Things Are Getting Weird

Job 33:14
For God speaks again and again.....though people do not recognize it.

O.k....for starters let me say that I don't walk around getting supernatural communications from on high all the time.
God does speak in various ways to get my attention. To point me toward something that I normally might miss. I mean...come on....He used a burning bush to get Moses' attention, did He not? Not that I'm Moses, or that I'm buying tickets to Egypt, but that God does speak.

I posted earlier this week about how God used a Penny to remind me of the call to serve others...to minister and love as He loves. That was cool, and I carried that around to remind me that God's ways are not like mine (thank goodness). Well, I had another God encounter on Wednesday. I've mentioned that I love to make the rounds of the local thrift stores to see what books they have to offer. I've put together a pretty good reference library to help me in my study of Scripture, so I try to visit at least one thrift store a week.  

On this particular day, I was walking down row after row of books when one book caught my eye.....Not one I usually would have given a second thought. It was a journal...A mission journal entitled "GO INTO ALL THE WORLD." For what ever reason, I pulled it down and began to leaf through it.

The journal has pages for notes, and also pages under the heading of "What is God teaching me?" It looked brand new...I thumbed through it and saw that not one page had been written on. It was as if someone had been given the book as a present and was not motivated to fill in any of it. I really considered it strange that such a book would be donated and found at a thrift store.

I purchased it for $1.00 and brought it home, not sure of what I was to do with it. On Thursday morning, after our quiet time, I opened it up and jotted down some thoughts concerning this journal. Below is the first posting in this new/old journal.

"Not sure why I purchased this journal---but for $1.00 how could I go wrong. Funny how the cover of this journal has decals and stickers from exotic places in foreign lands. Kind of like the old steamer trunks people use to travel with back in the 20's, 30's and 40's. These stickers and decals were a kind of badge for others to see where you've been. To show others that you're life hasn't been what others might call normal. In fact these stickers would subtly say that the owner of this trunk hasn't just lived life, but rather is an adventurer. That in fact the trunk owner may have seen things and had experiences that most people only dream of. Isn't this the very heart of what it means to follow Jesus? That such isn't what some may call normal, but rather an adventure. I think maybe yes it is."

This adventure of following Jesus isn't about the geography of the world...It's about the application of His Kingdom rule through our faith, belief, and willingness to live our lives daily for Him.  Maybe that is what I was to see in this journal....that every believer has an on-going call to daily get up and go out into the world, taking care of the corner God has called them to, and placed them in.  So maybe this journal was put there for me to see to remind me what God expects of me  (and you)....

And one last thing...
This is where I guess you could play the theme song to the Twilight Zone...Today as I was closing the journal up after writing in it, something inside the cover caught my eye. I'd never really noticed it before. It was an inscription that had been written to the original owner.

The opening words.....
Michael...use this journal when you go on your next mission trip....

My name...Michael...there in plain sight.
Now we can spin this twenty ways till Sunday...but I can't help but think that God set this up, once again to remind me of the mission.

Why do I need to be reminded? Could be that some hard times are just around the corner that would seek to stop me from following Jesus.  I don't know.

I just know that there in that store, along the back wall...there were thousands of books, and I happen to find the one that had my name in it...and that it was a journal yet to be filled in, to remind me of the life still yet to be lived. I saw the inscription inside the cover and I could not help but break into a smile. "God, You are something else!!"
One last thing....
The store I found the journal in?
The Center Of Hope thrift store.
That is exactly what I had found...
Hope.

God on you...
mbb