Turns out that some missionaries bumped into him and began to have a conversation. Because he was dressed in a suit and tie they asked if he was returning from church. To their surprise he shared that he was returning from another village where he has spent the morning ministering to the people.

When I heard this, I was challenged. Here was a young man who rose above the expectations of his age and ability to live intentionally and sacrificially on purpose. He was not wasting his days, he was investing so that others would be able to hear of Christ’s love and embrace the hope He offered.

His story reminded me of my absolutely favorite verse when I was growing up. I Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

This young man did set an example for me. An example that challenged and inspired me. But, we also have been given the charge to rise above our excuses to do what is right. To ‘set an example’. Some of us will embrace that charge, others will not.

And it is not just age. For some, that scripture should read, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your intellect” or maybe, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your family history”, or even, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your past, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

See, every one of us has things that could keep us from living life well. We could embrace our excuses and hold on tightly. But, because of God’s grace and His ability working in us, we can rise above them. We can move past our past and make a difference in our present and in our future.

Like the young man in Africa, there might be people who expect you to be floating through your days wasting your potential, but with God on your side you can do so much more. Only heaven knows what God could do with you if you decided to not let anyone look down on you or force you into a tight box. Only heaven knows…but don’t you want to know as well?

Take it one day at a time, but begin today to live above the excuses and expectations. Live well.

Although I had to pull away and did not get to talk to her further (hungry people behind me), I did say a prayer for her. I found it sad that she had been hurt by someone who should have protected her.

However, my prayers did not settle only on her, I found in our very quick conversation a picture of so many and an analogy about what they do with their pain and discomfort. Typically they run to something to cover up their scars with something and write that name in a prominent and defining place. They might cover up the scars of abuse with illicit and empty relationships. They may write the name of a substance over the blemish of disappointment or insecurity. The marks left by abandonment might be covered by a destructive tendency.

These are the people that we need to be praying for; for these are the ones who Christ is pursuing. Those who have been hurt, whispered about, abused, taken advantage of, pushed in the corner and marginalized. Those who are causing themselves more pain trying to escape what is in their past. He wants to write His name on their hearts, not only covering up their scars, but healing them altogether.

My encounter with the nameless woman has impacted me. It has moved me to prayer. I hope it will move you as well.

First off, 308,150 people viewed the Groundwire commercial “More to Life” yesterday. Chats are up because of it.

Secondly, we are scheduled to run our first commercial on ESPN today. Exciting to add new stations.

Pay close attention to the 2nd part.

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in HIm and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Ps 37:3-6

From: “Area X”

Im deist. The belief that god created everything and has not interfeared with it sence. I can encorporate the big bang and the beliefs of the bible together though. Like the garden of eden… the theory of the big bang is that everything was once balled up very tightly, and they say that the garden was amazing. what if every thing balled up was the garden of eden and when god cast out adam and eve that was the big bang. life restarted on earth. evolution. skip ahead. now we have jesus. i think god gave jesus 100% use of his brain at all times where normal humans only have about 8%. jesus, because of his higher intelect was able to walk on water and perform his miracles. I enjoy religious debate. if i sound like im putting christianity down i assure you im not but i like to seek out different ideas.

From: Jason at Groundwire

I don’t mind religious debate either.  However…to be fair…it really isn’t worth your time if all we’re doing is mental gymnastics with our arguments.  If you are dead-set against the idea of a living, active God, there is no point in our debate.  The consequences if you are right are that you will fade into nothingness, your body will be re-absorbed into the collective matter of the universe and may eventually feed plants, etc.  The consequences if you are wrong are that there is a living God who desires to know you, but you will push Him away.  Consequently, He will allow you to be separated from Him for eternity.  That destiny is more than I could bear….and if scripture is accurate (as I believe it is), it will be more than you can bear as well.

You may be surprised that I once sat in a philosophical position not far from your own.  I was an agnostic with no belief in God and a strictly “scientific,” world view.  I came to know this Jesus by what I can only describe as a real and personal experience of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Enemy (sometimes called ‘Satan’, ‘the Devil’, or the ‘Antichrist’).  Not hard to see which one I chose to follow, eh?

I can understand why the Deist worldview holds such sway.  My mother is a Deist and I have high regard for her.  You are a smart person who sees a world full of hardship and suffering and figures, “there couldn’t be a good, loving God in all of this!”.   The apparent absence of God in your world continues to reinforce your view.  I can totally understand that, having sat in my agnostic chair.  Pop science which describes our mind as being only partially activated is questionable science, but even so…I can understand the lure of the philosophy (”oh, if we could only unlock the other 90% we could become well….like God himself”). 

I want you to know that your doubts, your arguments, your questions about my view are more than welcome here.  I will not condemn you, ever, for whatever beliefs you may have.  But I will warn you that I will be urgent and fervent with you….for in my world view, you have a limited number of breaths to find the truth…and I don’t think you have the truth at present.

All that said, I think we both have some understanding of the other’s view, but if .you are in doubt about mine, allow me to share by starting with our commonality:
We both agree in a creator God.  Check
We both believe in Jesus. Check.
We both believe that Jesus was amazingly special (albeit for different reasons).  Check.

Now here is where we differ.  I believe in Jesus as God himself.  I believe in a three-fold God that consists of Father, Son, and Spirit.  I believe he did what is recorded in the Bible.  I believe he did it for the reasons that he is quoted as giving in the bible.  I belive that the bible informs us of how we may actively interact with God.  And I believe that there is an eternal reward awaiting us (either good or bad) depending on our acceptance of the grace of God, given freely.

I believe in all of this because I have strong reasons to believe that the biblical account is accurate.  Biblical truth is often challenged by an unbelieving world…but I would assert that most of that unbelieving world has never taken the care to investigate the accuracy, longevity, and legitimacy of the bible account.  Perhaps you are one who has never really taken a hard look at what evidence there is for the bible being accurate, consistent, and authoritative in its historical account.  If you havent, I would recommend a (very short) book entitled “More than a Carpenter” by author Josh McDowell.

In short, I believe that Jesus is God who emptied himself to take on the life of a human.  This God-man could then empathize with our life…and could overcome this life.  Unlike us, in that he was without fault, guilt, wrongdoing, or any blemish to his perfect existence, he could offer himself as a just sacrifice for the failings (we call them “sins”) of the whole world.  After dying at the hands of sinful man, he rose from the dead (what part of the 100% of his brain do you think was responsible for that 3 days after his death) and appeared to many people…who then died as a consequence of telling this story.

By the mystery of God, He invites us to partake in the same death and re-birth that Jesus had.  This requires that we acknowledge our own inability to live to God’s standard and accept the gift of life that he gives.  It is like getting a “hall pass” into a forever relationship with a loving Father (not to make it sound too trite).  He invites us…we accept it.  After that acceptance, we’re in…and the rest of our lives are spent living full of purpose, until we are finally called home to our heavenly rest.

Well, that’s pretty much what I think.  I invite your comments, Bob, or Joe, or Sue, or whatever your name is, “Area X”. 

Be blessed of God!