I love you! (now be condemned to hell)

Thought that title might get your attention. God has really been messing with me the last 36 hours about this topic. Here's the short back story...

I have a good friend, whom I love dearly, who invited me to take a look at a conversation that had been taking place via Facebook feed arguing religion. This friend takes more of a Universalist approach to god and spirituality - kind of "as long as a person is sincerely searching for some form of Deity, a loving god would let them spend eternity together" type thinking. 

After several posts back and forth, I felt like I was not getting anywhere, so I wrote, "I think you are in a place where you have your heals dug in and no matter what is said, you will just argue your point. You know what I believe and I think I get what you believe and the two are not the same. At some point, we will know we were either right or wrong. I do hope that you know that just because someone doesn't believe the same as I do, doesn't mean I don't love them. I love you!" End of discussion, right?

Well God woke me up at about 2:30 the next morning and really convicted me that really what I was saying with that statement is "I love you - but I am not willing to keep arguing the truth with you until you are no longer destined for hell." Harsh,  right?  No - SPOT ON!

I do not want my friend to spend eternity outside the presence of God. How many other people that I love fall in to this category. We agree to disagree and just don't discuss it. How selfish of me! Do I really LOVE these people or just give it lip service, because I am pretty sure that a love that would allow a friend to spend eternity in hell because it is to hard to keep talking about differences in  belief is not the kind of love I am called to have as a follower of Jesus Christ. 

In my Bible reading I just began the book of Lamentations. The children of Israel had been exiled to Babylon and after so many years hearing the voice of God through the prophets (and taking that for granted), He fell silent. It broke my heart this morning to read the pleas to hear God again. They felt abandoned and lost and alone. They cried out in anguish and got no response. 

I can't even imagine that in my worst night mares. Being separated from God - well my mind can't wrap around that. But that is what people are destined for in hell. The absence of God. Totally gone. No evidence of Him at all. Does anyone deserve that?

The Bible calls me to lay down my life for my friends, that's a pretty tall order, but if it means that my friends won't have to spend eternity in a vacuum of Godlessness - that I am willing to fight for! Lord give me the courage and the words...

Who do you need to start (or finish) a conversation with today?

Habakkuk & God - A Conversation

In my Uversion reading plan of reading the Bible through in a year, I am officially 63.3% complete. YAY! It seems however, that as I read books are being added to the old testament. Even though it is August and I have been at this since January 1, alas - I am still in the old testament. I do enjoy the old testament. In fact if someone had asked me a year ago, I would have said that I preferred it. But as I have dug in to it this year I am finding myself longing to get through it and in to the new testament. I long to get past the stories of the wrath of God (which is all deserved - don't get me wrong) and be refreshed by the stories of the way God provided to escape that wrath, my Jesus!

A bit if a tangent to start, sorry! Anyway - today I read the book of Habakkuk. A short 3 chapters about a prophet of the Lord crying out to Him while the Israelites were in exile in Babylon asking how much longer they would be there.

Three things struck me as I read this morning:

1 - Habakkuk the Prophet was a singer. at the beginning of Chapter 3 it says "This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk" At the end of chapter 3 it has this note "(For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)" I LOVE THAT!!!

2- Habakkuk remembered that even though he and his people were exiled and in misery, God is sovereign and deserved to be praised. 

 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord ! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 3:17-18

3 - Habakkuk was totally plugged in to God. This book is written as a call and answer, a conversation if you will. Habakkuk asks a question and God literally answers him. Even tells him to write it all down so nothing gets confused as the message is spread to others. I love the picture of Habakkuk sitting by his table with a lamp burning, quill in hand just waiting for the Lord to respond to his cries. Waiting because he knows the response will come.

Daily I need to remember that if I cry out to my father, he is faithful to answer. I just have to be in tune with Him enough to hear it instead of going about my busy day wondering why I haven't heard anything yet. It reminds me of times I am expecting an important phone call and at the end of the day am a little ticked that the person hasn't called, yet when I look at my phone - I realize I was so busy with my "stuff" I didn't hear it ring and I missed it. UGH! I do that. Sorry God!

Oh how I long for a relationship with God that is close enough I can hear his words clearly and write them down. To have a two-way conversation. I know I can have that, in fact, God is waiting for me to just ask Him for it. I just have to be willing to do what it takes. Stop rushing through my day to the next thing. Stop checking off  my Bible reading, proud that I am one day closer to my "goal".  (now that I am typing that - how disgusting it sounds. Having the "goal" of reading the words of God instead of counting it a privilege that He would even want to speak to me in that way!) Stop filling my life with so much noise that I can't even hear Him when He tries to speak. 

Some days I do better than others on that front, but I am wanting needing it more. I'm going for it! How about you?