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God’s plan at the pumps…

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As a retired police officer, correctional officer and administrator of both juvenile and adult criminal populations, my friend Ed is no stranger to confrontation, nor has he ever been shy of its approach. I don’t have space on this blog to tell you how the Lord has used this man in the ministry and not because he’s wonderful (although he is), not because he’s talented (although he is) but because he’s willing.

After leaving the adult prison facility for which he is now Chaplain, he pulled into a 7Eleven Convenience Store for fuel. And then it happened… he noticed the nicely dressed man and his children exiting the store. It was a Wednesday night and Ed figured that they were likely going to church. It was then that God spoke to his heart, “Talk to them.” It was a gentle nudge in the beginning but grew more demanding as Ed argued with God that surely this man would think he was nuts to stop him and his children on a cold winter evening when they were obviously on their way somewhere. But after a brief debate, Ed surrendered to the Lord’s desire…

“Hey are you a Preacher?” Ed asked.

“Why yes I am he replied…”

And then God unfolded the plan.

Ed had been tirelessly working as Chaplain to a new facility of inmates with groups arriving each week needing his attention. He studied, preached, provided counseling and handled the administrative duties of his position as well. His active farm took its toll physically on his body and the pressure was mounting. He knew he needed help but unfamiliar with the location of the prison, and very much understanding the accountability of ministering the gospel “correctly”, Ed wasn’t about to hand the reigns over to just anyone.

But God had a plan.

The Preacher who Ed spoke to at the 7Eleven was a part of ministry team looking for a mission field opportunity in their area. Within a few minutes Ed was invited to meet their team; a doctrinally sound group of believers who have now offered to take on his Prison Bible studies as their mission.

They were looking, Ed was asking and God set up the meeting.

But… if Ed had not being willing to hear the Holy Spirit when He said “Speak.” God’s business would have been undone and Ed would have continued on, worn and tired.

Listen…

God may be just about to bless you.

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The truth about the lies – Media today

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Fixty-six percent (56%) of all voters in a 2013 poll done by http://www.rasmussenreports.com regard the news reported by the media as at least somewhat trustworthy, but that includes just six percent who think it is very trustworthy. Forty-two percent don’t trust the news media with 12% who believe the news it reports is not at all trust worthy.

So what’s real and what’s not?

I was asked last night why I didn’t watch the news. I’m certainly of the 12% who’s jaded by the media’s drive to report news with a political spin, left or right, and the infighting of network staff reminded me too much of churches. I can get opinioned news on the street and as for the fighting it’s readily avaialbe as well. So I turned it off. My husband and coworkers watch the news and if anything is of interest to me generally they bring it up. Or someone in social media gets on a rant about it and I’ll follow it up by an even less trustworthy source, the internet. I do trust my friend Dewey Moede who reports for www.fggam.org, a Christian ministry out of New Mexico and if a major disaster is going on I’ll tune in to a local station, usually WSAZ. For which I received a wonderful email from one my favorite anchors about their relationship with Christ.

I’m not anti media, I’m anti “anti.” The hostility toward views not their own is a real turn off for me and so I turned the off. Their negative views do not change the facts that I know to be true. The Bible reads as a modern day newspaper.

Matthew 24

Vereses 3-5 ~ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Have we not seen it?

Verses 7-9 ~ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

It’s reported that greater than 100,000 Christians are killed each year for their faith.

Read on…

Verses 10-14 ~ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

How many churches are across the world preaching false doctrine? Too many to count. How many denominations spend more time fighting with each other than spreading the gospel? Too many! And because of it people choose to believe nothing. But fear not. The truth is there and look how far it’s traveling. Scripture says it would be preached to all the world, and so we see that unfold today.

Read for yourself the entire chapter of 24 in Matthew and study it out and you’ll discover that it reads in great detail the headlines of today’s news.

So the answer as to why I don’t watch news? I do. It’s the Word of God. And it’s coming to life.

Jesus’s words in verse 33 sum it up quite well  ~ So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

He’s at the door. I’m not saying when, because the Bible is clear to say that no man knows, it’s also clear to say that we need to be ready. So, are you? Have questions or comments, ask them below or email talk2shari@gmail.com.

 

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The Mess of Success. Its bull.

