“God can’t stand pious poses, but He delights in genuine prayers,” Prov. 15:9.
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Wednesday night was her favorite night of the week. She just loved the service at church cause everybody brought their real life on Wednesday nights. You had to bring it real when you were racing in from work and school and homework and trumpet lessons, no time for the Sunday morning primping session! And she just couldn’t get enough of watching the children’s workers love on her precious little ones. Since their dad died it seemed they especially crave those hugs from anyone willing to give one. He’d be so proud to see how God was shaping those little hearts to know Him in their suffering.
Tonight pastor talked about God being a Father to the fatherless; ‘preach it pastor cause you know this weary soul could use the truth to strengthen my spirit.’ Singing to the Lord fed the life of His Spirit inside her. My, how that gave her the strength to face another day. He always seemed to fill the gaps and there sure were plenty of those lately!
‘I gotta get these groceries home, pack lunches for tomorrow, laundry, iron and hope to get 6 hours before I start all over again. My, this lady in line behind me sure is pretty. She seems bothered about something though. Seems she’s all tied up in knots. Well, I guess we all get our fair share of trouble in this world. Hope it’s nothing serious. Lord help her cause You know we all need You through this life!’
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Dressed to the nine’s in this month’s Spiegel cover, the pretty woman dropped her Coach bag and Mercedes key ring on the conveyor belt while texting on her iphone. Her D&G shoes alone probably cost more than what the family in front of her allotted for their annual wardrobe. She was texting the sitter that she’d be home in about three hours. Still had to work out, get her nails done, and meet girlfriends for lunch to plan the women’s outreach tea for church. She was going over her mental checklist: call for Chinese delivery for dinner, talk to the doc about something to help take the edge off all the stress lately, buy gift cards for the tutors/coaches/cleaning lady/teachers and sitters. Come to think of it she’d need to be scheduling sitters quite a bit for the next few weeks.
‘Hum’, she thought as she noticed the young black mother with her three children standing quietly by her side. ‘The Goodwill bin should have made fast friends with that outfit years ago. Interesting though, no one was screaming for candy bars, hitting anyone or racing away?’ Those are just three of many reasons she hired a sitter whenever she went out. She started to think highly of the young mom but that was quickly dashed when the woman pulled out WIC vouchers. ‘Oh, she’s on welfare,’ Ms. Spiegel thought as her opinion immediately plummeted. ‘People just have to figure out how to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and not expect others to pick up their slack,’ she thought. ‘Wonder where the father is? Thank You God I’m not on welfare. I can’t imagine being poor and so dependent on others. What I could do with all those tax dollars our government wastes on welfare!’ she thought in mild disgust.
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“They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery…” Mth. 23:4-7
“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds,” Mth. 23:27-28.
“Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!” Prov. 31:8-9.
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