I just came from buying groceries.  I have spoken several times to one of the cashiers about our church food pantry.  Today she asked if she could make a cash donation to me to buy food for the pantry.  Finding the love of Jesus at the grocery store is unusual.  This lady has her own church that she supports here in town, but they don’t have a food pantry.  I go to church in Toledo, but the ministry is the same; to help those in need.

The love of Jesus can be found in many unusual places.  He has a way of bringing strangers together for His cause and purpose.  Our local homeless shelter is another place I found Jesus.  One evening I was volunteering there and found that one of the residents used to go to the same church as I did.  It was good to see him again and to know that no matter how bad his circumstances had become, he still was serving God and sharing Jesus.

One morning I felt to need to go to Walmart very early in the morning.  I really just wanted to sleep in, but the Holy Spirit kept tugging on my heart.  I went to Walmart and ran into 2 people I knew.  One was in need of encouragement and the other needed prayer.  If I had ignored that still small voice, I would have missed an opportunity to see Jesus in them.

My Sunday School class is always a good place to come face to face with Jesus.  Children are so honest and full of faith.  I was speaking a little gruffly to one of my students one morning and another little one chimed in, “Mrs. Hanny, would Jesus say that?”  I had to repent and apoligize right then and there.

We often go therough each day bouncing from negative thoughts to crisis situations.  We hear the saddest stories and struggle to make sense of what is going on around us.  What if, just for one day, we conciously watched for encounters with Jesus instead of looking at things at face value?