Mary was pregnant and Joey was an apprentice at the Local Carpenters Union. They were engaged and both came from humble beginnings. They didn't have any money, were living with family and their only transportation was an old bicycle. Joey needed to head to the main office of the Local Carpenters Union to fill out some paper work and Mary decided to come with him. She was near the end of her pregnancy but thought she would be fine. Joey had her ride the bike while he walked along side her. They got to the Union office and Joey took care of all his paper work while Mary waited out front. The trip and paper work to a lot longer than they thought it would and it was getting late. They decided to try and hurry home but it was getting late and then all of the sudden Mary's water broke. She started having intense pain and she knew the baby was coming. She needed to get to a hospital but there was no time. Joey was freaking out but knew he needed to do something. Mary grabbed onto Joey's arm and squeezed until the pain subsided for a minute. Joey saw a 76 Gas Station a little bit up the road and he and Mary moved as quickly as possible to get there. When they got to the gas station Mary could feel the child coming and told Joey to hurry up. Joey frantically said to the gas station worker, "please help me, I don't know what to do. My fiancé is about to have a baby." The employee called 911 but the baby was already crowning. The employee took them into the mechanic shop of the gas station and got some blankets for Mary to lay on. Joey could see the babies head and it all happened so fast. Mary screamed in pain and pushed and Joey caught his son in his arms. The employee from the gas station was in shock. Joey asked him to get something to clean the baby off with and also for Mary. He found some mechanic towels and gave them to Joey. Mary and Joey couldn't believe what just happened. They were parents and had a beautiful baby boy. They decided to name him Joshua and laid him in some blankets. Mean while on the other side of town three security guards were finishing their shift at local warehouse and all of the sudden a bright light surrounded them and they heard a voice say, "don't be afraid, I have some exciting news. On the other side of town in the 76 Gas Station a baby has just been born. This baby is going to change everything. He is going to make a way for the world to made right again. You will find him in the mechanic shop of the 76 Gas Station with his parents." Then all of the sudden they could see an army of angels in the bright light and then it was gone. The security guards looked at each in amazement and couldn't believe what just happened. They decided to all jump in a car together and ride to the gas station and just like the angel had said they found Mary and Joey and the baby in the mechanic shop. By this time the paramedics had shown up and were checking on Mary and the baby and getting them ready to head to the hospital. The security guards told Mary and Joey all that had happened and Mary treasured all these things in her heart. The security guards left the Gas Station and could not keep their mouths shut. They told everyone they came in contact with about what happened and people were amazed.   

Listening, listening, it's all I do. Most don't know I am here but I am. Always listening but never noticed. People share their secret thoughts with me. I see the ugly and the beautiful that comes out of people. I hear their pain, their joy, their victories, their plans, their hopes and dreams. I know when a wedding proposal is coming before it happens. I hear the fights marriages have before divorce. I hear the cries for help of the abused. I hear the hopeless thoughts of those considering suicide. I hear the songs of musicians before it ever goes viral. I hear the windows open as a burglar enters the home. I hear the snoring of those sleeping in the night. I hear the cries of new borns, the dog scratching at the door to be let out, and the flush of the toilet in the middle of the night. I hear it all yet no one knows I am listening. I will always with open ears. Know you are never alone. Listening, listening, it's all I do. 

I hide among the faces of the crowd. Don't notice me as I enjoy my luke warm lifestyle. I am not one to stand up or make waves. My objective is simple; keep people from their purpose. I partner with fear to paralyze the leaders of the here and now. I have stolen many identities. I have enslaved many to my ways. Ultimately I enjoy destruction whether it be internal or external, relational, mental, physical, or spiritual. My end game is to keep the leaders at bay and will do what is necessary to accomplish my mission. I have stolen from fathers and mothers and the cycle is easily embraced by their children. Many have been deceived and believe that it's ok to live by my ways. I oppose truth by being silent in the midst of lies. I create a false sense of peace and unity. My followers are unified around lies believed to be truth and it is like a cancer that eats them from the inside out. Their world begins to crumble around them and they do nothing because it is normal due to the fact that so many have embraced me. I keep the ideas of power to overcome and the possibility of change as an ever distant dream. Many generations of leaders never actually lived out their call to leadership but instead lived as a prisoner with fear as a cell mate and I was their jailer. My job is not finished. Onward!

Often times people in the church like to complain about how people in the world are the problem when in reality the world is just being the world. Why would people who don't believe in morals and Godly principles and truth abide by them? Yet that is often times what we expect from people who don't truly believe in God. Why is that?

Often times the church doesn't realize her role in society. If we who have the light do not reveal the light then how can we expect anyone to find their way through the dark? If we look and act like the dark or don't ever allow those who are in the dark to be part of our lives how will they ever see the light?

