Listening with Our Eyes

/ pastorpete51 / 9 Comments 
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

When we first moved to Florida, I struggled with garage door syndrome. Garage door syndrome happens when people come and go in our neighborhood. We rarely get to meet them because when they leave, their garage door opens, and then they drive away. When they return, the door opens, they drive in and sometimes shut the door before even getting out of their vehicle. Suffice it to say that getting to know folks here is challenging! So, one day, upon noticing a young man across the street parking his car in the driveway, I called out as he got out, “Hey, how’s it going?” But he seemed to take no notice and instead just walked into his house. I know I have quite a loud voice, because people occasionally have to tell me to tone things down. I just couldn’t understand why I was being completely ignored, and as I walked back inside, I mentioned to my wife, that the young guy on the other side of the street was really rude, because he never even turned his head when I had called out to him. Nancy quietly listened for a moment, then with a gentle smile she replied, “Did you know he is deaf?” Wow! In one second, I went from being outraged at the lack of manners in young people, to being ashamed of my silly complaint. My problem was that I didn’t realize that as a lip reader, our young neighbor needed to see me, because He listened with his eyes. In today’s verse Jesus was also listening with His eyes. Everyone else simply observed all the rich guys: the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos of their day putting big offerings into the temple treasury. But Jesus was not looking at shekels, He was watching hearts. So, when this widow who went unnoticed by everyone else, put her offering in, Jesus immediately stopped everything to point her out to His disciples. All day long people had given what they could, what made sense, what seemed reasonable, but not this lady. No! Jesus said that her gift was all she had to live on, at least for that day. Probably this was the money that would have bought her dinner, but she offered it anyway and went hungry in order to give. This scene challenges me when I think of my own choices in giving. Now, God’s word also tells us to give cheerfully, not out of guilt or necessity. But this widow’s example makes me pause to ask, “What is preventing me from cheerfully giving like this woman? What barrier do I have, that keeps me from giving all? All my time? All my energy? All my finances? Am I just giving from a position of abundance, or does it cost me something, and can I still give it cheerfully with a smile?”

I hope you will enjoy this five-minute video from our Friday morning service at Life Care Center. In it I also give just a peek at how after thirty plus years of weekly meetings, God has continued to draw me back to worship with my brothers and sisters in long-term care. Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Never Abandoned

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“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22:1

I know that all of Psalm 22 is a picture of the cross, but as I listened to it today on the Bible app, I also began to wonder what was happening in King David’s life when he wrote it. Was David running from Saul, being attacked by his own son Absalom or involved in some unrecorded battle? Though we don’t know exactly his circumstances, it made me realize that when Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” it will mean that, just like David, there will be times when we will pass through circumstances just as challenging to our faith.

But unlike our Lord, who truly was forsaken as He bore our sins, though it may feel as if God has forgotten us, that it is not so. Jesus has promised that He will be with us, through thick and thin all the way, even to the end of the world. Are you facing failure in your career? Abandonment by a spouse? Rejection by a parent? Have received the diagnosis you feared from the doctor? Jesus has not, nor will He ever forsake us, but when we humbly call out to Him, He will come. Though the lyrics of the song, “Little Talk With Jesus,” are often sung lightheartedly with smiles, let’s read them carefully this morning and make them our prayer. God is listening; God cares, and He will make things right and make us whole, when we cry out to Him in our prayer.

"I may have doubts and fears
My eyes be filled with tears
Jesus is a friend whi
Watches day and night
I go to Him in prayer
He takes my every care
And just a little talk
With Jesus makes it right!"
Cleavant Derricks

I’ve Got Confidence!

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I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song: he has become my salvation. Psalms 118:13-14 ESV

“Are you sure you can do this?” Mike yelled over the sound of the rushing water.

“No problem, I’ve got confidence!” I shouted back as I started my chainsaw and undercut my way through the trunk of the uprooted tree that I was standing on. But as the saw sliced through the last inch of bark, I realized too late to change things that I had terribly miscalculated the outcome. In one terrifying moment I was catapulted head over heels into chest deep freezing water. By God’s grace the saw flew harmlessly into the river, and I landed unhurt but embarrassed. Most humiliating of all was hearing my coworker Mike’s hysterical laughter, as he kept repeating over and over, “I’ve got confidence! Yes, I’ve got confidence!” Just as I didn’t think I needed help, until I was catapulted through the air, many of us find ourselves in spectacular fails because we have plenty of confidence but have based it on ourselves instead of God. Sometimes I wonder if God stands on the other side of the stream laughing hysterically and repeating our boastings a few times to the angels, before coming again to our rescue. But the good news is that even when we have catapulted ourselves into our own problem, He has promised to be our strength when we cry to Him for help. He is the one who not only is our song, but He also becomes our salvation. Through our prideful actions we may have sent us flying head over heels by unexpected outcomes, thank God that even at those moments, He will come to our rescue when we put our trust and confidence only in Him!