This morning I woke up in my comfortable bed, with it's soft sheets and accommodating pillows.

I stretched, rubbed my eyes and reached over to my night stand to pick up my leather Bible. Right now I'm studying the Book of Matthew, so I turned to chapters 10 and 11 and read the words of Jesus. After I finished that, I proceeded to prepare for the day. Once I was clean and dressed, I fed my tropical fish, greeted my kitten and left the house.

As I climbed into my monstrous SUV, and sat back in it's roomy leather seat, I sighed a sigh of contentment (and a little sleepiness). Surely, I am blessed, so I can't complain. Yes, it is Saturday, but it is not my day off.

I had just read that Jesus had time off work- but wherever He went to relax, there were people who needed healing, encouragement and guidance.

Matthew 9:35-37 says it this way:
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few.

So, as I drove down the road from my house on the way to one of the local nursing homes, I thanked God for my vehicle and it's service to the ministry.

As I walked into the building with our team from the HopeCenter and saw 80 year-old men and women in wheelchairs staring at walls, I thanked God that I have clarity of mind.

When they grabbed my legs and said "please pray for me, I haven't seen my family in years," I thanked God that I get to see my family and friends all the time.

And then a young man, no older than 25, who wore a cowboy hat and sat in a wheelchair, took my hand and said "My knees hurt so bad. I can't move and I want to walk again."

I paused. And then I thanked God that He hears our prayers.

So I got down on my knees in the nursing home cafeteria so I could look into His eyes, and told him of this Jesus I had read about this morning. How He healed the lepers and opened blind eyes. How He spoke to the paralyzed and they took up their mats and walked. I prayed with him, and he began to move his legs. I believe that God is doing a great work in that young man's body even now, and he will not just be able to move, but fully walk.

Just as I finished praying with him, a person came to me and said "Could you please come to a room down the hall? Someone wants to see you."

I followed the lady to a room at the end of the corridor. I recognized this room as one we had visited last month. The patient had experienced a severe stroke and was almost in a vegetative state in her bed, unable to talk or move the last time we saw her.

Today, as I entered her room, she was sitting up in bed talking and waving her arms for me to come over and give her a hug. We had prayed that the Light of God would work in her fragile body, and He had done just that.

I thanked God that He answers our prayers.

After we left the nursing home, I went into my office to prepare for tonight's Bible Study. No sooner had I sat in my chair then my phone rang. I thought, "Who could be calling on a Saturday?"

The call was from the State Prison. One of our newest church members had been put in jail recently for a crime that was committed long before she knew the Lord. Even though she was sentenced to serve time, the judge shortened her sentence from 5 years to only 4 months.

I spoke to her for awhile and she told me that she spends most of her day reading her Bible and enjoying fellowship with God. We prayed together on the phone, and I heard a strength in her voice that could only come from the joy of the Lord. When I hung up, I sat in my chair in silence for a moment thinking about what life must be like for her in that prison cell.

Yet, she found time to make a collect call so that she could hear about Jesus for a few minutes.

I can read my Bible, watch a good TV preacher, listen to an audio sermon series, pray....I could even fly to a Christian convention a thousand miles away if I wanted.
But she didn't have that choice.

The nursing home. The jail.
My freedom. My blessing.

But what good is freedom or a blessing when it serves no purpose other than to say you have it?
The Apostle Paul said that he was an ambassador in bonds for Christ's sake. Christ said in the book of Matthew that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Paul was free, but then again, he understood he was a laborer for Christ.

I see Riley Stephenson in Fort Worth, Texas who pours out his life so that others might know Jesus. I see women like Andrea Martinez in Branson, Missouri who live so that others might know Love.

They don't go to church so that people might see their new suit or dress. They do it because they are moved with compassion to give away what they have. They live the Truth that they say they believe. Being thankful is good, but what does it compel you to do? Where is this company of the Army of The Living God?
When you sit down to eat, like Jesus did, do people interrupt your life because they realize you have the answer that they need?

Saturday Night Worship service starts in a few hours... but I realize that true worship began the moment I awoke in my comfortable bed.