Does God Have You on a Mission Today?

John 20:21 (NIV)

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Jerry’s teenage son Tom had a car with a very loud muffler, and since Jerry works fairly close to the Cole Muffler shop, he decided that he and Tom could exchange cars for the day. “I’ll take yours and drop it off at the muffler shop this morning,” Jerry explained. “And Pa” (Tom’s grandfather) “can pick me up there and give me a quick ride to work.” The plans sounded fine. As Jerry was leaving, he gave his father a call.

”When are you leaving for the shop?” his father asked.

“Right now,” Jerry said as he slid behind the wheel of his son’s car.

“I’ll meet you there,” Pa said. He was a retiree, always looking for ways to help others.

The muffler was even louder from inside the car, and Jerry was relieved when he pulled into Cole’s. He didn’t see his father’s car anywhere. “I was a little closer to this shop than Pa was,” Jerry said. “So I thought it would make more sense if I waited for him in the lounge.” There was just one young man and a little boy in the lounge. The dad was reading a magazine, but the little boy smiled shyly, and then looked at Jerry with curiosity. Jerry realized that, since the child and his father were African-American, perhaps the child was not used to seeing white people like Jerry.

“For some reason I just wanted to make him feel comfortable,” Jerry says, “so I smiled, and asked him a question. He told me his name, where he went to school and what subjects he liked best. Then I started talking.” But instead of the usual small talk, Jerry felt prodded to cover some topics he had never discussed before.

“For some reason, I told him about black and white people, and how God created all of us, and He didn’t care what color we were,” Jerry says. “I had never had a conversation like that with anyone.” The child seemed to hang on Jerry’s words while, all along, his father continued to read the magazine. “I told him how bad prejudice was, and to stay away from anger, and to be compassionate because we are all brothers and sisters,” Jerry says.” The boy stared at Jerry, his eyes huge. It was as if he were hearing all of this for the very first time.

Suddenly Jerry realized how much time had gone by. Where was Pa? He’d be late for work now. Jerry called his mother. “Where’s Pa?” he asked. “Did something happen?”

“Your father has called here twice,” she scolded him. “He’s been sitting at Cole Muffler for at least a half hour waiting for you. Where are you?”

Where was he? Jerry went outside to look at the sign. It was Monroe Muffler, not Cole. “I really screwed things up this morning,” Jerry said to his mother. “Please tell Pa I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” What a dumb thing to do! He thought, as he went back inside the lounge. He was angry with himself for making a mistake, and thought he should leave right away. But he also felt compelled to say goodbye to the little boy. He went into the lounge again, and this time both the child and his father stood up. The young man came towards him. Oh no! Was he angry that Jerry had spoken so personally to his son?

But no. The young man was putting out his arms, and wrapping them around Jerry. "I don't know how to tell you this,” he murmured, “but you have made my day."

The young man’s eyes were filled with tears, and the child looked at both of them with awe. Jerry started to protest…after all, he had just made a dumb mistake… “And then it hit me,,”Jerry says. “It was not a mistake. It was a mission, given to me by God.” For some reason, Jerry had been part of an answer to prayer. He would probably never know the what and why of the situation, but he had done what he was supposed to do.

The young man read his mind. “God works in incredible ways, doesn’t he?” he asked, then took his son by the hand and left the room. Jerry stood there for a moment, gathering his wits about him, and waved back at the little boy..

Sometimes God takes us out of our way to minister for Him.  Are your eyes open to see the mission God has before you?

Dear Lord, we thank You that You are there to lead and guide us.  Help us keep our eyes open so we can see what You have before us so we don’t miss the opportunity to serve You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What is Your Mission?

Philippians 2:4 (NIV)

Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Johnny was in search of a mission. Johnny works at a grocery store. One day he went to a training event led by a speaker named Barbara Glanz. She was talking to three thousand frontline workers for a supermarket chain-truck drivers, cashiers, and stockers.

Barbara was speaking on how people can make a difference. She described how every interaction with another person is a chance to create a memory, to bless someone's life. She talked about how important it is to look for those moments. She placed on the walls, as she always does when she speaks, posters with inspiring sayings. She told some stories and then went home, but she left her phone number behind. She invited the people at the conference to give her a call if they wanted to talk more about something she said.

About a month later, Barbara received a call from one of the people at that session, a nineteen-year-old bagger named Johnny. Johnny proudly informed her that he had Down syndrome, and then he told her his story.

