“My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father.” 1 John 2:1
HAVE TO TELL IT ALL
Being out in my yard last week I smelled the sweet aroma of grass, Lilacs, and Iris,and how it refreshed my soul. How I love mowing my lawn on my little riding mower. I can feel God’s breeze through my hair and feel the sunshine warm my body and soul. God blesses me with such a wonderful yard in which to spend my time.
As I ride along enjoying the gifts God has given to me, I am able to talk to my Lord and Savior and the conversation is one of giving thanks and bearing my soul with all its deep and grimy sins attached. It seems no matter how hard I try I just flat out cannot get rid of my sins. I try, but wow, here comes another episode in life that knocks me down in the dirt.
That is why I feel so blessed and grateful to God when I “Have To Tell It All.” “But his name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely. I know He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself, and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world’s.” 1 John 2:2-3. This above verse, I know and I feel is embedded within my soul so I am able to confess and know I am forgiven once again.
Often I feel guilty and it is hard for me to let go of that guilt for something I have wrongly said or done. These deeds burden my heart and cause me to be weary. I can self-destruct by being more sinful, because that, I believe, is what we often do to ourselves when we cannot forgive ourselves for what it is we have done. That is when you and I “Have To Tell It All.”
While I am thinking about guilt and sinfulness I want you to ask yourselves what kind of a Christian are you. This is only me speaking, however, I truly believe to be a True Christian you must absolutely DO Christianity. Christianity is not merely, only, going to church, taking Communion, confessing, doing outreach, doing praise and worship and whatever else the churches do. No, Christianity can be all of the above, but, in my mind; Christianity feeds the poor, gives haircuts, gives clean clothes, bathes the feet of the street people and gives them clean socks; all without ANY preaching! You know I heard of a group in Portland, Oregon that gets together every Friday where the homeless congregate and different church groups come to do just that. They have food, hot food, good food, to give out, haircutting stations, foot basins where volunteers bathe the feet of the street people. What a ministry! Think about that, could you do that?
Folks coming together to SHOW Jesus’ LOVE and to GIVE Jesus’ LOVE, unconditionally without saying a word about Him, is a great witness in and of itself. As I understand what I read, the street people began to ASK the volunteers to pray for them. How about that, mercy, what you and I can do to serve our Lord and Savior!
You know when we are no longer around on this earthly place we will, as I believe, meet our Maker and we will “HAVE TO TELL IT ALL.”
What story will you tell? Will it be one filled with sin that you never laid before the Cross-because you just did not believe? Will it be a story that you put very much thought into, or a hurry up and throw a story together? You know He will know the story before you tell Him.
Better prepare now for that day will come, we all go home. We must love God, know Jesus is our Savior, and know Jesus left the Holy Spirit to guide us on the path we travel and try to the best of our strength to obey God’s laws. How simple life would be if we would only follow the Ten Commandments.
You know, actually, the Ten Commandment are not that hard to follow. I feelwe as “humanity” seem to think others have it better than us, so we covet, we lie, we cheat, we steal, we do not honor our God or our Mother or Father, you get the jest. So, just try very hard to talk to God, however, you talk to Him, serve Him, love Him and listen to Him, then, I say, this is only me, now, not a preacher, then you can call yourself a Christian.
Remember to try to walk in the light. I just left a garage sale a little bit ago and you would have thought a debate was going on there. The woman who was holding the sale was nice, however, we started talking and she started telling me all about the Praise and Worship in which she and her husband are involved. She continued talking on and on about her son and daughter and their glorious singing ministry.
When it was my turn, I told her about my street ministry, my son who sings in bars and at Opryland in Nashville and travels to Europe to sing at festivals. That is secular, yes indeed, it is. HOWEVER, the big thing is that my son also does not want to be a Christian singer. He does not want to “preach to the choir.” He wants to reach the lonely, the drunk, the druggie, and the ordinary human who goes into a bar once in awhile. He reaches out as God leads him.
In fact, I have seen him on a box, on his knees with his arms held high in the air, hands folded in prayer during a break in a song about “what are you going to do when the devil comes to town.” (now this is impressive as he is 6'2", how powerful in prayer he looks)I asked him about that and he informed me he was praying for everyone in that bar at that time. I truly believe him. I know, what others do not know about him. He gives his time, his money, his love, and his musical gift to others.
He is also a server in a restaurant in Nashville and believe you me, the stories he can tell about Christians who do not tip. One would think when servers only make a little more than $2.00 something an hour; people would not go out and eat if they cannot tip for decent service. AND, yes, it is not only Christians that don’t tip.
The point I am getting at, if you have not already been “hit or the head” is don’t go around spouting you are a Christian. SHOW, DO, EXHIBIT, and don’t make our Holy Family ashamed that you represent them.
We are humanity, we fall down, but we have that love of Jesus that lifts us back up to try to be what God wants us to be. Please join me this month and be what you say you are.
God loves you no matter what you have done. Just make up your mind you “Have To Tell It All” and He will forgive and if you listen to Him for direction in your life, you will indeed be going toward the light.
God Bless each and everyone of you and remember to go for a walk in your garden, in your neighborhood, or anywhere you are surrounded by the beautiful nature God has given us and have that long talk with him sometime soon, very soon!
