Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good
courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:
for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9
 
 
 
 
What About Where You Are?
 
One worthy goal of many Christians is to find a way to follow the command of Jesus and go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Mission-mindedness is indeed a great trait to have. Visions of missions to faraway lands to change the world are in the mind of many. Thoughts such as "All the world, wow! I wonder where God is going to send me," are with us as we begin our journey with Christ. We even tell God, "Here I am, send me." Time passes and life happens on this journey. It is as if God didn't hear us, or did He forgot to send us? Some even think that perhaps they aren't good enough in the eyes of man to be sent. But wait a minute, who is it that is sending us, God or man? A "mission trip" doesn't fall into our lap. Someone begging us to come to preach to them in the far corners of the world (all expenses paid) never come along and we forget the dream and become complacent in whatever place we are in on this journey. We forget that God is with us wherever we go and we should not be discouraged, nor dismayed. We forget that part of "all the world" is wherever in the world we are.
 
There is a young lady I work with at Palmer's in East Tupelo. She is a Christian. We sing together and pray together at work. Yea! How cool is that? Yesterday we were discussing the job and her hopes to have a better job at some point in time. I too have the same dream even though I am much, much older. I have been there off and on for twenty-five years and enjoy it, but a better job would still be great. I told her God has always had me there for someone each time I have come and gone through the years. I feel God has me there for a reason this time and until He releases me I plan on staying.
 
She said, "Who are you here for this time?" I thought and said, "Well I don't know yet. I just pray." Customers came through our lines then. Courtney checked out beer and cigarettes. I checked out a young lady who had three children with her and was expecting another. As I handed her the receipt I silently prayed for her. After the rush, Courtney said she prayed for the man who had all the beer. It was forty-five minutes until time for Courtney to go home. I said, "Let's pray for every customer as we hand them their receipts until you get off." She said, "Ok!" In a minute I said, "Let's call this a Receipt Revival." Courtney agreed and was so excited that we were doing something for God right there in the check out line at Palmer's in East Tupelo where we were. Courtney posted it on Facebook. I did too.
 
Her excitement reminded me of all the excitement I once had each time I got to do something new for God. It reminded me again that all the world is wherever I may be. If I never go any further than my own back yard I can still make a difference wherever I am. If I feel a lack of support of man for my efforts in one place, God will give me people (or in this case a person) in another place who does. Courtney and I plan on praying silently for every single customer we hand a receipt to from now on.
Where does God have you? Do you feel He forgot to send you? He is with you wherever you go, even where you are. He has you right where He wants you. Ask God what He would have you do in that place.
 
Remember part of all the world is the world you live in every day. When you don't know what God would have you do, just pray.
If you have the opportunity at your job, please participate in the Receipt Revival. We can change our world.
 
 
 
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves,
and pray and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 
II Chronicles 7:14