Persecuted

I gotta say, yesterday blew me away! Let me explain, or at least try to.

Preacher man and I went to a service yesterday at "That Church". If Sherwood were to have a mega church, this would be it. We decided on the middle service and from the minute we drove up in the peking lot, we could tell, this wasn't like any other church we had been to in a long time. You could feel the Spirt, even out in the parking lot. People were excited about being there.

A lovely lady walked us into the church, showed us where coffee was, and the entrance to the worship center and off we went. I could tell Preacher man was taking it all in, lights, sound, hospitality people, all of it. It's something that ends up happening to you when you've been trained like he has.

The lesson started and guess what it was about? Being persecuted! I haven't been able to talk about it freely yet, but just know that we are being persecuted and I will fill you in very soon.

The three points were accept it, endure it, and embrace it; persecution that is. Jesus told his disciples that If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. It's so true and I guess I had forgotten. I keep looking for something we did wrong. It's that we have Jesus in us and that flat out pisses folks off! 

Jesus never said, IF they persecute you, He said WHEN. Paul tells us that when we are persecuted, we endure it. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your heart honor Christ the Lord as holy… Have no fear of them. I have said it over and over, They don't hate us, they hate the Jesus in us!

Now the last part, embrace it, made me want to laugh. I don't want to embrace this suffering. I want to…yeah, you know. Peter tells us not to be surprised at the fiery ordeal, but to rejoice in the suffering of Christ. Rejoice and embrace.

The part that surprised me the most was this was the message both of us needed desperately to hear. We needed to know, beyond a shadow, that God sees us, knows what we are going through, and has us! It has given me reason to rejoice in this uncertain time. 

As hard as it is, it's for Christ! I will continue to accept it and endure it. I am going to start to embrace it.       

Trials

The trials of life are sent to make us, not to break us.

~ Malthie D. Babcock

I came across this in my quiet time this morning and after it punched me in the stomach, it gave me cause to ponder… I don't know if I agree totally with the statement. Wait, yes I do.

What happens when you break? What comes to mind might be bones sticking out and blood going everywhere. But what happens when it's not physical? Or on the outside, so everyone can tell? So often we think that if your not bleeding, your not hurting. I mean, think about what we say to kids when they get hurt. Let me see, are you bleeding? No, your fine. Get back out there. Yet, maybe they are breaking inside. 

So how do we deal with this not breaking during the trials of life? Well, for me, I produce way too much acid for my stomach to handle, I don't sleep through the night (been up since 12:30 and it's 4 now), I loose weight then gain it right back and I seem to cry during the strangest programs on TV. But the question is, is this breaking me?

I believe that IF the evil one has his way, yes, it will break me. But when I think about God growing me, making me, so to speak, I see this as a test, aka trial. Maybe not just like Job, but so dang close it's scary at times. I haven't lost everything like he did and I'm not sitting in ashes with sores all over me, but let me tell you, it feels like it sometimes.

I have come to a point where I can't be like them anymore. 

Years ago (it just seems like a few days ago), I could let myself fall back into default mode. You know what I'm taking about? I'm going to get all up in your face and kick the living shit out of you! If I can't do that, then I'm going to secretly sabotage you. (I think I might have been a bully when I was in high school, at times anyway. This is not news that thrills me, but I am about being real, and I have warned you about that!)

So, what's different now? Well, I think it's about letting God make me into a new creation without letting myself break back into what I know, my default mode. Let me tell you, for an extraverted, strong willed, might have had tendencies to be a bully, this is hard stuff!

Just when I think I'm at the breaking point, I read something, or someone calls with a kind word. I want to kick and spit, but that's not who God wants me to be. It maybe where they are, but I don't have to wallow in their crap with them. 

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

~ Psalm 69:1

  

Take the Step!

During a rock-climbing lesson, Dan Clark stops on the vertical incline, as if paralyzed.
He writes, "I could see an outcrop for my right foot, but no place where I could place my hands or left foot."
Yes, he felt stuck. Hopeless perhaps.
The instructor, not far from Dan on the face of the incline, tells him, "Take the step."
"Are you crazy?"
"Once you lift yourself up you may find something you can't see from where you stand."
"Well what happens if I don't find anything?" Dan asked.
"If you don't find anything, " the instructor says calmly, "fall back on the harness and try it again."

This story fills me with hope! At some level it also freaks me out, to fall back, as in...to let go. Of our expectations or our stuck way of seeing and thinking. It's a message that comes to us when we need it most, if we will but listen.

Take the step, give it a try, see what you can see from a new place. It's like at any given moment, we have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end! I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen? You fall back and try again!

Fear will keep us stuck if we let it. Once we see fear for what it truly is, a lie, we are able to take that step and see things from a different place. Sadly, this is where some churches live, stuck in the fear to take a step, any step, in any direction. We've always done it this way! (Still the words of a dying church) These are words of fear. I refuse to let fear have a grip on me! I know the truth and it set's me free, to take that step!

UMCOR

My heart is heavy for those in Oklahoma that are waking up this morning and looking at the clear sky's wondering what the heck just happened. People in the heart of the country know about twisters that show up unexpectedly. People on the coast and up north, they just don't get it. They are the ones that get to plan for their disasters cuz you can see them coming a long way off. Tornado's, well, they have a will of their own!

During times like these, we want to help, we think, If I can just get there with my truck full of stuff and my awesome skill's, they will be able to use me and I can help! Sadly, this is never the case. It's not that they don't want us there, but they don't want us there! There is no where for us to be put and right now, it's disaster emergency  time, not let me come in and make you a cup of tea.

Preacher man would be great for disaster emergency, because he's great in a crisis! Me, not so much! I am great at creating a crisis! However, the relief and the recovery, that's where I shine! I think there's a lot to be said about knowing where and when to do what!

That being said, there are 2 things that we can do right now! Pray and give to UMCOR! It's the United Methodist Committee On Relief and 100% of what you give goes to the relief of what you send it in for! So give and make a difference! www.umcor.org