Monday, May 22, 2006
Infinite Grace
I recently had a dream in which the Lord asked me to invision in my mind a line drawn to infinity. I immediately thought of the verse "far as the east is from the west" and began to imagine a wide band running from my left to my right as far as I could see. Then the Lord said to turn and view it as if the line ran in front of me toward the horizon... this was far more impressive because it gave the impression of such enormous distance running forward forever. As I was marvelling at this he said "You must remember that as much as you can see... as far as your mind can comprehend... that is just the beginning... there is far more there that you can't see than that which you do see." He continued, "That is how my grace is. As much as you think you understand my grace there is far more there that you don't see... my grace is infinite... my acceptance is total... and just like the line you think you see when you look forward into infinity... the part you don't see of my grace is much bigger than the part you do see."
Watch How You Aim That Thing!
Another cool story from one of a friend of mine. Chris works construction and its not unusual for him to find himself in an environment that is rather vulgar. This particular day the painting crew was listening to a very raw comedian and Chris said it began to really get to him... making him nauseous. Trying to decide whether to say anything or not he went to his truck to take a break and pray. In his truck he said, "Lord, I can't handle this much longer. Help me to find a way to deal with this."
About 5 minutes later he walked back into the house. There was a bit of commotion around the boombox as the crew were all standing chattering. When Chris asked what was going on they pointed... the boombox was on fire... it had just started smoking a couple of minutes before and burst into flames.
About 5 minutes later he walked back into the house. There was a bit of commotion around the boombox as the crew were all standing chattering. When Chris asked what was going on they pointed... the boombox was on fire... it had just started smoking a couple of minutes before and burst into flames.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Another Cool (Holy) Ghost Story
Another great story from a close friend...
About a week ago I walked into a Mexican restaurant to eat with two of my friends (neither are practicing Christians). As we were being seated at our table, I noticed an older couple. The wife was clearly upset. She was crying and due to the puffiness of her face I could tell that she had been for a little while now. I tried to do the "polite" thing by ignoring it and sat down. But I couldn't let it go. So I left my friends and walked over to her table.
I greeted her and asked her if she was alright. She said "no" and proceeded to tell me that her mother was in her late 80's and in the hospital with dementia and other disorders. She was afraid and her heart was broken due to her mother not recognizing her. I could tell that the emotional pressure had finally cracked her.
I sympathized with her a moment and hugged her and told her how sorry I was for her pain. I could feel the Holy Spirit all over both of us. Her husband was rather dumbfounded by all of this. He shook my hand really big, however, and introduced himself.
I went back to my table. But I could not stop the feeling in my chest. To say that I was overwhelmed with compassion for her doesn't cover it- I was blinded by it. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit inside of me really wanted me to talk to her some more. It just wouldn't let go.
I saw them get up and walk out... but I still didn't get up. I didn't know these people... they were twice my age and then some... who was this young girl to help them get through something that in the natural she really couldn't sympathize with? Well, the Holy Spirit didn't seem to care about that... a minute or so after they walked out, I realized that I had to go pray for her.
The scene must have been hilarious! My friends, all this time, had been staring blankly at me. I had just gone over and hugged a strange woman as she cried on my shoulder. Once I was back at the table, the poor waiter came and I completely ignored all of them and then I sprinted out of the door to chase down some grief stricken lady?! Yeah, my friends weren't too thrilled about it.
So I ran out into the parking lot just in time to catch them backing out’s quickly ran to the car window and knocked on the passenger side. She opened the door and I asked if I could pray for her. She said "please." I held her and prayed for all kinds of things, including the division and hurt in their family... I felt how open she was. The Holy Spirit was literally pouring into her chest. Her husband was more receptive this time as well. I finished praying and he thanked and thanked me. He said that I had no idea the impact of my prayers. I later found out he was once a pastor. For some reason he wasn't any longer and it seemed to be a pretty bad situation. Their older children were hurt, everyone was hurt etc.
I'm not sure how they are now or how her mother is, but i just thought I'd share the story because, i feel safe to say, that night the Holy Spirit really did something inside of both of them and it was really neat to see.
About a week ago I walked into a Mexican restaurant to eat with two of my friends (neither are practicing Christians). As we were being seated at our table, I noticed an older couple. The wife was clearly upset. She was crying and due to the puffiness of her face I could tell that she had been for a little while now. I tried to do the "polite" thing by ignoring it and sat down. But I couldn't let it go. So I left my friends and walked over to her table.
I greeted her and asked her if she was alright. She said "no" and proceeded to tell me that her mother was in her late 80's and in the hospital with dementia and other disorders. She was afraid and her heart was broken due to her mother not recognizing her. I could tell that the emotional pressure had finally cracked her.
I sympathized with her a moment and hugged her and told her how sorry I was for her pain. I could feel the Holy Spirit all over both of us. Her husband was rather dumbfounded by all of this. He shook my hand really big, however, and introduced himself.
I went back to my table. But I could not stop the feeling in my chest. To say that I was overwhelmed with compassion for her doesn't cover it- I was blinded by it. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit inside of me really wanted me to talk to her some more. It just wouldn't let go.
I saw them get up and walk out... but I still didn't get up. I didn't know these people... they were twice my age and then some... who was this young girl to help them get through something that in the natural she really couldn't sympathize with? Well, the Holy Spirit didn't seem to care about that... a minute or so after they walked out, I realized that I had to go pray for her.
The scene must have been hilarious! My friends, all this time, had been staring blankly at me. I had just gone over and hugged a strange woman as she cried on my shoulder. Once I was back at the table, the poor waiter came and I completely ignored all of them and then I sprinted out of the door to chase down some grief stricken lady?! Yeah, my friends weren't too thrilled about it.
So I ran out into the parking lot just in time to catch them backing out’s quickly ran to the car window and knocked on the passenger side. She opened the door and I asked if I could pray for her. She said "please." I held her and prayed for all kinds of things, including the division and hurt in their family... I felt how open she was. The Holy Spirit was literally pouring into her chest. Her husband was more receptive this time as well. I finished praying and he thanked and thanked me. He said that I had no idea the impact of my prayers. I later found out he was once a pastor. For some reason he wasn't any longer and it seemed to be a pretty bad situation. Their older children were hurt, everyone was hurt etc.
I'm not sure how they are now or how her mother is, but i just thought I'd share the story because, i feel safe to say, that night the Holy Spirit really did something inside of both of them and it was really neat to see.
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