Thank You

Let me relate to you a somewhat embarrassing little story.

Yesterday morning I was in the drive-thru lane at a local Chic-fil-A.  On Saturday morning, I sometimes pick up a couple of breakfast sandwiches for my wife and myself.  As I approached the young lady who was taking orders that morning, I reached for my wallet.  To my dismay, I did not have it.  There were four cars in back of me, and several in front of me. There was nothing I could do.  I had to wait to get out of the line.  I approached the smiling young lady on foot taking orders and told her that I forgotten my wallet and just needed to go through the line.  She said, “that’s ok, I’ll check for you. What did you want?” She went to the pay station, and I saw the guy working there nodding his head.  He waved me through they gave my food and said, “have a nice day.”

I arrived home and started to tell my wife what had happened. She looked at me strangely, and said, “you didn’t use the card that I gave to you?”  I said, “oh no” and reached into my pocket and there it was.  I thought to myself, this is just like God, even when you mess up big-time, he gives you grace.

Knowing how all this had happened, I knew that I had to go back and try to pay for the food.  I told a young lady behind the counter the story and that I wanted to repay them. She said you don’t have to do that.”  I said, “I know, but I want to repay you.”  She called her supervisor, and she said, “don’t worry about it, we do it all the time.”  I thought to myself, again, this is like God, we can never repay him for all that he has done for us.  All I could say was thank you.

The next day at church, as I led Communion, I told the congregation this story.  I expressed to them that as we ponder this free gift of salvation that we can never repay, maybe the only thing God requires of us is a thankful heart.

With the generosity as I just described, is it any wonder why this company has been blessed in the way that they have. Thank you, Chic-fil-A.

Image with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website:https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

The High One Lives with the Lowly

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Samuel Brengle

 (Isaiah 57:15 NASB)

Isaiah describes what has always been and always will be the path to God.  The Lord hears the plight of the humble.  The way up is always down. 

In many Christian circles, unfortunately, there is a belief that to gain the favor of the Lord, you have to achieve the high or exalted place in our spiritual pursuits.  From our scripture, it appears that just the opposite may be true.  God takes note of the lowly with a contrite heart.

General William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army.  He was known for raising up godly leaders.  At one point in time, prominent Pastor, Samuel Brengle, from a large church in the US came to England to join the mission.  The Pastor was a little surprised by the first job Booth gave him.  He told him to go down to the cellar and blacken (shine) the boots of the other recruits.  It was not long before he was wondering what a successful pastor was doing shining shoes.  Brengle was having second thoughts about his decision to join Booth’s mission.  Then suddenly in his mind’s eye, he saw Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.  “Lord”, he whispered, “you washed their feet, I will black their shoes.” This man eventually rose to the level of Commissioner in the Salvation Army.

Are you walking so high God does not see you? The way up is always done.

Image used with permission by Microsoft,

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website:https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Rend Your Heart

“And rend your heart and not your garments.” (Joel 2:13a NASB)

Joel was grieved over the religious hypocrisy of his day.  He saw the need for repentance that just did not tear their outer garments but broke their hearts over their sin.

One of the greatest enemies of true faith has always been a false religion.  False religion tries through self-effort to change our external behaviors to make ourselves good.  It seeks to improve us from the outside to the inside.  True worship always starts with the heart and proceeds to alter external actions.  The problem with changing our behavior first is that these modifications are never permanent.  When the external stimuli from religious peoples’ opinions and observations are gone, then we revert back to old habit patterns.  Why?  It’s because our heart motivation that drives our behaviors has never been changed.  We rend our outer garments as a smokescreen to hide the sinfulness of our hearts.

Self-effort can never produce a brokenness.  It is only God that can change a heart.  What then must we do?  We must first recognize our need.  We must see ourselves as destitute and spiritual paupers without any ability to save ourselves.  The Beatitudes tell us that “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3 NASB). People who practice false religion never recognize their need and therefore are the most difficult people to reach with the Gospel.  Trying to be good enough to go to heaven is the fatal attraction of most false religions.

Are you trying to change yourself from the outside in, or the inside out?  If you are choosing the former, brokenness over your sins will elude you, and the rending of your heart will never happen.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website:https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com