Tonight was a great night.
I roller bladed home from the church I pretty much live in right now (yes I roller bladed home. You see the bike that I found at a garbage dump which I was using to ride to church got a flat tire. and so now I borrow my brothers roller blades. and I haven’t roller bladed since like 1996. and yes, as it turns out, roller blading is still awesome). Wow, that was a looong interlude, probably don’t need the brackets around that, its pretty much a paragraph in itself….
Let me start over.
Tonight was a great night. I roller bladed. The end.
Hmm… that doesn’t work either, I missed the main point of this story.
Take Three:
Tonight was a great night. In the quiet stillness God spoke to me (notice I skipped the whole roller blading part this time). I had a nice dinner at home, and wanted to get back to church right away to continue working on the things I am working on. While I was in a rush to get back, God told me I needed to do the dishes first, because I need to be faithful in the small things in order for Him to bless me with bigger pursuits. Ohh no, its time for another interlude….
Notice how I was in a rush? Man, I hurry my life way too much. John Ortberg, author and speaker, says that we as christians must “Feverishly remove hurry from our lives”. I have to agree with him. I wonder how much of God’s plan we miss because we are so busy hurrying from one thing to the next? If I had hurried back to the church tonight, I would have missed out on a life changing experience. And you wouldn’t be reading this blog right now, because it wouldn’t be written. Praise God that He stopped me from rushing around. So, to end this interlude, feverishly remove hurry from your life!
So I was in a rush to get back to church but God told me to do the dishes because I need to be faithful in the small in order to be faithful in the big… so I did the dishes. Then I decided to go swimming. At training camp, the guys had a challenge to make it across a lake to an island carrying a log, and we were not supposed to get the log wet. Not only did my log get soaked, but I also hung on to the canoes half the time, and ended up getting thrown a life jacket to get to the island….. yeah so it turns out I can’t swim. But afterwards, Andy Ross taught me a swim stroke, and I could actually kinda make it happen! So since then I have been wanting to go swimming, and practice. So I went swimming at around 9pm. It was a little chilly, but hey, I was on a mission. I practiced swimming for about 5 minutes and then was out of breath…. yeah, Im not quite there yet, but someday.
So I stopped swimming, and simply stood still in the water. The lake was empty except for some ducks (the ducks are definitely not necessary for this story, but I bet they are glad they made the cut). It was completely still, and the night was silent. I decided that if God wanted to speak, He was welcome to (how gracious of me to allow God to speak). No I actually decided that I wanted to listen to God, but that I didn’t want to waste time trying really hard to hear something, so I just stood there. Silent. And in solitude. And guess what? God spoke.
He said, “It’s coming”
Simple, yet powerful. You see I am waiting on some financial deliverance and also waiting on support. Now when I say waiting, I don’t mean I am doing nothing and waiting on God. No I am asking, seeking and knocking, and then faithfully waiting on God to move. So the words, “It’s coming” were quite powerful tonight. Especially considering that I am 40 days away from leaving, but in a quite impossible situation financially. Good thing God is a specialist when it comes to impossible situations. (By the way, if you are reading this and realize you are in a place to help someone, I encourage you to pray about helping me. God has made this calling to the October ’09 World Race so clear, and has made it clear that He is going to deliver me from this financial lion’s den I am in. So if there is someone out there who is completely blessed financially, and looking to radically change someones life, I ask that you would pray about it. You could free me to fulfill this calling. You could free me to pour my life out to others as an offering to the most High God. You could free me to turn this world upside down for Jesus. God has equipped me, and empowered me to minister in a special way to His people. Freely I have received, and now I want to freely give. Email me if you are that person, [email protected] )
So God spoke, and He kept speaking. God had more to say. In the distance there was the siren of a train. Trains can be alarming, they are so loud and fast and powerful. While the train was sounding in the distance I heard,
“I’m coming”
First I thought God was again referring to the help that He is sending me. But there was more that followed which changed that thought…
“Prepare the way”
“I’m coming soon”
Wow. In the stillness, in the quiet, in the solitude of the lake, God decided to speak to me. And He said
“I’m coming. Prepare the way. I’m coming soon.”
And when He does come, it will be like that train. Loud and fast and powerful.
So my question for you is
‘Are you ready?’
And if you’re answer is no, email me so I can help you get ready.
And if you’re answer is yes, my question is
‘Are they ready?’
And if you’re answer is no, help them to get ready.
And if you’re answer is yes, find someone who’s not ready, and get them ready.
Because Jesus is coming back. And we need to prepare the way, because He is coming soon. And when He comes it will be like that train, Loud and Fast and Powerful.
“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Jesus Speaking, as recorded in Matthew 24:27-44)
