When it rains, it pours

Yesterday I was out washing our car in 90 degree heat with the sun beating down on me and the humidity thick like a wet blanket.  I got the car shined up and clean and pulled it into the garage.  As I went out to turn off the sprinklers that the neighborhood kids were running in I looked up to see a huge storm cloud approaching. This wasn't just your ordinary rain cloud.  It was a deep grey, looming heavy and sagging low.  I got the kids in the house and we watched out the sunroom windows as that cloud quickly made its way over our house.  Within 5 minutes of coming inside, the trees were blowing sideways, the rain was so thick we couldn't see the street.  The thunder cracked and the lightening flew. . .  Now, I'm a California girl, born and raised, and I will never get used to the power and strength of a thunder storm.  It makes my knees shake and my feet unsteady.  If it weren't for having two kiddos who look to my reaction to calm their fears, I would have my fingers in my ears.  But I am so thankful for the chance to see it, hear it and feel it - it reminds me of what a powerful and mighty God I serve.  And His Spirit dwells within me - simply amazing.

God's Spirit is so much like that experience I had with the storm yesterday.  We can go day by day going through the motions of "doing church", "doing family", "doing life".  But God waits in anticipation for us to bow our knees and shake at His mighty love and power.  His word says that He delights in pouring His Spirit out on His children - but so often I see the sunshine up above and forget to ask for a raining down of His Spirit.  The Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Fatihfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control and allows me to see the heart of God.

I am reading two different books right now that are challenging my perspective on what it looks like for me to live my life in devotion to God.  The first is Crazy Love by Francis Chan and the other is Radical by David Platt.  Earlier this week, I read a chapter in Crazy Love that laid out what Jesus requires of a believer and where the lukewarm fall in line...  then the very following day, I am reading "Radical" and read about the complete life-changing message Jesus boldly stated time after time as he asked people to leave everything for Him: families, communities, possessions, comfort - to leave all of it to follow Him.  And I have to ask myself - do I live that kind of life.  Shamefully, I regret that most of the time I cannot say I do.  By His grace and Holy Spirit, I want to learn what that kind of life will look like for myself and for my family.  We want to be radically committed to Jesus in a way that people look at our lives and look right past us and see God at work.  His Holy Spirit is our provision.

Two days ago I woke up and prayed as my feet hit the floor from bed "God, give me a heart today for what breaks yours."  And the day began.  I went to church for staff meetings and tried to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting.  As I sat in our staff meeting, our senior pastor was sharing about what God was teaching him during his quiet time the last few days.  And, low and behold, he asked us to open to Revelation 3, written as warning and encouragement to the early church:  "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot or cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth...  Be ernest and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.  To him who overcomes I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Whenever God wants me to hear something loud and clear (my husband can attest to this), saying 3 different times in 3 different ways usually does the trick.  And God's Spirit rained down on my heart in that staff meeting.  I began watering my bible with tears as I sat still realizing the brevity of what God was telling me - this is what is breaking His heart...  that I, and many other church-goers, have gotten away from our first love.  So my renewed commitment to the cause of Christ is this - I don't know yet what God is requiring of me or how my life will change, but I want to commit to Him that I will ask for His portion each day, being sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He does a new work in me.  I don't want just a sprinkling of His Spirit, I want one of those Carolina downpours!!