Last weekend was a special time of ministry at our church and at the care centers. Saturday, I had a short visit with a young woman in a care center whose mental condition causes her to be emotionally isolated much of the time. Somehow, as I spoke simple words to her about the abiding love of Jesus, her face became alive and radiant with new understanding, with light and joy and love.
Sunday morning, Pastor Caleb gave a stirring message about Restoration. During the prayer time, a young sister in Christ blessed me with a gesture of love and acceptance, and with a prayer, that I gratefully received as unmistakably from the Lord. Leaving the church, and later when preparing to visit another care center, I hoped and prayed I would bless others the way this young friend had blessed me.
At the care center that afternoon, I was able to gain the attention of a longtime friend with extreme Alzheimer’s disease who seldom makes eye contact with anyone. This day he held my gaze as I reminded him of the love of Jesus, and his need to receive Him and be born again. His attention was riveted to my words, and the Holy Spirit was clearly ministering to his spirit.
Later at the same facility I visited with another longtime friend who suffers from an extreme muscular disease preventing him from speaking or even moving his facial muscles. He also maintained eye contact with me as I shared extensively from the Word of God, with emphasis on 2 Cor. 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. He too was receiving a new wave of encouragement directly from the Spirit of God.
Paul exhorts in Acts 20:35, “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Yet the two are interconnected. The love we receive from brethren we pour out to others, and both are doubly blessed. In so many ways the promise of Romans 5:5 is fulfilled: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/ 10/19/16
Compelling Love 
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