A Call from God

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The cell phone rings. The number is unfamiliar. We look at it and keep going... It rings and it's a favorite with a picture. We pick it up and start the conversation.

Picture this. The cell phone rings. It's God (hopefully He's a favorite, though He might seem infrequent).  What do we immediately do differently? Pull over. Turn off the radio. Listen first, ask questions later?

What's that conversation sound like? Pause and think about that for just a minute.

OK, so God doesn't make the cell phone calls. Somedays it would be easier if He did. But He does whisper and sometimes gets progressively louder. We are a people running at high speed. We need our God, His guidance, and His presence regularly. He tells us how.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know...

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Once in a while, I actually pick up the cell phone and have a conversation with God. It looks a little less crazy to the other drivers on the road that way : ) But it reminds me that our God really doesn't require a phone call. He's already here. He's omnipresent and ever waiting to be our refuge and our strength. We have a hotline to the God of the Universe.

This week, let's give God a call and have a conversation that's not a prayer in our quiet time. A conversation friend to friend, focused and listening, heart to heart...

First National Bank of God

We are called in this life to invest beyond this life. Sometimes, God allows us to glimpse the impact of those investments. And, sometimes not : ) One day, though, we will see exactly what God did with what we gave of our time, talent, treasure and heart. In The Message, at Luke 12:31- 33 there is a great description to keep us thinking about God's economy. I love the picture the word "steep" paints... and the list that describes the First National Bank of God. Every heart-driven generous thing we do, our God uses to give the Kingdom to us and to generations of others...

29-32 “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33-34 “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves

a bank that can’t go bankrupt,

a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers,

a bank you can bank on.

It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

The Bible as Literature and Screenplays

I went to a state college and "The Bible as Literature" was a class offered somewhere along the way. Though intrigued, the thought "why would you take that view that?" kept me from taking it. A few years wiser now, wish I would have done it- just to see what "they" saw as literature... and to have met the people in the class who would have never cracked a Bible for other reasons. Movies also capture an audience that won't crack open a Bible : )

Think for a minute about the stories of the Bible... Clearly book material and most definitely screenplay material. They really have all the elements of an action film (slaying giants, getting swallowed by a whale) or a drama (think of all the family misadventures), maybe even reality television (any Old Testament patriarch) and most certainly a Marvel comic superhero film (parting the Red Sea, walking on water). There might even be a musical in there..."Horse And Rider Thrown Into The Sea" (Exodus 15). And of all things- even poetry written by a warrior king!

In the last several years, movies have told some these stories from a big Hollywood point of view, which inspire conversations about the actual stories. A couple of times, people have asked, "Is that really in the Bible?" Don't you love that question? It makes us dig in and be sure of what God's Word says and it gives us a chance to open a Bible passage and show someone where the details are.

This week, let's review the Scripture account of one of our favorite Bible as "Literature" moment or "Hollywood" moment... and ask God to put someone in front of us to spin the story with.