Marvelous Grace & Mercy

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Several times in our communion service tonite the thought was presented that no matter how hard we ran, God ran harder. I was struck by it! At the end of the service I had my Bible open to Isaiah 64 & 65 on the table in front of me. As we were invited to bow our head for a final, closing prayer my eyes fell on this at the beginning of Isaiah 65.....

I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, 'Here am I, here am I,'
To a nation which did not call My name.
I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
A people who continually provoke Me face to face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; (false (idol) worship)
Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine's flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
Who say, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!'

....no matter how hard I ran, He ran harder and overtook me in spite of myself!
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Prayer Requests For My Second Week Away

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- Protection over my heart, mind, thoughts and actions
- Physical protection over Renita and our children at home
- His will regarding Tuesday's job interview
- Opportunity to spend time with Josh, Tom, and others according to His will
- Time to finish preparing for Thursday evening's chapel service at NCCF
- Attitude which reflects the character of Christ in the face of life
- Courage to overtly live, speak and display the gospel to those I'm working/staying with
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Answered Prayer?

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I spent the morning following up some resume's I had distributed over the last few weeks. As I left home this morning I deliberately prayed that God would guide my day, asking Him to show me the doors He was opening and closing any doors the devil may open in an attempt to distract me from God's perfect plan. My pursuit seemed mostly unfruitful, but not hopeless.

On my way back home the wheel of my vehicle fell off. Literally. I was driving south on 127 and SNAP, there it went...........

Suddenly my plan for the noon and after was changed. It kinda makes me wonder if God was in it?

Hmmmm?
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Organized Occupation

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I had a job once. I've actually had several jobs in my life. I tried to make them work, but they never did! Once I even had a boss lie to me! Can you imagine, he lied to me outright. All in the name of business.
I've come to the conclusion that occupations are unnecessary for satisfactory human experience. I can be human and not have a job. Period.
Now I'm angry that everyone tried to keep me locked up in organized occupations all my life. My parents never told me; my bosses never told me; my teachers never told me; no one ever told me that I wasn't obligated to work. Rather, they all told me quite the opposite. I've been hurt and abused by organized occupations.
Organized occupations are just a way for people to control one another and impose their own personal preferences on their fellow human beings!

I hereby stand against organized occupations! Who will stand with me?


Sound foolish? Why? When someone takes the same approach to 'organized' church we consider their foolishness as worthy. We try to treat them cautiously so as not to offend them or 'drive them away'!
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Job Search

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Two weeks ago today I was 'downsized' for the second time in 15 months.

The job search arena is brutal!
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God Delivers His Chosen

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As I have been on marathon read through the scripture I have become impressed with the thought of how God ALWAYS delivers his chosen people. Sin has consequences, choices have effects; but nevertheless, regardless of the extent of the rebellion, God WILL deliver his elect from their enemies and give them victory!

That is comforting!
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Intoxicated by Culture

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What are the things you love about being American? Think about those things. Also think about the things you particularly appreciate about your own town. Sure there are things about the USA, and even your local town, that aren’t according to your own specific preference but don’t think about those things right now; spend time thinking about the positive things. America has a unique, free culture. Along with freedom, America offers cultural things like baseball and hot dogs. Whether you like these things or not these things make America what it is. A country without baseball and hot dogs is no less a legitimate country, but it’s not home. We like home.

Now consider that your child tells you he is leaving the country; moving out without looking back. Not only is he moving away from America, but he is also renouncing, relinquishing his American citizenship. Not only will he not enjoy the small-town benefits of America but he will no longer enjoy the benefits of American citizenship either.

Now suppose that your child moves to Denmark; marries a Danish wife; becomes completely entrenched in Danish culture (even to the extent of mocking fundamental American qualities). Your grandchildren are raised in a somewhat similar, yet quite different, culture than you live. They not only have no appreciation for American culture they also have no affinity for American symbols such as the American flag; or icons such as Ronald Reagan.

None of these things enhance life, but they’re all things associated with the culture we know and love. Each of these things speak to our heart of home.

How many of us have been on a trip and noticed across a parking lot a vehicle with the same state on its license plate as ours? Upon closer investigation you find that they’re also from the same county as you also. Instantaneously you’re friends with the individuals. Why? Because they’re from home! Perhaps if you saw that same person in Wal-Mart last week you would have been fuming at them for taking the last (particular item) off the shelf, or because they were rude by pushing into line ahead of you when you were in a hurry; but suddenly your feeling neighborly toward one another because of your connection to home.

A few weeks ago I posted a post titled Slow Fade. Through comments (public and private) I realized that not everyone understands the permeation of the religious culture I have been raised in. Well meaning, good intentioned friends have made unintentionally unkind statements because of their ‘own pathetic lack of empathy’ (to quote one of them). I have written this post in order to hopefully expose that each of us are permeated, immersed culturally, some of us have just been ‘fortunate’ enough to be equally consumed by a religious sub-culture at the same time. While I understand that these religious things may not necessarily represent Christianity or the kingdom of God, they DO represent a familiar culture which is not easy to shed.

If I would have one request it would be this, be gracious and merciful with us (whomever ‘us’ may be) as we slowly emerge from the cultural influence we’ve been intoxicated by.
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