I am a counselor. I have been giving guidance, encouragement, insights and advice to EVERY kind of recipient imaginable. An odd string of people have sat on my couch, chair, restaurant booth, etc… and spilled their heart…..looking for answers.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the door for an appointment, and found SATAN standing there!!! I shook his hand and invited him to sit down. Immediately, he began to pour out his heart and tell me about his bad choices…and, how he felt PUSHED into rebellion, from an early age. He hated the trail of destruction that seemed to follow him…and, the rejection and hate from so many…. I had to agree with him that he REALLY WAS misunderstood. The light of hope filled his face when I began to tell him about Father’s plan of restoration. He wasn’t thrilled when I told him he may be the last…but, he WAS encouraged when I showed him that EVERY knee would bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. I assured him….that, the role he played was written into the script long before time began…..and, that he played it perfectly….just like Judas, Pharaoh, Saul and the rest of those playing the parts of the protagonists in the story. He was, especially, encouraged to hear that he would be restored to his former place….as worship leader in heaven. It was good to be able to help restore his hope…and, peace. I suspect he will continue working closely with the fundamentalists to twist and malign the true character of God….but, now that he realizes he is part of a divine design… a participant in a sovereign plan….
he will hope to the end……that, in perfect time….he will stand before the throne with every creature in Heaven, in the Earth, under the Earth and, in the sea….and worship the creator of ALL things, himself included.
What a wonderful God! What a wonderful plan!
I watched a special on the History channel. It was about an old, historic ship that sank off the coast of somewhere…. The plan was to retrieve it for restoration. Others, in the room, were puzzled…. as to WHY I would cry…. and, worship as this documentary unfolded. THEY did not HEAR the Spirit, whisper gently…” That’s you.”
I looked at ME…. an old, useless ship…. In need of restoration…. Everything it, ONCE WAS…. yet, useless….
Hopeless…. Sunk. I listened to the arguments by the experts. TOO COSTLY…. NOT WORTH IT…. IMPOSSIBLE…
BUT… there was ONE captain who had a plan.
Divers went down, and began attaching uninflated balloon-like devices to the old ship.
(The spirit whispered: friends) tears fell….
They secured the balloons with chains.
( the Spirit whispered:love )
Then….. Air was pumped into the balloons.
( the Spirit whispered: me )
The Sunken ship rocked…. Creaked…. and, began to rise! It WOULD make it back to the top, again…
It WOULD be restored….
It WOULD find a brighter day where the captain would make all things new!
Today: there IS hope!
You are SURROUNDED by FRIENDS…. who LOVE you….
and, the CAPTAIN has a PLAN…. that CANNOT fail!
ONE O’CLOCK…AND, ALL IS WELL!!!!!
TWO O’CLOCK, AND, ALL IS WELL!!!!
THREE O’CLOCK, AND, ALL IS WELL!!!!
LOVE DEFEATED DEATH AND HELL!!!!
FATHER’S PLAN IS PERFECT!!!!
EVERYTHING’S IN TACT!!!!
HE MADE HIS DECISION…..
AND, HE WON’T TAKE IT BACK!!!!
FOUR O’CLOCK… FIVE O’ CLOCK….
SIX O’ CLOCK AND, SEVEN…
HE ALREADY PAID THE PRICE….
SO, ALL CAN GO TO HEAVEN…
EIGHT O’CLOCK AND, ALL IS WELL….
NINE O’CLOCK AND, TEN….
THE FINAL LAMB IS SACRIFICED!
HE TOOK AWAY ALL SIN!!!
ELEVEN O’CLOCK…. TWELVE O’CLOCK…
IT’S AS SOLID AS A ROCK….
JESUS ROSE WHERE ADAM FELL….
NOW, EVERY HOUR…… ALL… IS… WELL!!!!!!!!
Years ago…. as I sat in my Pentecostal Church, listening to the Pastor tell us a THOUSAND ways we were disappointing and breaking the heart of God…. I KNEW there was something we were missing. I knew, by the Spirit, that God was BIGGER than we made Him out to be.
