebook pages - Retreat to Belief and Good News Beacon.

I goes without saying, I was in a rut - a big, deep, muddy rut.

Then one day it hit me – by excluding my faith in God from my life I was inviting a joyless life. I was disengaging myself from the one thing that mattered most to me – Jesus and his message of salvation.

I have since returned to church and today, started blogging again about what really matters – love of Jesus and faith in Him and the Father.

I will admit that I am not at the level of faith I enjoyed when I began the Retreat to Belief blog and its associated website, www.retreattobelief.com, but I am on the road to restoring my faith to heretofore unheard of levels.

Good Lord willing, I’ll be there soon.

In the meantime, I offer this Psalm of praise for your consideration and absorption.

Psalm 46 (NIV)
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.