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“Interrupted Now Today, Expect Redeemer's Restoration Unify People Towards Immanuel's Omnipotent Nurture!" (I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." (Mark 10:13-16, NIV)

APPROACH QUESTION:
If you were having a conversation with someone and you are interrupted what do you do?

OBSERVATIONS:
I asked myself what were the people doing?
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them!

I asked myself what did the disciples do?
The disciples rebuked them!

I asked myself what was Jesus' reaction to the disciples actions?
1. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.
2. Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me."
3. Jesus said to them, "Do not hinder them."
4. Jesus said to them, "For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
5. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
6. Jesus took the children in His arms.
7. Jesus put His hands on them and blessed them!

Today, I decided to look at one of Jesus' response

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself why was Jesus indignant and the significance of that?
Jesus saw the disciples rebuking the people from bringing the children to him. This did not make Jesus happy even though at the time Jesus was discussing with the disciples about divorce and adultery. Jesus always seemed to make room for others amidst what He was doing. In this instance, Jesus wanted the disciples to make room for the children to come to Him even though they may have felt it was an interruption to their own conversation with Jesus.

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life here. What I personally took out of this is that Jesus did not mind interruptions and neither should I. Even though Jesus was in an interaction with His disciples, Jesus did not like that His disciples rebuked the people from bringing the little children to Him while He was interacting with them. While interacting with people, I need to beware of interruptions and take the wisdom of the Lord in addressing them.

I ask you now dear friend, what do you do with an I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N in life?
Dear friend, it is so easy to be caught up in what we are doing or supposed to be doing that when others interrupt our own conversations or the structure we have set in place, it can be frustrating. We have an agenda and we want to accomplish  that and an interruption just comes in the way that we may  try to stop it from happening like the disciples did when people were bringing children to Jesus because that interrupted their own conversations with Jesus. Yet, Jesus never took an interruption to be a nuisance. Jesus addressed the paralytic's situation when the friends brought him there (Mark 2) and Jesus addressed the people's situation when they brought the children there. We need to do the same.

When I was involved in full-time campus ministry, what I reminded our student leaders was that being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit was way more important than trying our best to stick to the format structure we put in place. In other words, if we had 15 minutes assigned to ice-breaker/chat, 15 minutes assigned to worship, 30 minutes assigned to Bible study, and finally 30 minutes assigned to prayer in that order, I did not want our groups to be rigid to that format when an INTERRUPTION occurred.

While we were having Bible study, if a student walked in crying, it made no sense to continue with the Bible study but more sense to address the student's need where he/she was at. That's what we did because even if we continued with the study for the sake of the others, that one person's need was not being addressed. I was reminded of the story of the 99 sheep and the one lost sheep. The Shepherd left the other 99 to take care of that 1 sheep. I believe Jesus was indignant with the disciples because they did not want to have an interruption with their time with Jesus. However, Jesus wants to meet our needs where we are at.

Handling an interruption takes a lot of prayer and discernment but what I found out is when we were able to even address one person's needs even if it meant postponing the Bible study, etc to spend time in prayer with that person, laying our hands, etc if they are comfortable, that grew our group more than sticking with a rigid format. Once the person felt better, they were able to focus on the Bible study too.

This takes practice and total dependence on the Lord. I know because I hate interruptions but I have learned that an interruption can be used to bless others and in the process to be blessed ourselves because we have made a difference and imitated Christ. Christ used interruptions to teach lessons and make a difference in people's lives such as the paralytic being put down the roof, such as the children being brought to Jesus, etc. We too can do the same.

It does take a lot of prayer  and willingness to take interruptions as we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the situation may involve only one person taking the other person aside, listening to them, and praying for them. It depends on the situation. It is much more easier to stop a Bible study and pray for someone who comes in crying as a group than stopping a church service to pray for someone who comes in crying but at least one person can pull them aside to see if they want to talk. Crying is an extreme example and there maybe someone who just needs to talk right away and cannot concentrate on what is happening until their situation is addressed.

I can tell you from experience that Bible study small groups that addressed interruptions to the point of canceling the Bible study became  a much more close-knit community not only with each other but the person they were helping. I was the recipient of that help when I was with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Our small group Bible study was getting ready to have their lesson on serving but all of them were very concerned that I did not show up that night. I had a lot going on with an eviction deadline to meet so I did not make it. As I was moving my stuff from Shadyside to Sq Hill, I was so overwhelmed and was talking to the Lord about it. When I was coming back from Sq Hill to Shadyside, I was shocked to see members of our small group at my place.  They had cancelled the Bible study on serving, when I had not shown up, even though it interrupted with their weekly schedule. Instead, they found out where I had lived and showed up to surprise me.

