As I
said yesterday, this has been a strange week, yet along these days I have been
able to gain some perspective and hear some things and even feel some pain that
would not have been in my mind had I not slowed down.
Thursday
God brought some of these to mind as I stopped to run an errand. He brought to my mind the forgotten. I am talking about people that we care about
and have been kind to. But that was some
time ago. In the past days they have
become the forgotten.
This
is the person who lost a loved some time ago.
We ministered to them and loved on them, but now most people have
forgotten. This is the person who had a
life altering event like surgery or a baby was born or lost their job. At the moment it happen we reached out, but
since that time they have become the forgotten.
Have
you ever felt like you have been forgotten?
Have you ever realized that you forgot someone? This happens when people step away from
church and seem to step away from God.
Psalm 71:11
NLT
They say, “God
has abandoned him. Let’s go and
get him, for no one will help him now.”
These
are people we cannot forget. It is time
to stand up and encourage them. Speak
the truth. Give a hug. Pick up the phone and make a call or write a
card. Find that person and restore them
because they are feeling forgotten. The
awesome truth of God is that God uses you and me to restore people that believe
they are have been forgotten.
There
are other people who have been forgotten.
1 Corinthians
12:22
NASB
On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of
the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
It
takes lots of people to see that ministry takes place, and some of those most
important people are the ones who are never seen. They clean the bathrooms. They clean up after everyone is gone. They sit in a specific place and spend long
periods of time praying. There are
people in your church and mine who have been forgotten, but they continue to
serve God and to serve us faithfully.
It is
time to remember them, go to them, and thank them for all that they do. This could be as simple as saying “thank you”
or as big as hosting a banquet in the honor of these special people. In a few weeks our church will host a dinner
for a local organization for some people who reached out to kids in need. I cannot wait to make those people who many
have forgotten know that God loves them and that God wants to honor them. (be ready for more details.)
There
are other people who are the forgotten.
James 2:3
NASB
and you pay special attention to the one who is
wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say
to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my
footstool,”
Be
careful. This is my passion. I believe that God has called me and our
church to search for those who have been forgotten. We are to reach out to those who are in jail
or prison and remember them. Visit or
write a card and pray often for these precious people. Maybe this is the person who is battling
addiction that needs to know that God still loves them. This is the person who has gone through
divorce and believes that they have no value now. That is a lie. And that is where you and I can step up and
honor the forgotten.
Who do
you know that is forgotten? What are you
going to do about that person’s need?
Maybe you have been there. If
not, you could have been. I have been
there. My heart is heavy for those who
believe they are the forgotten.
Stand
with me. Shout this from the top of the
mountain, whisper it in their ear, write it, share it, believe it and don’t
stop telling others … God has not forgotten you!
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you
to be his own people.
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