Saturday, June 27, 2015

Sometimes life is just crazy...and that's okay!

     Every one of us has had a crazy moment in our thoughts at least.  Many of us have acted out that "crazy" in various ways both public and private.  Sometimes our "crazy" is just what the doctor ordered for us to deal with situations or people.  Regardless, "crazy" isn't necessarily a bad thing and certainly isn't something Christians are immune from.  Imagine, if you will, your fiancée tells you she is pregnant.  She's 14 and you are 20 something.  Not unusual for today but how about back in Bethlehem?  THEN you learn she claims that she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.  Think things are crazy yet?  What does she tell her parents?  What do you tell your parents? Of course your friends all just know what the real story is.  To complicate matters God tells you in a dream to go ahead and marry the girl!  So, you get married and then don't have sex for 10 plus months.  Now that is crazy!
     We put crazy expectations on ourselves, friends, family, and even our enemies.  Murphy gets blamed for more craziness than any other entity on earth.  Yet, we have people say, "Steve, you're just crazy." or "Steve, that's crazy!  How can you think that?"  Eventually we (I) manage to live up to the label and "crazy" becomes the status quo for me.  People expect me to think, say and do crazy things.  How about this, you are walking with me through check out in a local grocery store.  Suddenly you hear me say to the clerk:  "Do you know Jesus as your Savior?"  You might be embarrassed and say, "Oh no, here we go again."  Crazy is foreign to the world when you're a Christian.  God speaks to us and asks us to say and do things that would be deemed inappropriate in many circles.  Crazy is submitting to God and doing what he asks us to do.
     Having had the privilege of leading people to Jesus and salvation; I'm used to crazy circumstances, people and issues.  When we take the time to listen to God, all our contacts seem crazy in the way the world understands life to be.  Crazy takes us out of ordinary and out of the world while keeping us in the world.  I cannot remember a time in my life when "crazy" wasn't present if not leading my life.  Crazy is spontaneous.  You cannot plan what God asks you to do.  The Word tells us that in that moment you and I will be given the words needed to share what we know to be Gods message to others.  In the Bible God used a donkey to speak to and confront one of his people.  Hmm...  What we don't find or label as crazy is the subtle ways Satan speaks to us and around us.  Why is that?  What is sane about serving Satan in any capacity?  God has told us to stand firm against the Devil and he will flee from us.  Try that one in public!  No, I mean definitely try that in public, private and all places in between.
     I'm crazy about my kids, family (okay some of my family), friends, and even my church family.  I'm crazy about ribs barbequed just right.  I'm crazy about old vintage cars and trucks.  I'm crazy about good beer.  I'm crazy about Jesus.  What are you crazy about and how does it guide your life?  My kids, when younger, would ask me where were we going when we got in the car.  I'd tell them we were going to crazy.  They loved it!  My dog wants you to know I'm crazy about him too!

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