Be Evidence!!

John 17: 20-23  “I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me. 

Amen Amen!!!  I love that it says “give the world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way that you’ve loved me.”  We each have the wonderful honor of living our lives as evidence to the world that God’s love is real…..Every single day we have people in our sphere of influence who are watching….they may be watching how much you eat…whether you drop salad on your lap….whether you have lettuce left in your teeth… or they may be watching how you choose to treat those around you.  How you handle forgiveness, betrayal, or changes in your daily routine that you did not expect…people are watching whether we like it or not.  I want to live my live as evidence that God’s love is real…. I want to be that “gal”….”Pick me…ooohohhhh…. Pick me God!!!”. 

God has shown me such amazing love through the years.  He continues to heal my hurts through His loving grace.  So much is healed inside of me when we serve the people on North First St.  It is no physical evidence that I can show to say that my insides are healing….but my life is the evidence that God is healing a lot of past hurts.  It doesn’t matter how good of a life you have here on earth….everyone has hurts of one kind or another.  God has a beautiful way of healing those places when you reach out in love towards others.

This weekend we went to a wedding in Seattle for my husband’s second cousin.  His first cousins were the grooms mom and aunts who Keith hadn’t seen for at least 25+ years.  It was so fun to get together with them and visit.  I had never met them before and I did not know Keith’s mother who passed away before I ever met Keith…but by hanging out with them for the while that we did….I could see the “evidence” of God’s love in their lives.  They had the sweet aroma of God’s grace, his gentleness, and his kindness.  We had a great time visiting, sharing, and laughing….The bride’s family was Korean and so the wedding honored the beauty of the Korean traditions…food….respect.  It was a great experience.  I loved the fact that even though we couldn’t speak Korean to the older family members….we were able to communicate our happiness, our blessings,  thanks, love, and joy.  We didn’t speak the same language, but we were still able to communicate our love to one another…..Both sides were Christians and Christ’s love was evident in our interactions.  (It is amazing how quickly you can clean up and tear down a wedding/reception area when you all work together!) lol.  

As we drove home from Seattle up over the pass, the satellite radio would come in and out a couple times when the reception with the satellite wasn’t just right.  I am not very knowledgeable about satellite technology so I thought that they could reach anywhere….any time.  But sometimes there are places where the message can be sent out from the satellite with no problem, but because the receiver is tucked away in the crevices of the mountain….the message can’t reach.  I thought about how God always sends messages to us throughout our day, but sometimes we are in such a place where there are too many trees or we are too close to the mountain side to receive the message….therefore it gets scrambled.  There is nothing wrong with the sender….or with the message…but something is getting in the way of receiving the message.  I think that “the something” is different for each person…but we all have something that gets in our way of hearing the love and guidance from the heavenly father at times. As long as we are here on earth…there will be mountains….Praise God that HE can move mountains!!!

I think on Sundays we are honored to be able to help unscramble the message for our North First St. friends by reaching out in love to them.  I don’t know what messages they receive throughout their week, but I do know that on Sundays from 2:00 until about 3:30… there is a lot of “evidence” that God the Father loves them and cares for their well being.  The love is true and sincere and seems to be so concentrated for that period of time.  My prayer is that God’s love is infused into them and that it follows them throughout their week. 

I feel like each week…the love that is shown continues to soften and nourish the soil of all of our hearts.  Seeds are planted every week…some may germinate longer than others….and as the seeds sprout and grow…they can’t help but turn towards the “son” to continue to get its food.  My heart continues to grow and reach upward towards Jesus Christ….the “son” of God!

Today was no different….there was so much joy today…I don’t know if it was because we were all so happy that the sun came out or because of all the people but …..there were a ton of people today!!! There had to be close to 300 and it isn’t even the end of the month.  It was so fun watching the food multiply….yes I am serious…..we prayed that there would be enough and when we thought we were running out…someone found two more pans of mac-n-cheese with ham as well as more beans….God knows what we need and how much we need.  He promises to take care of His people and He does! 

One of the little mamas who has been coming down for months had her baby last Thursday and she brought him to show us.  He was so tiny and cute!  I love being “evidence” of God’s love!  It is so fun!  The mom’s sister is in the hospital today having twins….it will be a regular nursery out there! Lol  J  I got to pray with a different pregnant girl today who is having a baby in June.  She needs infant boy clothes and maternity clothes, so I am standing on God’s word that He provides and I know that He will bring more “evidence” to this girl that He is real, that He hears her needs, and that His love is real. 

As we were pulling out of the lot today "Cheeta"  ( a very cheery 40 something year old man) asked Keith for a ride.  Keith said, "You know that I don't give rides, but do you stuff for laundry??"  This question caught Cheeta off guard and he said "How do you know?" and Keith explained how he just listens to the Holy Spirit...Cheeta said, "You hear from the Holy Spirit??"  Keith explained how he doesn't hear an audible voice, but he gets a nudging in his spirit and knows it is the Holy Spirit.  Cheeta replied, "I have only heard the Holy Spirit once and I want to hear from him more!!!"  What a great conversation to have!!! That is a beautiful thing to want more of!! I pray that Cheeta hears much more of the Holy Spirit!!  I love walking in the evidence of Jesus' love!!!

Thank You Jesus for showing me every day that Your love is real and that our lives can be evidence to others that God’s love for them is real too.  It is an honor and a joy!  In Jesus Holy Name….Amen  :0)