It's your choice

The choice we make could be the difference between life and death.

On Saturday I was getting ready to meet a friend for breakfast. My day was scheduled pretty tight, as usual there was way too much to do. I was running a little behind, not having called my friend the night before I thought a call on the way was a good idea. My friend couldn’t make it. So I turned the corner heading for the freeway and figured my day would start a little earlier than expected. As I turned the next corner in the distance was what looked like a guy lying in the street. Approaching the guy I saw a woman walk up next to him and bend over to talk to him. Now on the scene I saw the pool of blood under the man’s head and the woman who was talking to him had on latex gloves and she was holding his head.

 I have been First Aid and CPR trained for two years now but never used my training. I jumped out of my truck and ran over to help. As we went through the procedure the memory of my training came right back. I found myself knowing what to do next. I would assist the woman who was on the scene first. Calling out to the young girl on the cell phone and giving vital signs with basic information to the 911 operator. Another man arrived next to me and we gently rolled the man, who was the victim of a bicycle accident, on to his back. He was seizing when I arrived but now showing signs of being alert and coming to consciousness. The woman, who was a nurse, braced his neck with her hands as I restrained him from grabbing at his facial wounds. The other man who helped me roll him left the scene and another showed up, He was asked to help with traffic control so no additional injury’s would take place. The paramedics arrived. As one took my place I made my exit, too many people involved may have caused unnecessary confusion.

The whole event was surreal and was over very quickly. As I began to reflect I was very thankful for the training I received.
As I thought of my full day and having missed a breakfast I was really looking forward to, all of my plans seemed insignificant in relation to what took place.

 I began to think about a couple of things:

 I thought of the Psalm that says that a man plans his ways but his steps are ordered by the Lord. We always make our plans but need to be sensitive enough to the move of God’s Spirit to allow our plans to change for his plans to be carried out through us. I began to wonder why do we push through staying on task so we can complete our daily routine? As we usually do how often is the desire of God to use us missed, causing our journey to come up short of valuable experiences filled with the glory of God that becomes part of our story. I wondered if it would have been a still small voice that prompted me to reschedule breakfast and go around the block to head for the freeway, instead of a phone call,  would I have listened?

 I also thought of the passage in the Gospel of John…Jesus speaking about the Holy Spirit says “he will remind you of the things I already spoke to you.” Like my training I remembered when I needed it ,the Holy Spirit will remind us what we have already learned from the words of Jesus, they will come during times of confusion, persecution, when we need guidance or comfort. Also the book of Galatians says: “The mind of the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. I know, you might be saying what does that have to do with this situation? I’m glad you asked. I thought, if we daily make the choice to set our minds on the things of the Spirit of God we would live much more sensitive to the leading and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 16 that he (the Spirit) would not speak on his own but take from what the Father gives him and make it known to us. He goes on to say “and he will show us things to come.”

Being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit takes walking in the Spirit and living as a daily sacrifice. Not an easy task because we need to learn to get past ourselves. I had a choice on Saturday. There was no requirement for me to stop and help. My day was very full. Yes it was the right thing to do, the thought really never entered my mind not to stop, but the choice was there for me to make, there were a lot of people who passed by and even more who stood looking on but didn’t help out. Walking in the Spirit is a conscious choice. It doesn't just happen because we are born again or church goers. We have to put in the effort to walk with him and avoid what causes his voice to become silent to our hearing. 

How will we live our daily lives, what will we tell the Father when we stand before him in light of Ephesians 2:10. He made us glorious and set good works in front of us to do, all for his glory.

Life with purpose. Life is larger than living for only ourselves.

I can't move!

 I am in the construction trade. The other day I was in the process of repairing a leak in a basement of a commercial building. It was necessary to dig outside the building below the ground surface down far enough to find the problem and fix it. The area we had to work in was about 5 -6 feet below ground level. The work area was confined to about a 2 by 3 foot area.

 Pressing into that confined space made me think about how life can press us into places that feel like we can’t move. Those times when the only prayer that comes out of our heart is “God.” It’s not even the beginning of a prayer but more like your last breath before you begin to sob uncontrollably.

 That spot comes in various forms…a lost job when you are in your late 40’s or 50’s and no one will take a look at you to hire you at a new company. The news that your son or daughter has been found D.O.A. after being rushed to the hospital because of a hit and run accident. The doctor comes into the exam room and delivers the news that you have inoperable cancer and your time is short, or we couldn’t save the baby your wife was caring because lungs, heart or other vital organs were undeveloped.

 The “oh my gosh what do I do now" moments in life when despair floods your thoughts and emotions.

 That’s when the Holy Spirit groans for us, when there are no words. When prayer is far too much effort, when it feels like silence is the only thing that can give comfort and everything else is just white noise.

 I have been in that place, when pain and confusion are too deep for words when tears flow with no sound. It’s right here when the Spirit of God cries with us. He is in pain exactly like we are in pain.

 Romans 8:26 tells us the Holy Spirit actually groans for us in intercession. He fills our hearts and minds with peace. He is the dearest friend who will sit and say nothing but cry with us in our pain, until only his words are placed in the perfect place at the perfect time, because no one knows better than he does. When peace can’t be found from any other person, he is like a healing balm that sooths and touches the deepest spots inside who we really are, that person we hide from everyone, the person no one else sees inside of the exterior we show the world around us, the little boy in the toughest men, the little girl in the woman who only shows the solid exterior of strength and confidence to everyone around her - that place deep in our souls that no doctor can reach.

 The Holy Spirit rescues us in the time of our greatest hour of need. The rescue mission of intercession by the Spirit of God is supernatural. Romans 8:26 tells us that he helps us in our weakness, when we don’t have what it takes to help ourselves. The idea Romans paints for us is that he crawls into our situation with us. We are never left alone in desperation. The Holy Spirit – God living in us – is right there with us. He is our rescuer in the time of our greatest need. He is always there; he always sees the condition of our hearts. And he is always able to rescue us.

The Holy Spirit in us is an amazing, supernatural gift from a father who loves us so much he gave us all he is.