The Phil Files

Mark has been a friend since college. He’s spent time in “full time” ministry on staff with churches. Now, he works as a builder, but still does full time ministry with his wife influencing young couples to follow Jesus.

He had called simply to share an affirmation about someone who has a low wage job that serves people, but which is not very respected by most folks. He was bragging on Roy and how amazing he thought it was that Roy could serve in this position for 23 years and still have such a good attitude toward people, many who treat him poorly, or at best, as invisible. Mark was praising Roy for his staying power and faithfulness.

As a minister, I don’t get a lot of calls bragging on someone for doing good things. It’s the unfortunate sign of our times that we focus so much energy on finding negative things and then repeating them to others. We seem to find those negative things more easily and hang on to them more tenaciously. But not Mark. I was thankful to have this good dose of blessing and encouragement in the middle of a busy day.

Then Mark went one step further: he asked to be the first person who prayed with me for my trip “right now” before I left for Uganda with Compassion International. Mark has been a youth minister and a young single adult minister: he knows how important it is for kids to come to know Jesus before they hit their twenties. The words of his intercession washed over me like a shower of grace. What a blessing.

I would love it if you would be in prayer about this upcoming trip as we try to find monthly sponsors for at least 500 children. For just a little more than a dollar a day, you can join in me supporting a child (we actually support two) and help them with the basic necessities of life and do this in the name of Jesus.

I covet your prayers, so if you would be willing to be a part of the prayer team for me while I’m on this trip, please follow this link and leave a response to the information there. Also, you want to read my companion article to this post on Heartlight, called “My Deliverer” from the Rich Mullins’ song. What are some other ways to help us be a deliverer for children in need so they can ultimately find the great Deliverer. Let me hear from you in the response are below!

Thank you and God bless you as you seek to serve the Lord!

Well, back to my devotional post I had to postpone because I fell asleep. My devotional reading Saturday was from Luke 14. Twice, Jesus mentions four groups of people often overlooked in life and in religion — the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (vs. 13 & 21).

This forgotten set of four caught my attention for several reasons. First, I was preaching from John 5 and the story of the paralyzed man that Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. Second, I have been preparing to go a trip to Uganda to work with those who are often the most forgotten — children of poverty and AIDS orphans.

Jesus’ two points in regard to these struck me powerfully.

First, it is easy for us invite our friends and family into our lives, but to be like Jesus, we must invite those who cannot repay us! Of course, my passion is for children. I serve on a board for Christian Homes and Family Services, trying to help children, birth moms, and adoptive parents find a future. In addition, Donna and I have been involved with supporting a child with Compassion International for several years.

Jesus’ second reference to these forgotten four had to do with the “normal religious folks” being too distracted with the things of life to be ready to accept God’s invitation to a party, so God made sure the forgotten four weren’t forgotten!

One of these references is a challenge and the other is a warning. so what will I do with them? And what will you do with them?

//Inspiration: Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

//Incarnation:
I think the real challenge for me is to not just care for those forgotten from a distance, but also those around me everyday. I know that I can easily begin to not notice those who I see regularly. I know that my human nature makes me wary of messy entanglements. So I’ve got to hear Jesus and follow Jesus into the service of His precious, but often forgotten creations.

//Invitation:

O Lord Jesus, please help me see people as you do. O Father God, stir in me a compassion that values each person as someone you know, love, and made for a purpose. O Holy Spirit, empower me to care when others around refuse to even notice, the forgotten around me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Saturday’s been a busy day around the Warehouse! Not much of a Saturday rest for us. Of course, all the stuff we’ve done today is good stuff … well, except for the trip to the mall, the grocery store, and Wal-Mart: on a Saturday in West Texas when there is no football, everybody and their dog was shopping — and I mean that literally, one place we went in today had two people shopping with their dogs.

We got a lot done, but not nearly as much as we wanted.

And then we got back home and tried to figure out what in the world to eat on this low-carb diet we’re all on. We’re trying to regain the proper dimensions: let me put it bluntly, when your circumference is more than your length, you just might be … well, let’s move on, that’s too convicting!

So, we cut up and fried some low carb tortillas. Not even a Paula Dean size serving of butter to fry them in could make them taste any better than slightly crisp cardboard. But thankfully, Donna had pulled out her new food processor and made some of her world famous pico salsa. Yeah, baby! It makes everything taste good, even low card hockey pucks — aka rice cakes.

Once the jolly holiday without carby passed, we went back to work getting tax letters ready for Heartlight donors, working on computers to get them ready for my travels, and getting read for Sunday. Then there was the sermon stuff with slides and sermon and communication. Then there was all the work on getting everything online for Heartlight and church. By the time we all most done, the day was done, long before we finished what we had hoped. And just as i started off toward bed, I remembered my nightly thoughts on our blog … Oops! Didn’t make it. Fell asleep. Got the readings done and everything, so I’ll post the Luke 14 thoughts on Sunday afternoon!