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Every day I strive to be a better Shari. Every day I feel like an epic fail. I have the grandest of intentions (the road to Hell is not the only one paved with them). Whatever project that I’m involved with chaos quite often ensues, just ask my church family. My house and my car are organized clutter. Meaning I know it’s there, I just often have to dig for it. My husband says if I’m in an accident it won’t be what’s outside the car that will kill me. I’m blessed with family and friends of high tolerance, but why do they do it? I think their reason is because among the mess has been an occasional success.

Proverbs 14:4 says Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

This verse was pointed out to me through a sermon I listened to a few weeks ago and I’ve not been able to get it out of my head. Mainly because every time I get in my car or walk into my house I think “Oh yeah, I meant to take care of that.” But the flip side of that is when my feet hit the floor at 4:30 a.m. each day my mind is on the ministry. I’m not saying I’m a super saint, it’s just who I’ve been since salvation in 1996. And this verse summed it up for me… there’s a mess in the ministry.

Your mess is likely different. But I can almost guarantee if you’re serving God there’s a mess around you somewhere. Relationships get messy in the ministry, even though you’re supposed to have all the answers. If you have children they’re likely imperfect and highly visible to church critics. Your finances are not what they should be, even though you try to live life biblical. Perhaps your issue is a quick temper or lack of discipline in your life. The point is if you’re in the ministry there is likely a mess somewhere in your life that makes you wonder why God chooses to use you at all. Or am I the only one?

It’s not hard to imagine what the stall of an ox is filled with or what it smells like. It has to be shoveled out and even then it leaves a trail of nastiness behind. But the labor of the field wouldn’t be getting done if the ox wasn’t in the stall. So before you (or I) are too hard on ourselves for the messes in life, remember… that mess just might be what equals success. The world doesn’t need to see perfect people in the ministry (Hallelujah!!!!). They need to see real people working through their day.

So, shovel out the barn and head to the field. You know what the Lord says, “for they are white already to harvest.” – John 4:35

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A Call for Prayer for my Sweet Friends…

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Relief effort begins after Philippine typhoon

This is how God works. Country girl (me) who seldom traveled to neighboring states falls in love with God and then discovers the awesomeness of God’s people and their diversity. So God branches her out through a thriving Bible believing church and Bible College and introduces her to the President of Marietta Bible College and Pastor, Dr. Myron Guiler. Marietta Bible College is a mission based training college that brings foreign students to the United States, trains them and returns them to their country. Through their affiliates they receive support and are able to minister in their field with a little help from their friends in the U.S.A.

Because I’m tech savvy (just enough to be dangerous) I began working for the college to get students registered through the federal portal that brings them into the country. Through that relationship my love for the foreign students grew much deeper and I guess didn’t go un-noticed. Dr. Guiler at the end of class one year announced that I’d been invited to go with his ministry team to the Philippine Islands and see the work first hand. And what a humbling experience it was…

I watched as 5,000 Filipino’s gathered under a newly built outdoor revival stadium for two weeks, in the heat of the day through the calm of the night for 12 hours they sat and listened to the gospel every day. Unencumbered by the heat, or the sleeping conditions (concrete bungalows) they worshipped and the altar would be lined with literally thousands pouring their hearts out to Christ. I’ve never witnessed anything like it. I was treated like royalty and cried for days, and still cry thinking about those precious times. I was privileged to sing there and left a piece of my heart when I headed home. I’ll never forget them.

So… when I see the devastation of the typhoon, my heart is so very broken. I’d love to catch the next flight out of here and minister to them the way they ministered to me. But alas, it must be from afar.

Please join with me in prayer for not only the few listed below, but the thousands of hurting, displaced people in that land. I love them, and I love you. Thanks!

Pastor Fidel Racal’s brand new church building is gone, plus his own house and car. Praise God the people of his church were not harmed. Four or five other Independent Baptist Mission for Asia churches in that area were damaged and one church in Ormoc. These are friends through Marietta Bible College who were trained there and then returned home to minister. Please pray for God’s mercy and a quick healing of that land. Pray for comfort and most of all pray that even through this tragedy our Lord will be glorified by seeing souls saved. None of us are promised another breath. It can happen here as well.

