God With Us

Can you believe it; God cares enough about you to be right there with
you?  I know it’s hard to believe.  He has wars going on in
Afghanistan, starving people all over the world (including ours) and
all the sick to take care of too.  God cares about you, too.  Jesus’
very name means “God with us”, that’s what The Angel of The Lord told
Joseph in Matthew 1:23, “and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’
(which means God with us).  Of course they were just quoting what had
been said long ago, but let’s not get too deep, that’s not the point.
God is right there with you all right, right now, this minute.  That’s
the point, and He is right here with me too.  I forget that sometimes,
don’t you?  Maybe sometimes I want to forget, like when my attitude
kind of falls in the gutter, or worse, my morals, but he is right
there watching.  This is not a feel bad, get you down kind of blog
today, we will save that for another day.   Today think of the POWER
that the thought gives each one of us.  Think of the COMFORT that
thought gives us.  Think of the WORTH that thought should give each
and every one of us.  The Lord of all  the Universe cares enough about
YOU to just stand right there, waiting, watching, ready when you need
Him, because you WILL need him.
So many times in my life I turn my head.  I take that drink I know
will lead down that same old path, but have to survive this pain; we
steal that one dollar we need to finish out our daughter’s lunch money
for school, she can’t go hungry again today.  Maybe today I say yes to
that boyfriend one last time because I need someone to care for me, to
really love me….  I do whatever it takes that I think I have to do to
just make it one more day, but know deep down it cuts me like a knife
inside It’s not the real me; I desperately want to let out, let free
and let go, but I turn my head because it’s what I have always done to
get by, to get through the pain, to make it.
I turn my head because I am too ashamed to look into those condemning
eyes, the eyes that lived no sin, had no problems.  I mean He is God’s
Son for goodness sake.  But this time it’s different, somehow I didn’t
look far enough away, maybe my hair is shorter, maybe he moved, but I
catch a glimpse.  He is crying…  I knew it, just more lectures, more
condemnation, more whys?  He is coming this way now, oh great.  I walk
faster the other way, but He seems to gain anyway, then… then… He is
right there.  His eyes are not condemning but compassionate, no stern
looks, but a look of love, and… could that be  understanding?
Yes, there are tears, yes,  His eyes are sad, but soon change… He
smiles at me and touches me, not out of pity, but to lift me up.  He
has something in His hand.  It’s a name. number and address  of a
local Celebrate Recovery group at the church where I ate that meal
last week, and the guy who was so kind.  It’s a mirror and a picture
from last year’s senior prom, where you were the queen, beautiful and
all dressed in white and that letter you had tossed aside from your
best friend, concerned and prayerful . It’s the number of a local food
bank.
Life may not seem that easy and times may be much more  tough than
these examples, but God does this every day, millions of times.  What
we are looking for makes a world of difference in what we can see.
But I know, from experience, that when we look to Jesus, the things we
see are a lot better than when we don’t.   Life may not always get
better right at first, and it is not always easy, but look for that
glimmer, look for that spark, look for the good.  There is some there;
follow that!  Need some help finding that spark, email us: prodigalministrea@gmail.com.  I have men and women standing by to listen, pray and help you find a spark to get
you on the right path.  No judgment, no preaching, just the love of Jesus that is there all along. Jesus is right there, try talking to him.  He is the greatest listener
in there is, but he is also “GOD WITH US”.  Read this, it inspired me.
Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby with them
What a sad little girl

Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out

And the drinking and the fighting
just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life

And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and a new dad
kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him.
She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
Cause He was there in my old house
and held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died
        -The Little Girl
        -John Michael Montgomery
God Bless