The Amazing Presence and Message of God

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  Luke 2:17-18 NIV

If you believe in Jesus, God is in you.  This amazing God has given you an amazing presence with an amazing message.  There are three steps to sharing God's amazing presence and message: 

1. Experience Jesus.
2. Spread your message. 
3. Spread God's message.

What happened with shepherds on the night Jesus was born illustrates these three steps.

EXPERIENCE JESUS
The shepherds saw an amazing thing:  an angel--a messenger from heaven.  The angel of the Lord emanated the glory of the Lord.  The shepherds were amazed, filled with terror.  Then the angel gave them an amazing message:  God has come to the earth, and you can go see Him.  So they went.  And they saw God.  They were amazed because they experienced the most amazing thing they'd ever experienced.  You have also experienced what the shepherds experienced.  Your first step is the same as theirs was on the night Jesus was born.

The first step to the amazing message God has given you is your own personal and real experience of Jesus.  You have God in you.  Nothing is more amazing.  You haven't just experienced God in the past when you accepted Jesus.  You are experiencing Him in you now, and in my words, which are based on God's words.  Having experienced God directly just as the shepherds experienced Him, you have an amazing message.  Like the shepherds, you must spread the word.

SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE
All the shepherds did was tell what they had seen and heard.  They couldn't help it.  They were amazed. So are we.  You and I have the Lord in us.  Everyone in our life experiences God when they experience us.  He's in us.  They can't help but experience Him.  So tell them what they're experiencing.  Most likely they've made comments about you and your life.  You know that what they're noticing is what God is doing to you and through you.  Tell them that.  But make sure you are saying what God has already said.  Like the shepherds, you should share the message of God, according to God's own words.

SPREAD GOD'S MESSAGE
The shepherds didn't give their own opinions about Jesus.  They told the people what the angel told them:  that the baby in the manger was the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord.  You should do what the shepherds did.  Your message, what you've experienced, must be based on God's message--His word, the scriptures.  For example, I'm studying Luke chapter 2.  I'm sharing with you from those scriptures what God's Spirit shared with me in those scriptures.  Everything I'm writing is based on my experience of the Spirit illuminating those words, the words in Luke 2:17-18. 

In the same way, when you pray, read scriptures, or follow the Spirit, you have a message based on the scriptures.  You're experiencing God, the God of the Bible.  Simply share with the people in your life what God has shared with you, in the same way the shepherds shared what God shared with them.

Monica's Key

Monica, will you marry me?

Don's eyes were dark, deeply piercing my eyes, and my racing heart.  We sat on a bench on our favorite nature trail, at the place where the path splits in two roads.  At the end of both roads were log cabins, and sometimes those who walked the paths rented the cabins. 

Now it was my life that was forking, and at the end were two cabins for me:
One with Don, and one without Don.

The key. 
I have the key.

It dawned on me.  This moment, the answer to Don's question, would begin a new life.  A new me.
I could become a wife, and then a mother, and bring into this world brothers and sisters who would not have been here before this moment.  They would be because of me.

The key. 
I have the key.

A simple, "yes," or "no."  An "I will," or "I will not."  I had the key to my life, and even Don's life.  They key to unborn lives.  It could begin with me.

The key. 
I have the key.

"Monica?"

His voice broke my trance.  But not for long.  Though I sat silently no longer than a minute, for Don I'm sure it seemed like an hour.  It seemed that way for me, the one with the key...to this life and eternity. 

Who gave me this key?
Don, in this moment.
But before this moment?
Who gave me the key to my femininity, to my womanly identity?
It had to be The One who made me.  I could feel him on the path, but even He waited for my answer.
Even He could not open the door.

"Do you need more time," Don asked.  His voice sounded sad, but more beautiful than ever.  I felt no pressure.  He loved me.  I knew this...because he waited.  I felt free to accept or reject his proposal. 

"My delay isn't an answer."
"I know.  You like to think before answering."

My heart melted.  He did know me.  And love me.  And like me.  I knew, loved, liked, and deeply admired my Don.  Yet the weight of this moment summed up every moment of my life before.  Though I was thoughtful, I never thought about each choice, each key given to me.  I vowed to never lose my keys again...then I looked into his eyes.

"Yes, Don.  I'm yours."  I gave my answer with a new power.

Don hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear,  "And I am yours Monica.  Always."

The Archangel watches The Devil

As on the day of the great heavenly battle, I, with the Lord, saw the satan fall from heaven, I watch him, at set times, approach God’s throne.  I, Michael, the archangel, who defeated the liar before God made man, share with you, the creature, a glimpse of what you will see for all eternity. 

As it was on the day the satan accused Job, the time came for the accuser to stand accused, giving an account before God.  It is always the same.  The liar lies to his demons under his oppression as he departs his dark kingdom and leaves his dark throne.  “Fair well, princes of darkness.  I go now to receive worship from the so called creator, his so called creation, and the so called heaven.”  “Hail, Lucifer, son of the morning!”  “I receive your praise, as I receive all praise,” the satan says, with the smirk of pride personified…until he leaves his assigned realm of darkness.  I always see this.

Entering light from his assigned eternal night, his face quickly changes.  He is ensouled hate.  Hate mind.  Hate emotion.  Hate volition.  Hate in motion.  Hate moving towards love, unloved.  Ascending from the night into the light, approaching slowly the pearly gates, he waits.  Shivering as in earth’s winter cold, the satan becomes hesitation.  He is four steps away from God’s gates.

I hate me.

The first step is taken.  The last three he cannot imagine.

God hates me.

Step two nearly broke the spirit who is now nothing.

Then the part comes that the accused accuser dreads the most; it always came at his third step towards the gate of heaven.

Heaven hates the satan.

He heard them all in unison, and is the personification of heart broken barren existence.  The last step undoes him, with the last words of his unwelcome:

Creation hates the satan.

I, Michael, the archangel, saw the accuser accused. 

Ugly. 

Stupid. 

Weak. 

Naked. 

And Ashamed.

How the AntiChrist will Deceive Christians (1)

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.  John 1:18 NIV

The Antichrist is not the opposite of Christ; he is another Christ, and not the true Christ.  This is how the apostasy will begin: the church will fall away because we are worshipping another Christ.  Many of us who say we believe in Jesus really believe in the Antichrist. 

But if you want to resist deception, keep reading.  I will show you how the Antichrist deceives Christians, and how to avoid his deception.

DECEPTION BEGINS IN OUR IMAGINATION

Remember the story of the golden calf?  Many of us think the Israelites were worshipping a false god.  But look carefully at their words:

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 

Exodus 32:1-4, NASB, italics and bold text mine.

Do you see the Israelites imagining the true God?  They were not attempting to worship a pagan deity like Dagon or Ra.  They imagined the true God was strong like a calf and glorious like gold, trying to picture what Yahweh was like. 

But they had already heard God's voice from Mount Sinai.  They did not see Him or his form.  By imagining a visible God, they worshiped another god, though picturing the True God. 

They took a path away from the true God to a false God, a path away from Christ and towards the Antichrist.  We are also on the path towards the Antichrist if we imagine God in any way other what He truly is.  (Click HERE for part 2.)

