Diligence

2Timothy 4:21  Do thy diligence to come before winter. Here we find the Apostle Paul in prison, winter is coming on and he is without his cloak. How long he had been in prison this time we do not know. He may even have spent the previous winter or part of it in there. It makes me feel sadden as I read that verse for here we read of a man God greatly used and now at the end of his life we find him in a cold dark prison. I wonder if you and I ever see those that sadden us and if so what do we do about how we feel?  There are those around us that lack good looks and many that are poor and wonder around like a porcupine at a picnic. They might as well be saying “I am unwanted and unapproachable” for that is the way they are treated. There are the aged that shuffle down the sidewalks of our cities and fill their nights with dreams that just maybe one of their children or grand children would just drop in to spend some time with them. What about those in the wheel chair, the one with aids, the terminally ill, single parent, alcoholics, divorcees, the blind, the drug addict all seem to be shunned. It sad to say but they often would find a warmer reception at the corner bar than in a Sunday School Class. We past by them every day and it’s easy to turn our heads and not notice them than to turn our hearts. Remember the saying “What Would Jesus Do? Well we know what He would do for we have some cases recorded for us. Remember the woman who came to draw water in the middle of the day? She did that because of what she had done and who she was. But at the well Jesus spoke to her with words of love and kindness. Then there was the mother in Luke 7 who was on her way to the grave yard to bury her only son, but Jesus took time out of His busy day to stop and bring joy into this mother’s day. Then there was the woman in Luke 8 she had nothing left. The doctors had taken her last dime and their diagnosis had stolen her last hope. The hemorrhage had robbed her of her last drop of energy. She had no more money, no more friends, and no more options. Then she put together one more plan. I love what she did read with me

Luk 8:43  And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

Luk 8:44  Came behind him(Jesus), and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. Do what? Immediately she was made whole; you read it right. They are all around us those who feel hopeless and helpless. A friend of mine use to go into the all night grocery stores late at night for one purpose and that was to find someone who was buying their groceries with food stamps and felt a shame. I can still see the smile on his face as he told me what he did. He said “I would pray and ask God to show me who He wanted to bless, then I would enter the store and find that person.” He would then approach that person with something way out of their price range and put into their shopping cart and then began to talk to them about the Lord and then he would place a $100 bill in their hand and have prayer with them. As he told me of the times he did that there were tears in his eyes. Could that be expressing Christ in us the hope of Glory? We may not can give a $100 bill but we can share some time, we can stop for a moment in our busy day to show we care because one day someone stopped to spend some time with us; for me it was a man named Ken in the back of a 40 foot trailer  and for you it was……… Today let’s be kind to those others ignore and see what a difference it will make in both of our lives.