Outside...

As I sit in the relative safety of my home this evening I realize that there is a world of pain and discomfort just outside my door.

Just outside a friend has brought her Mother to her home to care for her in what might be her final days on this earth. Comfort her Lord and provide all she needs as she cares for the woman who, through Your providence, gave her life.

Just outside, somewhere, my nephew wanders in the world of drugs. He's been there such a long, long time and I find myself wondering...how much time does he have left? His Dad is heart-broken and only God can heal. Father, touch my brother with hands of peace and comfort. Draw my nephew into new life. Give him the ability to come to faith in Christ. Deliver him from the evils that hold him.

Just outside, a friend's grandson has had surgery to hopefully correct serious problems with his legs. May it be so Lord, let him be healed and made whole for Your glory and his good.

Just outside, my Mom cares for her brother. It's been a long summer and things have not gone as she expected. He's a different man than we assumed him to be. Oh, not a bad person, just not the one we had pictured in our minds. How often that proves true in life. Father, give my Mom patience and strength to care for her brother. Give him the resolve to do what he can do for himself and the willingness to want to change.

Just outside I have family members who haven't spoken to one another in over 7 years. What a waste of God-given time and family life. Seven years that can't be relived. Time that has been spent in anger and pain and confusion without resolve. Fix them Lord. That's all I know to say ... fix them while there's time.

Just outside there are hungry babies. There are teenagers wandering aimlessly around as if there will be no tomorrow. There are homeless people sleeping somewhere in my town ... and in yours. They will walk the streets again tomorrow and return to their hidden places to sleep again tomorrow night.

Just outside there are Christians being tortured and persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They are cold and hungry and need fresh water. Who will give it?

Just outside there's a woman on a doctor's table, waiting for him to take the life of her unborn child. Have mercy O God!

Just outside there is a life-style of sin and immorality whose activities shouldn't be tolerated but we've given it a name and accepted it as an Alternative Life-Style.

With all this and so much more going on, I also realize that there is One who knows all of this and more. I wonder how He tolerates it all and am reminded that He sees us through the blood of His Son. His mercy is greater than I can comprehend and His grace is extended to people I wouldn't want to associate with.

He reminds me that I am to be a friend to the hurting; a shoulder for my brother to lean on; a prayer-partner for my friends; a hands-on helper to my Mom; an intercessor for the babies and the abortionists and the homosexual. I am to pray and send money to help the persecuted church. I am to continue to pray and encourage my family members as often as I can. I am not to get so comfortable inside my home that I lose sight of all that's going on ... just outside.