Hopeful Song

It has been about a year since the nights in which my minds eye started to contradict what my desires and passions told me I wanted. It has been about a year since the birthing pains of my heart of flesh broke through the stone.  It has been about a year since I started thanking God for not only letting me see Him, but also for letting me know His love. A year can make a huge difference.

As Christ died, so did the depravation and muddy emptiness in my heart.  As Christ lived, so did the joy and hopeful song in my heart. As one man's disobedience left me for dead before sin, so too did another man's obedience leave me alive and on my knees before God. Because I have died to the mastery of sin, how can I go back to the life I once lived?

I once was such that no one could save me, especially myself. No such savior existed.

"Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:19-23

Now I am such that I still cannot save myself, but a savior has arrived and He contests on my behalf.

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."


Romans 8:15-16

Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord of lords. I have the utmost respect for the work you are doing in me and all whom have been bought with the blood of Christ. Thank you, thank you, thank you King of kings. There is no God but You and You...are enough.

Amen.

The Orange Cat Dream

For the past couple of months, the Lord has been filling up my sleep with all types of interesting stories. It is so fun! I end up finding myself thinking about them all day - finding great joy and wonder in His grace, even while I sleep.

Today I had an awesome experience. Initially, when I wake up in the morning, I like to just lay there for 5 minutes and try to consciously remember what it is He gave me to think about while I was dreaming; but for some reason, today, I just couldn't remember.

I started driving to church and one of the first things that caught my eye right as I was turning the first corner was an orange cat snaking its way through some cacti and bushes. And then I remembered my dream:

There were 2 kittens on a table - a black kitten and an orange kitten. I couldn't take my eyes off of the orange kitten, it was just so darn cute. A person standing near me, who didn't realize I was quite taken with the orange kitten said, "The black ones are great. All people think that the orange ones are the most hideous creatures on the face of the planet." I was sort of surprised by this person's comment, not even realizing that someone might think that. Yet knowing that no one else on earth loved this kitten made me want it even more!

God was telling me (at least I think!) that He has given me the ability to love someone (in the future) sincerely and wholeheartedly that no one else loves. I sure can't wait to meet this "orange cat."

You Belong to The Day

I just finished reading the 1st letter Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 50 AD and some verses stuck out to me in chapter 5:

2 :: ...the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

7-9 :: For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

13-14 :: ...Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

16 :: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances...

19-21 :: Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.

To speak to 1 Thessalonians 5:7-9, I encountered a point yesterday evening, in which I became extremely frustrated and troubled about a drunken person, someone in my family. First, I was angry and felt wronged by this person's inappropriate and hurtful words. I absolutely detest seeing full grown men drunk and that's just a truth about my personality, I suppose.

However secondly, and more importantly, I realized that instead of thinking about how this person may have wronged me - it was very much so more important to think about this person's own well-being...

It may be good to ask: why does he do this? To what a great extent is this person's soul burning with embarrassment and pride within? How much does he yearn to know the Lord and to love His Statutes, but cannot bring himself to understand something so wonderful?

I pray for an opened heart for him, that he may believe in the hope we have, because of Christ's work on the cross - in the existence of infinite goodness, just knocking on his door...

This realization and reminder that I am to love and not to judge him came mercifully from Galatians 6:1 when Paul wrote:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

Praise be to our Holy Father, who by the Words He left for us to know Him centuries after the fact of occurrence, may help sanctify me and give love to a man who has yet to know Him.

Amen.