Jesus says, "Hi."

It has been a few weeks since I've been able to get away from life. Things are flying by; everyday during the school year seems to run into the next so quickly that sometimes just going to the toilet seems like a retreat. I can understand how some folks joke that they'll rest when they're dead. I don't pray for death but, I truly get what they mean. Life itself has felt a bit like a busy-death.

I don't believe the bible says we should pray regarding anything or anyone that is dead though. It does say that when you are absent from the body, you are present with the Lord. (Why would you need prayer if you're with God?) Jesus also said, "...let the dead bury the dead...," and although people have been praying for the dead since before the Christian church began, I have a difficult time praying for them. Still, many evenings at COF someone will ask me to say a prayer at the end of the night for their relative who recently, (or not recently) passed away. I don't pray for them. I do ask Jesus to say "Hi" to them for us. I figure it is a reasonable compromise. We can't (and shouldn't - according to the bible) talk with them but God can.

So I said a prayer last week and asked Jesus to tell a loved one "Hello" from our group. I don't often consider how the devotions or prayers at COF will be taken by our group. Through prayer and reading the bible, I trust the Holy Spirit to influence and guide me, and God can handle the "fall-out" with everyone.

Life was moving along as usual last Thursday as we cleaned up after the closing prayer, and a friend of mine, Chris came over to talk with me about his girlfriend. When we finished the chat Chris said, "Jesus says 'Hi' to you everyday." I felt the sting in his words. Was I dead? Have things deadened me so that the enjoyment of life has been "Hoovered" out? "No," I thought. I am alive because Jesus died for me! My friend Chris emptied my bag of dead-business and took out the trash that I should have known my faith already did for me. I don't know why we hold onto things, maybe that's why some of us are compelled to pray for loved ones we can't let go of. Maybe letting go will slow things down for us; Jesus did say His yoke was "easy," and His burden, "light." Jesus say's "Hi" to me, and you everyday. I will always remember that now. Thanks friends..., you're a lifesaver.

Underdogs!

Thursday evening was a cool moment in time for me. I'd just gotten out of my brother-in-law's memorial service and headed over to Circle Of Friends. I had been pondering all week as to whether or not I should leave the service and head over to church for our COF group. Everytime I thought and prayed about it I got the same answer, "Rick would go." So after the church service for Rick's family and friends I made my way to COF wondering how the evening would turn out. I usually have a plan or an inkling but, my plans don't usually inkle the way I thought they would. God show's up, and I'm good with that.

The devotion was all about...let me use the correct "christianese" here, "overcomers." I really don't care for any"-ese". People tend to over-use certain words, so we used "Underdogs" instead. Isn't that what we really are?

Let's see...we're all messed up on different levels, physically, mentally, and/or emotionally, and we need Someone to help us make it through our existence (most...if not all of the time), because no matter how much we'd like to admit it, we can't control everything (although we try). Because of sin, we are not built to succeed anymore, but with faith in Jesus, and God on our side through the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can do anything that is in His will in our lives. That sounds a bit like an underdog to me.

What fascinates me is how some folks don't get how this works. We can't succeed in life on our own, we need help to do the right thing because many times it is just not in us. Like cheerleaders for a sports team, God cheers us on and gives us the Holy Spirit, sort of like team spirit in our lives. It's "team spirit" inside of God's players that gives them the ability to get up everyday and function somehow when they're physically unable to get out of bed, or in pain. It's "team spirit" that guides someone to do the right thing in life because they heard how it looks when the bible was read to them as a child, yet they didn't (and don't) have the capacity to read it on their own now. It's also the gift of God's Spirit that gives many the emotional power to resist the temptation to yell and scream at someone when they were cut-off, or when their order was put together wrong, again. Believers in Jesus do nothing well without God cheering us on.

Thursday, I had the honor of speaking with 340 or so of my friends about how no matter what they're handling in their lives God has given them the Spirit to be overcoming "Underdogs!" (If you don't remember, our ministry is for folks with disabilities.) What a great promise from God, and who better to tell than our friends that those who believe in Jesus overcome the world! Why...do you say? Because God's word says that the Spirit in us (believers) is greater than the one in the world (1 John 4:4). Believers in Jesus Christ know that God has never broken a promise, and he never lies. Experiencing this verse in my life on many occasions I began choking up a bit during the devotion.

I mentioned in the notes before this that it had been a difficult week for me. The fact that God chose to have a devotion on being an underdog at this time not only spoke to my 340-plus friends, but it deeply spoke to me. Now I know why I was told all week that "Rick would go." As he has now gone and found complete and perfect comfort in God the Father's presence, I was able to find enough to help me overcome as my friends and I search for presents in His Word. God showed up, and I'm very cool with that!