Impressions of Light

About six months ago, I met a guy named Clint. He manages the Grease Monkey where my former job as an office services worker in the oil and gas company I work for required me to take in our company vehicles for oil changes. I was reading my Bible outside while an oil change was taking place one day, and Clint walked outside to talk with me. It was the first time I really had much of a conversation with him other than friendly chat when coming and going. That particular day, Clint and I started talking about the Word of God, I found out he was a Christian, and suddenly a brand new friendship took off. Over the next few months, I would talk to Clint at least once a week as I took vehicles in. We'd talk about Jesus, about struggles in our faith, about the Bible, and all sorts of other stuff. We got each other's phone numbers and started calling each other every now and then for encouragement and prayer together over the phone.

One day, on my way out the door, I grabbed an extra Life Journal sitting on the shelf in the living room. The Life Journal has a yearly Bible reading plan to go through and pages to respond to things God is speaking to you through the readings. I took it along with me to Grease Monkey when taking in a vehicle and gave the journal to Clint. The next thing I knew, he was devouring the Word of God like no one I've ever seen! Over the next few months, I was blown away at the changes I started to see in Clint. His excitement and passion for the Word seemed to be growing exponentially as he shared with me about what he was reading and learning, each time I saw him.

Last night I got a phonecall from Clint, whom I haven't seen in about 3 weeks. He shared with me how God is doing something very big and very new in him right now. He's been challenged to new levels of obedience and righteousness in His walk with the Lord, has been sharing with co-workers and friends like a madman, is helping disciple one of the other managers at Grease Monkey, and started up a Thursday-night Bible study. I could hear the authentic passion in his voice as he shared all this, and as he read to me from 2 Peter to describe things God is doing in His heart. That phonecall blessed me enormously.

It all started with an act of obedience. An off the cuff thing, really. God put it in my heart to encourage Clint in his faith, and I shared with him one of the things God has been doing to grow me (in this case, the Life Journal). It was by no means me, but the Holy Spirit who orchestrated all of this. And as a result of a simple act of obedience--giving somebody a journal and some words of encouragement--a life has been transformed, set on fire by the Lord, and many seeds are being planted. Thank You, Lord.

This brings to heart a verse that really challenges me anew each time I read it:

"You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:14-16

Lord, please shine Your light through me wherever I go. I long for my life to be nothing other than a light that You use to draw people to Yourself. May I never claim or receive the glory for what You are doing, but may I always give YOU the glory. I love You, Jesus!

God is Making Me

In one of the classes I'm taking at the School of Ministry--Foundations of Christian Ministry--we're talking a lot about discovering the calling God has placed on our lives. This is a HUGE task, of course, because basically it feels like you're trying to put something that is too big for words into a box that is too constricting, too limited, and too pre-shaped by human hands to contain something whose shape is such that human measurements and descriptions are inadequate.

Still, words and ideas are all we have available this side of eternity. So kudos to my teacher for showing us how to use what God has given us to discover what He is calling us to be (both at present and in the future).

What' s on my heart and mind right now is the indescribable sovereignty of God in taking our lives and making something BIG for Him out of it. When it comes to the ministry in our lives, God doesn't start with nothing--He takes the raw material of our lives to build a destiny for us. Our encounters with Him, our hot buttons and passions, our many screw-ups, the things that make us different from anyone else...There is so much stuff to reflect on. In class last night, I started thinking about all of the places God has taken me, all of the things I've seen and done and felt and dreamed, the things that get me excited and the things that really piss me off, the stupid things I've done and the shame and fear that has resulted, the people who have hurt me and the people who have blessed me...the good, the bad, the ugly...

I realize now that God wants to use--and IS using--ALL of these things mentioned above to make ME. He made me in my mother's womb, and now He's MAKING me. He's weaving together my past experiences--even the things I wished I'd never gone through--with my passions and abilities, my mistakes, my dreams, my hopes, my downfalls...all of these things and more will come together to form a calling that God has placed on my life.

Pastor Sam used a very accurate analogy to describe a calling. Our life is a supermarket. All of our experiences, feelings, passions, abilities, hang-ups, etc, are like different items in a shopping cart. Our calling is not so much the sum of all the items in the cart, but rather the MEAL that is going to be prepared with the items in the cart. So God might use the things in my cart to cook up spaghetti casserole, or to prepare a meat stew. Only He knows, until He chooses to reveal this to us. And this is where I'm at right now: I have a large number of ingredients and utensils in my cart, and I have a general idea of what kind of meal it is going to be...but the specifics? No clue. And I'm OK with that.

What's in your shopping cart? What kind of meal do you feel will be prepared with it?