When I Was Held At Gun Point

Two men entered my home. One stayed in the shadows. The other had the appearance of a robot. Like C3PO. The robot man told me to stay on the couch and not move. I began screaming at them to get out of my house.

They said they were looking for gold. I told them we had none. We don’t store up treasures here. We store them where rust and moth don’t destroy!

He told me to stop screaming and to move aside. He pointed his gun at the place I moved from. He pulled the trigger. There was no bullet. Only a red laser light and a loud sound.

I wasn’t scared at all. I got up from the couch and moved to another room. Suddenly everything in the house was moving, shaking, tossing around. I thought I was seeing the way the robot man would see but realized I was seeing as everything was actually happening. It had the feeling of an earthquake.

I made it into the kitchen. I could hear the men tossing my stuff around in search for gold. The kitchen window was open. In the window was a nest with a beautiful mama bird and her two babies tucked secure under her wings.

A black shadow came toward the window and my heart quickened, and I bit my lip just knowing those babies were about to be plucked from their nest.

The shadow came and went. The babies remained securely in the shelter of the mama’s wings. The mama bird held her position with no fear, completely confident.

Then I woke up.

Dreams have always fascinated me. I took a psychology class on dreams in college and it was by far my favorite class ever. Then again, I was an accounting major. Just about any class is more fascinating than debits and credits.

Typically, these types of dreams bring on a wave of fear. I wake up and look around, realize I’m safe, and thank God it was only a dream. This one felt different. I wasn’t scared in this dream. At all. It was weird.

I know that people say we’ve been saying since the beginning of time the world is getting worse, and I agree with that. But you can’t deny it’s getting worse by giant leaps today. We’ve crossed boundaries and broken covenants. We’ve redefined what only God can define. We’ve taken life that only God can give or take. Our world has changed because the choices we have made. And it will never be the same again until He makes all things new. But don’t lose heart. Hold fast to the faith you once had.

As a christian we look around and feel like strangers in a strange land. And we are! But we can’t dismay. While it is maddening to watch culture glorify sin and mock God, we know that it only means we are that much closer to eternal glory. And that is worth getting excited about.

We must remember that none of this is a surprise to God. None. These things must happen. These things were written about in the Bible. If we’ve been studying, we know where we are in history.

We have a choice to make today. And it’s a choice my husband and I were awakened to by our pastor several weeks ago. Will we be believers or followers? There is a difference.

Remember I wrote about an awakening happening in our hearts? God is waking up His people. We are His sheep, we know His voice.

Our pastor preached a sermon on becoming a true follower, a true disciple of Christ. My friends, it was convicting. And if you sit week after week in church, and you never feel challenged or convicted, then you must ask yourself some tough questions.

Lord, may I never become so comfortable hearing your Word preached that it fails to penetrate and divide my soul and spirit, judging the attitudes and actions of my heart. Awaken me from my slumber.

I wish I could share with you every tiny detail of what God has done in my life, in my husband’s life, and in our kids’ lives over the last several weeks. Since I can’t, I’ll just say, God jolted us awake, and when He did, He lit a fire and a passion in our hearts for Him and Him alone.

I think my passion scares some people. I met with a pastor once when I was marketing Seeking Christmas. As my passion came bursting from my lips, he had a look of surprise on his face. He was quiet, reserved, of few words. As I left his office, he said, “You certainly are passionate.” The drive home I replayed my words, how I should have toned down my voice, not been so animated. Then I realized, I just can’t. It’s who I am. When it comes to my faith, there is no tempering it.

What a time to be awakened. When our world feels like it is spinning out of control, we are alive for such a time as this. He is coming and every day we are here we are here to glorify Him.

All the years God sent prophecies about the Messiah, Jesus was missed by the very ones who were the smartest, most intelligent scholars of God’s Word. They had a lot of knowledge, but look where that knowledge led.

When Jesus came, look at the ones who became His disciples. The ones who chose to go outside the realm of belief and to follow.

I want to encourage you today to ask yourself the question our pastor asked us. Are you a believer or a follower? Do you know the difference?

This culture we are living in needs followers not believers.

A friend 2 weeks ago asked me if I sensed God asking me to focus on the small assignments. Yes. Yes, I do. Jesus didn’t discount the small assignments. The one person who needed to be touched and healed. The one person who needed a word of encouragement.

Jesus mastered the small assignments, which led Him ultimately to the point of conquering the biggest assignment of his life.

What small assignments is God placing before you today? Will you be faithful in the small assignments He places before you today?

Is that not where we begin if we want to follow Him well? Do we not say yes to everything He asks of us? Deny ourselves. Say what? That is radical in a selfish generation that pursues passions and pleasures hard.

To follow Him well, we must say no to us and yes to Him. In a world that is saying “learn to say no”, I say we need to learn to say yes. We’ve mastered saying no. It’s time to master saying yes to Him.

Do you want to stop believing and start following? Take the first step today.

Look for the small assignments. Start there. God will increase your assignments as you learn to follow Him. Follow the example of Jesus. The most humble example we will ever have, the most selfless model we could ever admire.

Jesus said yes to His Father. He said yes to every small assignment the Father asked of Him. Will we follow Him and say yes to the small assignments He gives us today?

If you still don’t know where to start, this is where knowing God gets really fun. He speaks so intimately to His people. If you seek Him with your whole heart you will find Him. Seek Him, you will find Him. He will speak to you. Open the Word. It holds power nothing in this world can stand against.

Happy Monday, my friends. Let’s start this week with a new resolve to follow Him wherever He leads!

I’m so glad you are here with me. This small community is one of the greatest blessings and joys the Lord has given me. A small assignment to write, and He blesses me with your encouragement and your notes. Thank you.

 

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