Closeness

Psalm 16:8 "I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

There have been times in my life where I felt so close to God; holy moments in the presence of Jesus when He captured my heart in ways I can not even begin to describe.

Sometimes past experience with God is more of a hindrance than a help. Too often, I start to rely on the emotion of those experiences as a gauge of my spirituality. According to the Lord, He is right beside me even when I feel nothing, even when I feel hopeless, even when I feel far away. Feelings are not an accurate gauge of spirituality.

The truth is that He is just as close to me, right here, right now, as He ever was at any point in my life.

Something is Wrong

I was on the bus this morning, and the bus driver started swearing at a couple girls who wanted on the bus who were not at a bus stop. Then at lunch, there was a drug deal going on 5 feet in front of me at the table just across the way. They didn't even care if anyone saw them.

So why is it that non-Christians can curse in public and feel no shame or remorse or guilt or any rebuke from anyone... and drug dealers can peddle their merchandise in full view of the public without fear... while Christians often are too intimidated to pray in public or to say "Jesus loves you" to someone?

Something is wrong with this picture.

We (meaning myself most of all) need to stop allowing the world to dictate to us what we can and can not do in public. We have just as much right to free speech as those who use it to curse. We have far more right to open a Bible in public than those who use their freedom to break the law.

The words "fear not" and "Be not afraid" appear over, and over, and over in scripture... along with "Be strong!" "Be courageous!". Let's start doing it. Afterall... If I really believe that God is with me, it shouldn't be that hard.