'What the World Needs Now'

I have a simple melody in my head. Reminds me of one of the songs from this morning at church. I am sitting in the presence of the Lord by myself, listening to that melody and the sound of cars driving by and watching the sun come out. Thunderstorms are expected right now, but at the moment there is no sign of them. In fact, the sun is brighter than it has been all day. I am alone except for the presence of the Lord which most people know nothing about. This morning during the worship service, the presence of the Lord was so strong. Everyone could feel it. I know he is there whether or not we feel anything, but I have always felt his presence to one degree or another ever since he washed my sins away. It grieves me to realize that most people have no idea what that means or what that's like. Someone had left their clothes in one of the machines with a basket on top of it, and another one wasn't working. I called the landlord who was in Texas where his daughter was graduating from college. He couldn't do anything but told me to take the clothes out of the machine and put them in the basket and put it on top of the table. By the time I got back to the laundry room, the clothes had been put into two dryers. I decided to try the big dryer. It worked just like the others but I had never used it, so I hoped it would do the trick. I hadn't planned on doing my laundry this afternoon. I had planned on working on music for the rest of the afternoon in preparation for my once a month retirement center gig (60 minutes of singing and playing whatever I want to play, mostly sad country ballads and gospel songs) but then plans always seem to change, and for people who don't like change, that can be a bit irksome. I used to hate doing laundry. It was just such a chore, and kept me from doing just about anything else that I would rather do, but lately, I've actually been enjoying doing laundry. I credit God for that, because there is such a thing as "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8) and "peace that passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). Little inconveniences and unexpected changes sometimes put me in a panic. Leaving out the details, I will just say that I had hoped Sunday afternoon might be a good time to wash my clothes. I live in an apartment that has a laundry room with three washers and three dryers. They were not all in use, but I had never used the big dryer before and there were a whole lot of strange symbols on the front of the machine (I guess that was their attempt to communicate with people who speak different languages), but it turned out it worked just like the other two that were occupied. I had no idea Sunday afternoon would be such a busy laundry day for so many people. Sometimes I think I understand what my late younger sister must have been going through with her panic attacks and anxiety that ultimately took her out. I have traces of the same tendencies in myself. But the Lord has been with me, of that there is no doubt, and without him I know I would probably be coming apart too, just like she was. It is so sad to think about her being gone. I still can't believe it, but it is the case, and there is nothing I can do about it. You know that old song, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love…that's the only thing that there's just too little of…" Good rhyme, I will say, but what if I were to say, "What the world needs now is Jesus Christ?" Then some people would be offended. I have been hearing a lot of talk on the radio about how we are in a "post-Christian" nation right now. And maybe we are. Times are certainly changing from when I was a child. I think it was much better then, but this is the time we are in, and I can do nothing to change that. I mean other than allowing God to change me from the inside, and that brings me back to the topic of the presence of the Lord. Since July 15, 1979, I have felt the presence of the Lord with me at all times, sometimes stronger than other times, but I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit has indwelt me for all these years and has been working on the inside of me. I don't know how important all the outward changes are; the way people dress, the way they do their hair or get tattoos or piercings or the like. That's all strange to me, but I don't think that is what really matters. What really matters is what's inside a person. And if they have Jesus Christ living inside them by the miracle of the indwelling Holy Spirit, there is peace that passes all understanding… "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Oh, and by the way, God is love (1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16). Therefore, what the world needs now is God and his Son our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope that you will allow him to come into your life and give you joy and peace and the love that the world is looking for in all the wrong places. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Philippians 4:23 and many other places in the New Testament when the Apostle Paul closed his letters to the churches). "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus quotes this commandment in Matthew 22:37, in Luke 10:27 and in Mark 12:30. "And the second is like it," Jesus said. "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:39-40). So, that is what the world needs now. To know Jesus and to make him known. That is the call to us all. To love the Lord with all that is within us and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Who knows what changes might occur in our world if we would all do that? And now, that storm seems to be approaching.