People Matter To God

One day, an antique collector was walking through the city when he noticed a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store and he did a double take. His expertise told him that the saucer was extremely old and very valuable, so he walked casually into the store and offered to buy the cat for two dollars. The store owner replied, "I'm sorry, but the cat isn't for sale". The collector said, "Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I'll pay you twenty dollars for that cat". And the owner said "Sold", and handed over the cat. As the collector headed for the door he turned and said, "Hey, for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat's used to it and it'll save me from having to get a dish." The owner replied, "Sorry buddy, but that's my lucky saucer. So far this week I've sold sixty-eight cats".

Obviously this collector seen value in that saucer. An important question for each of us to ask is: "What is valuable to me?"
Is it antiques? Is it cars or cash? Or How about a little bling bling?
What do we value? How about people?
Do people really matter to us? And if so how much?

In early June of 1995, the nation held it’s breath waiting to discover the fate of 29 year-old, Air Force captain Scott O’Grady.

As captain O’Grady few his F-16 over Bosnia on a routine air patrol, the Serbs fired a missile that ripped his plane in half.
As the aircraft erupted in flames, O’Grady parachuted to a wooded area below.
For six days, he hid in the woods, surviving on only grass and ants to eat.
Occasionally, he would send out a signal from a low-powered radio.
Back in the States, the government officials weighed the costs of sending in a rescue team to locate the pilot.
How many lives should be risked to save one man?
How much would it cost in fuel and the potential loss of further equipment?
The mission certainly would be very dangerous.
Yet despite all these considerations, it was concluded that the value of saving one life outweighed any of the potential costs.
It was a gutsy decision, but it turned out to be a successful one.
Tracing O’Grady’s signals as a guide the rescue team flew into his general location, and in just over 2 minutes, they had the downed pilot aboard their helicopter; headed for safety.

The majority of people around us have been shot down by the enemy, and unless they are rescued will die in captivity. Let's not get tunnel focused, there are Christians also that have been beaten down and have fallen away. How concerned are we about their precarious position?

The bottom line is "People Matter To God" so we should value people!
Although I hate to admit it, it's not uncommon for people like me and you, to fall prey to judging people. Sometimes we can start to think that God only cares about a select group of people. Only to realize that when we read the Bible that way of thinking is wrong. See there is this little verse in the Bible that has a big meaning. John 3:16 - For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
See God just doesn't love a select few, He loves EVERYONE. And when it comes to value, well what do you think? He gave His Son! Wow what a demonstration of love and value.
Jesus has asked us to do the same. to love and value people! Here are a few verses to read: Matthew 22:37-38 and John 13:34-35 and Luke 15.
We are to love all people, it doesn't matter the color of their skin, how big, how small, how rich, how poor, man, women, child, their clothes, their hair, their attitude, in prison, out of prison, tattoos, no tattoos, smoke drink you fill in the blank. Everyone who steps into our presence should feel welcomed. If they don't we need to evaluate our hearts.
Now here's an amazing thought: We never have and never will lock eyes with another human being who isn't valuable to God!
So let's start looking at people the way God looks at people, with love, value and compassion.
People Matter To God So Here At LifePoint We Value People!

Just a pat on the back.

There was an old saying "If you want to get a chip off someones shoulder, give them a pat on the back". Over the last few days I've been really thinking about my lack of giving encouragement. It seems like it's really easy to make a negative comment to someone, but hard to give them a positive one. Over the last few days I've been sitting back and listening to people speak, and I can honestly say I didn't hear many encouraging conversations. We think it's funny to cut on what someone is wearing, or how they talk, walk, smile, sing, run, hair style, and whatever else comes to mind. Not thinking that we may hurt their feelings, just hoping that someone thought it was funny too. This is happening between kids and adults, not just one or the other. No wonder why there are so many unhappy people in the world, they have nothing to look forward to because someone is always cutting them down. What if we tried to change the way we talk. What if we tried to encourage two people a day, or maybe five. Do you think we would see a difference in people? Ephesians 4:29 says No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear.
Everyday we should be in the business of encouraging someone. Building them up so they can take on the world. I think back to Moses, God told Moses that he wasn't going to enter the promise land. The land that he had been thinking and dreaming about for many years. He wasn't going. I'm sure Moses didn't feel so good about that. Then God said to Moses, Joshua who is with you will enter it. So you need to encourage him, for he will be leading Israel to inherit it. That's crazy, Moses was just told he wasn't going, but he needed to encourage Joshua. Now that would be hard. The bottom line is that we need to encourage people, throw away the rotten talk and think about what we can say that would knock that chip off someones shoulder. So try it, try and encourage two to five people today!