The Man with the Crucifix and Dove Girl

My First trip to Brazil was last May.  Remembering the first day there with my manager in the subway station - a young man of about 25 approached me wearing a wooden crucifix.  Came straight up to me, though my manager was walking with me.  He began anxiously pouring out Brazilian Portuguese.  I brokenly grasped that he asked if I understood Portuguese - but I had to tell him that I did not. He had a smile and look of happy expectancy on his face.  He kept looking at me intently and talking a million miles a minute.  I had to remind him that I did not understand. He held up his crucifix and then I could tell things shifted as he began to pray, though he still looked at me intently.  My manager was looking at me sort of strangely, I nodded at the young man and smiled at him very big. He was not put off at all that I could not understand him - he fervently prayed. He ended his prayer in the sign of the cross over me.  I thanked him and blessed him and had to be on my way to catch our train.  What a wonderful welcome to Brazil that was!! And, what a great trip it turned out to be!

I had been praying about the "Jesus Appointments" that I knew God would send - He always gives me assignments when I travel (well, really I have them everywhere, but traveling is especially full of them).  And, He always unfolds things in a different way every time. As it turns out, our interpreter was a week long "Jesus Appointment" on this trip.This was our first year exhibiting at the trade show in Brazil.  We hired an interpreter to help, as most Brazilians do not speak English.  The woman who set up our interpreter made a last minute change from one girl to another as the girl she initially set up found a full time job that started immediately. The woman who took her place was a stunningly beautiful person.  She spoke several languages (English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic and some Hebrew) and was actually also an actress (she was one of the Dove commercial girls) who did interpreting on the side to help support herself between acting jobs and to continue to practice the languages she knew.  Each day we went out to visit several of the many booths that filled the convention hall.  We then came back and spent a period of time at the booth answering questions from many of the visitors who came, while my manager went out for meetings.  During the times when traffic was slow - we would talk about many things.  During one of the lulls one day, she told me the story of when she was a little girl. She noted that she was about 5 or 6 years old and enjoyed playing with her little girlfriend and a neighborhood boy about the same age, who was so cute.  One day, she, her little girlfriend and this boy were walking together.  He knew that both of the girls liked him and this day the girls decided to find out which one of them he liked best.  So, they asked him.  Being a little boy, he told them that he would tell them right after he went and got himself an ice cream.  As he turned to run across the street for the ice cream, he was struck by a bus and killed instantly right in front of the girls. The girls were in shock, devastated - the situation was made more frightful as this girl's mother did not know if she was the one run over as the clothes she had on were a similar color to the boy's clothing and she saw her mother frantic and screaming in the crowd of people right after the accident.  This was just one very painful thing in this woman's life.  She had many other things that happened to her that would leave many people in a huddled mess for life.  But not her, she was out moving through life with determination, though there was still much anxiety in her.

God gave me a special few days time with her and it was very wonderful.  He showed her some things she did not see and mostly, Himself in a way she did not know Him. He's always the best that way.  I could tell people till the cows come home how much God loves them and how deeply committed He is to them, but, when Jesus says it - it's just different.  There is something so amazing in how He brings the truth.  He does it on His own - I only pray, He does the talking. The people have to tell me what He's done, because while I may suspect, what he actually says and does - it's just miraculous.  I love watching how He works.  He is the most loving, wonderful, kind, gentle, deeply committed and caring.  When people have received what He wants them to know - I can always tell, because their faces go from pain to immediate peace and joy - they just start to glow!

I'm headed to Brazil again this year.  I'm looking ahead and praying about the "Jesus Appointments" for this trip. God is so good.  He just loves to free people.  I love traveling with Him and seeing Him in action. I wouldn't trade the time with Him for anything.

The Enormity of Oneness - ARE YOU READY?

Ok – I’m overwhelmed.  Right now, God is unfolding something so astonishing that humans will pinch themselves to determine they are not dreaming when they see the enormity of it.  Seriously, I am ever reminded why I am thankful to live in this time!

God – His focus has been, is and always will be our oneness with Him. I’ve said it before and will again – God, wanting us to be one with Him – that single thought is the greatest thought I will ever have (TREASURE UNENDING!).  Everything, simply everything in our life has to do with this one thing.

