Jesus: Security Guard

I’d like to share a bit of what God has been teaching me lately through my vocation – my work in the auto industry as an engineer.  As many of you might be aware, times are tough for the Detroit Three…for various economic reasons.  And, to be honest, the dynamic of my work environment has changed dramatically over the past few months.  Low morale, hightened urgency, insecurity.  Just. Not. Enjoyable.

My company has been working to cut 10-15% of their white collar costs.  Cost cutting sounds very neat and tidy, but what it really means is people losing their jobs.  Roughly 1 in 10.  And yes, I’m a little nervous about it!  Looking ahead into uncertainty can elicit fear, anxiety, and uneasiness.  But through this time, God has been faithful to walk with me through my workday.  Everyday.  My ears have been shielded from many negative conversations, and at key moments I’ve been blissfully unaware of much of the ick going on around me.  He has sustained me, reminded me that my security is in Him.  He’s brought to memory examples of his past faithfulness to help me endure the current season in my life.  He knows me.  He knows that I need Him, and He is gracious and willing to help.

I’m in “constant prayer” mode as soon as I walk in the doors, wondering who’s desk I will find newly empty.  Will I be handed a box today, and walked to the door?  Who’s family needs prayer today, as they get the bad news phone call?  Emontionally draining.  But with God as my stability, I also see a group of people needing hope.  This “crisis” close to home has opened my eyes to the crisis easily ignored.  The people of my city who need the same hope that only a Savior can offer.  Eternal hope.

Being more drained than usual has given God the opportunity to fill me up in more ways than I knew how to let him.  What a crazy journey I’m on.  How can I wish it were over, and be excited that it’s happening, all in the same thought?  I am more firmly grounded on my savior, the Rock, the guard of my security.

Looking forward to the weekend of ministry ahead, and the workweek of ministry to return to.  God is good.  Better than I deserve.

Has God used a “crisis” or similar time to teach you something?  What was it?  How did He show His faithfulness?

The Sheep is Me.

I used to have a copy of the “Footprints” poem hanging in my room. You know the one I’m talking about. I found it framed at a thrift store when I was 14 or so, and could not pass it up. God and I were very close during that season of my life…but as I grew, I put the old tacky poem away. Wasn’t my style anymore.

Fast forward 10 years, and I find myself once again contemplating being carried by my Lord.

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:4-7 (emphasis mine)

My savior sees worth in me – enough to go out in search for me when I wander off. When he finds me, he doesn’t hand me a map showing me the way home and *vanish*. He is so much greater than that! He picks me up and carries me. And that’s great, because compared to him I have no strength at all, certainly not enough to get myself out of the messes I make.

He puts me on his shoulders. He takes my burden, my sin, on himself. Rejoicing. He’s happy to do it, because he loves me. He will carry me all the way back to the flock. He will tend to my wounds, and throw a party over my return. I’ll lead him on wild goose chases all over the country side, and he will faithfully look out for me, kindly carrying me home. Every time, no matter how far or close I wander.

My mind can’t wrap itself around the kind of love that makes a girl reading a story about a shepherd and his flock suddenly stop and say, “Hey, I’m the sheep…” and begin to cry.

The sheep is me. Crazy love.

You’re the sheep. What do you think about that?

Whaddaya Think?

Tom Neven’s latest post on the BoundlessLine talks about glorifying God though our work. Vocation. This is something I fight with myself about all the time – does simply being a good engineer really please God? Don’t I have to be engineering aquaducts for a third world country (aka somewhere in Africa) to be living like a Christian should?

Caught in the Middle…east.

Israel and her surrounding territories have been a subject of fascination of mine for quite a while. Even before my real life as a Christ follower, I found myself enthralled with the drama, both political and and otherwise, that plays out in that tiny piece of earth. I wrote papers on the PLO, Hamas and Arafat….then I began to really study scripture, and discovered prophecy related to the middle east and Jerusalem. Too good to be true! (But, it is true.) There was even more to discover about this region – a story that was already written and is now playing out before our eyes every day on CNN.

Enter the author of my latest read, Joel Rosenberg.

Rosenberg’s spent much of his career heavily involved in the political arena, speech writing, and working for various US and Israeli government officials. He is a Messianic Jew, and also happens to have a knack for writing uncanny political thrillers that seem to come true. Case in point….in September 2001 he was about to publish a book about Islamic terrorists crashing an airplane into a sky scraper in Denver. We all know what happened after that…and needless to say The Last Jihad was delayed. The books that followed were also seemed to “predict” future events. How does he do this, and where does he get his material?

Rosenberg is a student of scripture, and has poured over prophecies contained in Ezekiel 37-39 about the war of Gog and Magog. He uses his understanding of this portion of scripture and the world players it refers to to write with uncanny accuracy about the middle east, specifically Jerusalem, Israel, which he calls the “epicenter” of world events. ( Rosenberg also points out that many specifics are left out of Ezekiel’s prophecy, and that the stories he writes are NOT the only way events may happen. He takes what is laid out in the prophecy, and fashions a real world scenario in which they may occur. )

Enter my latest read, Epicenter.

This book, catering to every angle of my personal reading preferences, is a mix of prophecy and present/future headlines. Joel focuses on Russia, Iran, and Israel with the “third lens of scripture.” In this work of non-fiction, he relates current political tensions in the area to prophecy, and gives insight on what is happening, and may happen in next. Things to pay attention to include:

• Israel finding large quantities of oil
• Russia and Iran forming nuclear ties
• Russia’s increasingly “czarist” rule
• Babylon’s resurgence
• …many others…

While not a book to hold up and treat as prophecy in itself, Rosenberg’s knowledge of the region and political climate uncover what I would not have, and his connections to prominent figures in the middle east are astounding. It is a book I would recommend for anyone interesting in understanding more of what is happening in the most volatile area in the world.