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| Old Wagon Wheels - Historic Bakersfield, CA - Photo By Ken Hulsey |
Yesterday Terri and I took our granddaughter out for a fun day at the zoo. Little did I know that this day of fun would include a very important message from God.
As many of you know I am a shutterbug. I love taking photos and our family day at the zoo provided the perfect opportunity for me to play wildlife photographer. As I typically do, I had wondered off away from the family on a quest for an interesting photo opportunity. I soon noticed that the girls had moved on and I needed to stop taking pics so that I could catch up with them.
As I was attempting to join up with my family an attractive young woman crossed my path and said "Hi". I thought this was strange because at my age young ladies simply just don't stop to talk to me.
To be honest attractive young women didn't stop to talk to me much when I was younger.
The young woman looked familiar to me so I spent the next couple seconds of awkward silence trying to think of where I could have seen here before to no avail.
She asked me my name and I replied. I asked her for her name and she stuck out her hand and said "My name is Lexi". We shook hands and then she said something that will stick with me for the rest of my life, "Always remember to keep Jesus first." I replied with something like, "Yes, we do need to keep Jesus first and aren't we lucky to have Jesus in our lives."
Lexi turned and walked away with a smile. I likewise walked away to join the family.
I filed the odd encounter away in the back of my mind and enjoyed the rest of my day.
This morning I woke up and began to ponder what I was going to write about. That is when the true importance of my chance encounter with Lexi truly sunk in. I thought about how random it was that someone would stop a perfect stranger to deliver a such a specific message. Generally when people witness they say something generic like "Jesus loves you" or "Let me tell you about something that changed my life." not something that is so on point. In that moment I realized that God had directly sent Lexi to deliver that message to me because it was something He knew I needed to hear.
That's something truly amazing!
Of course I had to meditate on that message for a bit. Do I really remember to keep Jesus first? I think the honest answer to that is no.
Lexi on the other hand was doing just that. She chose to spend her day at the zoo witnessing to others while I was focusing more on my hobby. How many opportunities to share a message from God that someone needed to hear did I miss yesterday?
While I was wondering around saying "Wow look at that lion!", Lexi was saying, "Wow look, there's somebody to witness to!"
I think that we all need to be a lot more like Lexi.
Colossians 3:17"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Time, Treasure and Talents
Everything we have comes from God. He created the heavens and the earth. He made us and breathed life into our lungs. He gave each of us time, treasure and talents to use while living on earth, and He will bless whatever we dedicate to Him.
The devil, however, does not want you to experience a blessed life. In fact, John 10:10 tells us that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He will try to do whatever he can to keep you from using your time, treasures and talents first and foremost for God. But Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” If you and I truly want to live blessed lives, the devil cannot stop us!
It’s important for each of us to evaluate our priorities from time to time to avoid being distracted from putting God first. If you are not seeing God’s blessing in action, then it is especially important to consider what you are doing with your time, treasure and talents....
I also wanted to share this sermon that I really encouraged me from Pastor Steve Smothermon at Legacy Church:
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