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Have you ever been surprised by the way God communicates with you?  Moses checked out a burning bush that didn’t burn up and ended up becoming the hero of the Hebrew people.  Moses experienced the presence of God not only at the burning bush but with him all the way as he led the Hebrew people out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.  What is God calling you to?  What destiny is God calling you to fulfill?

God’s call to Abram (Genesis 12:1-9) is not unlike God’s call to us today.  God finds us in the midst of our world and culture to call us to be his friend.  Isn’t that pretty amazing?  To be asked to take a journey with God and end up his friend?  See (James 2:23).  As you read the story of Abram, what does Abram leave behind?  What do you learn about God?  What is God calling you to leave behind?

There is a story about Jesus when he sits down next to a well because he is tired and hungry.  A lady comes to the well to get some water.  Jesus strikes up a conversation with her which is very unusual because in that culture men did not talk to women or people from her ethnic background.  They talk about water, spirit, and worship.  Then out of the blue Jesus asks her to go get her husband.  She tells him that she doesn’t have one and Jesus responds with these words, ”You are right when you say you have no husband.  The fact is you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.”  I am sure her jaw dropped!  I wonder what went through her mind?  She probably dropped her head and realized that she had been found out, discovered.  I can imagine her thinking that she was going to hear a piece of Jesus’ mind, and expected the judgment to start flowing.  Instead Jesus begins to talk about the future and reveals to her that he is the Christ.  The woman goes back to her village and begins to share with neighbors her discovery of Jesus.

Two things are amazing to me.  One, Jesus knew everything about the woman, including her sinful past and even her current behavior and he doesn’t condemn her.  Grace is extended.  Second, he reveals who he is to this woman and allows her to be the one who shares with her village who Jesus is.  What a huge risk.  Jesus entrusted himself and who he was to this woman.  What if she went back and got the story wrong?  What if people identified Jesus as just another one of her flings?  There is a third thing that is even more amazing; Jesus took the risk in calling me to represent him.  Jesus takes a huge risk by letting you and me be a part of his body, his hands and feet to a world he loves enough to die for.  Grace and risk.  Jesus gives grace and takes risk in it’s place.

When was the last time you saw a rainbow?  I saw one this morning while the sprinklers were going in the back yard.  I’m not sure that counts as a rainbow in the clouds, but everytime we do see a rainbow in the sky, God sees it as well.  In the scriptures God says that whenever he sees a rainbow he will remember his covenant with Noah, his family, and every living creature forever.  That includes us!

If you heard the message on Sunday: What challenges are you facing that seem impossible?  What does it mean to walk with God?  Ask God what the next step should be in your walk with him.

Yesterday there was a full rainbow in the Eastern sky.  I thought it to be wonderful since the message this coming Sunday will be on the hero, Noah.  When Noah brought the animals and his family out of the ark God placed a rainbow in the sky.  I was once again amazed at God’s creativity and the beauty that is ours when we look for it.  I would have missed seeing the rainbow, except that my daughter came into the house and told me to take a look.  How often do I miss beauty?  How often do others miss something wonderful because I neglect to tell them about it?

I wonder what Abel would say to us today as we consider the story of his brother Cain killing him? How do we reconcile God’s response to Cain’s sin of murder and our response toward the people who commit violent acts? 

I will be starting a series called “Heroes: Live the Life.”  Each week I will try to bring to life a person from the Bible and one characteristic of that person that would be good for us to bring into our life.  At first glance some of the characters don’t act like heroes at all, they are the bad guy, and yet God enters into the scene and everything changes.  Do you have any heroes?  Who is your favorite Bible character/hero?

It snowed yesterday.  Interesting to see it snow when you have made up your mind that it is Spring.  It should be sunny and warm.  Instead it is cold, wet, and white.  I think we make up our minds about a lot of things and then are surprised when we see something different than what is expected.  Sometimes we ignore or don’t even see the changes taking place around us.  The other day I saw this guy from behind who looked pretty scary to me.  I confess that my first thought was that he probably just got out of prison!  I had made up my mind about this person.  As I came around the corner, in the words of Paul Harvey, I saw the rest of the rest of the story.  The guy had a smile on his face and was talking and playing with his son.  He was gentle and kind.  I need to have my mind changed about so many things.  “Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51).

Last night we gathered for a Good Friday service.  We sang songs and read scriptures that pointed us to the cross of Christ.  We had four candles lit and after each section of scripture was read the reader would walk over and blow out one of the candles.  I was surprised when I smelled the smoke from the candle.  It was an eary sensation.  It got into my throat as I tried to sang and actually was very irritating.  The thought came to me (maybe the Spirit of Christ speaking,) “Does that seem irritating to you?  Imagine smelling the smoke from the soldiers’ fire as you hang on a cross moments from death.”  It wasn’t in a sarcastic tone or angry, just a voice that called me to consider what Christ went through on the cross for me.  May we all consider what Christ has done for us; what he has done for me.

Once in awhile I get busy and skip eating lunch.  By evening my body is craving food!  It is hard to concentrate, my mind constantly goes to food.  Food is basic to life.  Go for too long and the body will begin to feed upon itself.  And no matter how much I eat at a meal it is not long and I crave more food.  It never satisfies for very long.  Jesus recognizes this basic need for food.  He feeds people who are hungry and commands his followers to feed the hungry and be generous to those who are in need.  But he also knows that food only satisfies for a little while.  The craving of our heart and soul desires for more than physical food it cries out for the bread that brings real and authentic life.  Jesus is that food.  He is life!  This week go without food for a few days and reflect on our dependance upon Christ.