Today’s “close encounter of the God kind” began as I put my gym bag in the car, singing “I stand, I stand in awe of You.” I walked down the sidewalk to see the pomegranates splitting open on the neighbor’s tree when a car pulled up beside me. The tiny elderly lady driver, Lee, got out and walked around to the sidewalk, then said in surprise,”Oh, you’re not Betty!”
That began a conversation about pomegranates, which Lee hadn’t seen growing on a tree before. She didn’t know how to eat them. Showing her the pips inside one split fruit, we conversed genially about fruit, the house I’m in now and the first owner, the pomegranate seeds I pulverize in shakes I make for his grandson, and her tooth loss from Fosamax she took, as I did for a while, for her osteoporosis. “Well, amazing God,” I thought instantly, ”Here today is the person YOU want to manifest YOUR glory and love TO and FOR and IN!”
So of course I asked Lee if I could pray for her, and off we went together holding hands before the Throne of God and the Healer Jesus , the SON sun of Righteousness who rose with healing in His wings,
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.” Malachi 4:2 NIV
That sun is the SON of God, Jesus, Y’shua, the Living Word of God:
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107: 20 KJV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God andis in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. John 1: 1-5, 14-18 NIV
And silly me, I believe it! I believe it so deeply that I know when God’s Holy Spirit taps me to pour out HIS love and hope and promises and miracles into a heart needing to hear and feel it. I shake inside when these encounters happen, not out of fear, but because the ONE in me is a greater power than my “cracked pot” can contain, and I know it. It’s NEVER me; it’s always HIM! I don’t ever want to miss an opportunity for God to be glorified in a life, lavishing His love and miracle power upon someone who may not know it or have felt it before, or for a long time. I may look like an idiot to some people, but the One whose opinion I value is the One whose glory and power and love I want to make room for in my “cracked pot.”
Lee then told me excitedly about an encounter she had in the discount store when she caught her foot on a pallet and fell. Thestore assistantasked her if she wanted them to call a paramedic,when a large man appeared out of nowhere, told her he was an EMT, checked her over carefully, lifted her gently to her feet, and then disappeared!
“You know that was an angel,” I ventured, and she readily agreed. Oh, God, You ARE working in Lee’s life and want her to KNOW you know her, know her needs, and are eagerly wanting to help her!
“What if God doesn’t rebuild Lee’s bones and teeth?” I can hear someone asking.
“Well, what if He WANTS to and DOES?!” is my reply. We who call ourselves Believers , who go by the name Christian, ought to be doing more on this Earth than taking up perfectly good, breathable oxygen. Prayer opens doors to miracles.
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. 11Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.… Romans 12: 9-10 NIV
“And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 14-15 RSV
I gave Lee a book of Scripture and encouragement, she pulled a huge box of chocolates out of her trunk for me, we hugged, and as she opened her car door, she called, “I love you!”
“I love you, too! And Jesus loves you even more!” I waved and called back. and as she drove away, I closed my eyes and said quietly, “Go for it, God! ‘Go for the gold,’ Jesus!” I can’t wait to hear what God does to prove His love, strength, and awesome creative Creator majesty to Lee!
Today I’m going to let you create your own “…BUT…” to pray from this short beginning: Almighty God, my Father in Heaven, Lord and Creator, Savior Jesus, Holy Spirit, Glorious and Mighty One, I AM a cracked pot, BUT _______________________________________________________________________________! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!