Happy Birthday to me!! Happy Birthday to me!!

So, this is how it feels to be 42, huh? Not too bad. It appears that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the July Baby Birthday Bash! We had such a blast!! The presence of the Lord was definitely felt in the place. We had everything from dancing to laughing to worship. We were told that the food was great. I hate that I didn't get to have any of the shrimp. It looked so good. But, the guests fully indulged themselves. It was on point!!

Recently, I completed the book of Hebrews (again) - this time reading the NIV and The Message in parallel. It was so awesome. There was a lot that I never saw in that book which just jumped out at me this time. The bible is amazing like that... you can read something 1000 times and still get something fresh out of it. I learned so much about faith and believing.

Growing up, I always heard "faith" taught with an emphasis on waiting and believing. The common theme was that if you believe that God will do something and follow His directions, it will happen. It's innumerable the times that I've heard that if you have faith and speak to the mountain and tell it to be cast into the sea that it will have to be cast into the sea. But as I read Hebrews chapter 11 this time I saw something to which I never paid attention before.

The writer, Apostle Paul, listed several persons that are noted for their faith. He listed their acts of faith. But later in the chapter, Apostle Paul clearly explained that these people died believing what they believed - but never saw what they were hoping and believing for materialize. It did not happen while they were living. Still, these people didn't waiver in their faith. They trusted God beyond death. This changed my perspective on life. So often I expect God to do things based on what I understand to be His will or His plan. But faith is what I need when I trust God whole-heartedly and follow His directions explicitly and things still don't work out the way I trusted that they would.

When you are on the calm shore enjoying life and God says get in the boat and go across the water... and you get in and start moving... and a storm catches you beyond the halfway point... and your boat is on the verge of capsizing... and you see Jesus walking on the water... and you cry out to Him... and He tells you to take courage and not be afraid... and you say, "God, if it's really you then call me close to you"... and He tells you to walk on the water... and you step out of the boat... and you get four or five good steps away from the boat while walking on water... and suddenly the bottom falls out and you are no longer walking but on the verge of drowning... THAT is when you need faith! You have to know that - even if the results are not what you believed God would do - even if they are disastrous - it doesn't change God's faithfulness. God is timeless, limitless and boundless in His wisdom and His power. If He said that all things work together for our good then we can bet our lives on it. And even if we lose our lives - doesn't He have the power of ressurection?

So, I have grown in faith over the past two months. God is teaching me - and I am enjoying the lesson... well, mostly enjoying the lesson... some of it is quite nerve-rattling. But those are the moments that cultivate the most growth.

So, Hallujah Anyhow!!

Shalom.