“God Loves You!”
“But
as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.” **
It was the furnace repairman announcing that
he was on the way and would be at our house in ten minutes! It was good that he
called first! The night before had been a stressful one and we were both
exhausted.
When Al decided to change the dressing on his
arm from a recent skin abrasion, the wound began bleeding profusely until
enough pressure had been applied to finally stop it. At that point, he thought
it would be best to drive to a nearby Urgent Care facility to have a doctor
look at the wound and get advice on how to bandage it properly.
We hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and were both
pretty rattled from the situation; however, it was already after six o’clock on
Sunday evening. If we waited much longer, the facility would be closed.
Thankfully
we didn’t have to wait long until a Physician’s Assistant came in to see him.
Afterwards Al and I felt relieved, knowing that things were more under control.
As
I was reading Psalm 73 later Monday morning, the above verse resonated with me.
The Psalmist was discouraged and going through difficult times. Yet when he
drew near God, he found refuge and peace. Even though he was downhearted, the
Psalmist determined to tell others of the good things God had done in the past,
stories of His deeds.
That
scripture reminded me to draw near God, to reflect on all that He has done on
my behalf through Christ and then to pass along the good news of Jesus to
others. Pass it on!
The
words of a familiar song with the same title began playing over and over
through my mind, after recently viewing an online video of the 75th
reunion of my family’s former church in Bakersfield held last month.
I
was astounded when a member of the high school/college youth group of which I
was the advisor in the late 1970’s was one of the featured speakers. About a year after I became involved with
that youth group, he, Doug, moved away from the area. I had no idea of what had
happened to him.
It
was amazing hearing Doug speak and listening to him recall the good things the
Lord had done in his life through that close-knit group of kids who were on
fire for Jesus. He went on to become a youth group leader himself, worship
leader, pastor for 40 years, seminary professor… and still was excited about
the Lord!
At the end of his time of sharing, Doug called
up another former member of the youth group, Matt. Along with a core of
dedicated young people, Matt and Doug planned the activities and led the
worship times with their guitars.
That
afternoon they led the folks attending the reunion in one of our favorite
songs, “Pass It On!” just as they had so many years ago. When they sang the
words “I’ll shout it from the mountain top…” a loud shout resounded in the
meeting room, “God loves you!”
Tears
came to my eyes, remembering the song, the shouts and the love that filled our
hearts, then and now, almost fifty years later!
When
life threatens to quench the fire within us, may the Holy Spirit rekindle the
flame, and may the burning of our hearts for Jesus bring others to Him.
God
loves us! Pass it on!
|
It
only takes a spark Once
you’ve experienced it I’ll
shout it from the mountain top * I
want the world to know (*pause
and shout “God loves you!!!”) ** Psalm 73: 28 NIV
 |
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