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A couple of weeks ago, I attended a prayer meeting and talked with a missionary family back on furlough.  They serve in a closed country seeking to bring the Love of Jesus to a Muslim people group that has never heard Jesus' name in the context of Savior. The road they travel is fraught with difficulty and turmoil.  Everyday they face trials and tribulation beyond imagination in the USA.
 
As I listened to them share, however, they spoke about the people they serve, not their troubles.  While my mind kept reflecting on their hardship (and thanking God that they are willing to suffer so for Him) they continued to reflect on stories of the individuals they had met, the lives and journeys they were sharing, the hope they saw in a dark and desolate foothold of the enemy.  The more they shared, the more I could see Jesus in them...their love for this lost people was without condition; they served them with joyful hearts, loving them into the Kingdom by selfless act of kindness, charity, grace, mercy, and intentionality.
 
I am humbled by what I heard and by the very obvious presence of the Holy Spirit within this couple...
 
I reflected on how their lives truly mirrored Jesus ministry here on earth.  They focused on individuals, on personal relationships, on making a difference in the lives of others one soul at a time.  Isn't that exactly what God does for us?  Even though He created the world with a sweep of His hand and this earth is nothing but a speck of dust within the countless galaxies within our universe, God knows each of us individually and intimately!  Not only does He know the number of hairs on our heads, He knows our thoughts and emotions, the words we will speak and the deeds we will do.  He knows the plans He has for us, good plans, plans not to harm us, but to give us hope and a future!
 
Thinking about this can't help but cause me to kneel before the Lord and confess my inability to fathom the depth of the love He has for me, to confess my daily waywardness and to ask Him to fill me with His Spirit such that others will notice...not because of what I say, but because of what I do.
 
My prayer for you and me this month is that we will soak up the presence of the Lord in our lives like dry earth soaks up sustaining rain, like blooming roses soak up the sun's beating rays, like young children soak up the love of their father!  I pray that as we absorb the love of our Daddy in Heaven it will cause us to love others in greater measure, to serve others selflessly and joyfully, to show kindness and compassion to others equal to what God has shown us...as God loves us, may we love others!!!
 
With His love,
Mark Halla
Steward