Status Doesn't Hinder

God surely puts people in the places He has for them; regardless of status, education or connections. Witness Amos, the shepherd from Tekoa in Judah. The shepherd-one who lived with the sheep and goats, not the most highly educated in society. One who lived outdoors much of the time without the benefits of home; i.e. clean clothing, water for bathing, up to date news.

This shepherd, from Judah, ended up in the presence of the king of Israel. Brought to the king's attention by the priest of Bethel in Israel; Amos' words of judgement had caught the attention of the powerful. Only the hand of God can orchestrate a situation like this: foreign working class man, speaking harsh words, discouraging words, coming to the attention of those who would normally disdain him. Without the direction of God, in this instance, Amos would have been considered a foolish, crazy man, worthy only of pity or even death for speaking treason.

But Amos had stirred up the people with his words. Driven by the Spirit of God to speak the words of God, Amos moved in the company of powerful people. The result for Amos was to be threatened. The power class attempted to silence Amos, but Amos was not cowered. He pushed ahead, proclaiming the truth and warning Israel. Amos listened to God, and surrendered his will to God's purposes. It does not ever appear that Amos sought audience with the powerful in religion and government, but he did not shy away from it either. His time with the powerful was at the direction and superintendence of God.

God's direction can lead in so many unexpected directions. To places one never dreamed, and people one would never meet. Status and position are never hindrances to God. In facet, our status has been achieved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus, our position the same. We are children of God, reborn, forgiven and alive. Status and position in the world cannot compare, need not compare. We need only follow God where He leads. It can be an amazing, challenging and wild ride, follow the God Who saved you and watch what He does.

Good Byes

"Good Bye" is one of the hardest phrases for a mother to say to her traveling children. "Good bye for now." Yet having just uttered those words yesterday, I was aware that one day, "Good bye" will be obsolete. When Heaven is our home, we will never be separated as we are here. On this earth, we live as individuals, bearing our own sin, living our own dreams, alone to a frightening degree. It is only with the advent of Jesus that we can begin to experience relationships that have a tinge of what God originally intended. That sense of being the person you were made to be, for the purpose of showing off how great God is and how much His love has affected one; this is what we hope for. To be with those we love without the self consciousness that causes one to focus inward instead of upward. To love without fear, without pain, without sin. That is our hope and that is what Heaven holds for us. And the Spirit of Jesus connects with our spirits to gently lead us to a union of sorts, where we are never alone, never deserted, never abandoned, ever. One day, there will be no more good byes, only wonderful, continual reunions because the One Who left Heaven to come to earth has made it so.

Frantic Worship

1Kings 18:37 "...so these people will know that you , O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

1Kings 18:29 " Midday passed , and they (the prophets of Baal) continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention."

How often I try to get God to do something. If I read my bible and pray, surely He will answer my cry for whatever I ask. Surely if I serve at church, He will hear and respond. If only we all gather and pray and ask God for revival, for health, for favor, we will be answered. God will respond because we have asked it and at times asked frantically. But here, we see that frantic prayer and sacrifice are not the way to get God to hear. The prophets of Baal believed they would be heard because they worked so hard to get the attention of their god. We believe, at times, that our God will hear us because we pray in a large group, do many good works, read our bibles. I wonder if we have not thought about the fact that God, in His sovereignty, can and will bring new life, a revival, because of His plans, and through His mercy. To want revival is godly, to think we can bring it about is presumptuous. To pray for God to visit us is right, to demand He show up when we call is outright rude. To sacrifice for His kingdom, to serve Him is good and even commanded, to believe that obligates God to us is to become an idolater. God does not owe us anything, yet He has willingly given us mercy, grace and love. He has sought us out and we have ignored Him; He has rescued us and we have rejected Him; He has blessed us richly and we have blasphemed Him.
Pray for revival, pray for health and favor, but hold them all with an open hand before the God of the universe Who, in mercy and love, will do as He chooses for His purposes. We were, after all, created for His good pleasure.

Why God Bothered

In the beginning, God created man and woman, knowing full well they would reject Him. He even went so far as to "sacrifice the lamb before the foundation of the earth." A preemptive work of grace.
When Moses stood at the boundary line of the Promised Land and looked at the gathered tribes of Israel, ready to begin their new life, he taught them a song. This new song was to be a witness, to remind the people that God knew that they would turn from Him to other gods once in the Promised Land. A preemptive reminder.
In the same way, when Jesus walked the earth after His resurrection, teaching and encouraging, He knew those who followed Him would waver. He knew that all His disciples are only dust. So He sent His Spirit as a down payment for us. The fullness of this down payment will not be known until we are raised up. A preemptive helper.
So why did God even bother, knowing all these actions would result in failure. What was He thinking about, hoping for?
In the end, God's love trumped the reasoning which would say 'why bother?'. All God did was doomed from the moment He included human will as a part. Yet in love unimaginable He created, He rescued, He redeemed and He will create anew. There will be no need for preemptive actions, no need for second tries, the new creation, earth, man, woman and life will fulfill God's plan. And the success will be glorious.

God the Architect

Joshua 13 and following.

When Joshua led the people into the Promised land, they fought for and recieved cities, homes and gardens already built. Cities with walls, cities without walls, towns and villages with surrounding farmland. Homes, all constructed, furnished and ready to live in. Farms, gardens and vineyards; all established. Their new life set before them, turnkey ready.
Is this not a foreshadowing of our reaching heaven? We will inherit a new city, completely built and ready. But this city is not made by human hands. The builder is God. Jesus is the one who fought for and gained our admission and the Spirit is the one who guides us there.
God, the architect, has twice made us a place to dwell; Eden, which we rejected and Heaven, which we welcome. The chosen of God are wildly blessed by His work for us.
All of Eternity is 'move in ready."

Guard your Heart

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life."
1Kings 11:4 "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods."

What incredible power the heart wields! The power to turn a man who had been visited by God; not once, but twice. To turn him away from this God to other gods. Away from the living God, to the landlocked gods of his many, many wives. As he held fast to his wives, he lost hold his firm grip on the hand of God.
How powerful the human heart; it turns the trajectory of a human life no matter what the stage. Age does not preclude foolishness nor does wisdom. Guard your heart.
The widowed man, walking with God, in loneliness takes in a younger woman and rejects his God, his family and his church, for her. The wronged wife rejects her husband's repentance and moves in with another man against the wisdom of God and the counsel of friends; losing friends, church, stability.
How powerful the human heart to lead to its own destruction. Like an addict- that must have a fix-the unguarded heart leads to the slavery of feelings and finally to captivity. The heart, unguarded, must have its way and that is the way to destruction.
Guard your heart!