think outside the box

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

I cannot tell you the impact that a change in direction has done to my heart and even to the way I prepare messages. It is exciting, an adventure and even a bit scary. At least it is an area that we are not used to.

But what I want to encourage you to do is to THINK, ACT and LIVE outside of the box for JESUS. That is not easy. But what an awesome place it is to be and to see God work.

Here are some quotes:

Dallas Willard --- "We should not have any regard for the survival of the local church." It's God's church, not ours.

Dave Gibbons --- "Maybe Jesus was right: focus on the marginalized"

Mother Theresa --- "Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness."

The last quote, from Mother Theresa, gets to my heart stirring it about how I look at people. I stop to think about something. Actually it is people. People who are on the edge of being homeless. We see these people, but we might not know their situation or need. What goes through my head is different than what I have thought in the past. My heart's desire is to help these people while God's love just totally overtakes people.

What does outside of the box look like and taste like? For you it might be far different than where God has me right now. Ask God to open your eyes and mine to how we can really live outside of the box for Him.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 nlt

If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

Proverbs 19:17 nlt

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!

NOTE: much of this post was first shared with readers of e-devotion in February 2009

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