Hello ICC Family!
I have spent the last couple of days with pastors and ministers from about 10 area churches studying and talking about how to engage our communities for Christ. It has been encouraging and helpful and I am sure you will end up hearing some of the highlights in the next few weeks and months. Because I have been busy… we are blessed to have a special guest writer this week! Thanks so much to my wife, Laurel, for being willing to write the devotional thought this week! Be encouraged! And for even more encouragement, please plan to attend the worship time at Harbour Lake Baptist Church with us on Sunday night!
Blessings to you all. And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
When we looked at this verse on Sunday, it really reminded me of some thoughts I had during the Crowfield Bash. Standing at our tent and handing out water gives you a lot of time to really look at people.
Sometimes, I was amused as people sped by our tent or walked purposely on the opposite side of the walkway just so they wouldn’t have to talk to the “church people.” One man even held his baby up by his head so that he wouldn’t have to make eye contact with us.
Sometimes, I was sad because it seemed that a few people would do anything to avoid interacting with Christianity and the church. We were there to bless people with water, but they were reluctant to even come and get water.
Sometimes, I was excited. One man came up to talk with us about the church and said that his wife was half-Filipino. It made me happy to see his interest in church and hopeful that they will come and visit ICC.
Sometimes, I was delighted. When a young military couple came up to us and asked if we had any sister churches in Italy (where they are moving), it gave me the opportunity to look up international churches near their base. While they won’t be coming to ICC because they have orders for Italy, it was encouraging to be able to help them find out about English-speaking churches they can attend in Italy.
We saw a lot of crowds on Saturday. And many of them looked harassed and helpless. It was extremely hot, and you could easily tell the people that really needed a bottle of water. When it was offered to them, you could see the relief on their faces.
Now, I look back and think, “did I really SEE the people as Jesus does?” Did I have compassion for them? I think my compassion was waning just a bit when one boy came back for his 5th bottle of water…
But all of those people are people in our sphere – they live in our area, they shop at the same grocery stores and go to the same restaurants. Jesus saw the people around him and he had compassion on them. He saw that they needed healing. After being at the Crowfield Bash and seeing so many faces pass by, I am challenged to really LOOK at people and try and see them with the compassion that Jesus has. People need a shepherd. They are looking for Jesus and we have the privilege of knowing Jesus and being able to point people toward him.
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