How the Antichrist will deceive Christians (2)

How can we avoid the deception of our imaginations and know what God is truly like?  The answer is in this scripture:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:16 NIV

Jesus alone shows us who God is and what God is like.  The real Jesus, mind you.  Not the American republican right wing conservative Jesus, or the democratic liberal Jesus, or the socialist Jesus, the hippie Jesus, the militant Jesus, or any other Jesus of our imagination. 

The real Jesus, born of a virgin named Mary, a Hebrew, of the tribe of Judah and the line of King David, is the only one who can and does give us a picture of what the one true God is like.  He is the "exact representation of God's being," according to the book of Hebrews. 

The Antichrist will deceive us when we imagine the Lord Jesus in any way other than what He is.

The way we can resist this deception is to accept the absolute truth about God and ourselves.  The Lord Jesus, and His Spirit, reveals both.  Listen to Jesus' words:

All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 
Matthew 11:27, NIV

The truth about God is the same as the truth about any other person we want to really know:  we can't know God, or anyone else, unless they reveal themselves to us, as it is also written:

For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:7-8 NIV

"When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you."  Psalms 50:21 NIV

In all of these scriptures we see one common theme:  we can't know God unless He reveals Himself to us.  (And He has revealed Himself to us through Christ, and Christ alone.)  He is not like us, nor is He one of us.  We are infinitely below Him.  Unless we humble ourselves, we will inevitably deceive ourselves.  We'll make God like us, which is what the Antichrist will offer us in the end.  He will give us a god in our own image and likeness, a god focused on us, instead of us focused on Him. 

The Antichrist will give us an American god, an American jesus, a government of the people, by the people, and FOR the people, and NOT kingdom of God, in which God's will ALONE is done, on earth, and in heaven. 

This is the core of the deception:  our will being done instead of God's will being done. 

Heaven is not a democracy. 
It is a kingdom.
God is a King.

The rejection of God as an absolute King is the acceptance of the Antichrist.

Look into your own heart, or at your church.  Who is really ruling and reigning?

• If it is Christ, then you and your church will be at odds with this world, with America, with all who refuse to bow to God the King. 
• If it is not Christ, then you and your church will be seeking the same thing people in this world seek: your will being done instead of God's will being done.

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Joshua 24:15 NASB

The Man of God at the Bus Stop (Part 2)

"What should we do?" said the other woman at the bus stop.  (I, the woman with dark brown hair, the African-American woman who just spoke, and another man about college aged, stood watching this entire event.)  The African-American woman also had dark brown eyes and bushy black hair that stood with a ferocity that contrasted the beauty of her humility. 

"Accept the good news and change the way you live," the man of God warmly responded.

"What do you think about this so called 'message?'" The first woman sarcastically asked the college aged man. 

"I don't think anything about it.  He's free to believe whatever he wants."  But he spoke hesitantly, with a slight tremble, like someone trying to convince himself of something he doesn't really believe.

"I accept your message sir," said the African-American woman.  "I give my life to God right now."

"God's Spirit will lead you from now on."

"Sir, how do we know what you're saying is true?" I asked.  I don't know why I and the African-American woman called him "sir."

"You knew from the time I spoke.  You heard God Himself speaking through me to you."

He was right.  I did.  That's what I was trying to say earlier, but didn't know how.  It really was like God was speaking to me through him, to all of us through him.  Even the angry woman looked scared now.  I could tell she also knew God was speaking.

"I don't want God in my life!" she yelled. This shocked all of us except the man of God.

"Then He won't be.  But He loves you and will welcome you if you change your mind."

Tears filled the angry woman's eyes.  They filled mine too.  I could feel God's love in the man's voice, and I could see how deeply it touched the angry woman.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said softly and sadly.  For the first time, she looked sweet, again to my surprise.

"God loves you."

"I know He does.  I'm sorry for everything I've ever done.  Will He forgive me?"
"He does forgive you.  Follow His Spirit from now on."

I saw something beyond words.  The African-American woman and the formerly angry woman looked so peaceful they almost glowed.  They were radiant.  Like when someone has really clear healthy skin and they are pondering a beautiful memory.

"What about you two?  How do you respond to God's message?

Click HERE for part 3

The Man of God at the Bus Stop (Part 1)

Everyone listen, I have extremely good news:

God has come to the earth; God has taken charge of this world.

I and three others at the bus stop looked at this man of God, unsure of how to respond.  I can't explain it, but something about the way he gave his message struck me.  He sounded like a news reporter, a  police officer, and an excited fan of a team that just won the final game.  In other words, I believed him.  I can't explain why.  From the looks of the other three with me, they also believed him...at least in the sense of feeling like his words were an accurate report of a real event.  But their responses varied sharply.

"Who do you think you are?!  All I'm trying to do is wait for the stupid bus, and here you come, shoving your religion down our throats!"  The woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes never let her gaze off of the man of God.  Never.  Her breathing sped on as her chest heaved up and down.  Her fists clenched and reddened. 

"I am only delivering a message," said the man of God calmly.

Click HERE for part 2

The Man of God at the Bus Stop (Part 1)

Everyone listen, I have extremely good news:

God has come to the earth; God has taken charge of this world.

I and three others at the bus stop looked at this man of God, unsure of how to respond.  I can't explain it, but something about the way he gave his message struck me.  He sounded like a news reporter, a  police officer, and an excited fan of a team that just won the final game.  In other words, I believed him.  I can't explain why.  From the looks of the other three with me, they also believed him...at least in the sense of feeling like his words were an accurate report of a real event.  But their responses varied sharply.

"Who do you think you are?!  All I'm trying to do is wait for the stupid bus, and here you come, shoving your religion down our throats!"  The woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes never let her gaze off of the man of God.  Never.  Her breathing sped on as her chest heaved up and down.  Her fists clenched and reddened. 

"I am only delivering a message," said the man of God calmly.

Click HERE for part 2

The Man of God at the Bus Stop (Part 3)

"I don't know," said the college man.  "I'm not convinced, and I'm honestly not even considering what you're saying.  I think science has already proven God doesn't exist."

I'd heard college students say what this man said.  Yet somehow when he said it, I knew that neither he nor any of them had the confidence that they feigned. 

"And you?  What's your response?"

I thought carefully.  I knew God spoke through this man.  I knew it.  But I was hesitant.  Not because of fear or doubt or disbelief.  I just didn't want to give my life to God, knowing He was real.  I finally understood that all along, I wanted to run my own life.  I could feel God's presence in the world, just as the man of God said.  I knew He was on earth now.  I think I had always known.  But I didn't want Him to be. 

"I have to think about it."

"You understand that you're already making up your mind.  You've already decided."

Now I felt scared.  He was right.  But I didn't want it to be that final.

"I'm not saying I reject the message or anything," said the college man suddenly.  "I'm not really an atheist.  More of an agnostic."

"You know God is speaking to you through me." the man of God said.  This time his voice sounded firm.

"I know.  Maybe I just don't know what kind of God is speaking through you."

"You know He made you and that your life is His."

The college man looked down.  He stood silent for a long time.  As he stood, we all heard the bus coming from afar.  Again, I can't explain this, but I knew that I had to make up my mind before the bus arrived.  So did the college man. 

"Please listen to him," said the African-American woman.
"I know it's hard, but that's because you're resisting what you know...just like I did," said the other woman.

The bus came into sight, about four stops away.

I felt like I needed to simply do it.  So I did it.

