dwelling in your goodness

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds— his name is the LORD— be exultant before him. Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land. O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. (psalm 68:4-10, NRSV)

God provides for the needy!

Have you ever wondered how God provides for the needy?

Have you ever given to a charity that helps build houses for people, or gives them jobs, or helps them with education?

Have you ever volunteered your time to work at a clothings store, like Goodwill or similar, or animal shelter, or food pantry?

Have you ever helped someone in need, either by your own works or through support of another entity?

God meets the needs of those in need through us! He uses us as His hands and feet to do His will in this place.

You makea difference by being you and doing the things you do every day! You are a pebble that causes waves in the lake, that show God’s love all around you!

So dwell in the goodness of God all around you and keep causing waves of Love to crash down the barriers that seperate us!

sacrifice of praise

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:1-3;15-16, NRSV)

You could entertain angels…

We should consider all people as we are those people, because God created all of us, so it could easily be us in prison or being tortured…

We offer our sacrifice of praise not by giving a huge sacrifice.

Not by giving up all our posessions and giving everything away to the poor.

Not by making ourselves small…

We give our sacrifice of praise when we do the thigns we do every day for all of God’s peope because that is what God would want us to do. We do it, not because we will get something, but because God gave to us and so we are giving what is not ours inthe first place but is God’s…

So give you sacrifice of praise and love all of God’s people, the way He first loved you!

provide

But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:7-16, NRSV)

Have you ever been where this widow was?

She was gathering sticks for the fire to make her final meal…

She was ready to give up because it looked hopeless. The river was dry and it looked like the time to just cook the last meal and give up the fight.

She was ready for the end.

But what we have in mind isn’t usually what God has in mind. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thougths are not our thoughts…

So the prophet comes and says, “the meal and oil will nto run out.” God will provide!

This is a proven statement to me time and time again. As I look back over my life, O wonder at how we made it through some of the things we faced. But the answer always is God provided!

He always will. It may not be what you imaged, but He will provide, just have faith!

Entertain…

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. (Genesis 18:1-10, NRSV)

I never knew that Abraham was from Wisconsin, but here it is in black and white, he prepared curds and milk and calf and gave them to the visitors to eat! Abraham served curds! Obviously a good Wisconsonite!

But seriously…

Abraham ran…

Men of Abraham’s stature in this time did not run. It was unbecoming. Men of his staure had slaves to do the running. So these visitors were obviously important to him.

But even if they weren’t, Abraham gives us an example of how we should entertain the stranger in our midst. We should open our homes and allow them to relax. We should give to them as God has given to us. We need to be as Christ is to us to the stranger.

Because we never really know who we are entertaining when we entertain the stranger!

As Is

How many of you have ever bought a used car?
Now they actually say you get more value for your dollar if you buy a used car, as a new car loses a big percentage of its value as you drive it off the lot…
As is is a term you might know if you ever bought a used car. It is a legal tern that is “used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. Certain types of implied warranties must be specifically disclaimed, such as the implied warranty of title. “As is” denotes that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying an item in whatever condition it presently exists, and that the buyer is accepting the item “with all faults”, whether or not immediately apparent. This is the classic “buyer beware” situation, where the careful buyer should take the time to examine the item before accepting it, or obtain expert advice.”
And by now you are probably wondering why is pastor writing about used cars… Well I’m not really. I have been listening to Peder Eide’s song As Is lately and I have that term in my head.
As Is is a term as I said above used in a legal sense… But the way it is in my mind is a refreshing easing sense.
You see Peder’s song tells us the problems with our heros in the Bible. And the chorus tells us that God still used them, just as He will use us! God takes us As is, and He chooses us as His. With never ending love transcending all our weaknesses, He uses us as is!
You see He really does know what He is getting, unlike us sometimes when we buy something used, and He still wants you just as you are. God is clear on the warranty He gets with you, and He still takes you.
He chooses you as is, uses you as is and claims you as His.
So go into the world, know that He has got your back!

others…

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSV)

The seperation of the goats and the sheep…

Did you notice as you read this passage that both groups were surprised by the outcome? They did not understand what the Lord was saying to them…

You see for the ones on his right side, they did what they knew was the right thing to do and treated others with dignity and respect, and loved them like they had been loved by Jesus…

And those on his left side only did what they had to in order to get the right things done. They would have visited Jesus in prison, but that person behind those bars wasn’t Jesus…

You see the just of this lesson is we never know who we are entertaining, or whose presence we are in. All people are loved by God just like you, and none of us deserve it… So we need to treat everyone with respect and dignity and show them the love that Jesus would.

So go and treat the last, lost, least and little, just like Jesus would and love them like they are your creation!

a child…

An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” (Luke 9:46-48, NRSV)

To welcome a child in Jesus’ day was completely unheard of! It would be like talking to a woman…

These are things that do not translate into our s 21st century society, where woman and children are seen for the people they are. For us to understand this we have to understand the people women and shildren were in Jesus’ day…

And the short answer there is they were not people, they were property to be seen and not heard. To do what they are suppose to with out getting in the way. And Jesus took a child and brought the child into the midst of the gathering and told them that they have to see this young human just as that, a person, and welcome them and treat them like they would treat Jesus.

We need to welcome every person as if we are welcoming Jesus. That is what we are called to do!

Little ones…

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42, NRSV)

In this passage we see the end of the missionary discourse where Jesus is sending the disciples out.

So Jesus is telling them, and us, whoever welcomes you welcomes me and when they welcome me they welcome the father…

And whoever gives a little one a cup of cold water will not lose their reward.

But who is the little ones?

James chapter 2 tells us to not show partiality. To not show favoritism. We should not treat a well dressed man any differently than a poorly dressed man in our midst. We can not judge by appearances, or give people special treatment. We need to treat all people the same.

The little ones are the people who can not stand up for themselves…

The widow. The Orphan. The outcast. The poor. The last, lost, least, and little. Those who do not have a leg up or an advocate to speak for them.

So do not be like this picture and only show your kindness to some, but look out for who is the little one in your place and time and be an advocate for them. Not because of the reward, but because you might just be welcoming Jesus and by welcoming Jesus, the Father.

I will praise!

But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge. I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued. All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced. (Psalm 71:14-24, NRSV)

All the things the Lord has done for me are in the past, they are a memory, yet they make me want to sing His praises!

I want to sing of the praises of His righteousness!

Of how I was taught by Him in my youth to follow and adore!

How in my gray hairs I am still able to proclaim His wonders and love in the world I am in.

I remember how in my troubles and calamities He walked by my side and let me fall, but never out of His reach! He was always there to catch me and keep me going.

He brought me out of the depths and gave me life and love when I did not deserve them.

Oh How the love of the Lord for me makes me want to shout it from the roof tops and sing it to all the world!