There are people we have known at one time, they could have been a friend, someone we worked with, maybe a family member. Somewhere along the line they fell off course. One day they were there, suddenly you notice they’re not around. They may have had a disappointment, a sickness, a divorce, they got discouraged or maybe they made bad choices. It could be they feel guilty or condemned like they don’t belong. The book of James talks about going after the prodigals, people that have fallen away. It’s not enough to just wish they were here. I really miss them, I wonder where they are? You have to be proactive. God is counting on you to go get that person. God puts people in our path on purpose. Pick up the phone, stop by their house, send them a note, reach out to them in some way. We have a responsibility to bring these people back. You don’t have to condemn them and tell them what they’re doing wrong. Tell them you’ve missed them, tell them you need them, love heals, love restores. The closest thing to the heart of God is helping hurting people.
When people know that you care, the fact that you took time to express your concerns is what brings prodigals back home.
The most important thing in life is not our accomplishments, it’s not how successful we are or how many people know our name. The most important thing is helping other people.
Jesus told a story of a Sheppard that had 100 sheep. 99 of the sheep were doing fine. They were happy, healthy and on coarse. But he said if just one sheep wanders away, if just one sheep goes astray, the Sheppard will leave the 99 and go after the one. This tells us we should not always be looking at just the people that are here with us, we sometimes have to pay attention to the people that have fallen away. We have to notice who isn’t here. We have to leave the 99 and go after the one lost sheep. That means you may have to stop by their house, invite them to lunch, you have to be willing to be inconvenienced to make sacrifices. Stay aware of who’s not here.
Everyone should pasture their own group, the people that God has put in your life. This is your congregation your flock. If you haven’t seen them in a few weeks, don’t just hope someone else will call them, you need to know that you are the church. God is counting on you to bring them back.
I know some of you remember Shelley, she was a subscriber here. She wrote very brilliant thoughtful posts. I noticed she hadn’t posted for a couple of weeks, her disconnecting bothered me. Although I haven’t met most all of you, I consider you my friends, even people that I’ve butt heads with, you are my friends as well! I reached out to Shelley and told her I missed her, I missed her wonderful comments. She did respond to me saying things had come up and her focus had to change to other areas of her life. Life happens, I understood, but I’m sure noticing her absence made a difference with her. I think letting her know she made a difference with me helped her to know her time here was worthwhile. Personally there were times that I hadn’t posted in a while here and DD at one time and Jean at another had sent me a message asking if things were ok. That made a positive impression on me, knowing someone noticed my absence, it was very important to me, Thank You for taking the time to tell me! So Many people here have encouraged me, CQL, Barbara Lee, pretty-red, old guy, Big E, and of coarse the good doctors, the list is long, certainly all of you have made a big impact on me. We are all a community here at the good Doctors Malones Sub Stack. Don’t ever be afraid to acknowledge when you notice someone is suddenly absent in your world, it can make a big difference in their life.
There was a gentleman back in the 1800’s who taught junior high boys Sunday School in a small church, his name was Mr. Kimball. He was a very successful businessman, very influential. One day he noticed that one of his students, an 11 year old boy, had not been in class for several weeks, he was very concerned. The next day after work he headed out onto the streets of Boston looking for this young boy. He searched and searched and after a few leads he found the boys home. He knocked on the door and told the parents who he was. They said the boy is not here he’s across town working in a shoe store with his uncle. Mr. Kimball took the long ride across the city and found the shoe store. When Mr. Kimball walked in the little boy saw him, he was so surprised to see his Sunday School teacher, he thought it was just a coincidence, he’d come in to have work on his shoes. Mr. Kimball said no I didn’t come to get my shoes repaired, I came because I’m concerned about you. Where have you been, are you ok, is there anything you need? The little boy so surprised said no I just quit coming to class because I didn’t think it mattered, I didn’t think you really knew my name, and I certainly didn’t think you’d miss me. Mr. Kimball looked him in the eyes and said young man it does matter, I need you, you’re a very important part of my class.
From that day on the young boy practically never missed another Sunday School Class. He went on to become the most influential minister of the 1800’s, his name was DL Moody. He touched his generation in an amazing way and it can all be traced back to Mr. Kimball. Had Mr. Kimball not gone after the prodigal, a young boy, had he been to busy, or if he had just celebrated all the other boys in the class not aware of who wasn’t there I doubt that DL Moody would have touched the world in the way that he did.
The real question today is who are we missing? Who is not here that used to be here? Or who is not here that should be here? We should all take a moment to look around us, it could be years ago that a person that was once a friend dropped off the radar, take a moment of your time and reach out to them. You may be surprised what a difference in someone’s life you can make by acknowledging you noticed they had fallen away.
Happy Sunday!