"I give my life to God."  It's like I wanted to say it before I could come up with any more excuses.

"I do too.  I give my life to God," said the college man quickly.

We looked at each other and saw the same warm glow we'd seen on the women's faces.

"God's Spirit is in all of you.  Now you are men and women of God.  His messengers.  Your first act for Him is to give the message to those on the bus.  Who will speak, and who will pray for the ones speaking?"

"I'll speak," said the college man.
"So will I," said the formerly angry woman.

"I'll pray for you," I told the woman.
"And I'll pray for you," said the African-American woman to the college man.

"I pray that God gives you power as you speak and as you pray."

Then the bus came.
We all got on the bus and sat in the four empty seats at the front of the bus.

We waved to the man of God at the bus stop.  He waved back, his face warmly glowing.

The Holy Wind (A Short Story)

On December 21st, the first day of winter, my wife and I prayed in our cabin. We warmed each other in our embrace and under wool blankets.  We needed nothing and wanted nothing.  In love with God and each other, we worshipped.  As my wife prayed, praising God, I felt a strong breeze caress my hair.  "But the windows are closed," I thought.  And even if they had been opened, the air was frigid, but not windy.  Jill raised her bowed head and opened her eyes wide.  "Marcus, did you feel that?"  Her honey deep voice sounded thrilled, excited and afraid.  "Feel what?"  "I felt air blow through my hair."  "Yes, I did feel it.  I thought I imagined it."  The breeze filled the room, yet the fire blazed unmoved in the fire place.  From behind us, then in front of us, air flowed; inhale, exhale.  We heard each other breathing, and we heard The Breath of Someone Else in our room.  We both bowed and remained silent, prostrating ourselves before The Lifegiver.  Our breathing joined His, and we honored His breath as the source of our own. 

The Spirit's Answer (A short story)

As I walked on the trail the Spirit of God said to me, "Go to the young man sitting on the bench at the next dock and ask him how he's doing."  I continued to walk until I got to the dock, and sure enough, a young man sat on the bench, looking down at the water.  "How are you doing?" I asked him.  He looked up at me with tear filled brown eyes and said, "I hate myself." He sobbed.  "What do I say to him?" I prayed.  "Tell him that I know the answer to his question and will give it if he wants to hear it."  I said what the Spirit told me to say.  The young man looked intently at me, pushing back his long hair.  "If you have the answer, I want it.  But you can't possibly have it."  I didn't.  So I asked, "Holy Spirit, what is he talking about?"  "Tell him that when he was 7 years old, he wanted to know why his life was so messed up.  This is the answer.  A father and mother are entrusted with children by God Himself.  His parents did the best they knew at the time, but they were learning how to parent him with no training at all."  I said it, not confident that it would mean anything to the young man with brown eyes and long hair.  He stood suddenly.  "How did you know that?  That's exactly what I was thinking about when you walked up!"

How to Start (or Join) a Christian Group (Part 2)

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  Matthew 18:20 NIV

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9 NIV

A Christian Group is a church in a specific context for a specific purpose.  By church I mean "two or three gathered in Jesus' name and Jesus with them."  Again, if two or three believers are together in Jesus' name, He is there with them, and they are a church, or the church, wherever they are.  So we have to know what it means to gather "in Jesus' name."

TO GATHER IN JESUS' NAME MEANS TO BE UNDER HIS AUTHORITY.

The name of Jesus is above every name as far as authority goes. Which person has more authority: An officer who says, "This is the police, put your hands up," or a genuine and true prophet who says, "This is a message from the Lord?"  Actually, both have authority from God, because "there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist have been appointed by God," according to the apostle Paul.  Yet the name of the officer (or the government) is less in authority than the name of the Lord.  Both the officer and the prophet aren't speaking in their own names.  That's the point.  The authority and power behind the name they use is the key to the authority they have. 

In the same way, when two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, they aren't gathering in their own names, individually or collectively.  They aren't gathering in Calvin's name or Armenian's name.  They aren't gathering in Luther's name or the Pope's name.  They gather in the name of the Lord, under His authority, under the authority of His Spirit.  They gather under His authority and for His glory.

TO GATHER IN JESUS' NAME MEANS TO SEEK HIS GLORY.

This means He is the focus and center of attention.  He gets all of the credit for the meeting and the contents of the meeting.  Not Calvin.  Not Armenian.  Not Charlotte Mason.  (Each of these names, and any other name I mention other than Jesus', represent founders of a particular ideology that some Christian groups adhere to.) 

All of this means that when there is a dispute in the group, Jesus has the final word, and His honor is above all.  If what Charlotte Mason says doesn't match what Jesus says, then Charlotte Mason is disregarded, not Jesus.  The group wouldn't submit to and honor Charlotte Mason above Jesus; a Christian group of homeschooling mothers honor Jesus supremely and exclusively, submitting to and obeying Him no matter the cost. 

Yet this is the same for any and every gathering of two or more believers in Jesus's name, which leads us to how we start or join a Christian group.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 3.

How to Start (or Join) A Christian Group (Part 1)

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  Matthew 18:20 NIV

I've noticed issues in Christian groups where believers are in conflict with each other.  Fundamental and essential conflicts.  Issues that deal with the essence of who Jesus is and why Jesus came.  This shouldn't be the case.  If we agree on anything, it should be Jesus.  But we don't.  We start or join Christian groups with little to no regard for who Jesus is in various situations.  I feel compelled by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus to address this.  I pray that everyone who reads it will be encouraged and convicted as I am encouraged and convicted.

First, what exactly is a "Christian Group?"  Or more to the point, what is the difference between a Christian Group and a church?  I don't see any difference from the Lord's perspective, other than one is called a Christian Group, and one is called a church, usually by a specific denominational creed.  For example, what's the difference between Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and Alethia Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia?  (I was a member of both, by the way.)  Of course, IVCF was centered and focused on "campus ministry," but so was Campus Crusade for Christ.  Alethia was focused on a particular neighborhood or area in Macon, though its members came from other areas in Macon.  Alethia focused on Bible Study Methods and its minister was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary.  IVCF had various leaders from various church backgrounds, but their focus, as distinguished from Campus Crusade for Christ, was on small groups and accountability, whereas CCFC focused on outreach. 

So the focus of christian groups distinguish them, whether we deal with churches, campus ministries, or christian homeschooling groups.  But consider this:  though each group has a different purpose or focus, if each is a Christian group, shouldn't they all be gathered in Jesus' name?  Shouldn't Jesus actually be there with them by His Spirit? 

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2.

How to Start (or Join) a Christian Group (Part 3)

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  Matthew 18:20 NIV

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9 NIV

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:20-21

Both churches and Christian groups consist of two or three gathered in Jesus' name with Him in their midst.  They are gathered under his authority and for his glory, in obedience to Jesus, for the honor of Jesus.  This is by His Spirit in each of them and with all of them.

Because this is true, the two or three shouldn't start a christian group or church unless it is under Jesus' authority for His glory.  In other words, He is actually the one who starts the group or church.  It's his group.   It's his church.  Any so called "by laws" should only be an exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in which Jesus is Lord and Savior.  Each member honors and obeys the Lord, and when any member dishonors or disobeys the Lord, that member is lovingly, gently, yet firmly confronted, first in private, then with two witnesses, finally before the group, according to Jesus' instructions.  There should be only one fundamental problem that ever comes up in the group:  Jesus is somehow being dishonored or disobeyed.  He is Lord.  And because He is also our Savior, from sin and from sinning, we can be reconciled to Him and each other whenever there is a problem, whatever the problem is.  We can be forgiven and the problem forgotten as if it never happened, thanks to Jesus.

