God360 Stories
Stop.....
I sat on a bench in the middle of Chelmsford's pedestrianised high street for 15 minutes. I was drawn there by the sight of a man standing upside-down with his head in a plastic bucket...I kid you not...apparently he's homeless and this is the only way he can make a living. Thank God for British eccentricity and the fact that we are all unique human beings made in the image of our Creator. In the crowds that walked passed me in that time were people people of all ages, sizes, shapes, abilities, class, races, religion. Everyone reacted differently to the man-some stopped, some ignored him, some gave money/some didn't, some mocked, some smiled, some took pictures on their mobiles or phoned their mates, some laughed, some walked past, some called him names, some stared in amazement....even the police stopped for a friendly chat. He clearly was something different-not the "norm". He had a message to get across and backed this up with a visual statement. But the people passing had the freedom to stop and take notice of him, or not.
It made me think about Jesus and His life and message and our reaction to it. There are similarities. Jesus was often contraversial and pushed back the acceptable boundaries of His day. He often interacted with those around Him in just the same "off the wall" way and I believe He had a great sense of fun and humour. It also made me think about my reactions about how I view people who are different from me, who challenge me and my perceptions. Am I prepared to be different? To make a statement? To stand out from the crowd with a message or be swallowed up in mediocrity and conformity?
my neighbour...
I decided to mow my next door neighbour's lawn whilst doing my own, as an act of worship inspired by God 360.
It felt a little scary! I felt like I was tresspassing or something initially (or that my other neighbours were curtain twitching), but I felt really, really pleased every time I drove past it for the next 10 days.
My neighbour never said anything, so I'm not sure they even noticed, but it really opened something that was conditioned to be closed in me. I'm so thankful! I feel a lot free-er.
When I get around to cutting my own lawn again, I will definately do it again! :-)
I'm LOVING being able to do everday ordinary things as an act of worship for God!
AMEN!
the longest verse in the bible
devotion number 36,
the longest verse in the bible can be found in Esther8:9 containing 90 words
