A Full Day with God

Hopefully, as I am writing this, I am on the other side of getting over mono. I was pretty much useless the first couple of days. I napped, laid around watching old movies (I watched Gone with the Wind), read my Bible off and on, and prayed a lot of random prayers. However, as soon as I started feeling a little bit better, I purposed that I would spend a full day with Him. I started out listening to a pod cast. I read my Bible. I prayed. I watched some sermons I had on DVD. I just tried to spend the entire day focused on Him. Sometimes I would just cry and weep. Sometimes I was laughing ridiculously hard. As I did this and finished up each thing I was doing, I would look at the red dots on my hands…every hour that went by they seemed to get lighter and lighter. I noticed I could eat…and man, did I eat! I began to gain more and more strength.

I saw a verse in 2^nd Corinthians. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away, all things have become new.” However, just a few verses before, I saw something just as amazing. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:13 “If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” I sat there at times while I was crying and laughing, just me and God, and thought how people would look at me praising God and think “he is out of his mind.” This verse tells me they are exactly right. I was out of my mind…for Him! There is no way that a worldly person could ever understand a Christian being “out of their mind” for God. To feel His presence is just the greatest thing ever. A person under the influence of His presence will raise their hands, raise their voices, sing out loud, cry, weep, laugh…who knows? They are out of their minds…and it is for God!

The verse goes on to teach that if I am “in my right mind,” it is for other people. I thought about this. Because other people don’t understand the Gospel of Grace, a Christian can’t just go on being “out of their minds” for God. We still must live in the real world with real lost people and be an example amongst them. Because they don’t know Him, it is my job to live for Him and love Him the absolute best that I can. My life, while I am “in my right mind,” must purposefully point to Him. Then, as soon as I can get by myself, or with other believers who believe like me, I want to go back “out of my mind” for Him. I want to get in His presence and just lose all my consciousness of this world. These moments just fill me up and keep me going for the long days that I must do my job that is in this world.

This season of sickness for me has been awesome. Yes, given the choice, I would have chosen work over being laid up all week. But, I have to admit, this season has given me new perspective and purpose. I have watched my friend Norlynn Hoffman battle cancer for months…she still praises God with everything she’s got. She still wants to be included in God’s plans no matter what they are. I stay in touch with my paralyzed friend, Karen Brown…with every keystroke that gets entered through her voice activation device, it drips with praises to her Creator. My little sickness is nothing compared to the suffering of countless others. But, just like the suffering of Jesus produced salvation for the world, my suffering will produce salvation for others.

There are so many new people just beginning to read WMD. People that I would have NEVER in a million years thought would actually read them. All I want to say, to them, is that there is a real God in a real Heaven that really loves you. You are guaranteed trouble in this world. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or not. Trouble will come. But, our trust, faith, and hope can be placed in a real Savior named Jesus who gave His life that we might truly live. That we might really know Him and be able to overcome sin and this world…just like He did!

Later

Adam