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I Wanna Be a New Ager

Reading Psalms 45 to Psalms 50, I see the ancient psalmist writing about what gets called “end times” by modern Christians. It is not end times. It hit me today what an injustice we do to our faith when we use that phrase. The psalmist expresses beautifully the longing for that age when God physically rules on earth–the new age.

The psalmist wrote before Christ’s first coming and he wrote before the Church Age. Old testament and new testament writers tell us a time will come when this age will end and Christ will return.

We spend so little time focusing on what life will be like on Earth when God returns to his temple.

Over the next few weeks I think I am going to focus on what life will be like during the new age. If I find interesting tidbits in my study I will post them.

But today I just want to announce I am a New Ager and I am longing for Jesus to burst through the Eastern Sky just as he left.

Come Quickly Lord Jesus

Persevere: Found a Card in my Bible

I found a laminated card in my bible today.  I have no idea where I found it or who gave it to me.  It contained verses on Perseverance and then a prayer.  I thought I would share.

I looked up the word being translated perseverance here and in some translations it is patient.

Here is what I gleaned from Strongs:

in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings

 

Philippians 4:6-7

Dear Lord, In this time of trial, help me not be anxious.  In everything I come to you in prayer, petition and with thanksgiving to present my request for _________________ to you.

James 5:11

Lord, blessed are those who persevere.  I praise you for blessing me.

James 1:2-3

Dear Lord, help me to consider it pure joy whenever I face trails of any kind.  I know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance.  Help me to persevere in this time of trial.

1 Peter 4:12

Heavenly Father, I rejoice that I am participating in suffering, just like Christ, so that I may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Romans 5:3-4

Dear Father, Lead me with rejoicing through my suffering because I know that this suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope.

 

1 Peter 1:67

Dear Lord, as I suffer grief in all kinds of trials I greatly rejoice.  This trial has come so that my faith that is of greater worth than gold can be refunded and be proven genuine to result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Third But Not Least Brother Underwood

Continuing my story of the early days of my walk, the Youth director who announced the choir that day taught me several key things.

I view him as the teacher who took me from milk to my first solid food.

He held a bible study one evening a week.  I still remember the first bible verse he had us memorize.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

He encouraged us to read our bibles.  I started in Matthew and read through Revelations. (It was a number of years before I tackled the old)  I love God’s word.  I appreciate that he exposed me to really digging into scriptures.

He also taught me that Christians belong in the world.  Our choir didn’t just sing in our church.  He took us to  missions, prisons, and even had us sing on Radio.  He never allowed us to stay shielded inside the safety of the Church.

I fall so short of his example, but I still hold him up as a model of how a Christian shares Christ in the world.

Each year the choir competed in Arlington.  After the contest–win or lose–it was Six flags time.

I remember being in line at Six Flags with Brother Ed.  I leaned over the rail as we waited for the roller coaster.  And I heard him talking to the people behind him.  The discussion started with why we were there and ended with him discussing Christ with the people.  There weren’t offended.  It was a casual conversation one person talking with another person about things that matter.

These three people (Polly, Cindy and Brother Underwood)  kicked me off in my walk with Christ.

And I thank them all for being willing to share Christ with me.  They were Christ’s angels in my life.  (angel is a messenger from God–we can all be angels)

Loving Christians as Christ Loved Us

I sometimes think I am the only person who sees the commands of Christ as Three. 

1) We are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. It means nothing comes before God. Hardest lesson I had to learn was to place my kids on the altar before God. He loves them more then I love them which seems impossible. When I fear things, it is me demonstrating that I love something more than I love God or that I don’t trust him. 

The rich man loved money more then God. I have to ask myself if I placed specific people and things into this biblical question how would I react?  Would I be willing to give up what I love most to follow God?

2) We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Which means, we think about everyone and ask how would I want to be treated. Or we think how would I want someone to show love to me in this instance. A perfect example was given to me by a friend this morning.  The before Church crowd is in a McDs and the young clerk is clueless.  The church crowd became frustrated with the kid.  But if we are loving our neighbor as we would want to be loved,  we would show patience and stop worrying if we have to wait.  We love by calming the person and letting them know all will be well.  Maybe cracking a joke or two.  

Most of the time we fail on this one even with our brother and sisters in Christ.  And yet it is the lesser of the two commands to love others.

3) I believe we are called to a higher love for our fellow Christians. The church should love one another like Christ loved us. We are to live out the Acts 2 community. People would want to know our Lord because they see what we have.  Who would need to evangelize? People would clamor for what we have.

The only way to get this type of love is for Christ to love through us. (John 14-15) The only way to love like this is for us to be a branch on the vine and to be willing to be pruned so we bear fruit. Most of us scream bloody murder when God prunes. 

Have you ever seen an example of the third type of love? What did it look like? Inside the church, people loving one another like Christ loved us — willing to sacrifice their desires, wants, power, popularity, feelings for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ.

Please share.

Now What?

Good byes said.  Gifts given.  Party partied.  And then I was unemployed.

Seventeen years of working for one company.  My friends worked where I worked.  I had no non work friends.

My interests all revolved around my career.    I loved working.  Designing and implementing programs was fun.  I was good at it.

My identity in many ways came from my career.  And now it was over.  So who was I?

God, you sent me home.  What do you want with my life?

I always wanted to be a writer.  I figured I would become a writer.  A second career that I could do from home while raising my young kids.

Volunteer for some major thing, maybe the Crisis Pregnancy Center.  That seemed like a good route.  I could see myself counseling young women, making a difference in their lives.  Changing lives seemed like a reason to be called out from my job.  I signed up for the training.

I prayed.  I waited.  I thought. I prayed. I waited.  I plotted.

I stood ready for God to show me the mighty thing He had ahead for me.  He called me out of my nice comfy job for some purpose and I was waiting.

The answer was not what I expected.  NoChristian Hall of Fame path was set before me.  Instead, God asked me to follow Him step by step in obedience.  Never being able to see the what was over the next hill.  He just wanted me to learn to go where I was told.

And the journey 549938_10151516636695090_692090491_nHe is taking me on has turned out to be a wonderful road trip.