Strange thing happened last night as I was driving up to Northside Baptist for Wednesday Bible study. I was listening to a service we had from 2003. Nineteen years ago. Two hundred and twenty eight months ago. The one thing that stood out to me was the thought, "Who is this teaching?"
Now I knew it was me. The message was from II Corinthians 5:7 - "Walk by faith and not by sight." It wasn't an earth shaking message. It didn't cause the heavens to part and angels come down, but what it did do was catch my attention. Not so much the message, but the sound of the voice I heard which was mine.
The voice sounded younger.........much younger. There was an energy to it. A passion and a fire that seemed to fuel every word. It dawned on me....I had forgotten who this person was. Not in the sense of having no memory of giving this message, but from the perspective that the tone and cadence of the voice was filled with hope. Not hope found in this world, or this lifetime, but something far greater that can only be found in Christ.
As I continued to drive, I asked myself..."Have I let the things of this world weigh on me? Have I lost sight of the joy of the Lord? Have I fallen into a trap of being religious, saying one thing, yet deep inside living another? Do I fill the air with religious platitudes, yet all the while in my heart carry a great sadness that life is moving forward whether I want to or not?"
I don't want to be a "gloomy Gus". I don't want to take the Pharisee robes out of the closet, put them on, and walk around in front of everyone with a pious look on my face. I want the freedom that only God can give us. A freedom that transcends anything found in this world.
A freedom that affords me joy....
Real Joy!
His Joy!
The kind of joy that is determined by my situation or circumstance. Joy that penetrates to the deepest part of the human heart and soul.
A joy that brings stability to a person no matter what they may be facing.
A joy that brings stability to a person no matter what they may be facing.
When I can latch on to the eternal things of God, then what can the world possibly do to me that would shake me loose from my walk with God.
I want to live like the three Hebrew men who were thrown into a fiery furnace because of their refusal to bow their knee to worship the king.
When threatened by the king, their reply reveals this joy and freedom that only God can give a soul.
"Oh King...Our God is able to deliver us. But even if He doesn't, He is still God!"
Wow!
Whether they lived or died, God was still God and they were not going to turn their backs to Him. He was (and still is) worthy to be worshiped.
Well, the coffee has finished brewing, so I think I will close now. Thanks for stopping by the Greene Street Letters this morning.
God on you...
michael b
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