Tides of Change

Recently, church has been different. More and more people are getting saved. A newfound love for God is being rekindled within the old and new church members. Others have even received the Holy Spirit for the first time! There is a tide of change in the church. Thank God for that!

I have never seen such a significant change in such a short span of time. Sure, I have visited many churches in my lifetime but this is the first time I have seen the speaking of tongues, the audible chants and cries from church members towards God and witnessed or experienced blessings that cannot be explained. Could it be that the actively and passionately seeking of God can lead to such a significant transformation?

Today, the Holy Spirit is taking ahold of my hands. Today, I am writing to tell you to “Step up your game plan.” Many of you are questioning why you have not experienced the blessings that God has given others. You wonder why you are always stuck in the same state whereas others experience the manifestation of God’s love in their lives. You are saying: “ I don’t deserve it. I have made and keep on making so many mistakes that God would never transform me the way He is doing with others.”

But today, as a witness of God’s mercy and love, I am telling you that the tides are changing. If you are not in sync with God’s game plan then you are in the sidelines watching His miracles go by. STEP UP YOUR GAME PLAN! Being a passive, inactive Christian will get you nowhere. The time for change is now!

The Intercessor

Sometimes, when life gets busy, we tend to omit God from it. For example, a few months/years ago, I was in graduate school. In order to obtain the desired advanced degree, one had to work nearly impossible hours. During that time, I worked on weekends, nights, early mornings, Saturdays, Sundays...you name it. I worked and worked and worked some more. There were times when going to meet a friend for lunch was impossible or spending time with my husband required some planning. In those years, I was not happy. And although my hard work gave forth educational and professional rewards, I felt empty.

Since I wanted to get the degree and because I wanted to be acknowledged in the process, God was put on the back-burner. Despite my successes, my busy schedule eventually caused me to feel "burnt-out." Little by little and without notice, "life"took a toll on my emotions. Suddenly, I struggled to get out of bed every morning and battled insomnia most nights. Something was not right. Something was missing.

Halfway during graduate school, I met a woman from Rhode Island. She was a Christian and was always very cheerful and enthusiastic about God. My initial impression was that she was a religious fanatic. "No one should be this cheerful about God," I thought as I continued to work. Ironically, I found myself desiring her joy. I wanted to feel happy and peaceful in spite all the stress.

Slowly but surely, our relationship evolved from a simple "hello" in the hallways to dinner in her house. The more she spoke about God and her relationship with Him, the more I desired to know Him. What I once wanted, professional success, no longer became my desire. My desire is to develop a closer relationship with Him. I was blessed to have completed my degree during graduate school but now, I try to make sure that what I do is in line with God's desire. I still struggle with defining His desires for me and that my desires are aligned with His. I pray that our desires align but in all honesty, sometimes, I don't know what to pray for.

I was reading Romans the other day when a scripture caught my attention: Romans 8:26-27. In it, it talks about living in the Spirit. His Word says that our Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and that although we sometimes don't know what we should pray for, our Spirit "intercedes with groans that words cannot express." That message really spoke to me. For me, it means that no matter how "life" pans out, our desires are known to God. That means that with all the craziness of life, our Spirit intercedes for us at all hours of the day, night, on weekdays and on weekends! What a wonderful gift! Praise Jesus!

Knowing is Half the Battle

Earlier this week, I was on my way to the bus stop when lo-and-behold, the bus passed right in front of my eyes. I thought to myself, "Great, now I have to wait another 20 minutes!" I breathed deeply and sat down to wait for the next bus. A few minutes later, a strange man came limping to the bench. He sat down next to me. His face was distraught and his clothes were covered in blood.

"I got ran over by a car a few hours ago. I just came back from the hospital but I can't stay there. I have to take care of my mother. She is all alone at home," he said. Of course, being a bit skeptical I analyzed this. I thought, "This can't be true. I mean, how did he get to the bus stop from the hospital?" As soon as I was about to speak, my spirit said, "Be quiet and listen." At that moment, the man spoke. He told me that he had been with some friends crossing the street when a car hit him, dragging him through the asphalt. Consequently, his head was badly scraped, had a couple of broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Interestingly, I found myself confirming his story by scanning his bruises. Indeed, he had fresh scrapes all over his head, his wrist was in a cast and some of his fingers were covered in blood and what looked like dirt or asphalt. Also, he was leaning on one side as if his ribs were hurting him. He started crying. He said, "I can't believe this is happening. Last year, I had a car accident and broke my foot. That foot is now half-titanium, half-bone. I don't get it, I am a good man." As he continued to speak, I learned that he had been married to a Jewish woman for 17 years but unfortunately got divorced two years ago. Since then, he had dealt with bankruptcy, car accidents and losing his job.

Before I got around to ask him anything, the bus arrived. I decided to help him climb the stairs. Once inside, everyone stared at the man with disgust. Some, even had the nerve to stand up and move as far away from him as possible. The only people near the man were the bus driver and myself. The bus driver saw the man and immediately spoke to him. After hearing the man's story, the bus driver said, "You are lucky to be alive." Out of sympathy, the bus driver gave the man a free bus pass so he could get home. Instantly, the man began to cry and said, "Everyone has told me that. Praise Jesus!"

Once the bus arrived to the train station, the man climbed out. I wasn't sure what to do so I asked for his name. "Billy, my name is Billy," he said. I began to think but almost immediately found myself going through my bag. I lifted from it the only money I had, a five dollar bill and handed it to him. I told him to use the money to buy a train ticket to the nearest stop from his home and to use the bus pass to get to his final destination. The man gave me a hug and thanked me. He indicated that he wasn't sure if the bus pass would be enough for him to get home. I accompanied him to the ticketing booth where he got a one-way ticket to his nearest train stop. As we went down the escalators, Billy said, "I am a soldier for God. What doesn't break me makes me stronger, right?" I nodded. Soon after, the train arrived. He smiled, thanked me, and got on the train.

To this day, I don't know whether the man was telling the whole truth or not. What I do know was that I was in no position to assume or even judge him (Romans 2:1). I know that as a Christian I had to love him just as Jesus loves His Church (I Corinthians 13). I think what motivated me to help Billy was that I also understood that knowing is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is to put into practice His Word because otherwise we begin to deceive ourselves (James 1:23-24).

I pray that Billy can see past his troubles to see the glory that God was showing him through the kindness of strangers. I pray that he continues to find the blessings that God will manifest in his life so that he can someday help others as well.