As I sat in a restaurant today, I was sipping coffee and going over notes for an upcoming conference. Normally, I face away from the door because it is less distracting. Otherwise, I tend to look at every person that enters. I am not sure why, but today I sat right by the door and faced it. I saw every person that walked into the restaurant.

At one point, I looked up to see a woman trying to enter the restaurant. She was having difficulty getting a boy to come inside. The young lad looked to be about ten to twelve years old. He struggled with his mother. (I assume it was his mother.) He had a terror-stricken face. Finally, she had to pick up this boy, so he would come into the restaurant. As they walked through the door, the boy was so frightened, and then he covered both of his ears and kept them covered the whole time while in the restaurant. It became obvious that the boy was either non-verbal or limited verbally. He clung to this woman for dear life.

The woman had a large takeout order, so it took a while to get it ready. She held this child the entire time. As she headed back to her vehicle, this boy was still so frightened, and his mother held him so tightly, while the young man continued to cover both ears.

After observing this woman and her son, it became apparent to me that the boy was autistic. My heart melted for her. I have since prayed for both the mom and son.

My grandson Joseph, who is on the autism spectrum, recently celebrated his fourteenth birthday. Joseph is so loved by his family and by both sides of extended family. We love him deeply. I can testify that this boy has an enormous chunk of my heart. When Joseph’s official diagnosis revealed that he was on the ASD scale, we all cried many tears. Through much prayer, love and therapy, Joseph has made progress, but at times, it is still a challenge.

We personally have learned of several pastoral families, several friends, and acquaintances who have received the same diagnosis. When I speak at conferences and mention Joseph, there are always people in the audience whose lives are touched by autism. ALWAYS.

This is autism awareness month. ASD is not often talked about in Christian circles, yet autism affects so many families. I always cared about children with special needs, but when it touched my family, my caring went to a whole new level. There is a significant difference in day-to-day living in a home affected by this disorder and wearing a blue shirt that mentions autism.

Much can be done to help these children if therapy is started early. Often insurance will not cover all the child needs to improve their lives, and in some cases will cover nothing. While some free therapies are available, they often need more.

I have realized that, as the Church, we must be caring and prayerful for these families. For instance, does your church have any kind of ministry in place for families affected by autism? Does your church offer any kind of ministry to families with children who have special needs? The Church must minister to these families. It is a mission field.

I am thankful that our local church is trying to help these families through small groups where families can gather to support and pray for each other. Our church also has a ministry called The Haven, which is for all children with disabilities. The Haven allows a family to attend a church service. while their child is loved and cared for. Even a teen and adult Haven is offered.

I know of a small church in the Midwest that raised funds to set up a sensory room, utilized workers trained in this area, and used it as outreach. They immediately got new families – families who had never been able to regularly attend a church service.

The Church must step up. Do not close your eyes to this need. Ask other churches for ideas. Search the Internet for ministry ideas for children with special needs. Call that mom and ask her how she is today. Pray with her. Men, reach out to a man who is trying to be a dad to an atypical child.

One of the things we pray for Joseph is that he will have a close personal relationship with the Lord. We ask God to communicate with Joseph and visit him in his dreams. We ask God to let Joseph fulfill the purpose for which he was placed on the earth. God can do all these things and more!

Think about it. Pray about it. Care about it. But please do not ignore it. Why? Because autism matters, children with special needs matter, and families matter.

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2.

Maybe it is my age. Maybe it is not being able to turn my mind away from all the things I must do before leaving for a conference in Maine. Whatever it is – I hate when it shows up! Insomnia! I commanded my body to sleep. I claimed sleep. I rebuked lack of sleep. In my mind, I even rebuked my husband who dared to sleep!

Often when I cannot sleep, I quietly find my way through the dark to the living room. I will drop in my favorite chair and prop up my feet. Sleep still stays as far away as possible. This happened recently, so I decided to turn on the television to see if it would put me to sleep. (Yes, I know I could pray and read, but there are times I just want to veg out!)

