Eye On the Sparrow

“His Eye is On the Sparrow” Don’t you ever wonder why Christ used some of the acronyms that He did? I love this song. What a wonderful interpretation of the verses in Matthew and Luke! The bird itself is a bit of a nuisance! They steal nests, hog the bird feeders, even kill the other birds babies! Maybe that’s the whole point. As I watch my feeder this morning, full of birds I don’t want to see, on of which is the Sparrow and the other the Grackle, I wonder.
That little English Sparrow. How many others fall into that same detestable and undesirable category and yet Christ loves us all just the same. Man and beast. The Sparrow, the woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus and even Paul! Paul and what and who he was before he was awakened by the Holy Spirit! Amazing that God knew and cared about every hair on Paul’s head even while he was slaughtering believers! God was working a plan to take that passion that Paul had for killing Christians and turn it into a passion for spreading the word to further points of the region. In my own life, I am not any more worthy of Christs’ love and compassion and saving grace than Paul and yet I feel His arms supporting me when I am weak, His love empowering me, and His light shining through me to reach people I would never consider reaching out to. If His eye is on the Sparrow, how much more does He care about you and I whom He created for the solitary purpose of worshipping and glorifying Him?
Read Matthew 10:27-31 and Luke 12:3-7. Consider that these verses are referring to the reverent fear of god that we should develop if we don’t already have it. The blink of an eye…if He were a vengeful God He might snuff us out one by one for a mean thought or snide look let alone the entourage of despicable behavior we display daily. How hurtful it must be to such a perfect and loving God to see His creation turn their back on Him after all He has done for us. Remember, though, the wonderful and restoratative truth that He loves us unconditionally. No regrets. Rather He takes rpide in knowing everything about you. Your thoughts, your dreams, your heartaches and even when a hair falls from your head! Return the favor to someone today.

“Be kinder than necessary to everyone because everyone is fighting some kind of battle.” (unknown)

Withdraw to Lonely Places

Where do you live? Are you in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, big city where familiarity and neighborly behavior is considered quaint and the energy emitted by the constant flow propels you forward almost effortlessly? Are you in a house, an apartment, a mobile home or perhaps even a motel? We talk about a quiet place in your garden. Perhaps you don’t have the same luxuries that some of us may have with yards to plant in and places of our own to retreat to. Perhaps your quiet place is a public park or perhaps your garden is the Ficus tree or Peace Lily someone gave you as a housewarming gift. Wherever it is, whatever it is, I encourage you to make it as quiet as possible. How comfortable are you in the quiet where you can hear all your thoughts? Walk away from your computer. On second thought, shut it down. Now turn off the cell phone, the radio, the I-pod, the TV, microwave, ceiling fan…. whatever you’ve got on to distract your mind…shut it all down. It's like a little Yoga-size but with Jesus! Feel how much pressure is relieved from your body when all the humming and buzzing is eliminated. You just won’t realize how much mental congestion you surround yourself with until it is all eliminated. Now sit in the silence for 5 minutes. Just start with 5 minutes. A bit disconcerting until you acclimate to it, isn’t it?
Christ retreated to a quiet place whenever He needed to recharge and talk to His heavenly Father. It is noted several times how He retreated to mountains or to places of solitude. The definition of solitude is “the state of being alone; seclusion.” or “a lonely, unfrequented place” from Webster’s Dictionary. It is more and more difficult for us to set ourselves off to in place of solitude for any amount of time but oh, how imperative it is!

Check these references and read the situations surrounding them, as time permits.

John 6:15
Luke 22:39-46
Luke 6:12
Luke 5:16


Take time to be quiet and restore your soul.