"Dare to Say!" - 2

 "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:36 KJV)

  "Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father." Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir." (Galatians 4:1-7 NLT)

 To be quite frank, this is not really all that mysterious and secret, as if there is not something said about it in the Old Testament, because there absolutely is! As a matter of fact, everywhere you look, God has made this abundantly clear, we just need to open our eyes and look! 

 What a strange afternoon I had yesterday, as I played hooky and went to the movies. I went to see one particular movie, "See how they Run," and ended up watching another movie, due to projector failure. I first ordered my popcorn and soda, then asked for the ticket; unfortunately, the popcorn and soda were already in front of me, and I was committed to a movie.

 When the girl told me the movie was not available, she said they would comp me another movie of my choice. I frantically looked at the list, but most of the list did not appear to be something I would watch; until I saw, "Running the Bases," and remembered that was actually what I felt I wanted to see last week; I just didn't think it would still be available.

 To top that off, I thought I order a Mountain Dew, but I was given a Dr. Pepper instead. Then I told the girl and the manager, "Wow, it looks like I am getting all that is better for me!" And then I insisted on paying for the movie; but she gave me a back my money anyways. So, I put the money in their tip-jar and walked away.

 What we seldom remember, at least it is for me, is that God will always place us in situations that are meant to make us depend upon Him. We don't realize that is what is going on, because it happens so frequently, that it mostly just seems a normal inconvenience or disruption to our plans. Just like the Old Testament writings, if we just opened our eyes, and looked, we would see opportunities to be used by God, when and where we usually see discouragement or unfulfilled hopes and dreams.

 That was the general plot behind the movie I watched, which was really what God wanted me to see! And then, to top that off, on the way home, I had a chance to hear Pastor Jon share of the Tabernacle, as he made some comments about the fact that when God changes us, we are no longer attached to this world, which is why the boards of the Tabernacle did not touch the ground but were suspended in silver brackets. 

 When we do try to reattach to the world, our life gets terribly frustrated, because we are being pulled from one thing to another, the world and our new life in Christ. I am so thankful that God does not give up on me, even when I want to give up on Him! He never stops caring, He never stops loving, and He will never quit, not giving up... 

"Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God's promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God's own fulfillment of his promise." (Galatians 4:21-23 NLT)