Yet in America, and amongst American Christians, it's usually not this simple.  We war and fight over our individual and collective opinions.  We fight about whether we are true to Calvin, Armenian, or Charlotte Mason.  We want to be "Charlotte Mason Purist," allowing no deviation from Charlotte Mason, as if she died for our sins or rose from the dead. 

Our allegiance is to Christ alone, and where our leaders or founders deviate from Christ, we should deviate from them.  After all, Jesus is Lord.  He started whatever group we're in, right? 

But how do we know He started the group?

By His Spirit, as it is written, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Let's say the Spirit leads you, the one reading my words right now, to start a group.  How would you know He was leading you, and not you just coming up with a group all willy-nilly, wanting followers?  Because the Spirit is not you, and you are not the Spirit.  It really is that simple.  No one in scripture had to question whether the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was leading someone because God Himself made it abundantly clear.  In fact, that is consistent with God, from Cain to John in the Book of Revelation.  God Himself honored Abel's sacrifice and dishonored Cain's.  This was clear to Cain himself.  God took Enoch so that Enoch didn't see death.  Who else could've done that?  God came to Noah, and He alone could give Noah instructions to build an ark to save his family.  Who else could cause a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman to have a child?  We can go on and on.  From, Isaac, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Moses, to Joshua, to the judges, to the prophets, to the kings of Israel, to John the Baptist, to the Apostles and early disciples,  God always made his callings known.  The same is true today, because the Lord does not change.  "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

If Jesus is leading you by His Spirit to start a group or a church, to lead two or three who will gather in Jesus' name, believe me, you will know it with absolute certainly, and so will the two or three.  Can you say that about any Christian group you have started or joined?  Why are you part of the church or christian group that you are a member of?  Can you say with certainty that God called the leader of your group as surely as He called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt?

"Well, we all can't have burning bush callings," some may say.  No we can't.  But we all can have the witness of the Holy Spirit, as it is written, "The Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God."  It is also written, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God."  We can clearly see the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit in our lives, and in the lives of those we follow.  So even though we may not have a burning bush calling, we have the same Spirit that came upon Moses, Joshua, and the elders of Israel.  Paul said that if we don't have the Spirit, we don't belong to Jesus.  This is especially true of those we follow in churches or Christian groups; it is true of you and me if we presume to lead anyone in the Lord.
'
How do we start or join a Christian Group?  By following the Spirit of the Lord Jesus.

The High School Virgin Boy (A Short Story)

I walked to my next class, focused, determined not to look at the girls butt in front of me.  It's hard.  Her jeans are tight, and I'm very attracted to her.  But I want to wait for sex.  I need to wait.  I have to wait.  I've seen what not waiting did to my mom, my dad, my family.  So much divorce, so much unfaithfulness, so much loneliness.  I have to wait.  So I won't look.

"Come on man," Vincent said.  I didn't notice him beside me.  "I know what you're doing.  What's wrong with looking?  You can look man." About a week ago I was at Vincent's house.  "Hey, Donnie, check this out."  I went with Vincent to his room.  He put a tape in the VCR, and I saw it.  I wanted to vomit.  It was the first time I saw pornography.  Having never had sex, or seen a girl naked, what I saw made me nauseous.  It wasn't what I imagined sex would be like.  The closest I could imagine of course was how it felt to hug a girl, to feel her body very close to mine, the intense arousal.  As far as I knew, that was sex.  But I didn't want simulation or the real thing.  Vincent was convinced when he showed me the tape that I should indulge my desires.  He was convinced on our way to class that I should look at the girl's butt in front of me.

"Just look man.  There's nothing wrong with it.

Of course, in a sense, he was right.  I can't help that I'm a teen aged boy behind a teen aged girl with a nice butt.  I can't help that I like how she looks.  That I want her.  Maybe I should look.  I can't help what I am.  What am I?  A young man, wanting a young woman...wanting a wife...but she's not my wife...that's the issue.  I want to give myself to one woman, and one woman alone.  "Just look man..."  We're almost across the street.  (My school is in two buildings...I have to go from one to the other.)  I had at least a full sidewalk to just enjoy the girl, or I could speed up and walk ahead of her.  "Just look man." 

I sped up.  Vincent followed, of course.  (Why do some teen aged boys feel it their duty to harass other boys about their sexual decisions?)  "What's wrong with it?"  I realized that Vincent must need my approval or something.  I heard in his voice the tone of persuasion, but who was he trying to persuade?  I had made up my mind.  She was behind me.  I was going to wait to have sex...I was going to wait, even to look at a girls' body.

How to Find Your Personal Calling (Part 1)

"...we all need to be aware of our personal calling.  What is a personal calling?  It is God's blessing, it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth.  Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend."~Paulo Coelho

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

Today I had one of the purest experiences of intuition I've ever had in my life; I knew with perfect certainty what was going to happen before it happened; I knew what a young man was going to say before he said it.  He raised his hand after a student spoke, and I knew what was on his mind, what was on his lips.  But the group therapist didn't call on him.  So he put his hand down.  A few minutes later, the therapist said to the boy, "Were you going to say something?  Did you have your hand raised?"  "No," said the boy. "Alright, said the therapist."  "Wait, I did have my hand raised," the boy said.  (He tended to be absent minded.)  Then he said it: the very thing I knew without doubt he was going to say.  I smiled.  I wanted to share this revelation with the therapists, to see if each of them had experienced the same revelation.  I'd hoped they had.  I didn't want it to be unique, or some kind of super power for me alone.  I wanted to know if they knew what I knew.  If they did, I would've found joy.  If they didn't, I would've found joy.  A shared or unique revelation equally brings me joy.

Revelations fill me with enthusiasm.
Revelations make me come alive.

The feeling (A Short Story)

I realized that I hate God.  I wouldn't admit it at first, but I can't deny it now.  This is how I came to know the truth about myself.

One day I was home alone and my house was quiet.  Silent even.  I was in bed, about to get up, but not quite ready to get out of bed.  So I couldn't turn on any noise.  I needed the noise.  TV.  Music.  Something.  It was just too quiet.  All I could hear were my thoughts.  And something else actually.

I don't know if I can describe it, but I'm sure you've felt it too.  It's like the clichéd sound of silence, the silence behind the silence, the stillness behind the stillness.  That's what I hated.  That feeling behind the feeling, like someone was watching and listening. Not like a criminal or stalker or anything.  Someone worse.  Worse isn't a good word.  I felt watched and heard and known.  Exposed.  Alone, but not alone.  I realized that this feeling never really leaves.  Not really.  Even when I put on all the noise, it's there, but I can ignore it better.  But "it" is not an it...I came to see.  Because an it can't listen to me or watch me or know me.  I didn't hate an it.  I hated the eyes that see what I really am and hear what I'm really saying...even what I'm thinking.  In fact, all I was doing was thinking lazily in my bed, and I knew that He was in my head...seeing me, knowing me.  I wanted him to leave me alone.  To be really left alone.  To just enjoy being by myself in my house for once.  Maybe that's it.  When He's around, which is all the time, I don't feel like it's my house, or my life, or my head...not really.  I don't feel like I'm a slave or anything...but I do feel like He's...well...God.  Everywhere.  Knowing everything.  I can't make Him leave.  And I hate Him for that.  I realize that I hate Him for being Him.  Why is He so free?  Why can't I be that free?  Why does He get to be the only God?

