I Won't Be Going To His Bible Study...

Oh, I am so, so aggravated tonight.

I had really just got home and was starting dinner. The front door was open, so my little dogs could run in and out.

"Hello? Hello?"

I hear a voice and I think it's my neighbor, so I go outside. The little dogs are going wild, one is hanging on the gate (thank the Lord she didn't get over it) and there's two men outside my gate.

They want to talk about church.

Sigh, I really don't have time, I'm trying to fix dinner for my kids, but I'm polite.

Yes, I have a church. I tell him where it is. He acts surprised that I'll drive 45 miles to church. (Well, I drive that far for work, which is more important???)

Then he starts asking me about being Saved.

Yes, I was Saved in high school and yes, I've been baptized too.

He starts questioning me about how I got Saved!?!

I cut him short after a minute of this. I have no patience with someone who is trying to talk to me about going to his Bible Study, but then basically questions my Salvation.

No, I don't know if he was a member of a small evangelical church or if he was a Jehovah Witness. I didn't want to know.

I cut him short and went back inside, telling him (again) over my shoulder that I was in the middle of fixing dinner and I don't have time right now. I closed the door.

Grrrr..............

Yes, it's a good thing to go around and invite people to come to Bible Study. I probably should go to one.

But when someone starts questioning me about how I got Saved, as if my Salvation is something to be questioned, that's over the line. That's where all too many evangelicals actually drive people away from the church. (Yes, yes, I go to a charismatic evangelical church.)

My people, when you start pushing your version of theology onto a fellow Christian, questioning their very Salvation, you're not helping the church!

Jesus drew people in. He didn't throw a rope around their necks and drag them!! He let them decide their own fates and when the time was ripe, they were there for the Harvest.

Seed, time, harvest.

Dude could have seen I really didn't have time, told me about his Bible Study, given me a flyer and went on his way. Instead, he tried to involve me in a discussion about his theology and basically questioning my Salvation.

Sigh.

Yes, I'm insulted and I'm afraid I WON'T be going to his Bible Study...

The Word Appears Where We Least Expect It

I have been pondering a lot lately.

Only a couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I were jamming down the road, listening to the Best of Prince CD.

I was listening to the words of the song that I was jamming to in the 80s, back in the bad old days. And like a thunderbolt, right in the middle of the song I heard "I'm your messiah and you're the reason why".

WHAT?

PRINCE?!?

Oh my Lord, that was when Prince was deep into sex and drugs and funk! He was an egotistical, fantastically talented musician.

And he was singing a Jesus song.

Holy cr*p!!

The Word appears where we least expect it!

I've long known that God is subtle in His workings. He blessed us with free will, but He's always nudging us back toward the right Path.

God was working on Prince even then. And through Prince, He was working on the rest of us. We didn't even know what He was doing. So many of us weren't even thinking about God back then, we were just partying to the music, having a good time.

Prince was no exception. I have not a clue in the world what Prince thought he was writing when he wrote this song*, but I've started listening to the words of more Prince songs. This isn't the only God song that Prince wrote and performed.

God was working mightily in that man. And Prince listened and accepted the seed, time passed and now he is working toward the Harvest.

As most of us know, Prince has swung to the opposite end of the spectrum, he's now a Jehovah Witness.

(Yes, yes, I know my brothers and sisters, Jehovahs are pretty darn rigid in their beliefs. But don't you think that after the wanton lifestyle Prince led for many years, that God is requiring the straight and narrow Path now? Yes, I think so too.)

Here's the words of the song that caught me, forced me to think about our wandering Paths and how God leads us. Even when we're doing wrong, His mighty Hand is gathering us back into the Fold...

I'm not a woman
I'm not a man
I am something that you'll never understand

I'll never beat u
I'll never lie
And if you're evil I'll forgive u by and by

U - I would die 4 u, yeah
Darling if u want me 2
U - I would die 4 u

I'm not your lover
I'm not your friend
I am something that you'll never comprehend

No need 2 worry
No need 2 cry
I'm your messiah and you're the reason why

'Cuz U - I would die 4 u, yeah
Darling if u want me 2
U - I would die 4 u

You're just a sinner I am told
Be your fire when you're cold
Make u happy when you're sad
Make u good when u are bad

I'm not a human
I am a dove
I'm your conscious
I am love
All I really need is 2 know that
U believe

Yeah, I would die 4 u, yeah
Darling if u want me 2
U - I would die 4 u
Yeah, say one more time
U - I would die 4 u
Darling if u want me 2
U - I would die 4 u
2 3 4 U
I would die 4 u
I would die 4 u
U - I would die 4 u

*According to wiki: On the 12", and in Purple Rain Tour concerts, Prince changes the lyrics from "I'm your messiah" to "He's your messiah," pointing to the sky as he sings the line.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)
http://homepage.mac.com/brenhow/name_change.html