Not About Me

The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.
1 Samuel 8:7 (NASB)

I find this sound advice in all areas of life if you are following hard after the Lord. I find it comforting to know that it is not about me. If I am rejected or made fun of by others, it is nothing personal. At least, it is nothing personal regarding me. it is the Lord who is suffering that rejection, it is not mine to bear.

How freeing it is to accept the fact that it is God who bears the insults and the barbs, the Lord truly is my shield, my rock as well as my Redeemer. How easy it should be to move ahead proclaiming His Gospel knowing that I matter not, He bears it all, just as He gave His all to save us from ourselves, from our sin. If I am not doing what he calls me to, it is not that I have to bear the burden, but in my own struggle with sin and I am not reaching out to have Him bear it all for me.

The voice of the people may shout defiance at God, but I should only hear the soft whisper of the Lord.


Technorati Tags: God, Jesus, sin, freedom, rejection

It All Came Together Yesterday

It was a a brief moment of total recognition in my Starbucks yesterday. As I walked in the door, I saw the chest pains guy by the sugar and milk counter fixing his coffee. He was there with his buddy, got the feeling they were on there way to work, probably carpooling it. I ordered my coffee and turned around and it me. Chest pain guy was opening up and pouring six or more packets of Equal into his coffee! Chest pain guy was Equal guy! They were one in the same. Sort of like finding out Clark Kent was Superman. OK, not really.

So, it is the caffeine that gives him the pains or the Equal that prevents them?

I gotta find something else to blog about.

Technorati Tags: Starbucks, Equal

Can't Be Too Sure

I was in my local Starbucks yesterday morning to pick up my vente bold cup of caffeine, and there were two guys in front of me waiting for their order. The guy behind the counter looks like he is new to the job, seems like a nice enough guy but he has not developed his Starbucks speed yet. These guys were waiting a baristal (that is, pertaining to baristas) eternity for their stuff. The guy finally brings over two identical vente coffees. Here is how the conversation went:

"Which one is the decaffeinated?"

"I think this one is."

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure, I'm almost certain."

"Well, caffeine gives me chest pains. I will take your word for it, but if I get chest pains today, you and I are going to have a talk on Monday."

Silence, no response. So he takes the coffee and walks away. (Chest pains, caffeine, not sure, what?)

The other server hands me my coffee, but the guy's friend comes back and says, I want to new coffees, clearly marked which one is the decaffeinated. And he is none too happy in his ask. But she takes the cups and tosses them, going to get another order, trying to explain to the new guy that he probably should have done this in the first place. (She had heard the conversation that went on before. She probably should have done it in the first place too)

I go to put my half and half (just a splash, thank you) standing next to the guy prone to chest pains. He is laughing about the whole thing (laughing, really) saying his friend really does not want to start off his day with decaf. (Oh, your buddy clutching his chest in agony is not your major concern)

I said yeah, that's no good. You go into cardiac shock and he is too sleepy to drive you to the hospital. (He liked that one. he had a great sense of humor)

And out the door and on my way I go. For me, when it comes to chest pains,, you cannot be too sure about your coffee. But at least it is about caffeine and not about Equal.

Just another start to another morning.

Limit Yourself

"Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing...He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God...The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas."

Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest: March 5 Devotional

Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and know that all of us are called to a ministry, it is just that not all are to do it in a setting we traditionally consider to be a ministry. Yes, your workplace, your school, your community, your family can be the setting of your ministry. You can share Jesus in any of these settings, you can be faithful to the Lord anywhere.

Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and you will find you have just the strength and time to do it. Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and you will find that it is more than you could ever have thought up to do on your own. And you will know it is He who placed the task before you.


Technorati Tags: God, Lord, Jesus, Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, ministry, calling