When sorrow strikes a foreign land

And hearts are broken deep

Their images burn in my mind

And cause my soul to weep.

Yes the tears fall from my eyes

But deep in the well in they grow

For at the very core of me

Is God Who makes it so.

He placed within this heart of mine

a love for all His kin

Those who live great miles apart

And those in the town I’m in.

I long for the day when sorrows gone

No tears will be shed in that place

But God will soothe our trouble hearts

Until He we see Him face to face.

Shari L. Johnson (11/12/13)

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Are You Among the Chosen?

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If you are a child of God, then yes. But chosen for what?

As a child I was not the most athletically inclined child in the school. As a matter of fact I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a ball of any kind. I wanted to be; I just didn’t have it in me, nor did I have the willpower to work for it, I didn’t like it that much.  So needless to say when it came to picking teams it was a sad time. I wasn’t the last to be chosen, hallelujah there were a few kids worse than me, but I ranked among them.

I grew up with a few internal scars from having not been one of the “chosen” in many different peer groups. One of which I really wanted to be chosen for was singing. And to top it all off, God paired me with a best friend who could bring the house down when she opened her mouth. I on the other hand was at or below average so I was content at being a friend of the chosen. Batman’s Robin so to speak. If I couldn’t be the hero, the hero’s best friend would suffice.

And then I grew up thinking that no more would I be in constant competition for this role or that. I would be free to be me. The trouble with that, I’d spent so much of my life being a sidekick that I didn’t know who I was. So I resorted to the familiar and went the way the wind blew with little guidance or direction, while deep within me beat the heart of passion for venues yet explored for fear of failure or rejection.

I was the frozen chosen. Not cold… just immovable.

Then I met the Team Captain.

Tears still well up in my soul when I think back to the day Jesus dislodged my sidekick mentality. The idea that I could actually be one of the elect with purpose. No way! The idea was so foreign to me. I was the nobody. Now, all of a sudden out of nowhere, I found myself standing before hundreds of people, belting out songs, teaching the gospel, making people laugh and more importantly, love. Not love me… that wasn’t as important as getting them to know and love the One who loved me.

I wanted them to understand that they too were chosen.

Acts 9:15 speaks of Paul.

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Paul probably was the cool kid in school. But there’s a vast difference between being chosen by the people, and chosen of God. The people will turn on you in heartbeat and their love is vane and fleeting. But when you’re chosen by God, it’s for a lifetime and with purpose unimaginable!

I fully believe, and quite often share it with youth, that there are talents that God refuses to allow the world to have.

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say as a boast, because believe me when I tell you I’m my own worst critic. But no one heard my voice as anything but at or below average until I got saved. And someone once said to me what I also thought when I opened up my mouth to sing for the Lord, “Where did that come from?” Nobody was as shocked as me when I discovered that I was a vessel of purpose.

It is why I now am so passionate to tell others that they too have been chosen. For what? I have a feeling you know.

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Why I’m Excited That It’s Sunday

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I see the confusion on their face or possibly it’s doubt. They wouldn’t dare call me a liar, but they might think that I’m slightly psychotic; at the very least I must be someone without a life or at best an overzealous religious nut that must have been spared a great disaster. I treat Sunday as game day like an NFL coach (not a fan) treats Superbowl Sunday. It’s that important. Our pregame show is way better and there’s little chance of a wardrobe malfunction. Let me tell you why Sunday is so important to me and why if it’s not in your life you really are missing out.

Hebrews 10:25

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

It’s “that” verse. The one they quote when they want to lay a guilt trip on you for having missed seven weeks in a row. Did you read that with a real sarcastic voice in your head, because that’s how I wrote it? I don’t use this verse very often when trying to guilt (I mean encourage) my family to go to church. They’ve likely heard it. But that doesn’t take any power away from it.

Lets you and I unpack it and then maybe by the time we get everything strung out on the bed, you’ll understand how great a trip church is.

Not forsaking…We’ve likely all been forsook. It’s that time when someone you loved stood you up. Can you remember it? That nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach that you didn’t rank high enough to be remembered. After everything you’d done to prepare! Are you kidding? Yeah, that’s God on Sunday morning. Scroll back to creation. The first forsaking.

