And the Spirit said…

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
(Acts 8:29-30)

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit… (Acts 13:4)

I used to have a job delivering frozen food to very old customers (average age, 88). I lost that job because the corporation that took over the franchise insisted that foreigners be finger-printed in order to prove their right to work in the United Kingdom. I grew up in New Zealand, and had/have the right to work in the UK, but couldn’t prove it unless I was finger-printed. As it happens, the Lord has provided me a way around this requirement, but I had to look for it.

Before I could find my way around it (with the help of my MP), I lost that job abruptly. As a result I never had the chance to say goodbye to most of my customers. One day, three months after I’d been sacked, I went back to the city I delivered in, and I visited a few of my old customers, to say goodbye and explain what had happened. While there I felt strongly prompted to go and see a widow whom I had delivered to only on three occasions. She had always been a friendly soul, and although I hadn’t initially planned to visit her, I felt that it was the Holy Spirit saying go and see her. Her name was Joan.

When I got to her house she recognised me immediately and invited me in. Bear in mind that we’d only met thrice, and previously I had just been her delivery driver.
She told me that very day she was feeling lonely and sad. Her grandson’s fiancee had just lost her grandfather (he had died that very morning) and it happened to be the same day of her husband’s death (he had died nine years earlier).

So I listened to her carefully, and then said to her I was a Christian, and would it be okay if I prayed with her. And she said yes, and so I did. Right there in her living room, a woman I barely knew, but whose company I had always enjoyed, I prayed for her. And I left her that afternoon with a kiss on the cheek, and thanking God for prompting me to go there that day.

Generally I find that the Holy Spirit speaks by prompting me to do things which I had not previously planned. And usually that prompting lasts for about 10 seconds, in which I either obey Him, or I talk myself out of doing what the prompting says. The Christian life is so much more exciting if we’re being led by the Spirit. There’s a short book called The 10 Second Rule which speaks about this, you can get a copy here.

I'd very much encourage you to follow those promptings. The worst that can happen is that you might be a little bit embarrassed. But your obedience may lead to great things. In my case, on that day, it meant I was able to help a widow in her distress.
 

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Hey thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate that. May you walk with the Holy Spirit today.

I Knew That You Would Come

This story was one I read over 20 years ago on the wall of 'Nuestra Cocina', the Argentinean take-away shop where I used to buy my dinner. I read it often and have never forgotten it.

Two friends, Pablo and Pedro, were sent to war. They were in the same unit, and on one occasion, Pablo went missing while trying to accomplish a mission. None of the men who had been sent on this mission returned.
Pedro asked his commanding officer if he might go and look for his friend.
“Permission denied” the officer said. “I am sorry to say it, but we must recognise that Pablo and the whole team are almost certainly dead. You cannot go on a fool’s errand.”

But while the commanding officer was distracted, Pedro left the dug-out in search of his friend. Some time later he returned with Pablo on his back. Pablo was dead, and Pedro was suffering from a wound which was clearly fatal. It was only a matter of time before he too would die.

“Why did you go?” his officer shouted. “What was the point of sacrificing yourself like that? You have been mortally wounded, and what for? To bring home a corpse!”

“No sir,” Pedro replied. “When I found him, he was still alive.
And the last thing he did was smile at me, and say:
‘I knew that you would come.’”

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That story always moved me to tears. It reminded me of Jesus. Since then I have discovered a song which captures this theme. You’ll probably like it, so here’s the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7NdBVTtvcg

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24)

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
(John 15:13-15)

On being truly human.

And as they spake these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be to you. But they were abashed and afraid, supposing that they had seen a spirit. Then he said unto them, Why are you troubled? and wherefore do doubts arise in your heart?
Behold mine hands and my feet: for it is I myself: handle me and see: for a spirit hasn’t flesh and bones, as you see me have.
And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, ‘Have you here any meat?’ And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honey comb, and he took it, and did eat before them.

    Of late I have been thinking much about what it means to be truly human. Jesus teaches me three things here which I think we may too easily overlook. If you feel invisible sometimes, or like a ghost, or like the living dead, then maybe these three things will be helpful.
    First, men were created to experience life through ‘touch’ just as much as by seeing and hearing.

Behold mine hands and my feet: for it is I myself: handle me and see: for a spirit hasn’t flesh and bones, as you see me have.

Recently I delivered some eggs to a 70-year old woman in my village. She is an absolute delight, this customer of mine. As I gave her the eggs I put my hand on her shoulder, and she reached up and put her hand on mine. And I realised that she hasn’t been touched by another human being for some time. She was divorced about 20 years ago and has lived alone ever since.

    In another case, a girl I am fond of told me about a recent experience she had overseas. This individual is very tactile, often having little kids clinging to her, and frequent with hugs. But when she was abroad, nobody touched her for over a month. When someone finally did, she felt the warmth of that person’s hand on her shoulder for more than an hour afterwards.

    It is a sub-human life if touch is absent. Seeing and hearing is not enough.
    
    Secondly, Jesus teaches me in this passage that to be fully human, to be a perfect human, you need to have scars, and be willing to show them.

And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and feet.

    The scars we have shouldn’t be hidden, but shown. I suppose that angels and ghosts don’t have scars. But men do. The scars tell a story of what men have done to you. They don’t make you ugly, they make you unique. The scars tell a story, and its a story worth telling, and your friends will want to hear it. The scars reveal who you are, they need to be shown - not hidden.

    Thirdly, eating makes you human, especially eating with people you love.

And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, ‘Have you here any meat?’ And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honey comb, and he took it, and did eat before them.

    When I delivered food to widows and widowers for Wiltshire Farm Foods, many of the customers ate with the TV on. They said it was to have the sound of another human in the house. But I think the TV masked rather than solved the problem of loneliness. Even before the Fall, the Lord makes it clear that it is not good for man to be alone.

    In short, to live a fully human life, we need to reach out and touch others (and let ourselves be touched), we need to show our scars (our true friends won’t reject us because of them), and we need to eat with others. Failing to engage in these three actions will result in us feeling like ghosts, feeling like the living dead.
    But doing them will help us live a life that is truly human.

    Which, at the end of the day, is what it's about:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

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Hey thanks for reading this far. Because you could have done a million other things, and you chose to do this. I really appreciate that.
May the Lord bless you abundantly today.

Doing the Best I Can

 Lately this song has been speaking to me.

You might like it, so I'm posting it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqR4EKTzFOA

Thanks for stopping by.

God ever bless you.