Monday, June 14, 2010

You CAN make this stuff up

Tonight a wonderful thing happened. Truly wonderful. I realized today that I am truly blessed. For some reason, while I was realizing this tonight, a conversation popped up in my head that I imagine would have happened between God and me, had I been listening at first. These things are always scary and borderline blasphemous. I promise I will keep it on the up & up.
"Hey God?"
"Yes?"
"Look. I know that you have blessed me to receive a brand new lawn mower..."
"Well, the giver was blessed, and he passed a blessing on to you."
"I would really like to mow the lawn today, too."
"I know. You need to, I've seen it. Some of that grass is taller than your children."
"Yeah..."
"Go ahead. You can ask me."

"Lord, why is it raining?!? I can't mow in the rain!"
"I know you want to get out there. I really want you to. How about if I knock down the dust, and take the temperature down 15 degrees?"
"Oh! That's what the rain is for! OK- that's fabulous. High 70s is better than low 90s when mowing."
"I know."
"Well, thank you again! I'll get as much done as I can."
"You're welcome."
"You know, you're better to me than I realize sometimes."
"I know. That's what I do. How about a little breeze, too?"
"Wow. Thank you."
"Anytime. I mean it. Anytime. You want to talk to me, I'm here."
"I should really talk to you more."
"I know."

Friday, June 11, 2010

Maybe I'm a little punchy

It happens anytime I read. I get so sleepy! I can not explain it, it is a phenomenon. I was reading the Bible tonight, in the book of Mark, and I just started cracking up! I'm talking cackling, looking at Cake Wrecks laughing! So what was I reading?
"32 They brought to Him a deaf man who also had a speech difficulty, and begged Jesus to lay His hand on him. 33 So He took him away from the crowd privately. After putting His fingers in the man's ears and spitting, He touched his tongue. 34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!"). 35 Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed, and he began to speak clearly." -from Mark 7, HCSB
I just got the mental picture of Jesus sticking His fingers in this guy's ears and spitting. It didn't say where He spat, but He spat. It didn't even say why He spat, because all He really had to do was say the word. It doesn't say why He touched the man;s tongue. What a picture! What a riot!
It just serves as a reminder to me that God does not always work in the way that we would expect. He may have a whole new way to do it. As it says, His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways. The answer may come in an unusual fashion, but wait- the answer will come. If He needs to stick His fingers in your ears and touch your tongue, be willing to say aaahh.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

How Can I Miss you When You Haven't Gone Away?

I am going to get in trouble here. What I SHOULD be doing is working on one of two papers, both due by Thursday morning. At the time of this writing, it is Tuesday evening. Well, like everyone says, I work best under pressure.
What is on my mind tonight is something that has been on my mind since Sunday morning, when my wife and I were listening to Beth Moore on CD on the way to church. I have realized that if you don't go with these urgings, it is hard to reclaim them once they're gone, you miss a blessing, and others that need the message placed in you suffer. So here it goes: I don't remember exactly why she was saying this, but she brought up Colossians 1:27 (NASB)- "to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." She was talking about the Holy Spirit being the Spirit of Christ, and how when we accept Christ, that Spirit instantly comes in to us. Now Pentecostals, AoG people, let's not get theological here. Let's just go on for this premise: we are filled with the Spirit of Christ.
How then do we ask where is God in a situation? How do we ask why it seems that God is not there? We say we believe in an omnipresent, omnipotent God, and say he is absent. Folks, if you are a saved, committed follower of Christ, and you don't know where He is in the situation you are facing, may I ask you to look in? Then, may I ask you to look around. Re-read Psalm 139: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7, NASB) For the follower of Christ, you that have His Spirit living in you, you bring Him with you into your situation. Do not ask where He is. Ask Him where this is taking you!
The biggest problem is that we do not talk to God enough in the everyday, and hear His voice in the mundane, to know what He sounds like in the times of urgency. When trouble comes our way, we do not know where to turn but to Him. He guides us through, we say "Whew! That was close!" Maybe we thank Him, and we go on. I'm guilty, too. I do not always recognize Him in the everyday. But we all need to know that He is there. He is with us. We do not need to ask Him where He is. We just need to recognize Him.