OUR HEARTS CRY!

Me-Maw Thoughts

Number 304

November 15, 2016

Last night on the news I was watching a news reporter interviewing prisoners who were admittedly gang members.  What tugged at my heart was that every one of them answered the question of why they joined a gang with the same type of answer,

>They were part of something

>Had someone who cared

>Felt welcome

>Felt part of something that mattered

Does this remind you of what we know?  It should remind us of how our churches are: welcoming and caring……extending brotherhood and sisterhood to all who come in.

We know that Jesus Christ came to restore our fellowship with the creator God and give us something worth living for and make us part of something bigger than our self.

As a church body we are the representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I’m afraid many of the churches in our world are so far from accepting and showing people acceptance and receiving them as a part of something bigger than their self that Jesus must weep.

The news reporter then talked with an FBI agent who confirmed that gangs were growing at astronomical rates.

That tells me that the church is not getting its message to the hungry hearts that need a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Someway we must get the truth of God’s Love to a generation of youth who are looking, who are lost, and who are finding the wrong thing.

Look at the following verses that John wrote.

1 John 4: 9-11 (KJV)

⁹  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

¹⁰  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹¹  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
So how do we reach those who are hungry for something but they do not know what?

I know there are inner city ministries who are reaching out but what can we who are not in the inner city do.  There are gangs all over and youth who are not in gangs that are looking.  There are stressed Moms that are looking.  There are dads and singles and younger children that are looking.

We can make sure that every person we meet and every person that steps into the church we are part of, feels welcome and knows that Jesus Loves them and we do to. We must love people in spite of their status in life.

We do not love people’s sin but we must reach out and love and understand that each of us was born with an emptiness that can only be filled with a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Love overcomes differences in culture and attitudes and age.

Let’s begin to love like Jesus!

That’s the only answer I know!

_____________________________________________

Father, my heart cries out for all those who are searching for love and acceptance and who do not know that you can give them the peace, joy and self worth they are seeking. May I allow you to fill me so full of you that they will see your love through me and my attitudes and actions.  May my church be a place of goodness and mercy.  Touch me and use me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Let’s just love one another!

Love, MeMaw