First of all let me express my apologies for skipping yesterday. I wish I could say that I had a great excuse, but I can't. I made a quick trip to Dallas to see my ENT, (Ear, Nose, Throat doctor) had lunch with a friend, and drove back home for a dinner apointment. So really no good excuses. I will say if your are ever by the Gallaria go to Grand Lux Cafe. Look on the menu for stuffed potato rolles and order them immediately! You might want to go ahead and call the paramedics due to your cholesteral sky rocketing as you eat them, but it is worth the risk.
This morning I recieved a call from a guy that has become a close friend over the past 7 years. He helped us build out the Wal-Mart, he helped me build my house, and most importantly he helped us build an amazing church family.
His mother - in - law passed away unexpectantly yesterday. As you can imagine it has thrown the family for a loop. He called from the funeral home a few moments ago looking for a place to have the funeral because their previous plans fell through. Before he could even tell me what he wanted I told him we would plan on having the services at Journey on Saturday, at 10:00. the next thing I heard was a cracked, teared filled, voice thanking me for caring.
Here is the problem though - I cared for him, but many times I simply don't care. Talk about something that doesn't reflect Christ!
Here are a few disjointed thoughts running through my mind.
- It is easy to become distracted, enamoured, etc. with large scale ministry rather than caring for individuals.
- If I am running thousands of people in the church I pastor, but don't take time to meet individuals needs am I really reflecting Christ?
- Crisis's usually don't happen at expected times.
- Jesus literally hurt for others - what disciplines in my life do I practice to make sure I don't become callous to those in our world that are hurting?
- Caring for others takes time and can screw up my schedule.
In today's devotional for "One Life" we learned about love being an action. As I read my devo I prayed that I would put love into action and I did with Chad. The challenge is, what will I do with the rest of my day, week, etc.? Will I allow my heart to be callous or will I take the time to care?
Go to www.journeychurch.tv to download your devo.
I know how you feel. Often times when I am tempted to isolate myself and reject caring I reflect on 1 John 3:18 (LB) "Little children let us not just say we love one another, but really show it by our actions." Thanks for the honesty!
Posted by: tommy | August 24, 2007 at 03:56 PM