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6th Sunday of Easter; Acts 16:99-15; Be like Lydia and welcome others in!

Judging By Appearances

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

                                                                                                         (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7 KJV)

When Samuel was sent to anoint the son of Jesse that God had chosen to be the next king he looked at Eliab and decided that he looked like a king. But, God told him not to judge by their appearances. God does not choose by what people look like. He doesn't choose by their height, their weight nor does he judge by the color of their eyes, hair, or skin! He chooses by their character; their abilities, what is inside their hearts and minds. He knows each of us intimately and he knows what he will he accomplish through us. In the end, David the youngest son of Jesse who had been left in the fields to care for the sheep comes and is chosen by God to be anointed king. The least of the brothers is to be first in the kingdom.

It is too bad that as humans we often judge others by the way they look without considering what may be in their hearts. One of my granddaughters likes to routinely color her hair in various bright colors. Right now it is bright orange. A year and a half ago she moved near us and I took her around to job interviews. She is bright and very out-going as well a pretty conscientious worker. It so happened that on one day she had two job offers. She had a dilemma. Which one to accept? She had experience doing the work of one of the positions.  However, the management there wanted her to take out her piercings and dye her hair to a normal color. She had no experience for the other position but they did not care about her outward appearance. I encouraged her to accept the position that would allow her to be herself and keep her orange hair. I felt that she would enjoy working with people who weren't judging her by her appearance much more than working in the place where she had to change to be accepted. She went with the more relaxed place of work and is still working there. She really enjoys the people she works with as well as the work on most days.

Yesterday, she and and I went on a kayak tour. I have been kayaking since 1996 so I don't really need to be on a guided tour for safety's sake. But, I do not know the rivers all that well around Florida so I sometimes use tours so that I can familiarize myself with the waterways.  The river was a pretty lazy river. We did more floating than paddling. About halfway through the tour we turned to go back upstream. One of the guides came over to me and said he wanted to give me heads up that we would be going against the current so it might be a bit rougher. He did not warn anyone else; just the "old lady". I couldn't help but smile as I was pretty convinced that my paddling abilities were being judged by my wrinkles and graying hair. I was not offended. I've been around long enough to know he was probably genuinely concerned. He was actually a very nice young man. Smiling, I did let him know that I didn't think it would be a problem as I had on a few occasions kayaked Lake Superior in small craft warnings. That little paddle upstream was, of course, not a problem. In the flat land of Florida the creeks and rivers really are quite smooth paddling and most of the way back to the landing we were still floating and not paddling. I actually do like to paddle. In the future I will be careful what paddling tours I go on or find a good GPS app and skip the tours. I go for the scenery and this tour was particularly beautiful. But, a little bit of exercise doesn't hurt, either. 

We must be careful not to judge people's hearts or abilities by their outward appearances. This is repeated by God throughout the history of his people. He does not judge by appearances; nor should we.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

How Great He Is!

   O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
   When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
   What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
   For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
   Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
   All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
   The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
   O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

                                                                               (Psalm 8:1,3-9 KJV)

I am a little late on the blog this morning.  I was outside watering flowers and listening to the birds sing. The early mornings here in Florida are awesome. What a beautiful world our Lord created! It is such a privilege to be able to spend time observing His wondrous creation.

O Lord, our Lord, how great you are!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Where Have All The Children Gone?

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.. 

                                                                     (Psalm 127:3-5 KJV)

It is no secret that many congregations from some of the older mainline denominations are bereft of children. Young families are seen mostly at various rites of passage such as baptisms, first communions, affirmations or confirmations of baptism. It can make one wonder: "where have all the children gone?" They haven't gone any place. They are staying home.

Recently, I moved to a more rural area of Florida and yesterday I happened to get stuck behind a school bus on the way home. What joy! I purposely did not turn off and take another route home; but, followed the bus. It gave me hope. It gave me joy to see so many young people get off of the bus. Parents were waiting for their children to either walk or drive them home. The little children were excited to see them. 

What a blessing from the Lord, these little children are. Welcome them and their families into your sanctuary that you too might know the joy of their presence. Help them to grow in the way that our Lord Jesus would have them go. I am totally convinced that it takes a whole village to raise a child. Be that village. Children are not extinct. Sometimes, we just fail to take the time to see them; to be with them; and to be there for them.

God's Peace - Pr. J