THE SWEETEST HOUR

As I walked into the kitchen, I could feel it; it would be “one of those days.” Actually, it had been “one of those weeks.” You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all had the experience. Nothing was going as planned. I had a pile of laundry to wash, Christmas shopping to finish, the cookies were over baked, music still to be selected for Sunday Service and the view outside the window proved that even the weather was refusing to cooperate. In addition, my opinion had burst out at the wrong time; I couldn’t believe that he actually thought…and that she was still…. I’m sure if I still had dogs, there would have been muddy footprints tracking through the house. I WAS AGGRAVATED!!!!

Finally, the first load of laundry was folded and the bed was made but the dark cloud hanging over my head just wouldn’t lift. The whole world was against me and I was just trying to serve the Lord. Suddenly, the words of an old hymn found their way through the fog into my thoughts. “Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care.” Nice song, I definitely need something to “call me from a world of care.” I continued into the living room, and the words of the song continued in my mind, “In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief, and oft escaped the tempter's snare.” The fog lifted and everything suddenly became crystal clear, I had missed the sweetest hour of the day. Actually, it had been a couple of days.

The laundry could stay in the dryer, the dishes would still be waiting and the Christmas Cards could be mailed tomorrow, I had an appointment that was just too important to miss. I knelt down in my favorite spot and let the peace of God flood my spirit. “Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear. To him who’s truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless. And since he bids me seek his face, believe his word, and trust his grace.”

Our lives become so cluttered with so many ‘absolute have-tos”, some are even service to God. The demands on our time can become overwhelming and emotionally draining. The only antidote is to make the “sweetest hour of the day” a part of your routine. It is amazing how setting aside only one of your twenty four hours smoothes the way for the other twenty three. Oh, Sweet Hour of Prayer, my day became brighter, the tasks were accomplished in record time and I was able to view my friends with more love and compassion. “I'll cast on him my every care, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!”

THE PEOPLE GOD WANTS!!!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Rebecca Manley Pippert tells the story of Bill from Portland Oregon. Bill was a brilliant, eccentric student at the Oregon College who moved to his own drumbeat and refused political correctness or societal expectations. There was a well-dressed, middle-class church across the street from the college. They felt a burden to reach out to the students and welcome them into their service. It just so happens about that time, Bill found the Lord. One Sunday, Bill decided to worship at the church across the street. He walked into church wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt and of course no shoes. The church was quit crowded and Bill, finding no seat, simply walked down the aisle to the front pew and squatted down on the floor. Suddenly, an elderly man began walking down the aisle toward the boy. What was he going to say to the brash college student? He would probably “straighten out” this young man, such disrespect simply could not be allowed in the House of God. The congregation held its collective breath. When the elderly man reached Bill, he simply lowered himself to sit beside Bill on the carpet. He and Bill worshiped together on the carpet that Sunday morning. There was not a dry eye in the congregation.

How many “Bills” have walked through our church doors, felt the chill of the condescending stares and walked out, never to return. How many “Bills” have we passed on the street and looked the other way because they didn’t fit our soul-winning vision. Matt Maddix, a popular soul-winning evangelist, has coined the phrase, “If you reach for the people nobody wants, God will give you the people everybody wants.” TRUE!!! Another speaker has said, “If you reach for the people nobody wants, God will MAKE them the people everybody wants.” TRUE!!! As I thought about these phrases, I thought about all the people I come in contact every day. Some are wealthy, educated, poor, illiterate, intellectual, mentally-challenged, athletic, handicapped, well-dressed, and others are homeless. They are all the people that make up my world. The people Jesus died for! The people God wants!!!

The Bible tells us that Jesus came to “seek and save those who are lost.” When Jesus came, he didn’t check out the demographics, take a poll or target a specific socio-economic group. Who did Jesus “hang” with? A rich, young ruler consulted with Jesus, there was a little widow who had a simple “mite” to put in the offering, a prostitute washed his feet, and he debated with the priests in the temple. His immediate circle consisted of fishermen, wealthy tax-collectors, a wild, wilderness-loving cousin; he had a humble young girl for a mother and the village carpenter for a father. Jesus reached out to the demon-possessed, the epileptics, paralytics and lepers, children, military commanders, the religious elite and sinners. There was no one too great or too unimportant for Jesus to reach for, can we say the same?

We are commanded to go into ALL the world; we don’t have the right to be selective. Take a look around the world in which you live, is there a “Bill” you passed over because he wasn’t in the place you were looking. Maybe he didn’t fit your vision of the ideal “Christian.” Perhaps his ideas didn’t fit your religious philosophy. “Bill” is one of the people God wants!!! I am praying that God removes all prejudice, preconceived ideas and clears my vision to see all the people that are hungry to experience what I have; all the people God wants.