We as followers of Jesus have to ask ourselves some assessment questions. Are our frustrations founded in truth or are they worldly? The world needs ministry from hearts that are led by Kingdom truths. The Lord's heart is for the lost. He treasures them so much that he was willing to give up his only Son for them (us). We need to ask ourselves the question, do we treasure the lost like He does? Do we see the lost the way he does? This is a journey I have been on with the Lord. He has been asking me these questions and I have been challenged big time but things he is revealing about my heart towards a number of the lost. Here's a little story that happened in the last couple of months. My wife was out of town visiting family and so it was me and the kids. We decided to go and get some pizza from Papa Murphy's and as we were pulling into the parking lot there was a girl walking down the side walk in a very provocative mini skirt and was all done up in makeup and had high heels on. All the people driving by were taking note of her. The area where this Papa Murphy's is a place where prostitution takes place and in my assessment I though this girl is a prostitute and then out of the back seat my 8 year old daughter notices her and says, "daddy look at how beautiful that girl is, she must be going to ball or a dance or something" and I thought if she only knew. Then I heard the Lord's voice say, your daughter sees what I see. I was humbled big time. When God looked at that girl he did not see a prostitute, he saw his lost daughter that had been chewed up by the destructive circumstances she had to face in this world. I couldn't stop thinking about it for the next number of days and I began to ask myself questions like, what are the things in me that get in the way of seeing what the Lord sees in people even when their outward appearance or lifestyle choices offend me. I began to think about all the opportunities lost because I judged someone or decided not to interact with them based on my biases. As I went down this journey I began to see how much of a "Hypocritical Religious Heart" had taken root in my heart. Love can't flow out of that kind of heart, only pride, judgement, and rejection. UGLY!!!!!!!!!!

I would encourage you to go back and read the gospels again and see how Jesus interacted with all those he came across and not romanticize it but look at it for what it really was: Lepers, Samaritan Woman, crooked tax collectors, the poor, lame, those who mocked him at the cross. Then asked yourself the question do I love like Jesus?

For there to be the ebb and flow of your faith being lived out in your life you need to understand the difference between having all the right answers and actually living those answers. Jesus had all the right answers but it didn't stop there. Those answers actually were incarnate in his life. It is interesting to me how the church has shifted to having so many sermons about the right answers yet the living out of those answers does not happen in most cases. Some where along the way we settled for a form of religion with no power and the next generation began to drink the same Coolaid and so on. Somewhere along the way we lost sight of the truth becoming incarnate in our lives and settled for the right answers and an "amen brother." We settled for programs being the attraction versus Jesus being the attraction. Some of us have been so trained by this that we don't even have any personal intimacy with the Lord. We like to date him but there is no commitment to a marriage. We like his provision but spend most of our time elsewhere.

Not all of his bride lives this way. Some have committed to this marriage and are experiencing an intimate empowering relationship with the Lord. Their love for him is not out of duty but Love!!!! They have become one with him and know his voice. They see what he sees and they begin to join in on what he is doing all around them. The flow of his presence is constantly moving through them at work, on the road and as they do their daily tasks. The things that used to be the boring mundane things of life now have purpose and the Lord speaks the secrets of his heart to them. They no longer try to find joy in their work, their money, or even the fun things they like to do. They have found a new constant joy in their relationship with Jesus. It is always available and never runs out. The context of their life has become the mission field of their life. Kids sports games are no longer just about their kids but all that God wants to do at those games in the lives of those present which includes cheering on and celebrating your kids. Jesus opens eyes to his desires and plans and brings purpose to even the simplest of tasks.

It's amazing to me how you can feel like you can have all the facts and from your vantage point you believe with all that you are that you are right. I have found myself at times gathering what I believe to be facts when in fact they are misperceptions and I have determined my judgement on the issue as sound and true but in reality I am met with the real truth and am humbled by how easily I was deceived and by how I can make someone or something out to be what they are not all because I am deceived. I have found that living in community and having trust worthy folks in your life that are seasoned with the the circumstances of life and the reality of how easy it is to be deceived helps you to not fall into deception.

Have you ever thought why is that guy so angry all the time or how did that kid I grew up with turn out like that? Experiences often times build identities. Things that we have experienced become part of our belief system. For example someone is abused by people they are supposed to be able to trust. The result is they have been hurt so many times by people that represented trust that they begin to build a wall of protection around themselves and don't let anyone in. They become isolated and angry inwardly which often times boils to the surface. On the other hand there are people that face the same abuse and believe that if they can control their lives and the lives of those around themselves they won't get hurt. These people can be aggressive and angry and even willing to hurt others first so they don't have to deal with their own hurt. Life can be brutal and being able to navigate the established painful patterns of people's lives is tough but I believe that healing is possible for any person and any situation. Jesus is amazing and he navigated these painful patterns with such grace and love and even the most broken hurting people were healed. He is the great redeeming deliverer!!!

Although we have all heard "don't judge a book by its cover," most people in culture in almost every sphere do. We see a person of a different background, race, socio-economic status, religion and we immediately yet often times subconsciously make a judgement. Often times this knee jerk reaction causes people to miss out on the treasures of those that make up their community that they currently reside in. This has become a norm in our society. People used to say hello as others walked by but now people do their best to not communicate, make eye contact and often times just try to get from point A to B with as little interaction with others as possible. Our relational world has become one of isolation even when we are in a crowd. It has become shallow at best. It's time for people to begin to genuinely care about knowing the people around them. Have you ever watched someone's face light up when you said hello to them? Asked how someone was doing and then actually listened and asked more questions? Relationships although they can be messy are like buried treasure, sometimes you have to commit to the journey of finding the treasure but when you do it is all worth it.

#shallow #relationships #treasure