You aren't important.

Lately, I've been studying in the book of Amos. I studied this book a while ago, and I feel it's a book that many people forget about. To me, this is a sad thing. In just 6 chapters of Amos, the Lord has revealed many things to me, and I've really learned quite a lot from it.

Overall, I feel, the most prominent thing would be that God is an equal opportunity employer. Regardless of whom you are, if you step out of line, the hammer is coming. Don't think you can stay in sin and get away with it.

I'm not trying to say that God is up above, just waiting for us to fail so He can bring His fist down on top of us and make us suffer. He isn't. But, if His children are stepping out of line, they need to be disciplined.

I want to be sure that I'm not coming across with the message that God just loves to sit up there and smite us every chance He gets, because I'd be lying. God won't bring the hammer don on you right away. He'll give you a chance to be blessed by His mercy and turn back from your sin and filth (I'm not talking about salvation) and come back to Him.

I feel that my blog posts have been very cheerful and "fluffy" until now, and I don't want to give the impression that it's all fluff to follow God. There are some tough times, and some storms as well.

I'm just saying that no matter what you've done, how strong you are, fast you are, good looking, smart, musically talented, good of a speaker or rich you are, you're still nothing next to God, and He can take you out in an instant.

Of course, isn't it amazing that, even though we're so puny next to God, that He would become a Man and die for us?

The dry bones

When God does things, He does them all the way. When He blesses you, He bless you beyond ability. God revealed something to me today, and it was such a blessing to me, that even when I tried to say something about it, I couldn't. I just kept stammering about it like a gibbering monkey.
I'll do my best to explain it. I was reading this passage in my devotions lately, and it really stuck out to me.
Ezekiel 37 1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Ezekiel is taken to a pit of bones, very dry bones that have been dead for a long time. He's standing at a graveyard, basically. (Graveyard is an important word here)



The other day, I was reading up on the history of missionary work and such in Spain. I directly read that, "Spain has been seen as a graveyard for foreign missionaries"

I'll admit that I was slightly nervous at first, and kind of discouraged. How can I, a simple man, go to a graveyard for missionaries, and have any kind of success? What makes me different than anyone else?

This morning, God revealed something to me. If Ezekiel can be used to bring a literal graveyard to life, why can't God use me to bring the spiritual graveyard to life? Why am I any different than Ezekiel? He was a man, and so am I. God used him, why can't he use me? Why can't I be a part of Spain's first spiritual awakening to God's word and true power? There's nothing stopping me! The same God who used a man to bring bones to life can use me to spread His word overseas to the Spanish people. But not just overseas! In Atlanta, or Maryland, China, Peru, Africa, Australia, Mexico or anywhere, God can use me. I feel blessed that God would even want to use me, but to use me in such a way is even more amazing than my tongue can tell.

It's just very encouraging when God reveals things like this, or at least it is to me. Maybe it only makes sense in my brain, but even if that's the only place, then I'm grateful for that.

God is amazing.

13

I suppose I could try to come up with some amazingly dramatic post tonight, but that wouldn't feel right. Georgia cops don't like Maryland. I worked 13 hours today. 5 for 5 is amazing. I have a budget (kinda) Yay.

But on a serious note, God is really providing for me. I mean, He's not sending down bags of money (though that would be nice) but He is giving me opportunities to show how much I really want to be here, and how much I'm willing to work for it. He's basically testing my dedication, or at least I feel that way.

Someone called in sick today at work, and I was offered to work her shift for her. Seeing as how I had nothing else on my schedule, I decided it would be a good idea to take the opportunity, and put some extra cash in the bank (and then towards rent).

See, I wasn't thinking about working a 13 hour shift. I was thinking that God was providing the money I need to pay my bills. I guess it goes back to that other blog I wrote. (The one about what you see depends on your point of view)

I dunno. I don't have much to say, really. God is amazing, and He's blessing me out of my skull. (And in way bigger ways than money, but I don't feel it would be a good time to talk about them)

Nothing.

Sometimes, God doesn't send you a check in the mail, or move a huge mountain out of your life. Sometimes, God just watches. Sometimes, nothing "big" happens in your life.

But this isn't a bad thing always. There is very, very little in the Bible, if any at all, about Jesus, God incarnate, between the ages of 12 and about 30. He was training. Becoming a man. Doing what was needed in order to do what would be needed. Sometimes, you just have those basic days where you do your devotions, God shows you something, and you go put into the world. Satan shows up here and there, but not too much. No major struggles, nothing. Sometimes, it's just a basic day.

See, I'm kind of a simple guy. I like sports. I like to run track, and I love to win. But the thing is this: I don't wait till the day of a race to get ready. Race day was the day when I would show what I'd been doing in the training sessions, the boring days. I show that I've been quietly making myself stronger, and becoming ready. If I wait till the day of the race to start working out, I'll fail.

Sometimes we think, "oh, there's nothing for me to do." In truth, those are the moments when we should be doing the most. Those are the moments when we should be working our hardest to draw nigh unto God, and to give ourselves over to Him totally.

I'm trying too hard.

How to rob a bank.

You want to rob a bank? Great. Me too. We need to plan this out. There can be no mistakes.

The first thing were going to have to do is to get someone working at the bank: an inside man. Better yet, a woman; no one would suspect a woman to rob a bank. After she's in, we'll just lay low and let her get used to the flow of things. Give her time to find out all the security systems and all of that. Once she's totally used to how it works, we'll figure out when it's least crowded: less people makes it easier for us. Our inside lady will disable the security system, the silent alarm and the other bankers. That's when we'll swoop in and eliminate all the customers. After that, we'll have her override the safe security system, and we'll be out in the getaway van in under 3 minutes.