There are people we have known at one time, they could have been a friend, someone we worked with, maybe a family member. Somewhere along the line they fell off course. One day they were there, suddenly you notice they’re not around. They may have had a disappointment, a sickness, a divorce, they got discouraged or maybe they made bad choices. It could be they feel guilty or condemned like they don’t belong. The book of James talks about going after the prodigals, people that have fallen away. It’s not enough to just wish they were here. I really miss them, I wonder where they are? You have to be proactive. God is counting on you to go get that person. God puts people in our path on purpose. Pick up the phone, stop by their house, send them a note, reach out to them in some way. We have a responsibility to bring these people back. You don’t have to condemn them and tell them what they’re doing wrong. Tell them you’ve missed them, tell them you need them, love heals, love restores. The closest thing to the heart of God is helping hurting people.
When people know that you care, the fact that you took time to express your concerns is what brings prodigals back home.
The most important thing in life is not our accomplishments, it’s not how successful we are or how many people know our name. The most important thing is helping other people.
Jesus told a story of a Sheppard that had 100 sheep. 99 of the sheep were doing fine. They were happy, healthy and on coarse. But he said if just one sheep wanders away, if just one sheep goes astray, the Sheppard will leave the 99 and go after the one. This tells us we should not always be looking at just the people that are here with us, we sometimes have to pay attention to the people that have fallen away. We have to notice who isn’t here. We have to leave the 99 and go after the one lost sheep. That means you may have to stop by their house, invite them to lunch, you have to be willing to be inconvenienced to make sacrifices. Stay aware of who’s not here.
Everyone should pasture their own group, the people that God has put in your life. This is your congregation your flock. If you haven’t seen them in a few weeks, don’t just hope someone else will call them, you need to know that you are the church. God is counting on you to bring them back.
I know some of you remember Shelley, she was a subscriber here. She wrote very brilliant thoughtful posts. I noticed she hadn’t posted for a couple of weeks, her disconnecting bothered me. Although I haven’t met most all of you, I consider you my friends, even people that I’ve butt heads with, you are my friends as well! I reached out to Shelley and told her I missed her, I missed her wonderful comments. She did respond to me saying things had come up and her focus had to change to other areas of her life. Life happens, I understood, but I’m sure noticing her absence made a difference with her. I think letting her know she made a difference with me helped her to know her time here was worthwhile. Personally there were times that I hadn’t posted in a while here and DD at one time and Jean at another had sent me a message asking if things were ok. That made a positive impression on me, knowing someone noticed my absence, it was very important to me, Thank You for taking the time to tell me! So Many people here have encouraged me, CQL, Barbara Lee, pretty-red, old guy, Big E, and of coarse the good doctors, the list is long, certainly all of you have made a big impact on me. We are all a community here at the good Doctors Malones Sub Stack. Don’t ever be afraid to acknowledge when you notice someone is suddenly absent in your world, it can make a big difference in their life.
There was a gentleman back in the 1800’s who taught junior high boys Sunday School in a small church, his name was Mr. Kimball. He was a very successful businessman, very influential. One day he noticed that one of his students, an 11 year old boy, had not been in class for several weeks, he was very concerned. The next day after work he headed out onto the streets of Boston looking for this young boy. He searched and searched and after a few leads he found the boys home. He knocked on the door and told the parents who he was. They said the boy is not here he’s across town working in a shoe store with his uncle. Mr. Kimball took the long ride across the city and found the shoe store. When Mr. Kimball walked in the little boy saw him, he was so surprised to see his Sunday School teacher, he thought it was just a coincidence, he’d come in to have work on his shoes. Mr. Kimball said no I didn’t come to get my shoes repaired, I came because I’m concerned about you. Where have you been, are you ok, is there anything you need? The little boy so surprised said no I just quit coming to class because I didn’t think it mattered, I didn’t think you really knew my name, and I certainly didn’t think you’d miss me. Mr. Kimball looked him in the eyes and said young man it does matter, I need you, you’re a very important part of my class.
From that day on the young boy practically never missed another Sunday School Class. He went on to become the most influential minister of the 1800’s, his name was DL Moody. He touched his generation in an amazing way and it can all be traced back to Mr. Kimball. Had Mr. Kimball not gone after the prodigal, a young boy, had he been to busy, or if he had just celebrated all the other boys in the class not aware of who wasn’t there I doubt that DL Moody would have touched the world in the way that he did.
The real question today is who are we missing? Who is not here that used to be here? Or who is not here that should be here? We should all take a moment to look around us, it could be years ago that a person that was once a friend dropped off the radar, take a moment of your time and reach out to them. You may be surprised what a difference in someone’s life you can make by acknowledging you noticed they had fallen away.
Happy Sunday Everyone. J.Goodrich
I forwarded Daisy to all my friends. If did not have a dog already, I would take her any time because I know she will keep her promises.