Lighthouse Keeper

Living in a small community, it’s interesting how many people you have contact with on a regular day.  On Tuesday, I counted 16 interactions with people on my river walk, neighbours, tradespeople, a district nurse who went to the wrong house. Someone who found my puppy in their yard (yes I now have a rescue dog but more on that later). The simplest and most important command in the Bible is to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37:39)

On an ordinary Tuesday in a small town God put in front of me 16 people to love. That’s quite a lot over a year. The longer I journey with God the more I’m convinced that we don’t need to be so ministry and church-project focused and that our work as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) with everyday people out in the world is the main thing. There are many distractions that will keep you off the main thing so it’s important to listen and obey His voice in your everyday life. (1 Samuel 15:22).

Now before you say “I have enough going on in my life I can’t love 16 people a day” I hear you and I’m the same. I have a very full life and running around fixing everyone’s problems is the last thing I want to do. And God is not asking me, or you,  to do that. 

The work of the Lord is to believe in Him who was sent (John 6:29).  Remember who He is and take the people before the Lord. So how on earth do you do that?. Like Mary…..we pray. (Luke 10:38-42). 

I’ve always loved the old saints and how people have found extensive prayer lists in their personal items and prayer closets. 

A 1B5 school notebook is my new “Prayer Book” where I write lists and names and souls to lift before the Lord. (1 Timothy 2:1). 

Writing down prayers is really good to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness and also to demonstrate the “bending of the Will” as many of the things I’ve prayed for over the last 12 months haven’t happened the way I thought. His thoughts are not my thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

So now, I just write down names of people because I couldn’t possibly know all the things going on in their life-but God does. 

As I sit in my prayer chair and pray through these lists, I’m really believing for “kingdom come” into their lives and for God to comfort them through the many trials we all face. And of course for them to know Jesus and the truth about why they’re here and who their Creator is. 

I can’t fix everyone. I can’t be Florence Nightingale and Martha and the Little Red Hen and quite frankly, it doesn’t interest me and God’s not asking me to. 

But He is asking me to bring everyday people before Him and deposit some of the Kingdom into their lives. And this I will do.