So I hate Him...which makes me evil...but what is evil any way?  Whose to say.

The Listener (A Short Story)

I saw a man with pale skin and dark hair sitting on a park bench alone.  He sat still and peaceful.  I watched his face, intrigued.  What was I seeing?  He focused, but on nothing that I could see.  He seemed in deep thought, but not exactly.  He didn't have any ear plugs in as if listening to music or talking on the phone.  Ear plugs.  Music.  Phone.  These gave me clues to what I thought I saw.  Focused, yet not on trees or people or squirrels.  Focused, yet not on thoughts or memories.  His face didn't betray the worry of someone thinking about the future, nor the anger of a conversation gone wrong, nor the sadness of a conversation that never happened.  But his look had the same feel as one deep in thought, or as one who had ear plugs in.  Then I knew.  I made the connections.

The man listened.

But to who?

His face had the look of understanding, of connecting with someone.  But there was no one there.  He resembled someone with earplugs in that he seemed to listen to some internal source.  Of course.  Whoever he listened to was inside of him.  That's exactly how it looked.  It's like someone in him spoke to him, and it was also as if he spoke back.  The serenity and clarity on his face gave me the clue.  But I think I always knew who he spoke to. 

The Smile of God (A Short Story)

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Matthew 5:3

God, I want to do your will, no matter what.  Please show me your will.

I wait, alone, in the silence of my room, cherishing time to hear from my Creator. 

Then it happens.  An undeniable impression.
I saw the face of the love of my life, the woman I adored deeply. 

Intuitively, I knew what I had to do.  In three days, when she would come to me, I was to end our relationship.

I can't.  Not that.  Can't I work things out with her?  I know she rejects You, but maybe she's immature.  She may need more time.

The impression remained.  The date was set.  In three days, I must let her go.

On day one, I fasted and prayed, seeking every verse that suggested the possibility of her change of heart.

On day two, I took a vow of silence.  I wanted to hear with a clear heart.  I must know from God.

On day three, the day of the decision known by intuition in my impression, I lay prostrate before God.

Please.  Dearest God.  Please. 

The answer remained.  God's mind doesn't change.

I hear a knock on my door.  It's her.  My heart and soul is at my door.

Hi.
Hey sweetie.  What took you so long to answer?
I have something to tell you.  Please come in.
What's wrong?  You look...I don't know...what's going on?
I look deeply into her dark, soft eyes, those brown eyes that melt me.  And I simply said it.
We can't be together.
Why?

Remember when I told you that I have come to a point in my life where I want to belong completely to God?

I remember.

You said you didn't want that, but that you respected my wishes.  But we can't be together, we can't get married, if we aren't both seeking God's will for our lives.

Darren....why?
More than anything, anything in this world, I hated it when she cried.

Melissa, with all of my heart and soul, I love you.  But I love God supremely.  We can't be together.

Her brown tear filled eyes continued to melt me.  She kissed me sweetly, a kiss that entranced me, but didn't sway me.

I love you too, Darren.

Then she was gone.

As I watch her walk to her car I feel like running after her, grabbing her, hugging her, changing my mind.  I felt like I could...almost like I would.  If she'd only been mad, it would've been so much easier to watch her walk away.  She looked back, and waved the most beautiful wave I've ever seen.  Why can't she just get mad, look mad, act mad?  I'm in love with the way she's leaving.  She gets in her car, shuts the door, drives away.

Then it happened.

It felt like a cloud lifting, like a mist evaporating.  The temptation was over.  I felt light and enlightened,  clarity filled me and came over me. 

I felt the smile of God. 

The Prayer

I sat alone in my room, determined not to leave until God answered me.  What was the point of living if He didn't?  I was tired of wasting my life, tired of regrets, tired of irreversible mistakes.  I wanted an answer.  The answer. 

What is the purpose of my life?

Why go on if I didn't know?  What would keep me from regrets, wasted time and relationships, consequences?  If only I knew why I existed, I could use my time wisely.  I won't leave this room.  I won't do anything else until I know. 

The sun is rising.  The rays increase.  How beautiful!  I will give God until the sun sets.  I mean no disrespect.  I just have to know. 

God, what is my purpose?  What did you have in mind when you created me?  What did you imagine my life to be?

Six hours pass.  Noon day sun shines through my window.  Beautiful!  I don't want God to wait to the last minute.  I mean this with all due respect.  I don't want Him to answer at sunset, or right before.  I don't want the suspense.  I actually just want to know now.  Of course I can't force God's hand.  What am I going to do, threaten suicide if He doesn't answer me now? 

But why should I live for the next ten minutes, the next ten seconds even, if I don't know why I'm here?  I have to know.  And I have to know now.  Why shouldn't I?  With all due respect, God I feel you owe me this.  Please answer me.

I know I said I give You until sunset, but I'm rethinking it.  What am I supposed to do until then, six hours from now?  I guess my purpose is to find my purpose.  But what after that?  I can't spend the rest of my life, or even this day, just searching.  I won't.  I have to know now.  But even that seems unreasonable.  Alright.  God, with all due respect, I'll give you seven minutes.  Seven seems like a holy number and all...and it's enough time for time to elapse, but not so long that it seems pointless.  Why does it take anytime at all for the Creator to answer His creature.  With all due respect. 

Alright.  If you don't answer me in 7 minutes, I'll end my life.  I'll overdose on pain relievers and die in my sleep...hopefully...I'm sorry...I'm not trying to give you ultimatums or anything...I don't know how else to get your attention...but I really don't mean any disrespect...

6 minutes left.

Wow.  In less than six minutes I'll be dead.  I'm sorry God.  Please forgive me.  Man.  How do I know I won't go straight to hell?  I'm killing myself in less than 5 minutes.

4 minutes left.

God, please forgive me for all of the things I've said and done to disrespect you, even this ridiculous time limit I'm giving you....

2 minutes left.

Something is standing out to me...I seem to care a lot about respecting You, and a lot about disrespecting You...

1 minute left.

I don't want to die.  I don't want to take a life that's not mine. 

My life is not mine! 

It's God's! 

I should respect God by staying alive!

7 minutes passed.

God, I'm alive.  And I'm yours.  Being Yours is my purpose.  Thank you for your patience.

I went to my favorite dock later that day and watched the sun set.  Glad to be alive.  Glad to belong to the God of sunrises and sunsets.  Belonging to God gives my life meaning.  Enough meaning to keep living.  Enough meaning to keep being.  I realized, or rather I was shown, that being exactly what I am in my purpose.  When I am true to what God made me to be, I am fulfilling my purpose.  Simple.  Do what I like.  Be what I am.  Because what I like and what I am is what God made me to be.  Again, simple.  Most of God's revelations are.  It's like I was remembering something I had forgotten.  Or like seeing a blue jay in a tree that had been there for some time.  It's hard to explain, but God did answer me...in less than 7 minutes.

The man at my door

Who is it?

I'm Joshua. I'm going door to door sharing a message that will change lives.

