ARE YOU TOO BUSY?

God will get our attention one way or another. Here is a little story that I thought would be a great reminder for us to make time for God.

 

 

 

 

The Master called my name one day because He needed someone to do a special job.

I said "Lord, in my spare time, between school, spending time with my husband, working from 8 to 6, and trying to coordinate a program for my community to help our children do better, I will help you look. See, I know I can't go right now cause I have so much to do."

He said, "Well, where shall I find such a person? I thought I saw your name on my list of available people."

"Well Lord, that was the prayer that I prayed last year, but since then, things have changed."

He said, "Like what?"

"Well I'm working on my Ph.D. and I'm needed by so many people and my husband is always wanting something done, and on top of that my community EXPECTS me to help and give to them so..."

"Well, seeing that you're busy, I'll let you go, but we will talk again, if YOU have some time."

I went on through the days, and the weeks, and the months completing my task as always. One evening, while studying for my comp exams, I received a call from the hospital concerning my husband. He had been in a terrible accident and was in critical condition. I dropped everything and ran to the hospital where I found my husband hanging on for dear life.

I immediately begin to pray "Lord, don't take him now, I can't bare it."
But my prayer echoed off the wall and returned into mine own ear.
That next morning I left the hospital tired and weary, and walked in the door of my classroom just in time to begin my comps. As the professors begin asking me questions, I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

In my mind, I begin praying, praying hard, but my prayer echoed again and I found myself upset at God because he was no where to be found.
I could not explain to them what was happening.

After leaving from my exams, I called into work because I was so distraught at all that was going on. I explained to my supervisor what had happened and she demanded that I take some time off.

After visiting my husband in the hospital that evening, I went home and fell into a sunken state crying and despairing. Just then I heard someone calling my name.

"Lord, is that YOU?"

"Well yes it is. Do YOU have some time? I wanted to see if I could just talk ..... "

Instead of waiting to hear His questions, I lashed out in anger and resentment.
"How is it that when I needed You today, YOU couldn't be found and last night I cried and cried but all I heard were echoes from the walls. My husband is dying, I'm flunking out of school, I may not have a job and You can just sit and say YOU want to talk?"

The Lord interrupted me in my foolish speaking. "My child, I was busy, out looking for someone to go and tell others about me when you cried. By the time I came to answer, you had moved on to something else. So, I decided to let your husband rest, and keep you home for a few days. That way MAYBE you would get in touch with Me, if YOU had some time. For you see, before your husband, your school, or your job needs you, I NEED YOU. And if all these things take you away from Me, I have to almost take them away from YOU, in order to get a moment. "

I calmed down and began to cry. For I remembered my prayer of wanting to go and do for the Lord.

He said "I just wanted to recheck with you to see if you knew of ANYONE that I could send to be a witness for Me and tell others about Me. .. any one at all....?"

With tears in my eyes and feeling so unworthy I said "Lord, send me, I'll go."

 

 

God should never have to ask us if we have some time.
When He died on the cross He put aside everything to insure us eternal life.
We should be more than GRATEFUL to do service for the Lord, to witness, and to tell ANYONE we can about Jesus. Don't let your "things", WHATEVER they may be, get you so tied up that God has to become a meeting time in your yearly planner. He had more than enough time for us. The least we could do is have time for him.

THE 3 WISE MEN... AND THE FOURTH GIFT

We've all heard the popular story about the birth of Jesus.  The "Three Wise Men" brought three gifts. Well did you ever notice the FOURTH GIFT?



One of the most fascinating parts of the Christmas story is the coming of the Magi. When the Magi (or Wise Men) visited the baby Jesus they brought gifts to present to Him. It was customary that foreign emissaries and ambassadors would bring gifts to court the favor of royalty. This was especially true at the times of royal births.

The Magi came to Jerusalem seeking the newborn king of Israel and did not find Jesus there. The Magi were directed to Bethlehem to search for Jesus there. Once they located Jesus they presented Joseph and Mary gifts for the birth of the King. Each of the three gifts represented an aspect of who Jesus is and what His mission was to fulfill.

We are not given any indication of the amounts of each of the gifts or how many of the Magi were represented. The IMPORTANCE of the gifts was the message that each one conveyed about Jesus.
The Gold represented the fact that Jesus was royal.
The Frankincense supports the claim that Jesus is divine.
The Myrrh was for the importance of the mortality of Jesus.

1.) Gold: The gift of gold was often reserved for royalty. The Magi told King Herod that they had come to see the one born King of the Jews. It is clear that they recognized Jesus as being royal but the question is why? The issue is the star of Bethlehem. The Magi had seen the star and they recognized the importance of the star in the sky as a sign of a spectacular birth. The Magi brought gold in some form, whether it was jewelry, coins, or just pieces, we are not told. The importance of the gift was that it represented the fact that Jesus was royal.

2.) Frankincense: The gift of frankincense is somewhat unusual. Frankincense was a highly valued commodity and somewhat rare. The Jewish people had a common use for frankincense that was directly connected to the worship of God. In the Temple, the Jews prayed before the Altar of Incense which was always kept burning. The substance burned on that altar was frankincense. When frankincense is burned it gives off a sweet smelling white smoke. The smoke rising from the altar of incense represented the prayers of the people rising to God in heaven. The only use of frankincense for Jews was at this altar and it was reserved for the worship of God. The Magi presenting this gift to Jesus represents the fact that He was indeed divine.

3.) Myrrh: The gift of myrrh seems the most odd of the gifts. Myrrh was extremely valuable and had a number of uses. The most common use was a perfume. Sometimes myrrh might be used in the homes of the wealthy to create a pleasant fragrance but was normally reserved for special instances. The major use of myrrh was for burials. Myrrh was placed on the cloths used to wrap bodies for burial to help prevent the smell of decay following death. The Magi presented this gift to Jesus as a representation that He would one day die. The gift almost seems to convey the fact that Jesus was born to die.

Though there are still many questions about the Magi that may be left unanswered, we can determine that they brought a fourth gift that is often forgotten by many. After they laid their treasures down before Mary and Joseph, they WORSHIPPED Jesus.
These wise men from afar came not just to court favor but to proclaim that they believed Him to be the King of kings.
The greatest gift that we can offer to Jesus this Christmas is our praise and worship.