Good Counsel

So, I was reading Luke 24 and in particular the passage where Jesus met Cleopas and another believer on their way to Emmaus. I had always looked at that story before thinking "Ha ha, it is so funny that Jesus showed up and walked with them and talked with them and they didn't realize who he was for a long time. And once they realized who he was, POOF, he disappeared." That Jesus guy is a riot. Think about it. The walk was 7 miles. If they were walking at 4mph then they could have talked with him for nearly 2 hours without knowing it was Jesus.

Tonight I read that and, WOW! How awesome would that conversation have been. Here are these 2 guys that are obviously upset about how things they put their faith into didn't go the way they had expected. A fellow traveler meets up with them and asks what they are talking about. So they tell him. Then Jesus begins to go over all the scriptures that dealt with the Messiah starting with Moses.

Have you ever had someone to start counselling you about something that has you down? I have. When someone stops and talks to you, personally, about something that is bothering you. And they show you things in the scriptures (which you may or may not have already heard or known.), your heart just seems to burn. It can be the most uplifting of times. How wonderful it must have been to have had such an uplifting conversation about Jesus and his fulfillment of prophecy just days after his crucifixion, just to find out that it was Jesus resurrected that they were being uplifted by.

And on that note, how awesome is it to read God's Word and be uplifted by it?

Vision of Hope

The first of the year is a time that my former pastor always made a big deal about writing down "your vision". This is something that I did for years. But it is something that I always did wrong. Or at least now I see that I was doing it wrong. I was taught to write down all of my goals, be it a big fancy car, a nice house, or vacations to take. But you know what... those aren't the visions that were being referred to in Habakkuk. Habakkuk is another post altogether. This post is about how our goals should look. How should a Christian view their goals? Is it money? Is it power? Is it vacations? Is it something inward? If you think so, then my friend, you have it all wrong. Our vision should be outward. Our vision should be in helping others. Our vision should be for the lost. Our vision should be for the widow, the alien, and the fatherless. If you call yourself a Christian, then you can't go around hating others, no matter what they have done. Be it, they have entered this country illegally or killed your dog.

For a lot of people these are hopeless times. The economy is down, unemployment is up, the price of most things are up, and there is always the most depressing things on the news. But our hope is not in the economy, jobs, houses, or Barack Obama. Our hope is in Christ Jesus and the resurrection to life with God in heaven.

So my vision for this year is that, with God's help, my heart would soften to those in need.
My vision is that this year I would decrease and Christ increase in my life.

What's your vision?