I don't want to buy anything.

It's free, at least as far as money goes.

Free.  Life changing.  What kind of commitment do I need to make?

You will need to commit your life.

Wow.  That doesn't sound free to me sir.

It is.  The price for this life changing experience has already been paid.

Oh, you're one of those Bible Thumping Hellions.

No. 

Can we talk without me opening the door.

Yes, if you want.

Alright.  What's going to change my life?

An experience with God.

So you're a messenger of God now, a prophet?

Yes.

Really.

Yes, I am sir.

How can I know?

Here's the thing sir.  You're assuming that if you did know, it would make a difference in your life.  Is that right?

I don't know.  What do you mean?

What if you knew that I was in fact a messenger of God?  What if I said something that made you know without doubt that God sent me?  What difference would that make in your life?

I guess I'd live for God.

So the only reason you're not living for God is that you're not convinced that He's real, or because you haven't experienced Him directly?

I guess so...I've never really thought about it.

Are you sure?

.....Let me think about it...

So now you seem to be saying that it's possible for you to reject God even if you knew without doubt He exists.

Well...even if He does exist, He doesn't seem like the kind of deity I want to follow or serve...

What do you mean?

I mean look at all the evil in the world.

What about it?

What do you mean what about it?  If God exists, why doesn't He stop it?

Give me a specific example, like something evil you've done.

...Well, I've never killed anybody...I've never done anything evil...

So you're perfect.

Of course not...but I haven't done anything really bad, like prison time bad.

So you're perfect.

I said I'm not. 

Alright, so you've done bad things in your life?

Of course I have.

Things you regret?

Yes, who hasn't.

Things you wish you could undo?

Yes, I've done bad things, alright?

So why didn't God stop you?

.................................................I don't know...............

Can you blame God for the bad you did that He didn't stop?

....................I guess not...................

Do you want me to convince you that God sent me?

How would you do that?

Think to yourself of what would completely convince you...something I could say or do that would completely convince you.

................Alright................

Do you have it?

Yes.

Now write it down...of course I can't see it because I'm outside.  In fact, go to a room in the back of your house, out of my sight, and write it down.

................This is getting weird..................

What do you have to lose?  Either I'm a messenger from God and you can respect what I'm saying, or I'm not, and you can dismiss me.  Either way, you've lost some time, but that's about it.  You don't strike me as someone with faith in God that I could discourage or anything.

No, I'm definitely not a man of faith.

So what do you have to lose if I'm a fake? Nothing.  But if I'm not a faking, you have your soul to lose.  It seems like you would take the chance and find out...for the sake of your own soul.

....................................................Alright..........................................I'll write it down..........

I'll wait.

***

Alright.  Convince me.

You didn't write anything down.  You wanted to see if I am a fake or not, so you expected me to tell you something that was completely off.  But if you would've written something down, it would've been this:  "Why did God let my dad die?"

You asked God a year ago why He let your dad die when all your dad tried to do is live a good life.  He was your bestfriend.  You shared a secret with him, something you don't want your wife to know.  You told your dad that you and your wife's sister almost slept together when your wife went out of town.  It didn't start out like an affair or a one night stand.  Your sister-in-law came over to get something she left, and she stayed and talked.  She always admired you, and her admiration makes her very desirable to you.  You talked for hours.  The more you looked into her eyes, filled with awe of you, the more you wanted her...needed her...longed for her...because she seemed to want, need, and long for you in a way that your wife didn't.  You kissed her, and she kissed you back.  It was the sweetest kiss you've every tasted.  But for some reason, though you felt you could get away with it, you didn't.  You asked her to leave.  Things have been awkward between you and your sister-in-law, but your wife suspects nothing.  You told your dad because you felt guilty.  Your dad listened.  He didn't say anything.  Just listened.  You loved him more than you'd ever loved him.  Two weeks later he died an unexpected death.  For a year you decided that if God didn't answer your question, He didn't exist. 

....................You're from God....there's no way you could've known any of that...but God still isn't answering my question.  Why did my dad die?  He was a good man.  It wasn't his time.  Why?  I still need him. 

Whether God answers you or not, you know that I'm His messenger.  You know He exists.

.............I know.

What are you going to do?

I don't know.

Why don't you know?

Because a God who would kill my dad may not be worth knowing, that's why!

Nor a God who would let you do the bad things you've done.

That's nothing compared to killing my dad!

How did your dad die?

A heart attack...but no one saw it coming.

How old was your dad?

69.

At some point, your dad was going to die, even if it was of natural causes, even if it was in his sleep.

...........I know.............

Would you consider God a murderer if your dad died naturally?

I don't know.

Would you have needed him less at 70.

..................................................................No....................................................................................Why did you come to me today?  Why now?

Why not now?  Why not today?  What day would've been better?

I don't know.

What do you know?

I know that I need to think about what's happening.  Can you come back tomorrow.

No, I can't. 

..............................I appreciate you stopping by. 

Alright sir.  I appreciate you listening.

The waiter: A divine encounter

I sat at the table in the corner and met a man that changed my life forever, a waiter.  He was about 40 years old with golden brown skin and bushy hair.  His beard was well groomed, yet wild. 

"Hello.  I'm Matthew.  I am your servant." 
"No, you're my waiter.  Not my servant." 
"I don't mind." 
"But we're in America and we're free." 
"As your servant, I'm free, but in America, maybe we're not." 
I was offended.  "So I guess you're not from here?" 
"Yes, I was born and raised two blocks from here." 
"Then why don't you appreciate our freedoms?"
"Before I answer that, I don't want to take up your time before I take your order." 
"It's ok.  I'm actually interested to know why you feel like we're not free." 
"I feel free to serve you.  But you don't want me to feel free as a servant.  Even an American servant." 
"It's not that I don't want you to fee free.  It's that as Americans we aren't anyone's servants." 
"Even if we want to be?" 
"No offense, but aren't you an African-American?"
"Why would that be offensive?" the waiter asked calmly.
"No, not that you're an African-American, but my assumption." 
"What assumption?"
"My assumption that you of all people would reject servanthood." 
"I reject servanthood that is forced and dehumanizing.  I reject men who act as if they are God.  But I don't reject serving you or anyone else." 

I thought about that.  At my job we had seminars on "servant leadership," on how those who are the best leaders are servants at heart.  They seek to find and meet the needs of those who follow them, and of those who lead them.  But something didn't sit well me with...at the seminars and with this waiter. 

"I don't know.  It just seems like nobody should serve anybody...well, not that.  It seems like nobody should be anybody's 'servant.'" 
"Even if they want to be?"
"But why would someone want to be?" 
"Is there anyone in your life that you love deeply?"
"Yes, my wife and children." 
"When you try to make them happy, aren't you serving them?  Aren't you their servant?" 

I thought about that.  Or I'd never thought about that.  Sometimes I saw myself as my wife's willing servant...even her slave.  I gladly gave myself to her for her happiness.  I am hers.  She is mine.  She owns me, and I'm proud to belong to her.  I looked up at the waiter, and he was looking down at me.  His eyes penetrated mine, not uncomfortably, but like he really saw me.  Like he was paying close attention to me, and only me.  Undivided attention. The restaurant was loud and busy, but it felt like it was just him and me.  I liked him.  And I believe he liked me. 