Genesis 3:8

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

This was the first missed church service, and it’s gone downhill from there. God had created these two beautiful people, He’d loved them and was in fellowship with them every day. And then there was separation. It all happened because of a lie. Satan had convinced Eve there was something better. Really? Something better than the One Who spoke the world into existence?

That’s what you’re missing when you don’t attend Church. Everyone is constantly searching for answers when the “Answerer” is a few miles down the road. Maybe next door. You want to know why your life is falling apart…it’s there. You want to know why bad things happen to good people… it’s there. You want to know why the people you love let you down… the answer’s there. Maybe not in one visit, it may be a two part sermon, but I’ve had those questions answered. So I know. Let’s go on…

I’m going to have to quit being so chatty.

The assembling of ourselves together. That’s your very own support group.

As the manner of some is. That’s the crazy people. Who do it again and again every Sunday because it just keeps getting better! Every week they find an answer to a question they may or may not have asked. It’s what makes sense in the world.

but exhorting one another. Exhort is encouragement and who couldn’t use some of that! It’s to press on to go on. I’m not happy all the time. There’s 20 minutes a day that I may fall apart, or go into a puddle of tears. Just 20 minutes? No, it’s been more, but since salvation in 1996 God has been so very real to me, even on the worst of days there’s been few puddles and pieces. Because God, and His people keep me together. They encourage me to go on and give me hope because they too have puddles and pieces days and I see them win victory and know that I can too. They give me words of encouragement, or actions of exhortation because that’s what the people of God do if you’re in the right church.

Is there a wrong one? If you leave feeling worse than you did when you came. Maybe.

and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. That’s game day. That’s the one I go to church for on Sunday because we don’t know if this is going to be the day when Jesus splits those skies open and then the game is over. You’ve missed your opportunity to spend eternity with the Creator and your family. You’re doomed to eternal separation. That’s why I’m excited about Church and why it’s important. Because I want everyone who loves me (or not) to know that I believe the Word of God, and the Word of God says  in John 3:18 ~ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

It’s real. That’s why I’m excited. I’ve got a home in Gloryland where my Dad, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Brother and people I’ve never met are waiting. It’s a home without a light bill… that’ll put a shout on you! A few more than my standard 500- 700 words, but not even a drop in the bucket for what I feel about Sunday mornings and going to church. Come and find out why…

If you’ve been to one that didn’t suit you,  pray… and try again. Ask God to show you the right one.

Now that I’ve unpacked, I hope you understand that life’s always a mess, but the final destination is perfection. That’s worth waiting for.

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A Very Social Gospel

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It was a rant on Facebook yesterday that absolutely made my stomach roll over from a woman that I don’t even know; an attack on God. Through profanity she spewed words of hatred provoked by words of gratitude for which her Facebook friends where posting for November. She isn’t one of my social media “friends”; I came by her post through someone else pointing it out to me, and my first reaction was to shut her down in my mind. She wasn’t someone I would likely have contact with. And I didn’t know if I would even have the words to say that could change her mind should we ever meet. And then as God so often does, she is there in my mind this morning and I’m not shutting her down I’m praying for her; that a friend of God will cross her path today. Or maybe perhaps through this post or face to face, I’ll have the chance to tell her why it is that I and others feel so blessed.

I don’t know why it should surprise me that people turn away from God, look at Israel.  God’s chosen nation, delivered out of Pharaoh’s hand, pillars of fire, manna from Heaven, water from the rock and yet still they murmured. Imagine if they’d have had the tool of Social Media!

SMH, Rather be DOA by the Lord, TISNF, Egypt rocked. BBL, walking in the wilderness S2D.

For you non “Facebookers” – Shaking my head, I’d rather be dead on arrival by the Lord, this is so not fair. Egypt was such fun. Be Back later, walking in the wilderness starving to death.

The Real version: Exodus 16:3 ~ And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

These words came from people who had seen God up close and personal. So there should be no shock when they are spewed forth from someone who may or may not have been raised in a Christian home. Who may work with the murmur-ers, or perhaps is in the battle of a lifetime, and cannot understand why a merciful God would allow it. How do you explain that? How do you explain to someone in 140 characters or less (Twitters maximum post) Who God is, What He Does, and Why it happens?

