Good morning! I hope that you are doing well. My fingers are recovering from the long post yesterday. I didn't realize how long winded I am... No comments from those who know me. =) Well, let me share once more.

I was sitting at my desk reading in Psalm 1 and I read this: "Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction."

I used to think this meant that I should not hang around those who were messed up because I was always taught that I could be "almost" perfect. Boy, was I wrong! These verses do not mean that we should not converse or love on those who are a mess. Before people begin to think that I have fallen off the wagon, I realize we can't do the things that the wicked do, but we should be willing to go where the wicked are. Before anyone picks up any rocks...remember, Jesus went to the party. (Matthew 9:9-12)

Would you be willing to go to the party? Hug the homeless? Love the unlovely? Share a meal with those who are mad? Sit with those with a different sexual orientation? No. May I ask why? Jesus did. He did not justify the actions of those he partied with, but He did interact with them. He let them know they were loved because He spent time with them.

I am convinced if we keep reading in Psalm 1 we will find out if we meditate on the Word day and night we will begin to love our community. No matter who they are or what they do. Why should we? Because the last words of those verses hit me like a brick this morning, "4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction." The words "condemned" and "destruction" jumped out at me.

If I do not take the message of the meditated Word to the messed up, how will they know the love of a forgiving Savior? Because of my addiction to sin, I deserve both of these words, but God sent His Son for me. If I do not "go to the party" or get out of my Christian bubble and show the love of a forgiving Savior, how will sinners change? I have accepted Christ's love and I desire to follow Him, but what about those I come face to face with each day. A lot of time we excuse our actions by saying, "They are too messy to deal with." However, I am so glad that in my mess someone did not say that about me.

I actually did have some that chose to look past me, and that was their decision, but I am so thankful for the men that got wrapped up in my mess. They went to the "party". How about you? Will you go? We can meditate all day and all night on God's Word, and I think that is a great thing, but what about giving out what we meditated on? If we stay saturated we will eventually become rotten. I don't want to become spoiled and moldy spiritually. Do you?

I told myself that I was not going to be as long winded today, but... I guess it didn't work. Will you go to the party? Will you choose to get into someone else's mess? If we have been meditating on His Word then we should be going to love on others. Maybe you are the one messed up and you need someone to come along beside you. Let me know. I will do my best to help you walk through your mess so you can be, as Psalm 1 says, "like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season." Email me at jturner@dreamcenterpc.org to share needs or thoughts on this blog. The question to myself and to you is, "Will you go to the party?"