"Thank you for being my servant." 
"You're welcome. Thank you for the honor of serving you.  What can I get you?" 

I gave him my order.  I read the paper while waiting for my order.  It finally came, and my waiter, my servant, brought it to me quickly and skillfully. 

"Can I get you anything else?" 
"Not for now." 
"I'm available when you need me." 

The waiter had a way of being pleasantly present and absent.  I always felt him even when I didn't see him.  When I wanted a refill, I looked for him.  He was at another table, yet he turned to me just when I was about to raise my hand.  He nodded.  I knew he would be right with me. He was able to nod to me without diverting his attention from the lady he was serving.  I hadn't seen anyone do that before, someone so connected.  I wanted to be like him.  I decided I would be like him. 

And that decision changed my life:

I am a servant.

The Oracle

If anyone speaks, let him do so as one who speaks the oracles of God.  1 Peter 4:11

I am sitting alone, listening, waiting for God to speak, to respond to my question.  I feel an inner sensation.  An intuition.  A revelation.  I write it down.  I pray for words that capture the sensation of illumination.  Not too many.  Not too few.  These are the words of God.

***

Surely the LORD does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

I am sitting alone with God, connecting, communing, feeling His heartbeat.  I sometimes smile when I feel His laughter.  Tears fill my eyes when I see what He sees on earth.  I am most honored.  God is telling me how He feels.

***

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:24-24

I am sitting alone with God, after hearing His heart, wiping His tears, laughing at his jokes.  Sitting at His feet, I understand what He's thinking and why He's thinking it.  I realize that at this moment, no one is wiser, stronger, or richer than I am.  To have the heart of God, to be able to hear the mind of the Maker, is the truest wisdom, the strongest strength, and the richest richness. 

***

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet."...."Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did."  John 4:19,29.

I am sitting with a stranger, led by the Spirit to her.  Though I've never met her, I perfectly understand and know her.  She gazes, amazed.  She feels more connected than she has ever felt in her life.  She is not my wife, but she loves me as if I were her husband, her friend, her father, her brother.  She loves me as she has loved none other, because she feels loved by me uniquely.  Intimately.  She longs for God because of me.

***

"If an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all,  as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”  1 Corinthians 14:24-25

I am sitting with a stranger, led by the Spirit to him.  I know what he thought this morning.  I know what he is thinking right now.  I know him.  He feels understood beyond understanding.  Connected to me as to a brother, a father, a companion.  "You're talking to me in the way that I think," said the stranger.  "How are you doing this?"  "God's Spirit is in me.  He knows you infinitely, and is sharing who you are with me."  "I want to know God," says the man.  "That's why I'm here.  Today, the Spirit of God will be in you too."

Being noticed by God

I am outside and standing in the sun, waiting for God to notice me.  Before this, I am getting my mail.  Birds chirp.  Wind blows.  Leaves move.  Light pierces moving leaves.  I walk back to my yard, then stop.  I am alone.  No people.  No man. No woman.

Alone.

I stand in the sun letting it heat my shirt.  I wait for God to notice me.

I wait for some sign. Something that shows me he sees me and is reaching out to me.  Some clearly deliberate thing to happen.  Maybe a bird lands in front of me, looks at me, and approaches me.  It chirps.  It waits for me to chirp back (somehow it makes this known.)  I imitate it's whistle.  It does it back.  As I type I hear birds chirping to each other.  Echoing each other's chirp, the same rhythm and melody, one lower, the other higher.  One nearer.  The other farther.

They are responding to each other.  Alive.  In sync.  Relating.

I am typing, in my house, looking at the sun shining on leaves, feeling the shade of my house, seeing the breeze on the trees in my yard, not looking at the keys as I type, waiting for God to notice me. 

How do I know if he's noticing me?  Really?  The same way I know if any other person is noticing me.  When I am outside I see a man with a red shirt on, talking on a cell phone, approaching his mail box.  I notice him.  But how does he know I notice him?  He doesn't, as far as I can tell.  He is not looking at me, or in my direction, and I am not trying to get his attention.

How do I know if God is trying to get my attention, like me getting the attention of the man in the red shirt?

I'm noticing the birds, but so is everyone else in my neighborhood.  Where is everyone else, other than the man in the red shirt?

What if it is just me at home right now? 

Creation.
Sun.
Trees.
Breeze.

None of these have minds, emotions, or wills.
They can't reach out to me.
But they can by used by their Creator.
How would he write me a message in the dirt, or the sky?
How would he call to me through a birds so that I know the bird is his messenger?

Maybe Adam waits in Eden for God to notice him.  But he does.  He speaks to Adam.  "From these trees eat.  From this tree don't eat or you'll die."

God speaks to the first man and woman.  Even to the serpent.

God notices them disobeying him.

God notices the man alone, puts him to sleep, takes a rib, closes the flesh, and makes a woman.

Why?

God notices the man alone and says, "It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make him a complimentary companion."

He makes the woman and brings her to the man.
The man notices the woman; she, alone, is like him among all creatures.  He names her. 

I am waiting for God to notice me, to speak to me, to come to me. 

I am sitting in my living room.  Will he come?  Will an angel?  Will someone risen from the dead?

A revelation is God noticing me, revealing something he sees, hears, feels, thinks, chooses.

Am I alone?
I know I can pray.
I know God is everywhere at once, seeing all, knowing all, holding all together by his power.  Even me. 

This is God noticing me.
To be alive is to be noticed by God.
He is not passive.
He actively keeps me alive.
To be alive is to be noticed by God.
To be alive means God is paying attention...to me.

"In Him we live and move and have our being."

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  1 John 1:3 NIV

I know that God is in me, that I love him and that he loves me.  I know he hears me.  When I pray I feel him listening.  It feels different from when I'm talking to myself, or imagining, or reflecting.  I feel God when I'm alone.  I hear him in the silence that surround me as I write.  I see him like we see the water that we see through when we are swimming in it.  As it is written, "In him we live and move and have our being."

I feel him in me.  A presence. The presence.  I don't ever feel alone or lonely...not really.  Sometimes in a room full of people I feel alone in relationship to them, but never with him.  I feel him in that room with me, and he seems "lonely" with me, as if he is just as unnoticed as I am. 


I'm telling you all of this so we can share our relationship with God with each other, or so that you will join me in my experience of God if you aren't having one.

Join me.
Write me.
We can experience God together, you and I.
Jesus makes this possible by his Spirit.

Life and death

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. 
Proverbs 18:21 NIV

Someone you know is dead.  He is in heaven.  She is in hell. 
Words heard, accepted or rejected, determined which place they ended up after they died. 

Perhaps words you spoke. 

Our words birth or kill. 

Sometimes I think about people I know that are dead. 

I wonder what I said that brought them closer to or farther from God. 

I wonder about the impact I had on their lives by my words, or my lack of words. 

I wonder what impact I'm having on you.

What if my words are the last ones you will read? 

If so, I want you to know that God made you.

You owe your life to Him.

If you are not living for Him as you read, stop reading and give your life to Him right now.

If you are living for God as you read, stop reading, and rededicate your life to Him right now.

I'll do it with you....

"God, you made me.  I am yours.  I live for you and you alone.  I give my life to you."

We did it. 

We are ready to live, because we are ready to die, even if it's today.