You can’t. God is beyond what we can imagine, so how could you possible sum Him up in 140 characters? You can however be the link.

My blogs generally run from 500 to 700 words. Too many for a social media post. But with just a few words I can, through the power of social media, draw you into my blog where you’ll read the 500-700 words.  The same is true when dealing with a lost person. If I can just drop a few Words of interest, perhaps they’ll be drawn into a deeper desire to know the Christ of Who I speak. So what are those words? There is no magic conjunction, but there is a commonality.

Christ spoke:

Acceptance to the outcast.

Peace to the broken.

Healing to the sick.

Provision to those without.

His words were circumstance specific. And so must ours be.

To the woman who spewed venomous words I must have the antidote. She spoke hatred, I have to speak love. She questioned God, I must prove Him. That’s how it works. It won’t likely happen with one happenstance visit. But if over time, little by little she sees the love of God working in my life she just may be drawn in to know more about this man called Jesus.

So… would Jesus use social media? He was a very social Guy, so maybe – “BBL BFF. Really! Be ready!

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Black Friday Balance

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We are just a few weeks away from black Friday shopping when the United States loses all of its ‘red sticker rationale;’ Meaning: if it’s got a sale tag, it’s a bargain. Only to realize once the receipt is in hand that this is not so much the case. But it’s truly more about the hunt and snare. We want the latest and greatest and we’re bringing up a generation who expects and demands it from not only their parents but the retail world, and they’re happy to oblige. I watched my grandson and granddaughter play with left over hardwood flooring last night for an hour or better. For Luke it was a construction project; for Paityn it was her “Balwance” beam. Yes I know it’s misspelled, it was just too cute. At my kitchen table where Luke and I played ‘Go Fish’, the television broadcasted a toy commercial and immediately Luke seriously needed it. Paityn had the new Build a Bear catalog and at two years old was in awe over the selection and it was fun to listen to her little girl dream about the bear with the magic wand. Just moments before both had been satisfied with what was there and available. There are many days that I seriously need stuff, and want Paityn’s magic wand to make it happen.

What God says about Want vs. Need

Deuteronomy 12:20

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

Obesity in the nation is out of control not because of all the delectable foods that are available, because rich and poor alike suffer from it. It’s out of control because both the rich and the poor won’t stop eating. The children of Israel had come out of the wilderness where the flesh they ate was used for sacrifice, it was killed at the door of the tabernacle, and part of it presented to God as a peace offering. (Lev. 17:3-4). But when they came to Canaan, they lived a great distance from the tabernacle, and God has now given more leeway concerning the meat, within reason. They were permitted to kill whatever they pleased or their own use of their flocks and herds without bringing it to the altar, but not just for the sake of its existence. There should be a genuine longing (hunger). There was no large screen televisions blasting images of temptation before them or marketing strategies of the day but to err is human and to forgive is a reason to celebrate and celebration is reason to eat… and so we grow. Horizontally not spiritually. God warned them as He does us, “Don’t just do it because you see it.”

Wise advice as we go into this season. Before you buy ask:

  • Do I or they need this? (or do they just want it)
  • Will it nourish or edify me? (Does it have purpose?)
  • Is it God approved? (Would you carry it to the temple door?)

Wanting something frivolous is not wrong, but it’s wrong if we want it just because it’s there and have no need for it, or if it draws us away from God. If after those 3 questions are answered and all three have been satisfied in your heart, and you’re not spending beyond your means then shop on my friend! It’s about ‘balwance.’ Life should be fun and we should be faithful stewards of it all.

One extra word of advice before the madness of black Friday. Pray over that day. Earnestly. Ask God for godly wisdom and ask Him for bargains, He can supply both!

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Unraveled at the Feet of Jesus

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Trying to find a biblical family in the scripture to model your family after is next to impossible. Dysfunction doesn’t even begin to describe it. From the beginning it was filled with disobedience, betrayal and murder. So it should not come as a surprise that our own families are so messed up today, and yet when it happens we’re shocked. And when you couple the fact that those stories of dysfunction were within God’s chosen leaders of the day, who weren’t perfect, but their relationship with the Lord was to be desired; what does that say about us? Few of us have a relationship with the Lord that’s as tightly knit. So we unravel… and our family isn’t what we envisioned, and neither are we.