Now, it might seem weird for me to talk about robbing a bank, but I was a bank robber of sorts today. More like I was the bank, actually.

See, we often let ourselves get robbed of our joy or our fire for the Lord. It starts inside. Our fire for God isn't an external fire. It's internal. We let things get inside of us and slowly put that fire out. It disables our security systems and alarms. By the time something comes in against us, we're helpless to stop it.

See, I let myself get complacent with life. I was relying on myself, and was OK with where I was. I stopped seeking God with my whole heart for a minute, just a moment, and before I knew what was happening, I was internally cold. It happened right in front of my face, but I didn't even notice it. It's just like being robbed from the inside out. It can happen to the best of us.

I pray that I would be sensitive to things that are trying to rob me. I want to be aware to them so that I will be able to run to God when they come. I want to be on fire for the Lord and His kingdom. I want to be so excited for Him that it bothers other people. (Most likely those who have been robbed)

Examine yourself, have you been robbed lately?

Through your eyes: a blessing or a burden

I try to be an observational fellow, and to notice the things around me. This could be anything from people, to cars, to anything you can think of.

Today, while at work, I observed a couple come in with their child. They were a normal family, with one minor exception; their child was mentally retarded. I personally don't have any children, so I don't really know what it's like to raise a child, so I can't personally reflect on it, but I observed the two parents, reacting to their child.

The father was very short, angry, and unforgiving with his son. He treated him like dirt, and showed him no respect. No father should treat a son like that. Never. He wasn’t grateful for that son, and he showed it in a big way.

The boy's mother, adversely, showed him love, care, kindness, and was truly grateful for her son. I was amazed at how much she showed love for her son. Not because I don't think it's possible to love a mentally retarded child, but because she was almost overbearing with it. She made her son know she loved him, and she will be able to fall asleep tonight knowing she did everything she could to love her son as much as possible.

The reason I described this story to you is to illustrate one simple point: it's not what you have that matters, but it's how you look at it that matters. The father saw a boy who couldn't run as fast as other boys, or jump as high as most children. He saw a burden and a failure. He hates it.
The mother, on the other hand, saw a boy who could love and be love, one who can laugh, and make others laugh. She loves it.

What you see depends on what you want to see. You might see a trial and a test, but someone else might decide to see a chance to watch God work in his or her life. An annoying person in line behind you might be a chance to tell someone about the gospel. That pastor who keeps asking for donations might be a chance to help further God's kingdom.

And think of it like this: God, rather than see us for the sinners we are, sees us covered by Christ's blood (assuming you've accepted Him as Saviour.)

If you don't like what you see, try looking at it from a different point of view.

It's totally insane. It's not normal....

I was lying on a mattress on the ground in Mark Coffey’s basement, looking at the wooden ceiling. I was thinking about God. As I lied there, not more than 6 inches off of the ground, I realized one amazing truth: A true, God fearing, God empowered, active Christian is insane.
I don’t mean insane in the sense of mentally disturbed, or not in good mental health. I mean insane in the sense that sometimes, a Christian makes no sense.

Does it make sense that a man was thrown into a lion’s den, yet came out completely fine? Does it make sense for a small boy to kill a man over nine feet tall? Does it makes sense for an entire sea to part to allow a whole group of people to go through it? Does it make sense for water to be turned into wine? No! None of this makes sense.

It makes no sense for a man, living in America, to forsake his worldly pleasures (that would include a television, a car, indoor plumbing, heat, air conditioning, a roof and almost anything else.) and go serve God in a small, remote, desert village filled with savages. It makes no sense for Keith Shumaker to say "Praise the Lord; I have Malaria again!" as he sits in a sweltering heat in the country of Burkino Faso.

I then began to think about myself and my own life. I realized that I wasn’t insane enough. I would be insane to think that the God who created the heaven and earth would care about a sinful, pitiful, disgusting creature like myself. I would be insane to say that He would take time out of His schedule to attend to my need. I daresay that I would be a madman if I expected God almighty to clean and bandage me when I fall and get hurt. But maybe most powerful to me, at least at that time, would be the fact that any “normal” man or woman would tell me that I was fooled and confused if I thought God would answer my prayers.

The Bible tells us that, assuming we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us as born again Christians, we have an audience with the Father. That’s when I realized that I was just as “normal” and boring as any other normal guy. I was afraid to ask God for mighty things. I was afraid to ask for the things that would make normal people say, “You think God is going to do THAT for you? Child, you are insane.”

I was only asking God to provide the minimum. I was asking for just a little. I wasn’t daring to take big steps because I was afraid. I was normal.

Then I realized something. God won’t do mighty works in my life if I’m normal. Nowhere in the Bible were normal men used to further the Kingdom of Christ. Sure, shepherds and carpenters fill the sweet pages of our Lord’s word, but they were far from normal men and women. These blessed people, my friends, were filled with the power of God. They were vastly different from any :normal" human being. They had big goals and dreams involving God. They weren’t afraid to look stupid or be laughed at.

I realized something that night, as I lie there on my back. I realized that if I want God to use me, I have to be insane, out of my skull, or just plain crazy. I have to ask for things that are just plain ludicrous. And I MUST die to my own pride, desires and flesh if I wish to see the Lord use me. I’m going to start asking things of God that a ”normal” person would call foolish or stupid. I’m going to start asking things that seem too farfetched to be true. I’m going to start trusting God to do what he said he could do, and that He will do it in an able and exceeding manner.