God, in His outrageous goodness – always intended us for oneness with Him.  We are designed for Him and intimate union with Him.  He made every single provision for us so that we could live in accord with that if we chose it.  Before the foundations of the world – Christ was slain.  God knew that free will would bring about sin and death and dealt with it long before it was ever a reality.  He dealt with it as a side issue – not the main issue.  The main issue is always oneness with Him!  He crafted us to uniquely display Him in a way no other person ever could. Every single person ever born - past present or future – has been reconciled, crucified on the cross with Christ and buried in death with Him.  The question for each person - each life is, will they say yes to LIFE in Christ?  Will they choose to live in oneness with God?  It’s a choice – a free choice.  God invites us and wants each one completely for themselves.  He longs for each of His perfectly unique masterpieces to say yes – however, He will never force anyone against their will.

When we are baptized – what we are doing is publicly acknowledging that God made every provision for our personal and corporate oneness with Him and that we accept His great life as our own – we accept and say yes to oneness with Him (strikes me like accepting a wedding proposal).  We acknowledge that our old self  – the unworthy, bad, sinful us that could never change – died with Jesus as he shed His blood and died on the cross and was buried with Him (that's how going under the water represents our death with Christ).  And we excitedly embrace and acknowledge our resurrected status - ever rising up in the NEW ABUNDANT LIFE IN HIM and OUR NEW NATURE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!!  And we commit to an ever more astonishing life, renewing our mind in the fullness of God (which makes us able to live more and more righteously); we unpack and unfold the treasure of what living His life and love on this earth looks like in Kingdom fullness!

In many parts of the Body I continue to hear things like – “We’re not worthy” aimed at the body of Christ.  Those words were only ever true of and applied to the old sin nature.  For New Creations in Christ, old things have passed away – we are co-heirs in Christ – we have been made worthy!  This "unworthy" language does not apply to us.  New Creations are focused on thinking, speaking and living in alignment with God.  We see ourselves only with His eyes, which only see us completely qualified in Jesus.   I am starting to hear and will hear more and more teaching on this – God is very intentional about it this year.  Those who are one in God are beloved children of God and we are the righteousness of Christ.  We cannot live or speak double mindedly on this.  Many struggle with appearances – they wish to appear humble and want to avoid any hint of what might be considered arrogance or pride in speaking on these matters.  The truth is – Christ’s life is wonderful and amazing and glorious.  Those in Him are going to be all those things, authentically – with Christ in them they can’t help it!  It is one amazing way all men will be drawn to Christ lifted up!!  Christ in you, the hope of glory!! He is lifted up when we live His life!  And, you can see it – you know people who are in God – we see their union – their oneness with God upon them.  This is what God desires - that we abundantly live His life in the way He's uniquely designed each of us to shine it.  While we can be amazed at it, we don't have to get all funny about it or mince words or worry because we know that GOD INTENDED ONENESS – it wasn’t our plan, it was HIS!  And we didn't somehow make it happen - we accepted all that was done and became NEW!  It’s not arrogant to be God’s glory.  It’s really natural because HE intended it and He made us for it!!!  

True humility comes from knowing God and His amazing greatness.  Nothing will humble a person faster than to truly know God’s pureness, holiness, justice, goodness, greatness and love. There is no better life than knowing God and acknowledging and holding Him up in amazed wonder, exaltation and grateful adoration! It’s not about voicing self-loathing to somehow prove the absence of pride. Arrogance and pride are CAUSED only by fear.  Shaming ourselves or other people is never God’s way to get rid of pride. Shame never ever works.  It just teaches people that they must put on more masks to hide and do more intricate dances in order to look righteous enough – it never makes them righteous inside.  God eradicates fear with perfect love.  Only perfect love casts out fear.  Only saying yes to perfect love makes us righteous. Pretty amazing concept – but God’s the author and demonstrator of that.  We get to grow marvelously in THAT!

Whew!!! GOD YOU GO!! You amaze me, God, and I am so thankful.  I am so overtaken. You fascinate me and I want to know you, love you and serve you more and more.  I will never tire of seeing you be your wonderful self and how the fullness of you spills into everything and everyone around you!  Thank you, for who you are!!