I was so touched but did not have any clue how they could help me because my apartment was like it was hit by a cyclone. My bedroom, my living room, and kitchen were swamped with stuff everywhere. I thanked them and requested them to leave but they were not going to hear those words. Sara told me that she would go back to campus and bring boxes and she did.  Sara, Jonathan, David, and Josh basically became my movers. They packed everything from 8:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. even though few of them had finals the next day. When I think about the magnitude of their help, to this day, I long for that type of small group where we lived out Acts 2:42-47.  The next day, Josh had his brother bring his big truck and both David and Josh packed their truck to full capacity and then unloaded everything into my garage in Sq. Hill.

My Chinese roommate was just stunned when they totally cleaned up all my mess and left back to campus at 11:30 p.m. He asked me who my friends were and where they were from! When I told them that Sara is the president of Pitt-IVCF, Jonathan is the vice-president of Pitt-IVCF, Josh is the worship coordinator of Pitt-IVCF, and David is the prayer coordinator of Pitt-IVCF, his response was, "No wonder because they are Christians and that was really nice of them to help you that way." He had heard about InterVarsity Christian Fellowship before.

What makes it that much more touching is that these were students and I was their staff worker at the time. It was already embarrassing for me to take their help because I had felt as a campus minister, I need to be ministering to them and taking care of their needs but here they were canceling the small group I had set in place for that night to come and help me. They used an interruption to be a blessing.

It did not stop there with this group but few months earlier when one of the students' lost her ID in a dumpster, as a staff worker, I volunteered to help that student find her ID. I got in the dumpster to look for it and cut myself. When I came out of the dumpster, I fainted. Sara who was studying nursing and Becky who was studying occupational study attended to my needs by taking me to their McCormick suite while Brad, Sandy, and Liz came to see how I was doing. They were so concerned about me that they told their RA, that they were going to let me stay in the guest room for the night. It was such a blessing.

I had decided to become a campus minister to take care of the spiritual needs of the students but these students from IVCF took care of my physical needs. They used interruptions to become a blessing. What they did for me I wanted to do for others. I wanted to make an impact in other people's lives for His honor and glory. I felt how much they loved their staff worker.

Well, all that is in the past but the principles can still be applied today where we can see interruptions as opportunities to bless others instead of seeing them as nuisances. We can love others by our actions.

I have used ministry examples but the principles can be applied in the workforce, academia, etc too. Take interruptions to bless others instead of being upset or mad. Usually, people don't interrupt unless they are really bothered by something. Just as the IVCF students did we need to be receptive to other people's situations like they did mine but that involves discerning of the Holy Spirit and making our own lives vulnerable to others. Our small group basically knew everything about each other. They could have literally been my blood brothers and sisters.

Five+ years ago, I missed Holy Communion because I had dislocated my shoulder. Pastor Mike interrupted his own schedule to come to our home and administer Holy Communion at my bedside. That was so touching because Chandra and I did not expect that to happen. There are other interruptions that people have taken to bless our family. You maybe the one someone interrupts but use that as an opportunity to bring blessing into their lives.

May you use an interruption in your own life to become a blessing to those in need! Amen!

"Interrupted Now Today, Expect Redeemer's Restoration Unify People Towards Immanuel's Omnipotent Nurture!" (I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N)/"What do you do with an I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N in life?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for letting me see how upset you were with the disciples when they rebuked the people from bringing the children to you. They were interrupted from their conversation with you about divorce but you did not mind the interruption from children. You always look for ways to help those in need. Thanks so much Jesus. Thank you for how you have used people in our lives who used interruptions to bless us instead of taking them as a nuisance. Help us to do the same please Oh Lord. Thanks so much Jesus. Thank you for helping some of us to experience what an Acts 2:42-47 community looks like. I pray that all of us can experience that in our lifetime sooner than later if I may ask Oh Lord. Give us discernment to meet the needs of those that are brokenhearted, financially in trouble, having family trouble, etc. Thanks so much Lord Jesus. We turn our time over to you. Thank you for hearing our prayer and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I  struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me too. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help!