The Nursing Home....

As I grew up, I never thought that much about the nursing home.  I mean, Mr. Hudson would take us there in high school to sing around Christmas and I would occasionally go to see my great grandparents, but for the most part, I didn't understand what or why they were in place.  All I knew was the smell was weird and some of the people acted like they didn't know who they were or seem to care.

Now, I see them very differently.  I have been in them more than normal lately.  My grandmother and my aunt are both in an assisted living centers in town right now.  Their eyes seem to light up when I walk in the door of their rooms.  It's like they are just sitting there waiting on someone to show up.  I have been thinking about them a lot with the holidays around the corner.  Things aren't like they were just a few years ago.  We no longer go to Ma Ma's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  My aunt isn't able to get around and come to lunch.  She can't even walk anymore.  

Walking down the halls of the center is just so real of what happens to us as we age.  I recognize some of the faces that once were leaders in this town.  I recognize the wives and husbands of family who can no longer take care of them.  You know you try not to look in on people in their rooms, but it is almost impossible to do so.  You look in and wonder who they are and what they did before they entered into the nursing home.  

I feel bad and I have to admit I don't go as often as I should to visit.  It is almost like once you know your family member is taken care of and you trust the level of the care, you can take a break and let them settle in.  Then it becomes easier and easier to forget to stop by and easier to have other things to do.  

As I left my aunts room just the other day, I got in my truck and drove away and these thoughts went through my head.  A few days later, I left my grandmother sitting with her groceries we had bought and her new radio.  These thoughts went through my head again.  On the way home, I honestly felt bad for not putting more effort into taking care of my aunt and grandmother, even if it was only a few minutes a few times a week.  

This morning as I sat in Sunday school, these thoughts came back to me.  We were discussing how each of us spend time with God.  We talked about the actual way we talked to God on a daily basis.  Did we journal or did we pray or did we just study and meditate?  There are several ways you can talk to God, you just have to figure out how you will do it.  

Then God began to speak to me.  

I remembered the nursing home.  That is the way I treat God sometimes.  I have put him in a safe place in my heart.  I have made sure he has the best care possible.  When I want to visit with Him, I know where He is.  I know which room He is in.  I can go and get Him and take Him to church.  I can go get Him and take Him to the store or work with me.  

How many of us are at the same point?  

It takes preparation to spend time with God.  It takes effort to spend time with God.  It takes desire to spend time with God.  It takes nerve to spend time with God.  It takes a willingness to spend time with God.

Being a Christian is not about a set of rules we have to follow, it is about spending time getting to know God and sharing Him with others.

1 John 1:5

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

I know all of us are guilty of putting God in a special place and visiting Him when we need Him.  

If you want to know where your heart is, look at your pocket book and your appointment book.

Are you guilty of putting God in the nursing home and go see him when you need too?

We need to spend time with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How do you spend time with Him????????

Where's your agenda?

I have been working in my current position for 7 years now.  I am an Account Manager in our Training Department.  This means me and my partner in crime, Matthew, are in charge of training needs for several accounts.  We may need to build a program from scratch.  We may come into your organization and build a strategic plan with you.  We may come and be the Master of Ceremonies at one of your events.  If you need it and we can make it or build it, we will hook you up.  All that being said, we are on the road to meetings with our accounts on a weekly basis.  We spend several hours just talking with people and brainstorming ideas.  Building relationships are very important in our area of business.  If our clients don't trust or like us, we don't have any work to do.  Since we are younger and still working on the management of time, weekly agenda's and letting our supervisor know where we are is not usually a thought as we prepare for the upcoming week.  

On the other hand, our supervisor is very insistent on getting those agendas each and every week.  On a typical week, if the document is not to him by Tuesday, he will send a reminder to get it in.  I will be very honest with you, it is not that I don't like to do the agenda, I just don't think about it.  It is not important to me.  I know what I need to do and when it will get done.  My boss thinks otherwise.  He feels like we need to know ahead of time when and where we will be for a week in advance.  This is a crazy concept to me.  I just don't think in those terms.  I mean, come on, do I not do a good job?  Does he not trust me?  

It is important to him to know where his employees are at all times.  It gives him peace of mind when he can tell someone, if asked, where we are based on an agenda he requested.  I don't like it, I don't care about it, and I don't think about it most of the time.  It makes me mad to do it.....

Now for the point of this....

This morning as I had my quiet time, I have started reading Multiply by Francis Chan and David Platt.  It is a book over discipleship.  It is a guide on how to disciple others and become a better disciple yourself.  

One of the first questions it asks is, "do you believe Jesus is who he says he is?"  Well duh....really....of course I do....

Romans 10:9 states, "if we declare with our mouths, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the grave, you will be saved."

So, "Jesus is Lord", what does that mean?  The word "Lord" refers to a title.  It means, Master, Owner, All of Authority....

Now ask yourself again, "do you believe Jesus is who He says He is?"

Changes our thoughts when we start thinking in those terms.  We were bought for a price.  The price was His death and resurrection.  We are not our own any longer if we profess Christ as our Savior.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

That changes things.  I want to do what I want.  I want to go where I want.  I don't have to give anyone an agenda, I can do what I want.  If Jesus owns me and I belong to Him, I don't get a say in the matter.  My agenda doesn't matter anymore.  My plan isn't mine anymore.  

I am following His agenda for my life and what I should do.  I must become a slave to Christ.  Following Jesus is not about a set of rules or defining morale conclusions to live good lives.  It is about loving God and enjoying HIm as our Master.

John 14:45 "if you love me, you will keep my commandments."

God's love changes us from the inside out.  God has His own agenda for my life and I will either follow it or I won't.  One thing is for sure, if I do not proclaim Him as my Lord, I will still be following my own agenda for life.  

It's funny how God uses things in our life to teach us about Him.  I guess I will get that agenda done now for my boss.  I will continue to follow God's agenda for my life though.  It will lead me to Him every day.....


Question:

Can you say Jesus is your LORD?  (without reservation)