Life in Control

Last Tuesday, I experienced perhaps the worst, craziest, eye opening day of my life. I was in a car accident which not only totaled my car, but also sent me over a median and across 3 lanes of oncoming traffic. For awhile it seemed like life was in slow motion on the point of impact, then miraculously I remember sitting in my crunch car, across 3 lanes of traffic, facing the wrong direction. I was stunned.

It took me a couple days to get over the initial thoughts that go through your head, feelings of disappointment, and I still can't say I've gotten over the feeling of costing our young family financially. However, there is one pressing thought that has impacted me through this experience: how little control I had over that situation.

I keep revisiting the crash, and how I ended up in one piece across traffic. That is nothing short of God's grace and control. And I keep thinking, what could I do differently? How can I avoid a situation like this again? And you know what, I can't. I'm not in control. I consider myself a good driver, but I could be way safer. But even if I'm a good driver, that doesn't prevent car accidents. And who knows what other things could take my life even today. If nothing else, I personally encountered how helpless and not in control I am of my life.

We have no idea when or how we will leave this life. As much as we try to falsely convince ourselves through everything in this world that we are in control of our lives, we aren't, God is. You could have all the money and power in the world, and that still is not going to make you in more control than God. You could be the smartest, wisest, biblical scholar, and that's not going to make you more in control.

And yet, how many of us on a daily basis, actually live our lives with an eternal purpose. I now realize, even more than I ever did before, how short this life is. How quickly it can be snatched up. I can not waste another day to live for Christ. I pray that I never forget this experience, because I don't wanna be in cruise control. I don't want to even pretend to be in control, and most importantly, I want to give ALL I have for the sake of the Kingdom.

Hearing Christ in a Modern World

I have been reading a couple of different books lately.  One of them was talking about Paul's conversion to Christ (found in Acts chapter 9).  Saul (Paul's name before coming to Christ) was on his way to Damascus to find followers of the "Way" (Christians) so that he could take them prisoner back to Jerusalem.  While on his way to Damascus Saul saw a bright light from heaven come over him and heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  Saul questioned who it was that was speaking to him and the voice said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

This encounter between Saul and Jesus on the road to Damascus got me thinking.  Why does this never happen in our present time?  Why have I never been stopped by a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus Christ?  How can I hear the voice of Christ in my life?

We live in a very modern technological world.  Everything in our lives has something to do with technology.  While at home we constantly have the television on.  While driving to and from work (or wherever) we constantly have the stereo on (some of us louder than others).  When not watching television or listening to music we are surfing the internet to catch up with people we never met on Facebook or texting our friends.  Our lives are cluttered with technological noise.

All of these things serve as static between us and God.  We don't give Christ a chance to speak to us.  We constantly have our attention focussed on something else.  Maybe if we turned all of these things off for a bit each day we could hear the voice of Christ in our lives.

Now I'm not saying Jesus is going to flash a bright light in our eyes and speak to us while driving on Interstate 70 or something.  I do believe that if we take the time to be silent and listen, we can learn a lot about Christ's will for our life.

I am addicted to television.  I have like six or seven shows I watch each week, plus I watch too much Fox News.  I have an iPhone that I play with constantly.  I am on my computer all of the time, often while still watching television or playing with my iPhone.

Challenge to myself and others:

At the beginning of Lent I took the advice of a friend and chose to give up "Not doing my devotions" for lent.  This means that I was going to spend twenty or so minutes each day in the Word and prayer.  I had to turn off the T.V., close my computer, turn off the stereo, and put away the iPhone for twenty minutes.  I read a couple chapters each day from a book of the Bible, beginning and ending each day's reading with prayer.  

I have seen a great change in myself over the last month and a half almost.  Now I admit that I missed a few days, it happens, but the vast majority of the days during Lent I kept up with my commitment.  I now find myself thinking about God much more than I did before Lent when my time with God was lacking.  I find myself thinking about the impact of what I am doing and saying daily might have on the Kingdom.  It has changed how I view my relationships, my work, and my personal time.  

I challenge myself and all of you reading this to do what I did.  It doesn't have to be during Lent, please do not wait another year to do this.  Starting today, right now, spend just the next 30 days spending fifteen to twenty minutes each day in the Word and prayer.  Don't just say you will do it, follow through.  Set some ground rules.  "I will read fifteen minutes each day, before work starting April 21, 2009 until May 21, 2009."  I promise it will change your outlook on life and you will find yourself desiring that time each day after that and continuing this practice.  

It seems so painfully simple.  All of us strive to do this all of the time.  Most of us fail.  We will continue to fail as we are not perfect.  If we take the time to ask Christ to take away all of our distractions for just a few minutes, we can begin to hear his voice.  Think about it.

A Message from God, through Grandpa

I want to share with you a dream I had.  It is a dream I had on the morning that my Grandpa Garrison died, February 4, 2008.  The night before was a great night.  I stayed up with fifty or so other guys on my floor at Taylor University to watch the New York Giants pluck what seemed to be fate, right out of the arms of the New England Patriots.  It was a fantastic evening, after celebrating, and taunting some Patriots fans of the Brotherhood (my floor), I went to bed.  Early the next morning I had a pretty intense dream.  First, a little background.

Late in 2007, around Thanksgiving I think, my Grandpa was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Over the next few months we watched, as he slowly got worse.  We visited him as often as we could, although being in college it wasn't as often as it should have been I guess.  He always had lots of advice on how to life your life and things he'd learned in his life.  He was also very happy when we visited him over the last few months.  He seemed at peace with going to be with Jesus.

Anyway, after the Super Bowl that night I went back to my dorm room and to bed for the night.  Early that next morning I had a dream.  In the dream I went over to my Grandparent's house to visit Grandpa.  In real life the last couple times I'd visited him he was bed ridden and couldn't talk very well, obviously nearing the end.  In the dream I walked in the garage door and up the stairs to find the hospital bed gone and Grandpa sitting on the couch in the living room reading his Bible.  

I walked in and went over to Grandpa, sat down next to him and asked how he was feeling.  His only response to me was, "Jesus Christ lives Joe!" with a huge smile on his face.  I looked at him and said, I know Grandpa."  At that very moment my cell phone rang and woke me up.  I looked at the caller ID and it said, "Dad."  I think it was sometime between 6am and 7am, I knew what the call was about.  I answered the phone and Dad told me that Grandpa had just passed away.

It took me a second but then I realized the weight of the dream I had just had.  Now I don't know whether you believe in God giving you messages through dreams or not.  I typically don't, as I had never had anything like this happen to me, but I couldn't help but think that this was a message from God.  I mean, what are the chances that at the VERY MOMENT my Grandpa died, that I would have a dream that he was completely healed and professing that Christ lives? 

Coincidence...maybe...maybe not.  You decide.  I know that this is something I will never forget.