There is little that I care to watch, but recently a few friends talked about a new show. They said, “You must watch this.” It is soooo good!” I have also seen many friends praise this program on their social media posts. After turning on the television, I saw that the program was offered as a choice, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. After three minutes of watching the program, I was …   Let me speak in the Amplified Version: I was shocked, appalled, disturbed, astonished, and stunned!

The language in the first three minutes was shocking to me. I turned it off, and that program will never be played in my home again.

I remember a time in the USA that this kind of language was unacceptable in the open. Now, presidents, senators, congress members, and even believers find no problem with filthy language.  As a nation, we slowly walked to the edge, and now it seems we are in full-blown free fall in accepting the unacceptable.

Am I here to bash the USA? NEVER! I love this country. I lead a prayer group of almost four hundred people, and our sole purpose is to pray for the United States of America. I still get tears in my eyes when I see Olympians from the USA win a medal and stand on a podium while The Star-Spangled Banner is playing. I cry when I see vets come home to reunite with their loved ones. It is not unusual for me to cry when I hear Lee Greenwood sing “God Bless the USA.” I love this country.

It is also true that, as a nation, we have gone in directions that God never intended, and we are paying the price. Some blame it on liberals and others blame it on conservatives. There is plenty of blame to go around. What is the answer?

God’s people are the answer.

When Our Lord, Jesus Christ, came to this earth, He did not start a club. He started the Church. Oh, I know, it technically was birthed on the day of Pentecost, but without Jesus, there would be no Church. Jesus began changing people, who began changing their world.

Jesus said it this way, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus declared that He was building a Church, strong enough to have victory over all the power of hell.

If you have accepted Christ as Savior, you are part of the Church, the called-out ones. Jesus said, “I am going to change the lives of people and build my Church (the called out) with them, and they will be called out and different from the culture. It will be a Church that can stand against all that hell represents.”

What if the Church became the Church that Jesus described? What if I became the Christian Jesus described? If we stopped blending in with the culture, and become those Christians, what difference would it make in the Church? And, if the Church began to walk closely with God, what difference would it make in the city … the state … the nation?

God said this is how a nation is healed: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Notice that God said, “My people called by my Name.” He says nothing about the secular world. If we want to see our land healed, God said that it starts with His people. That is you, and that is me. This verse teaches us that God responds to a repentant, humble heart. I want to have a heart like that.

The hope for America is God, and God works through His Church.

When my husband was a pastor in South Carolina, he was asked to visit a woman in jail. “Sally” had killed her husband. She had lived in an abusive marriage for many years. After one particularly brutal night between Sally and her husband, he went to bed. While he was sleeping, she shot him. The judge said that his death was understandable but not justifiable.

Gaylon went to visit Sally and became a spiritual counselor to her. With the permission of the authorities, Sally was escorted to our church for church services. Sally accepted Jesus and was baptized at our church. I am sure there was rejoicing in Heaven.

While Heaven rejoiced, not all of earth joined in the celebration. There were those who objected to Sally being allowed to attend church or to be baptized. Sally was evil and did not deserve this kind of treatment. It was just jailhouse religion.

Sally was no longer allowed to be escorted to church services, but her name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and no one could erase that! Jesus died for Sally, just like He did for me. Sally deserved to hear the Good News.

Everyone deserves to hear the Gospel. Jesus died for all, not just for the ones we like or the ones of which we approve. Jesus died for all, not just for the ones that we like their personalities or the way they dress or smell. Jesus died for all.

Oswald Smith said, “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice until everyone has had an opportunity to hear it at least once.” Every person on earth deserves to hear the truth about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

We live in a bad news world. Each morning, we wake up and see it in the headlines. In the evening, we see bad news again on the local news. And we probably heard plenty of bad news in between those times. The daily reports are relentless and overwhelmingly negative.

All around us are people facing temptation, regret, pain, suffering, failure, and disappointment. The bad news is truly bad, but there is good news in the face of it all. The good news has a name, and it is Jesus. He is still saving people and offering them eternal life in Heaven. This message about Jesus is worth sharing every day.

Let’s give people some good news today.

We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land, climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Sing above the battle strife: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
By His death and endless life Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout it brightly through the gloom, when the heart for mercy craves;
Sing in triumph o’er the tomb: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!