"Barbara, I liked what you talked about. But I didn't think I could do anything special for our customers. After all, I'm just a bagger." Then he had an idea: he decided that every night when he came home from work, he would find a "thought for the day" for his next shift. It would be something positive, some reminder of how good it was to be alive, or how much people matter, or how many gifts we are surrounded by. If he couldn't find one, he would make one up.

Every night his dad would help him enter the saying six times on a page on the computer; then Johnny would print fifty pages. He would take out a pair of scissors and carefully cut three hundred copies and sign every one.

Johnny put the stack of pages next to him while he worked. Each time he finished bagging someone's groceries, he would put his saying on top of the last bag. Then he would stop what he was doing, look the person straight in the eye, and say, "I've put a great saying in your bag. I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming here."

A month later, the store manager called Barbara. "Barbara, you won't believe what's happened here. I was making my rounds, and when I got up to the cashiers, the line at Johnny's checkout was three times longer than anyone else's. It went all the way down the frozen food aisle."

The manager got on the loudspeaker to get more checkout lines open, but he couldn't get any of the customers to move. They said, "That's okay. We'll wait. We want to be in Johnny's line." One woman came up to him and grabbed his hand, saying, "I used to shop in your store once a week. Now I come in every time I go by-I want to get Johnny's thought for the day." Johnny is doing more than filling bags with groceries; he is filling lives with hope.

There is a reason Johnny's lines are three times longer than anyone else's. Our souls need to be fed, just as our bodies do. Bodies are fed by protein and carbs; souls are fed by words.

What people need from us the most is not more information. They just need words that will feed their souls. Sometimes words as simple as "thank you" or "I hope you have a really good day" can feed a soul.

Of course, what makes the words on the paper mean so much is who they come from. Words alone can come from a fortune cookie.

When people get them from Johnny, they are reminded of the beauty of one person forgetting his own limitations and seeking to make his life a blessing to someone else. Whatever burdens Johnny carries make his gift that much brighter.

Know who the most important person in the store is? Johnny the bagger.

A few months later, the manager called Barbara once again to tell her Johnny was transforming the whole store. He told her that when the floral department had a broken flower or unused corsage, they used to throw it away. Now they go out in the aisles, find an elderly woman or a little girl, and pin it on her. The butchers started putting ribbons on the cuts of meat they wrap up for customers. The people who make their shopping carts are trying to make carts with wheels that actually work.

And all the people of the grocery store will be blessed through Johnny. If it can happen in a grocery store, it can happen anywhere.

By the way, do you know who the most important person in your family, your neighborhood, and your workplace is? You.

You can be a Johnny the bagger. What Johnny does isn't slick, complicated, or calculated. He is just a bagger expressing his heart. You can help make that happen wherever you are.

What can you do today to show you care?

Dear Lord, open our eyes so that we can see what we can do to lift the spirits of someone today. Help us be the most important person in someones life today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God Will Be With You.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Al Braca worked as a corporate bond trader. He was also a deacon at his church in New Jersey. Though the 54-year old was a vice president of his company, he didn't like the work environment because it was completely out of sync with his Christian values. His wife Jean remembers:

"Through the last 16 years, Al was on a mission and that was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the workers there and all of the partners and customers that he had working on Wall Street. Over the years, even closer to his death, they started to call him the 'Rev', not because they loved him for what he was doing, but because of fact that he was faithful and was on a mission to give the Gospel out to people who would hear him. Whether they received it was really up to the Holy Spirit.

On the morning of 9/11, he went to work as he usually did after spending the morning in prayer with the Lord. Because of his devotion to God and because of His faithfulness, he was there when these people needed him the most. Because of other men leaving messages to their wives and also e-mails, I found out that my husband had the opportunity of praying with about 50 men and women and I believe that many of them gave their hearts over to Jesus. Al really did what he felt God called him to do and that was to continuously die to self and give others the message of Jesus Christ."

Al perished in Tower One of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. But not without being faithful to what the Lord had called him to do.

"No matter what happens in your life; no matter what trials and tribulations enters your life, you must keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, because he is the author and finisher of your faith. He is there to strengthen you and to equip you for any situation that comes your way" - Jean Braca

Dear Lord we  give thanks to the You  no matter what comes our way.  Help us be faithful today in all things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Your Mission

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 (King James Version)

1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Your mission: You are to parachute into the remotest of areas in the Amazon jungles of Paraguay. You are to make your way to the nearest tribe and convince them of the wonders of technical advancement. Should you succeed in your mission, you will be awarded $10,000,000. Wow!

You know that the native people have never seen a white man before, and this thought makes you self-confident. "Piece of cake!" you mumble. "They'll be eating out of the palm of my hand by sunset!"

