I'll betcha a thousand bucks
There are some things I only say when my beautiful wife is absent from the room. Little did she know that she had married an impulsive grownup child whose game of choice on the playground was to place bets with the other kids about the most simple things. I preached this morning at the Casa Bernabe church and felt great passion to share about the reality of seeking God on a daily basis and seeing Him respond in experiential ways. As I began to speak, my wife slipped down the stairwell in pursuit of our precious 3-year old twin-tornadoes mouthing "I love you" as she gracefully sidestepped down the stairs. Sometimes as I stand privileged with a microphone before these amazing lives the convictions that coat my soul find their way out of my mouth in unexpected ways. And in the presence of dozens of teenagers I made a promise to deal out a wack of cash if they could prove my conviction was wrong. God's response to sincere prayers and humble hearts is definitely biblical, but I am longing for them to see just how true it can be in their own lives.
This past week I had a conversation with a young man that I had the privilege of taking care of for a number of years before his unfortunate exit from the orphanage 2 years ago. I haven't talked to him much since, but have been pained by his sporadic Facebook posts doused with alcohol, droopy eyes and terrible decisions. As we began to chat, he told of his recent change of heart and lifestyle saying that he had managed a full 180 and was currently living a rather "blessed life". Sometimes those two words tend to make me squirm, yet his ensuing sentence left me with my mouth wide open. He said he had recently decided to give his life to God and since doing so, everything in his life turned around. He was back living with a once disillusioned family member and was seeking God in abundant ways in the midst of material scarcity and tumultuous uncertainty. Years ago I remember praying for this then scrawny 13-year old, uniting my desire to his, pleading with God that He would allow for his biological father to be brought back into the picture. Now, 6 years later this prayer was triumphantly answered and a once fragile and intellectual acquaintance with God has transformed into a visceral relationship threaded together with profound faith and now very personal points of reference. God had been completely faithful and came through in unexpected ways to surprise the soul of one of His dear sons; uniting him with his earthly father so that his heart could be lifted up and restored by his Heavenly Father. And He does it every time.
So what was the bet for $1000? As I neared the end of the message, this story strolled through my working memory and I felt the deepest confidence to dare these youth to seek God every day and that in ten year's time if any one of them could honestly say that they had tried but God had failed, then I would proceed to painfully pull out a pen and write them a reluctant check. Over the years, I have seen that the stories of restoration begin as simple seeds of faith and are brewed to perfection through pain and scorching sacrifice. God brings to fruition those deep processes that were birthed in sincere prayers in the back row of a youth group service on an ordinary Friday night. It's the same hope I have for the youth that sat in those same plastic chairs today. I saw glimmers of hope in the eyes of a few young men and women today and I pray that they heed the advice to take the time to intentionally quiet the obnoxious voice of their teenage pride just long enough to seek God out with a needy and humble heart. I'll bet you a thousand bucks He will respond.
This past week I had a conversation with a young man that I had the privilege of taking care of for a number of years before his unfortunate exit from the orphanage 2 years ago. I haven't talked to him much since, but have been pained by his sporadic Facebook posts doused with alcohol, droopy eyes and terrible decisions. As we began to chat, he told of his recent change of heart and lifestyle saying that he had managed a full 180 and was currently living a rather "blessed life". Sometimes those two words tend to make me squirm, yet his ensuing sentence left me with my mouth wide open. He said he had recently decided to give his life to God and since doing so, everything in his life turned around. He was back living with a once disillusioned family member and was seeking God in abundant ways in the midst of material scarcity and tumultuous uncertainty. Years ago I remember praying for this then scrawny 13-year old, uniting my desire to his, pleading with God that He would allow for his biological father to be brought back into the picture. Now, 6 years later this prayer was triumphantly answered and a once fragile and intellectual acquaintance with God has transformed into a visceral relationship threaded together with profound faith and now very personal points of reference. God had been completely faithful and came through in unexpected ways to surprise the soul of one of His dear sons; uniting him with his earthly father so that his heart could be lifted up and restored by his Heavenly Father. And He does it every time.
So what was the bet for $1000? As I neared the end of the message, this story strolled through my working memory and I felt the deepest confidence to dare these youth to seek God every day and that in ten year's time if any one of them could honestly say that they had tried but God had failed, then I would proceed to painfully pull out a pen and write them a reluctant check. Over the years, I have seen that the stories of restoration begin as simple seeds of faith and are brewed to perfection through pain and scorching sacrifice. God brings to fruition those deep processes that were birthed in sincere prayers in the back row of a youth group service on an ordinary Friday night. It's the same hope I have for the youth that sat in those same plastic chairs today. I saw glimmers of hope in the eyes of a few young men and women today and I pray that they heed the advice to take the time to intentionally quiet the obnoxious voice of their teenage pride just long enough to seek God out with a needy and humble heart. I'll bet you a thousand bucks He will respond.
Beautiful.
ResponderEliminar