Last week Pastor Lovejoy used a term in his sermon that cracked me up a bit, more out of nostalgia than humor. The point that he was getting across was that when Jesus wants you to do something, that something is going to get done. He's going to make sure one way or another that the particular something will happen even if it takes a spanking.
Both Pastor Lovejoy and I are both what the bible calls "A man under authority" - military veterans, so we both know what it means when the commander say jump. If your response is anything but "How high sir?" on the way up, that commander is well within his rights to take corrective action. Regardless of what that corrective action is, from a gentle reminder to full blown courts martial, this corrective action is called to those under authority "a spanking" which is the term he used in his sermon.
But what if "the boss" has a task for you that you don't want to? I suppose the choice comes down between your personal selfish desire and your love in Jesus. Is that cold? Yes it is, but only because it's honest.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 1415)
Case in point: I have a relative that is spiritually lost. I've worried and prayed over this relative because she's a theological train wreck. She believes in the pagan/gnositic nonsense that says God is a "universal energy force" or a "universal stream of consciousness". In her warm fluffy world God is little more than a happy cloud that stupid people worship and Jesus was a nice guy who had awesome hair. She hangs out with wiccans and swallows their lies about the Bible and God like they were M&Ms.
To be honest I don't want to put up with it, I'm sick of her heresy, and her blasphemy makes me ill. She's a walking exhibit of the new age garbage that's passing for spiritualism and my heart is broken knowing that she's going to roast in hell for eternity. To be honest I don't want her and her blasphemy in my house.
Then Jesus intervened.
First of all, it's not my house, it's His house. He picked it for us and steered us into it. When we decided it was too much house and wanted to look at smaller houses He took nearly everything off the market. When we decided that it was too expensive He lowered the price. When we figured it would be too much work to move in, he provided several young men to help us move AND supplied tenants that were eager to move into our other house ASAP. The house my bride and I live in is dedicated to Jesus who adopted me as his ever errant but loving brother, and all who enter it come under his protection.
So to make sure I know who He wants in His house, He went and gave this heretical relative a free plane ticket, which this relative immediately chose to use to come here and visit us in a couple of months from now.
My first impulse was to schedule some elective sinus surgery. Really. I figured that way I could hide behind bandages and painkillers. The Holy Spirit (who at times sounds just like my bride) began to remind me of the Great Commission that my Savior and Lord gave me - to spread the gospel. If I can't spread it all over the world I can at least spread it in
Getting in the car (which I'm pretty sure Jesus had something to do with too, but that's another story) I had the radio tuned to Grace FM and a sermon by Pastor Jeff Figgs of Greeley Calvary Chapel was on. Pastor Jeff was talking about evangelizing to non-believers. "I get it Lord." I said "You want me to try to save her." Then Jesus answered. Pastor Jeff began emphatically preaching about the need to evangelize to unbelieving relatives.
The realization was like being hit by 10,000 volts. I had just been given my marching orders and sent off to do His work with a resounding spanking. I was in tears with the realization: the plane ticket, her sudden desire to visit our (exceedingly beautiful) state, the exquisite timing of the air play of a 3 year old sermon, even the fact that He allowed this to wash over me on a street with no traffic so I could wonder at His majesty without endangering any spectators. I'm still flush with the realization.
So I now have a relative who's going to be evangelized kicking and screaming into salvation, or maybe He has another purpose. We'll find out together.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Note to Pastor Lovejoy: If you can get Miss Cindy to play this kind of worship music, I'll never leave the building!
(Weird brush with fame - I met the guy who made this hat!)
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