The only real relationships

Whoever does the will of God are my brothers and sisters and mother.  ~The Lord Jesus

How do you define relationships?  Jesus defines them by obedience to the will of God.  He was so committed to this exclusive definition that he was willing to give this definition in the presence of his own blood family. 

Real relationships are defined by obedience to God.

If your father or mother disobey God, they are not your real father or mother.
If your brother or sister disobey God, they are not your real brother or sister.

Your real family are those who obey God, both now and forever.  We must believe and act on this truth if we are to be truly faithful to the Lord.

Hopefully, our blood relatives are also our spiritual relatives.  This is how it should be.  If it isn't, we can pray for our blood relatives to be born again.  Until then, we must cherish true relationships and seek out true relationships where we don't have them.  This is more than attending the same church gatherings.  It is unified submission to and obedience of God's will. 

What is God's will?

We must completely obey His Spirit, moment by moment, day by day.

Our family and friends are those who are obeying the Spirit at this moment.  This point is crucial, and I've experienced it's crucialness.  I first have to make sure I am obeying the Spirit at this moment so that others can count on me in a real relationship.  Then I have to make sure that my fellow believers are doing the same.  This is not being judgmental.  It's being real.  If you know you're obeying the Spirit, and you see the fruit of the Spirit in your life without question, then anyone who is opposing you is by definition in the flesh at that moment.  The converse is true.  If you know that a brother or sister is bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and you oppose him or her, then you are in the flesh at that moment.  This is why Paul says to the Galatians that if a brother or sister is in sin or at fault, those who are spiritual should restore them.  The spiritual believer has clear discernment, while the carnal believer's judgment can't be trusted at the moment.

Where are you at this moment?  In the Spirit or in the flesh?  The answer to these questions determines whether any believer can be in a real relationship with you right now.

Where are your friends or family at this moment?  In the Spirit or in the flesh?  The answer to these questions determines whether you can be in a real relationship with them right now.

So that you may know where you stand, if you want, pray this prayer with me:

Father God,

Thank you for your Spirit through faith in your Son. 

I submit to the Spirit right now. 

Help me to encourage my brothers and sisters to do the same

so we can experience the only real relationship possible,

relationships based on doing God's will. 

Amen.

Three characters in a play that I loved

When he came on the stage I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  He played a character tempting young boys to leave the path of righteousness to follow him on the path of unrighteousness.  He didn't say a word.  His motions and emotions were made known by his actions.  He mesmerized.  I watched him, proud of him, proud of my first born son.

***

I tall girl spoke boldly about the love of God shown to us in sacrifice.  She sang of his love in a clear innocent voice.  She led other dancers in a dance for his honor.  I was so very proud of her, my first daughter...a leader...a singer...a dancer...a child of God.

***

Tears filled my eyes as I watched a girl in red...dancing...smiling...free.  I looked at my wife, whose eyes were wet as well.  We were seeing what we'd longed to see, our first baby girl, dancing free, singing free, glad to be who God made her to be.  She belongs on stage, her smile bright and beautiful, her movements graceful and joyful.  The girl in red...my second daughter, filled me with joy.

The Asian boy who played Jesus

I saw a boy playing Jesus in a play; his character was called "the carpenter." 
To me, he was what Jesus would be like if he were a little Asian boy. 

He was quiet and confident; he said little, but what he said was true, focused, and powerful. 
He was humble and powerful, like Jesus. 
He led the other characters in the play by serving them, but he led them unapologetically. 
He commanded them. 
He said he could be completely trusted, that he knew where they were going and could get them there safely; he said this confidently, yet not arrogantly.  His confidence was not in himself.

The carpenter in the play focused on his father and his father's ways, his father's will.  His focus on his father was genuine.

He seemed real.  Sometimes people think the way Jesus would be wouldn't seem real in our daily lives, like he would be strange or nerdy or not socially skilled.  This little Asian boy showed them wrong.  I could see Jesus being himself on earth right now, being compelling and interesting.  I could see following him; I could see him in the boy who played Jesus. 

This little Asian boy gave me a glimpse of what Jesus is like.  He inspired me to give all who know me a glimpse of the Lord.

When to expect God's judgment (Part 1)

"When the laws regulating human society are so formed as to come into collision with the nature of things, and in particular with the fundamental realities of human nature, they will end by producing an impossible situation which, unless the laws are altered, will issue in such catastrophes as war, pestilence and famine. Catastrophes thus caused are the execution of universal law upon arbitrary enactments which contravene the facts; they are thus properly called by theologians, judgments of God." ~Dorothy L. Sayers, from "The Mind of the Maker" (italics mine.)

A woman ran a red light and hit a man in a van. 
She failed at her attempt to be at the same place as the man at the same time as the man. 

An impossible situation.

A collision.

The woman.

The man.

A witness to the collision told the police officer what happened.

"I was behind her.  I saw her run the red light and hit the man's van."

The law of the land and the law of creation had spoken to the woman, the cause of the collision.

From the law of the land, the judgment was this: 

She ran the red light, she hit the man's van, and she must pay for her damages and his.

From the law of creation, the judgment was this:

Two physical objects (in this case, vehicles)  cannot coexist in time and space. 

To attempt contradictory coexistence brings damage to one or both objects (or vehicles.)

***

The situation with the collision ends. 

The woman paid the man in the van. 

Justice came to the man.

Now comes a new situation, one directly connected to the collision. 

***

On the day of the collision, the woman's destination was to an operation where the woman would become a man. Her destination was a collision of the masculine and the feminine, an attempt at an impossible situation--the collision of creation and Creator. 

What will happen if she continues with this destination?

Lessons from Baymax about Purpose

Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.

Baymax knew who he was and what his purpose was:

• Who was he?  Baymax

• What was he?  A personal healthcare companion.

From his introduction to any person he served, Baymax focused on his purpose, and never lost this focus. We'll look at Baymax's persistent focus on his purpose by his quotes from the movie. 

Flying makes me a better care provider

Baymax measured everything he did by his purpose.  If it fit his purpose, he did it.  If it did not, he resisted it, as we will see.

I am programmed to assess everyone's health care needs.

Baymax knew he was programmed and he knew his programmer:  Tadashi.  He always acted in agreement with his programming, and thus with his programmer.

I am a robot. I cannot be offended.

This reminds me of of Jesus saying, “I do not receive honor from men.”  Why did Jesus say this?  Because He came to receive honor from God, not men.  Therefore, he did not receive honor (or dishonor) from men.  In the same way, Baymax’s programming did not make room for being personally offended because he did not exist for himself.

My programming prevents me from injuring a human being.

Hiro, Tadashi’s little brother and the present owner of Baymax, commanded Baymax to destroy Tadashi's murderer.  But Baymax resisted according to his programming. He would not and could not go against his programming, and thus he could not obey a command that contradicted who he was.

Are you satisfied with your care? … I cannot deactivate until you say, “I am satisfied with my care."

Baymax sought direct and clear objective feedback from the one he served as to whether he was achieving the goal of his purpose. He couldn’t rest until the one he served as a healthcare companion affirmed the fulfillment of his purpose: personal health care.  He couldn’t rest or deactivate,  which is a robot’s version of dying.

Like Baymax, we should know who we are according to our Creator, and we should only be and do what we were created to be and do.  We should measure everything by our Creator’s purpose for us.  This will give power to who we are and what we do.