I’LL GIVE YOU TIME TO GO NUMB

 

I had a
dental appointment this week and after the inevitable injection before a little
drilling the technician said while leaving the room, "I’ll give you a
little time to go numb." Of course this brought up the question, “How much
time does it take to go numb?”

What comes
to mind in a religious sense; is how much time does it take to harden your
heart? How much time does it take before you feel no sense of guilt when you no
longer look to God for guidance, let alone worship him?

I know so
many people who at one time had a love for God and a love for his church; then
unexpectedly it seems that they are no longer interested. They lost their joy; the
joy of gathering with others; to worship the God of the universe. Sometimes I
hear comments such as: "Going to church just doesn't excite me
anymore,"  "I can worship as
well at home," or "I find God on the lake or golf course."

How long
does it take for someone to go numb? Going numb is when you have a lack of feeling.
Could it be the responsibility of the people or place you have been worshiping?
Possibly it is, but more than likely it is a change in your own heart that has
taken place. Could you be going numb? Maybe you are already there!

The church
at Ephesus was a shining light for God before the people of the world. They
have a whole book of the bible devoted to the church there, most of it
positive. Yet, in Revelation 2:4-5
we read a message from God for them. He says, "But I have this against you, that you left your first
love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the first
works again; or else I come to you, and will move your candlestick out of its
place, unless you repent and return to loving me and putting me first."

How did
that happen? How could this God loving, Mission supporting, Evangelist church
forget God? When did they go numb? The answer is, One day at a time… one
thought at a time… one action at a time and before they knew it they no longer
felt what they had before for God and His church.

How about
you, how are you doing?

Inside

I was lying in bed saying my prayers the other night and I
said something that surprised me. I was praying for many of my family, friends
and acquaintances, many of who are struggling in their faith. These are the
words that formed in my strange brain, "Lord, inside of them is a
spiritual person struggling to get out." 

Isn't that true of so many of us? There is a struggle
within us to be more than we are, to have a better and stronger relationship
with our God. It is so easy for us to observe the outer person we see and
forget the ongoing struggle and the potential that is there. It's like looking
at the caterpillar before it turns into a butterfly. That caterpillar is not
the most attractive thing I ever saw, but hidden inside is that which can be
one of God's most beautiful creations.

You may be the one struggling to overcome the
"caterpillar syndrome". You may be wondering if you will ever be able
to be the spiritual person you desire so strongly to be. It is so easy to look
at others and think, "I wish I were like them," but we don't know how
they struggle or have struggled in their lives to become who they are today.
The change (metamorphosis) from spiritual caterpillar to butterfly doesn't come
easily for anyone, yet it is possible.

The apostle Paul used this Greek word
"metamorphosis", talking about our spiritual change in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 where he said:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory,
are being transformed (metamorphosis) into his image with ever increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

When you think
about the change you want for your life, don't limit yourself in the area of
time. Don't expect to be "transformed into his image" over night and
don't expect that of anyone else either. Just remember that inside of them (and
us) is a spiritual person struggling to get out. Jesus understood that also,
which is part of the power behind his words when he said in Matthew 19:26 "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible".
It may seem like a silly prayer to some, but I truly believe that inside
many of us is a spiritual person struggling to get out.

Dear God, I'm ready to listen

I had gotten a new tea mug about a year ago; you know the
kind with a neat saying on it. I was more interested in the fact that it was
huge and I like a "big" cup of tea, not one of those tiny ones where you
can't even get your fingers through the handle.

Anyway, I was sitting and sipping my tea the other morning
and took notice of the message printed on the cup. Now I know I have read it
before, but if you had asked me what it said, I wouldn't have been able to tell
you. It may just be that I am more in need of the message now than before.
Anyway, the message touched my heart this time. A simple message that said,
"Dear God… I'm ready to listen now". The other side of the mug said
in part, "God never puts a call on hold…. I can ask Him about anything and
he is ready to listen."

We seem to understand the part about God always being
ready to listen, but what about the other part, the part where we listen?

Part of the problem may be that we often expect an
immediate, clearly stated answer from God and He doesn't always answer that
way. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews deals with how God answers; take time to
read it sometime... Simply, God sometimes doesn't answer in anyway which is
perceivable to us. We continue to serve him and do what he asks of us anyway,
which is called, "walking by faith". "By faith," we read
that all of the great people of the Old Testament served God, never personally
seeing the end result of the promise of God.

They married, had children, dealt with the daily stresses
and problems, and went to work everyday having faith that God was in control,
and knew what he was doing even if they didn't. How do we do that today? By
believing that God is in control, one day at a time, or one hour at a time or
even a few minutes at a time, because he is either in control of this world or
he is not. That's the decision we have to make and live by.

Here
is how they did it: Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people were still living by faith
when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them
and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and
strangers on earth… they were longing for a better country; a heavenly one.."(NIV)

Someone else put it this way, "Each
one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but
still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved
their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live
this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home."

Living in
this world, looking for our true home! That’s the secret of living by faith and
listening for God. As the old hymn says, "This world is not my home, I'm
just a passing through…"