Pierced to Ponder; Prodded to Action
I have renewed an old friendship and developed a new one this past week. The old friend is Dan Dehaan. He was taken suddenly in a plane crash shortly after having a noteworthy book published in 1982. That book, The God you can Know, was given to me by another personal friend. I loved the content of the book as soon as I read it. It emphasizes the need for knowing, loving and glorifying God rather than just studying Him. I had forgotten how much the book impacted me until I started reading it again. Sadly, many things I have forgotten about its content over the last twenty-four years, but likewise, there are several renewed fervencies about God I had not forgotten. His book has again become like a spiritual stabilizing rudder in my walk the Lord. It has again reminded me that peace with God is found in the presence of God. He also reminded me that if I desire to know the glory of God, that likewise is obtained in the presence of God. It’s that “presence of God” thing that helps settle my soul. When the anxieties of this present world system mount up, there is solemnity in the presence of God. The choppy waters become stilled and the raging storms dissipate. Like so many other Christians, I am discovering again that the stability of life can only be found in the presence of the Lord.

On the other hand…
Another good friend of mine gave me a book written by a new author to me. I’ve had the book in the “I mean to read that pile of books next.” Finally, I picked it up and started in. Immediately the author had my attention. He was forcing me to rethink my approach to Christian living and ministry. He has divided the church of Jesus Christ into two camps: the domesticated and the barbarians. That classification in itself ought to get your attention. It did mine. Though writing and thinking on “the edge” at times, Erwin MacManus reminds me continually that most of God’s children documented in Scripture lived lives of the barbarian way. Most notable is John the Herald (alright, John the Baptist, if you insist). His entrance into this world, his parents, his life style, his place of residence, his menu, his clothes (customs?), his message, were all “out there.” And like John, Erwin is calling me (and you) to start living our lives for Christ…not for the well accepted and conditioned church people. Again, Christianity is not a club; it is a call to live life to its fullest. It means sacrifice, fun, misunderstandings, joy, pain, happiness and ridicule (please see the life of Christ). All I now know is this, my life needs to be lived somewhere between the peace of the presence of God and a fire in the belly commitment to Jesus Christ. Stay tuned, this could get interesting!