I can write from the heart of dysfunction. If God were still adding text to the Bible (and He’s not by the way), but if He were, there could likely be the book of Shari. Perhaps many sermons would be preached from my text with a title like “The Diva of Dysfunction.” There likely would not be the intrigue as many books of the Bible entail, but there would be comedy and chaos, heartache and hindrances to the will of God, fractured moments and failed missions. Several trips to the wood shed for certain. But… in the midst of it all you’d find Mercy. And me at His feet… unraveled.

From Heaven I have a feeling my life looks like a tangled mess of God’s intentions. Maybe yours does too. We have to remember that regardless of what we do, God does see the other side.

  • Poor decisions can take us down a wrong path. And though the distance is rougher and longer, God can still bring us to His intended spot.
  • Broken relations were not His plan, but the healing that He provides can make you stronger and more appreciative of the unbroken.
  • Finances may not be your forte, (it’s not mine) but by giving back to Him what we were entrusted with, perhaps that seed will take root and grow in ways we can’t even imagine. Or He may just give us contentment… and that’s okay too.
  • Sometimes family is the tie that binds, and sometimes it’s the tie that gags, but it’s the foundation of the gospel. We are the family of God. And if He can put up with our shenanigans do we not owe our family the same. A man who sought God’s wisdom ask his counselor “When can I stop caring.” The counselor’s reply was “When God does.”

If I wrote an exhaustive list of dysfunctions you wouldn’t take the time to read my blog. So let’s put it like this. You fill in the blank. “Dear God, ________________ is unraveling in my life. And I need you to knit it back together.”

Scripture says in Colossians 2:2 ~ That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

We don’t know the end of our story. But we can be comforted in the knowledge that we are loved and that God’s plan is still on track. That tangled mess that we see, will one day be a viewed as a beautiful tapestry …or perhaps a cable knit sweater.

I hope today finds your life at peace, and wrapped up in the love of God

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Season’s Open!

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November, at least in the State of West Virginia, could be declared a State “Hunting Season Holiday” for the entire month and few would complain. Game hunting is one of the largest industries in the nation. In 2011 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which estimates that roughly 90 million citizens, or 38 percent of the population age 16 or older, spent an estimated $145 billion on wildlife activities in the U.S. last year. We’re serious hunters. Duck Dynasty has made millions off of the concept of hunting, beards and family; you can walk into a store just about anywhere, be it a convenience store or major retailer and find the faces of those crazy characters from the show.

Another hunting season opened November 1st for many; the “Gift Hunting Season.” Web traffic goes insane for the greatest find on the latest kind of what every trend happens to be on top. Toy catalogs are in the mail and lists are being made (many without limits) and retailers gear up for the Black Friday mayhem!

And then there’s the little publicized hunting season for “Necessities for the Needy.” There’s an abundant harvest of opportunity. The season is actually open all year, but it doesn’t seem to be noteworthy until about November. And then suddenly eyes (and wallets) are open and alert for the opportunity to score points on an unseen tally sheet. The season passes as quickly as it came and by January the season appeal has dwindled to just above no one.

I’m not a fan of enabling poverty by providing handouts to those who refuse to work. It’s not biblical. The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10~ For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. But… then there’s 1 Timothy 6:17-18 ~  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

Life isn’t about the hunt, it’s about the release. It’s the willingness to allow God to work through that which you’ve been given. This is one post that has pierced my heart. Because I’m as guilty as the next to fail to recognize (communicate) and give (distribute) to a soul in need. A recent sacrificial giving in our church didn’t go un-noticed. A young woman who I know didn’t have it gave beyond her means and for no other reason than to be a part of the Lord’s work. I loved her before she gave, but after she gave, I felt her knit into our ministry as a vital part. That’s what giving does! There’s no buying your way into Heaven, please don’t misunderstand that. But there’s an investment in it. If you’re passionate about something, you invest in it (as our keynote speaker Donna Tallman) reminded us at our ladies retreat this weekend.

So… is this your season? A change of attitude and heart toward a mission that is soon to become your passion? I hope it’s mine. I’m shoppin’!