We KNEW He was the creator of the Universe. We knew He hung BILLIONS of planets and stars in the sky. We knew He was the designer of all that we knew. The mountains and the oceans…. the Winter and the Summer. We knew He was the giver of LIFE… yet, we had reduced Him to a Mall-cop who sat behind an invisible curtain….. getting mad and blowing his WHISTLE if we put our pee pee’s in the wrong place… or, drank a beer… or, said, “shit.” I did not doubt the LOVE I heard about, in that place… But… I LONGED for a REAL look at the GOD of the Universe! I am thankful that MY GOD outgrew His Mall-cop Uniform!!!!
I remember the season of life when I answered the call of God to lay down my rituals. Father longed for me to spend time in His presence…. but, I was too busy performing my obligatory duties as a Christian and a minister. Every day…. I had a list of things I did, because other great men of God did them….and, told me I should. I was greatly admired in my sphere of influence. An example to the believers! BUT… Inside.. I was cold and empty. I was told, from time to time, by messengers from Father, that I was more involved with religion, than relationship… but, I refused to believe it! I wasn’t DOING…. ANY of the BAD things my flesh craved and longed for. I was RESISTING temptation, and DOING all of the GOOD things that were expected and required of a well-balanced Christian.
But…. I felt FAR away from God.
It took a TIDAL-WAVE of calamity to re-arrange my life. After the dust settled…. and, after I finished blaming God….. Satan…. Others…… Myself…..
I, finally found a Peace and REST I had never known. In the stillness of doing NOTHING FOR GOD…..I stumbled upon a great truth concerning His abiding presence…. and, His willingness to saturate me in His Unconditional LOVE.
It was hard for me to get it through my head… that God, neither NEEDED me….
or, WANTED me to climb back on the treadmill of WORKS. He whispered in my Spirit… ” Stop doing anything you feel obligated to do.” These simple words changed my world. I learned how to say, “NO” to the GOOD things.. just as I had, previously, learned to say, “NO” to the BAD things. It was a great BLOW to my pride… when, I realized my GOOD… was no better than my BAD. They were BOTH products of the TREE of GOOD and EVIL… and, I had been SO BUSY at THAT tree…. that I had cut myself off from the TREE of LIFE!
It took some time to re-adjust my thinking. Many friends viewed me as BACK-SLIDDEN as I RE-GROUPED. While I was NOT in Attendance at all of the religious services and rituals…. I was finding a new way to live in the SPIRIT!
I was learning how to LIVE in the presence of God. Before… His presence was like a visitor that came by to bless me. I found out that the invitation was for me to DWELL there!! It was like trading an occasional glass of water for swimming in the ocean!
Are you empty, inside? Are you going through the motions… doing what is expected of you… yet, NOT feeling the fulfillment you desire and need?
Maybe you will hear Him whisper, “stop doing anything you feel obligated to do.”
Maybe YOU will climb off the treadmill of expectancy and “disappoint” your “Christian inspection team.” Maybe YOU will TRADE religion for relationship.
It will make your life WORTH LIVING!!! Fall in love with HIS PRESENCE… and, the LOVE you find, there… will motivate you, from the INSIDE…. to DO… and, BE what you are called to do and be.
He has an AMAZING LIFE planned for YOU…….. DON’T MISS IT!!!! RR
The two men sat on chairs talking….. face to face…. yet, there were bars between them. One was free…. One was in prison. The free man looked at his friend and felt sorry for him. He wished he could set him free….. but, that wasn’t up to him. They had similar lives, but one had chosen bondage… The other found the key to happiness. He prayed for his buddy, knowing that, in time, he, too, would find the key to freedom. They hugged each other as the visit ended.
The free man went to his bunk… The Imprisoned man went out to his car and drove to his dealer’s house.
A WORD ABOUT THE BIBLE
Histories and allegories….
Genealogies and lots of stories…
of our Dad and His creation…
Plans for man and His salvation..
Poems, songs and inspiration..
Left to man’s interpretation…
Well preserved… For what it is…
Love it, but, remember this:
The letter, it will kill you..
The SPIRIT makes alive…
Whatever else may come and go.. His word, it will survive..
He wrote it on a tablet…
And in a book, in part.,
But, the word we all should live by…
Is written in our hearts!