With the help of your personal interpreter, you begin: "Dear friends, I am here to share with you the wonders of modern technology!"

That's as far as you get before you are interrupted. You wait patiently for your interpreter to tell you what the old man said: "Technology? What's technology?"

What? They don't know what technology is? It has never occurred to you that these people wouldn't even know what technology is! You swallow. You will just have to speak simply and to the point. How hard can that be?

"Technology is the world outside of these jungles!" you explain. "Do you know how I got here?"

As one, the natives shake their heads at the interpreter's words.

"By airplane! An airplane is a kind of bird made by humans in which people like you can fly! That's technology!"

You are encouraged. They look impressed! But then one of them cries out incredulously: "Show us!"

"I-I can't!" you stammer. "I don't have the plane with me!"

"Ridiculous!" exclaim the rest of the group.

"We also have cars, man-made devices that take us from one place to another without the help of animals. This, by the way, is how I get to work."

Your statement creates a frenzy of excitement. Yes! You are getting somewhere! But then your interpreter explains what they are saying: "They say that you talk nonsense. They ask why anyone would need such a device when everything they need is so close by!"

Good point. Hum. You decide to stay away from modern transportation, and instead you focus on technological home advancements.

"We have homes as high as your trees, where thousands of people live."

"That must be quite a busy tree!" laughs a woman in the crowd. "Does anyone fall out?"

"Not at all!" you assure her. "Our trees are made of cement."

"Cement?" questions a curious one. "What is cement?"

"It's a mixture of different materials, like mixing dirt and water together."

"That's not practical at all!" shouts a child. "If I mix dirt and water together, it breaks as soon as I touch it!"

"The materials we have are stronger!" you insist, beginning to wish that you could have brought pictures with you.

"I wouldn't want to live in the top of a tree!" exclaims an older woman. "I'd have to climb down a long way in order to relieve myself!"

"Not at all!" you hurry to assure her. "We have bathrooms in our cement trees. We use toilets to relieve ourselves!"

"Bathrooms?" mumbles one, as if trying to figure out what that could be.

"Toilets?" echoes another. "What are toilets?"

You try to stay calm, to keep your frustration under control. "In a bathroom you can take a shower." But then you realize they won't know what a shower is either and you hasten to add: "Its water spraying over your whole body. Kind of like rain, only man made!"

"Fantasies!" yells the chief. "You're just telling us fairy tales!"

"No," you insist through your interpreter. "It's all true! A toilet is about this high!" You lower your hand to about two feet off of the ground. "You sit on it to relieve yourself, and then water appears to flush it all away."

"Where does it go?" asks the curious one.

"It goes into the sewer."

"A sewer?" interrupts a toothless woman. "What's a sewer?"

This time you decide to ignore her. "We also have radios. They are small boxes where you can hear people sing and talk. And we have televisions, you know, flat, about this high!" You indicate about a meter with your hand. "They permit us to see and hear people in action…"

"You mean there are people that small?" questions a child with a dirty face.

As time has gone by, the chief seems to be getting more and more agitated. You decide to ignore it: "We also have stoves. They permit us to cook food without having to start a fire…"

The chief stands up abruptly, and his very presence silences the people. Then he begins to speak, and though you don't understand the words, they hold the people in total silence.

"What's he saying?" you whisper to your interpreter.

"He says that you are crazy," answers your honest guide. "He says you are trying to confuse them with your fantasies. He is telling the people to go back to their work and ignore your ravings."

And just like that, the natives stand up and wander away.

"No!" you yell. "Stop! Everything I've said is true. It really is! How can I make you believe what I am saying?"

But there are now only a few youngsters left, and these are rolling in the dirt with laughter. An older one tries to imitate you, which makes the younger ones laugh even harder.

You stamp your foot in frustration as you see your millions of dollars evaporating into thin air. You have failed. But why? You told them the truth, why can't anyone see it?

Each of us are on a mission, one that is far more rewarding than millions of dollars. We are on a mission to tell the world about Jesus glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

On our own, witnessing is as impossible as trying to convince those Paraguayian natives of the wonders of modern technology. The gospel is foolishness to those who do not believe. It is only by depending solely upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit that people will see the truth. We are God's messengers, the ones who drop the seed. It is the Holy Spirit who must make that seed grow:

Remember, our reward awaits us in Heaven. It's even better than 10,000,000$, so don't forget to follow His lead!

Dear Lord we pray that we would be ready for the mission you have for us. We pray that we would be able to share Your love in a way that the world can understand. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.