God Bless You!

 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee,

and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,

and give thee peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

You like me, if we have been born again Christians for any length of time, know we are to be witnesses for Jesus and spiritual encouragers as much as we can be. I have found over the last several weeks that it's fun meeting new people to say some lead-in things to find where a person is spiritually. It's been interesting.

Today, I had a new beautician who is substituting for my regular lady who is off on a one month vacation. I had no idea who this lady was, but she was very nice, kind and was good at her work. There is always the get acquainted conversation but I'm interested in where the person is spiritually. Ours is a very small town so eventually, one gets to know most of the town if you attend church or make regular trips to the Dollar Store. She asked how I was going to spend the rest of my day. I told her I had some Sunday school lesson brushing up to do and was going to first go and print our church bulletin. With surprise, she said that she is in charge of the church bulletin at her church. Well, after that, we talked church and some things of the Lord as well.

Got my teeth cleaned this week. I had a new hygienist who did the job. She asked me what I enjoy doing...any hobbies, etc. I told her that I do a lot of reading. She asked if I had finished any good books lately. In my mind I'm thinking, “Okay, Glendarae, go for it.” I told her that I haven't finished my favorite book. She asked how long I had been reading it and I replied that I've been reading it for years. She asked the title of such book. I told her that it's the Bible. She was such a sweet young lady and replied with great excitement, “Oh, I got a new Bible for Christmas and I'm so excited because it's the first study Bible I've ever had. Could you give me some hints as to how to use it?” In between my gagging, we were able to share what that special book means to both of us.

One more....there was a lady who worked a checkout lane at a Walmart in the Austin area. I always watched for her being on duty. On her uniform top, she always wore a pin that spelled out the name, JESUS. It had different colored stones that just made His name sparkle. I got to where I kidded her that I was going to steal that pin from her some day. She would smile and say, “You can't take Jesus from me.” It was always fun when we had people captive...one in front of me gathering bags and one waiting behind me waiting to be waited on. Before leaving for Tennessee, I went in and told her goodbye and thanked her for consistently wearing that pin and being a witness. She said she'd give it to me except she doesn't know where she would find another. I told her with meeting the public, it's a witness everyday she's on duty. She told me where she got the pin...the Dollar Store...and we just laughed.

It's always a personal encouragement when God can bless someone through us. We are also admonished to be of encouragement to those fellow Christians in God's family as well as being a good witness to the unsaved. I'm always blessed if someone waits on me in a store and as I leave, that person says, “God bless you.” I'm trying to remember to say that as well, not for show but with a sincere heart.

When there are those I know with special needs, I try to let them know that I'm praying for them. Saying this can be pretty iffy. By making that statement, we are assuring someone that we are praying for them and need to be faithful in doing it. There are people I pray for who I don't know well or don't know that perhaps comes to me as a request from a friend or relative of theirs. It is such a blessing when someone tells me that they have felt led to pray for me as of late. Not only has someone taken me before the throne of grace but they took of their own time to do that for me. Our time is one of the most precious things we can give to another.

Last Saturday while folding bulletins, just in a quick sentence, the thought crossed my mind, “Fix supper for Lynne and Mike.” They are neighbors, dear folk and Lynne has had many physical struggles and now has lung cancer. I've learned when such thoughts happen, to regard them as promptings from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this will happen to me when prompted to make a call or send a card to someone, but rarely do I feel I should fix a meal. Went by the store, came home and fixed supper and took it over to them. I was just going to leave the food with Mike and not disturb Lynne but she saw me and asked me to come in. Mike and Lynne are very dedicated members of our local Catholic church. On her coffee table were two books...a wonderful devotional book that I'm acquainted with and her well-worn Bible. I asked her the version and she showed me that it's a New American Standard. Told her that I teach from that version. The Lord opened up a door for us to talk about the Lord and what he means in her life.

I do not intend for any of these incidents to be prideful bragging on my part. It's just been so much fun finding ways to engage people in speaking of their own faith and relationship with the Lord. At times, I come across someone who doesn't have a real relationship with the Lord and that presents a different scenario but either way we can encourage friends in Christ and make a statement to others about the importance of Jesus in ones life. I will never go to a foreign field as a missionary, but there are ways you and I can be a blessing to others and it can be as easy as sending a card, or speaking words of encouragement to whoever the Lord causes to cross our paths. The utmost in witnessing is in speaking to an unsaved person about Jesus. However, there are times that even Christians need to hear from another of God's goodness and blessings. We can do this for God's glory and it can be very enjoyable and fun as well.

Lord Jesus...Thank You for the opportunities You send my way to speak of You to an unsaved person. Thank You for those times I can be an encouragement to a fellow believer as well. I praise You for the encouragement You are on a daily basis in my own life. In Your precious name....Amen