I once knew a guy that was being strangled by the noise of this world. He would go to church quite often on Sunday, would sit somewhere in the middle rows during service, have a bible in his hands, and his mind stuck on what he did the night before, or what he will do when service was over. Service would start and he would be sitting there looking at the pastor, bible open to a random page, and his head was stuck in the clouds thinking, "I wonder what party is going on tonight. If there is one, I wonder if there will be alcohol and girls there. I wonder if I could call Tim and chill for a while. Man, what is this guy saying? All he does is blabber along! What a bunch of idiots that listen to this guy!" When it was time to turn a page, he would turn a page, time to sing, mumbling the words. I knew this guy so well, that every morning I would look him in the mirror. I knew this guy so well, I didn't know myself. I knew this guy so well, that he had a wake up call when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the back of somebody on Parker road. And the night before, he was out with friends around 9 pm getting high. I knew this guy so well that all he cared about was himself. All that he was thinking about was girls and getting high. When I had gotten that wake up call, I knew it was time to change up the story. I began to start listening in church, to start caring for other people around me. I still pleased my own mind and flesh, but instead of waking up every day and looking myself in the mirror with bloodshot eyes, I began to listen in church. Instead of waking up and thinking to myself, I wonder what party is happening tonight, or who I could hang out with, I would go home, get some sleep and set the pipe down, turn my phone off and not listen to the world calling me. I would open up my devotional book from time to time and read what it has to say, then open my bible to the chapter it was talking about. In all truthfulness looking back at that guy, I had no idea who that was. This morning (August 5th), I woke up in the bed I'm sleeping in, in Guatemala, asking the Lord, what he has for me today. As I began to read my psalm of the day, God started to speak to me about this verse. Luke 8:14, "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity." And my psalm of the day is psalm 10. I began to read the psalm, and half way through versus 5-8, "His ways are always prospering; Your judgements are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity." His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is trouble and iniquity, he sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless." Something caught me up and I wasn't exactly sure. I began to underline those versus and began to realize that God was talking to me, about me. I was moved in such a way that I didn't know what to say. I had done this? questioning myself. I realized, yes, I had done this, and this is part of who I was. I was the seed that was choked by the weeds around me. I was the seed that wasn't being watered enough. I was the seed that lied awake every morning thinking, what does the world have for me today. Times have changed and I can't thank God enough for making me fall asleep at the wheel. I can't begin to thank Jesus enough for saving me from the lies of this world. The world was so noisy that I couldn't hear God. Now every morning, I lie awake in bed for a couple of minutes thanking Him for bringing me back from the dead. Some where in the book of John, can't remember the verse but John states, "why do you look amongst the dead for someone who is alive? He is alive! He is risen!" Why was I looking amongst the dead for someone who is alive. Ask yourself that and see what happens. My aunt and uncle had given me a graduation card with that verse on it, I finished reading it and broke down. And now every morning, the first thing I do, is thank God for what He has done for me! Sometimes we don't realize the wake up call God gives us, I'm glad I did. If I hadn't, I'd probably be at a friends house getting high. And now I wake up in another world and hear the most soothing voice there is to hear. John 6:26-27, "most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the son of man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." I will for this week write on my hand psalm 10 for a reminder that I am free from what I was.
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