February 9, 2022 – A few years back the letters WWJD appeared on bracelets and other things to remind us of the question “What would Jesus do?”. It was a way to help us live more like Christ.
But in today’s culture, I would suggest we ask the question – “What DID Jesus do?” In order to ask what would Jesus do, we need to know what Jesus did. How did He live his life?
We often look to the Bible to find instructions/words to tell us what to do. That is good but not all that we need to study. If His instructions or words were enough that would be all that we would need – let’s have an instruction book, but we don’t have just words we have what He DID recorded as well.
Jesus went here, interacted with him or her, Jesus healed, Jesus withdrew, Jesus got into a boat and crossed the sea. We need to also study who Jesus interacted with in His living. How did he treat the folks He interacted with – sometimes with compassion and sometimes with anger, sometimes as a teacher and sometimes as a caring friend.
I am convinced we can learn as much from studying what Jesus did as we can learning what Jesus said.
In our Jackson location, we have a number of homeless folks that come in. One gal stops by several times a week she is polite and tells us what she is doing (although it is the same story each time) she asks for nothing she mainly comes in to warm up in the winter or cool down in the summer. We don’t try and change her but love her as best we can. Another guy comes in several times a month and he does want us to give him money – he says for food but when we offer him some food he doesn’t want it. We have suggested services to help which he tells me he has been kicked out of them. We do not give him what he wants and so he leaves.
Why do I share this with you, because sometimes we have to be gentle and sometimes we have to stand our ground? If he will not take what he says he needs, he is only trying to milk you for all he can get using the sob story knowing someone will give him money to get rid of him. I pray for both these folks, I pray for them and I pray that we would know what we should do to help them come to know Jesus.
I would like to challenge you to take some time and read the gospels not for what is taught but for what is done. Ask why did the writer add the description, what purpose does knowing this or that make?
This week pray:
We have our second meeting with the seniors in Jackson – pray that the right ones will attend.
Diane as she needs to make a trip to see her mom next week. pray or all the details!
For sales at our stores – with inflation concerns we are not seeing the normal amount of sales needed to cover all the expenses this time of year. pray for an increase in customers and sales.
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