I am not a fan of commercials, and with one of the features of our DVR, we
can tape our favorite shows, and watch them later commercial free. Even if we
happen to be home, we still tape some and watch them later, sparing ourselves
from the commercials we don’t care to participate in. It can take a 30 minute
broadcast and take it down to 20 minutes, sometimes less sans interruptions, of
enjoyment. Of watching only what we want to watch, instead of what is being
foisted upon us. Thank goodness for record, play, pause, and start
buttons....they have changed the way we watch TV. They have enabled the show to
go on for us, and to tune in to only what we want to see. But as well as that
works for our viewing pleasure, going from radio, to records, to 8 tracks, to
cassettes, to CDs, and finally to pay radio, we can choose what we want to
listen to, and block out the rest of the world. If only it worked in traffic,
of course you can always take the bus or train.
But I am continually amazed that despite the interruptions life throws at
us, how we continue on. How a job loss, break up of a relationship, or stay in
the hospital may change your course for months, but life goes on. During and
after. It seems we are more adaptable than we think, in most cases more than we
want to be. And even though we claim to have little faith, many times the
outcomes are based on what little we have, and what God does with it. It has
been said that bad decisions make the best stories, and hard times make the best
testimonies. A time when we turn to God for all he is worth, yet we long for
the good times, times of rest and enjoyment. How many stories of a restful
weekend with nothing happened would make a good story? Give insight to God and
his spirit? Are we more interested in a commercial free life, than one that
makes us channel surf to see what else is on? Have you driven the same route to
work for years, knowing just how long it will take and planning for it? Or has
an occasional detour taken you through another area and found new roads, new
places to eat, and even a better way to go? Is it time to quit fast forwarding
through the commercials, and see what else is offered? Have you come to that
point in your religion where it is all the same? And you know there just has to
be more?
Many of us read the Bible as if it had commercials in it. Some stay safely
in Psalms, some avoid Proverbs, some do everything they can to avoid the
gospels, and some have entered into Revelation and never left. They pass over
the hard parts, the parts where it may require a relationship with God to get
through and understand, and deny the spirit’s guiding, safe and secure that they
know it all and all that God has to offer. Paul talks about being raised on
milk, but having a desire for solid food, more of Jesus, can you say the same?
Do you want to go deeper with Jesus than the same old teachings, same old
studies? Is your prayer life stagnant, “now I lay me down to sleep,” and then
you do? Are reading more and getting less, as one man confess to me? He
thought his copious reading was bringing him closer to God, it only impressed
others who were on the same track to nowhere. It just took him longer.
Scripture reminds us that faith constitutes a risk and an adventure. That
it seems to defy the circumstances. That it is exciting, and will show us
things of God we never knew. And when led by the spirit, the mysteries, the
things not yet revealed about God, will be available to us. And suddenly we get
it, but it takes listening to the spirit, no matter the situation. It involves
risk, risk of failure and ridicule, but also the risk of a depth in your
relationship with God. How many thought Abram to be nuts, “where you going
Abe?” “Not sure, but God will get me there...” with no map or GPS. Noah built
a boat on dry land, and it had never rained. And Jeremiah while in prison, was
told to buy land from his cousin. Not knowing if he would ever be released, or
why, he did it. All based on faith.
Which is why we go to a doctor looking for a cure. Or why men study and
obtain a degree in jail. Why when in my hospital bed I still dreamt of riding
again, “how was I going to ride with all the tubes and hoses in me? I can’t
even get out of bed.” It is that faith that allows life to go on despite the
circumstances, and when led by the holy spirit, not only do we arrive, but we
have a trip worth remembering. And we get closer to God, and our testimony will
affect another, encouraging them to trust God. Trust starts with faith, goes on
to obedience, and arrives at trust.
It is hard to trust someone you don’t know, so get to know Jesus. Go
beyond the words on a page, go beyond prayer, go beyond your desires. Ask the
Lord to make him your desire, and see him give you the desire of your
heart-himself.
Living in the spirit allows you to go beyond church, Bible studies, and
personal prayer time. It allows your education no big or small to see the
things of God, to let Jesus rule and reign in your life. To know what
commercials to pass over, and which ones to watch. Which road to take, which
one to avoid. And when you realize that it takes all things to work to good,
you see Jesus in the tough times, and how he is leading you through. It allows
you to build your life where no else would, and be called foolish. To travel
where no one else goes, and be blessed. And to spend time with Jesus, here on
earth, just as he promised, “on earth as it is in heaven.” With a simple four
word prayer request start you off, and keep you, “thy will be done.” Do you
hear the spirit calling?
I choose to join the ranks of the crazy ones in the Bible, to build arks in
my life when it hasn’t rained. To ride without a map, to go places I never knew
about. To move to places I have never been, to take a job I have never done,
and to trust God because I cannot trust myself. Life goes on no matter your
choice, why not make the right choice and trust God today? If God so loved you
to send Jesus to die for you, don’t you think he can guide you through life
also? By his spirit will we know Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.
Don’t wait for a problem to arise and call upon the Lord. “For if I die before
I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Why not give it to him while still
here, while still awake, life goes on. While you were asleep last night, the
spirit was still awake....so don’t live life to be played back at a later time,
know Jesus now and find that life you desire, for only in him is life found. An
amateur built the ark, engineers built the Titanic. Abraham had no map or GPS.
Jesus had no address. Paul had no TV in prison, so don’t let a bad haircut
bring you back to God like it took Samson. The spirit is willing...and all it
takes is your weak flesh. Maybe the story of Joseph may remind you....and the
faith to go where God leads. If this sounds ridiculous, Jesus is the antidote
you have been waiting for. So you can get along with your life...
love with compassion,
Mike
mattehw25biker.blogspot.com