"Say It Ain So Joe..."

Oh gosh, don't you just hate the sweaty hot summertime?
Heat so intense that you bust out a sweat
going from the car to the house?

Maybe it was such a hot time "in the old town tonight,"                
when a young lad, shocked at the accusations,
against his favorite baseball hero asked with
a cry in his voice- "say it ain' so Joe?"










It's not dry heat here in the South of the U.S., so to my
readers in the Greek Isles, China and Russia, folks you
are better off there, than we are, here, in terms of heat.
One time on a mission in New Orleans I was fussin'
about the heat going into the worship service and Chris
who was handling the reception desk said, "Ah Bray
(Cajun accent a bit) ain nothin compared to Hell..."
He was smilin' when he said it...thank God - or else
I might've wondered...

So you can tell I'm no fan of heat time- but it's here,
and what I mean is, this blog may draw a little heat
from folks who once again, think they've got it all
figured out- bless their hearts, I'm thankful for their
guidance- just wish, on occasion, they'd stop and
pray and meditate (we're gonna have to do a series
on the totally lost art of meditation...)
and then think, before they say what they say...
'cause it might not be hot compared to Hell-
but my friends, sometimes that's not the point!

Lately some of my really confident and secure
feeling folks- in other words, there is no doubt in
their mind whatsoever how solid their discipleship
is- they and Jesus is tight, tight, TIGHT!  So that
they not only clearly hear His voice, but they've
been given the wondrous mandate to let others-
less spiritual than they- by implication and other
means- folks who obviously aren't as tight with
Jesus as they are- well lately- they've been making
this statement, as if though, it's a good one:
"Well it's win-win for me, if I stay here, that's
a win, if I go to be in heaven, that's a win, so it's
a win-win for me."  In my heart I cringe, because
I know they are parodying something they think
Paul said -

2Cr 5:8

We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord

And what makes me cringe for them is this
that Paul says in the very next line,
which isn't said with the previous
statement, usually, by those who believe they've won:

2Cr 5:9

¶

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Notice Paul's emphasis, which is the emphasis
that Paul strictly and totally maintained
throughout his entire following, discipleship,
with Jesus - to wit, we are here for a purpose-
we are here as warriors- and when we aren't
here anymore- we have to leave behind a
legacy - disciples- and if we don't - we
haven't labored as we ought to have. Paul
made his entire life about fulfilling the
saint's around him, and when Paul ventured
off that trail, just a little bit, he
encases all of those moments in the
trench of being "a fool" look at this:

2Cr 12:6

For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but [now] I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me [to be], or [that] he heareth of me.

Paul knew and experienced parts of his life
that we ought to find making us quiet- indeed,
Paul was beaten, he was lied about, he was lied
to, he was chased, he was mistreated- and
through it all- Paul kept his earthly focus
precisely where his earthly focus needed to be-
on those who would come to know Christ- and
not as Paul's disciples, but as Christ's
disciples - for Paul's historic legacy and
ministry is that God used him to change
the world. But Paul wanted nothing more
during that time than to serve right where
he was, wherever that was- serve, be a servant!
My fear is, far too often, I hear judges who
believe they've earned the right to judge!

God used Paul at a time when
there was no immediate messaging system,
and yet, Paul's messages are now being
circulated world wide! God used Paul when
writing wasn't yet simplified, and yet now
he speaks into an age where writing is
commonly conducted by speaking into a
computer that takes the dictation down!
Paul was used by God to bring the message
of His Son to the world, in a time when
that wasn't possible and they thought the
world was flat! God today encircles that
message to the entire cosmos, not because
Paul figured it was win-win, but because
Paul fought to survive every last inch
of what he had in him to put it on the
line for Christ. My friends be cautious
when you think you've got it all figured
out and you understand what it is that
God is doing with you.

Folks are being enticed away from the
true discipleship of Jesus to wander
around in a haze of "is it the end
days?" When the Bible clearly says
that except of a choice couple of
witnesses (that term is martyr-)
nobody will know, which is just how
it was in the days of Noah. So being
enticed to speculate about such,
shouldn't be more than a moments
joyous soul boosting looking to the
future, for a true disciple of Christ
as they will realize, Jesus told us
all we need to know about the days to
come which is:

Matt 5:11

Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Matt 5:12

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.