God, an Angel, & Three Friends

This is a parable that God gave to me when I was just a young guy. I came across it today as I was going through some old things. I've edited it for a few grammatical things, but it is very much the same parable God gave to me when I was a young kid. I pray God blesses you with this.

God, an Angel & Three Friends

Three boys are walking along when suddenly one of them stops and is looking toward the sky.  One of them asks, “What do you see?”

He answers, “An angel.” The one friend who asked stood silently and let his friend have his moment. 

The other says, “Lord I want to see your angel!” 

The Lord replies, “Why should I let you see my angel?” The boy stands puzzled and doesn’t know what to say. 

So he says, “Lord, I pray that you would forgive me of my sins so that I may see your angel!” He then asks, “Lord now may I see your angel?”

The Lord answers, “Open your eyes and look.” Suddenly the boy sees the angel.

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Personal revelation August 28, 2013

The first boy who saw the angel lived a life of faith and was able to see the things of God without hinderance. The second lived a religious, false humility life.  He didn’t have time for miracles and angels. And perhaps he thought his friend was being a little to spiritual.  The third boy has a spirit like Peter. Eager for the things of God but stumbling along the way.  All he needed was to focus on God, allow Him to wash away his blemishes and see the glory of God.

Many of us will fall under one of these categories. Will we live the life of faith and see when God is at work?  Will we speculate at all things too spiritual?  Or are we the last boy who stumbles and falls but takes time to align his life with God? I pray that we’d be the first boy for most of the time and that when we get off track we’d have the sense of the last boy to ask God to forgive us of our sins and move on to the good things He has for us.  May we never have the religious spirit of the second boy. May our hearts not grow cold to the supernatural of God. Our Father has good things for us.  Keep your heart open and live in faith.

He Reigns

The kingdom of God cannot be held behind iron doors
It will not be stifled by lock and key
You can try to lock it up and throw away the key
But God will always find a way
He is greater than any plan you would make
His truth will reign
His love endures forever
His kingdom is ever advancing
He is King
He is Lord of all

They, too, can believe.

     "15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NLT)

     Our lives are an example of what God can do even with the worst of us. Often time we (I) try to act like we have it all together. It's “my holiness” that got me to where I am.  It is because of “me” that I’m so good.  When we do this we rob God of the glory that is rightfully His. Many of us have bought into a lie that says we have to be perfect little christians. Much like Adam and Eve, we try to hide anything that is outside of our, “American christian code of ethics and morals.” When we do this we rob ourselves of the redemptive journey that God has for us. When we hide our past in fear of what others may think we are actually ripping them off from seeing redemptive process that God has brought us on.

     We testify on behalf of Jesus so that other would come to know him.  When we share our testimony we can bring encouragement to each other. Without testimony we loose relatability to the rest of the world. How are we going to relate to Joe Blow if we are always creating a “holier than thou” persona? People need to hear our stories. The good and the bad. When you look at they way Jesus ministered you see a man who was willing to come down to the level where people were at.  He said to the corrupt tax collector, “Come and have dinner with me.” He had dinner with that man and his life was changed!

     We can’t live in fear of our past or in fear of the sins of others. Use your story to bring glory to God. That’s what our lives are for, the glory of God. Paul was killing christians as heretics before he met Jesus. Jesus turned his life around and made him the author of most of the New Testament. When we hand our lives over to God he takes it and uses it to bring glory to His name.  He takes what we have and turns it into so much more. God can take the least of what we have and turn it to His glory. 

     Let your story be heard. Because there are people who need to hear it. By your testimony people will be set free, they will turn to God, and glory will go to His name.