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What Does God Do on Sunday?
By Susan Leslie
Use of the imagination is a great thing. As I have recently, less than two yrs., became a new baby Christian, I have been busy reading, studying, watching, and observing. One of the things that I have learned is that when you are first born again, you are literally a person with the knowledge of a baby as far as God is concerned. You have this burning desire to learn all you can, so you can be what God wants.
I want to tell about what it is like for me, as a new observer, as a new babe trying to become a full-grown Christian. As I was sitting in church one Sunday, I found myself bored with the sermon and my mind was wandering as well as my eyes. I watched the people around me and found that I thought they were bored also. One reason I thought this was I saw three people asleep. Then I began to wonder. What would God think of this? So, I let my imagination go . . . and this is what I imagined:
Its Sunday. We all know that God declared Sunday as a day of rest from work and made it a day of rest and worship. Now, I am trying to imagine God in heaven. This particular Sunday, in my imagination, had a special meaning to God. The angels had gotten together and sang a new song of praise and it was so beautiful. The harps were louder and the angels sang till even God thought their hearts would burst from the love they showed for Him. He smiled a lot that morning. The angels put on a majestic display of flight, somewhat like the Blue Angel Jets but with more complicated maneuvers and kriss-crossed in front and around and between each other in a magnificent display all to please God and to show that they loved Him more than anyone else. Although, God knew they were going to do this (He knows everything) He smiled and nodded His head in appreciation for their great effort. The rest of the service at that time, very early in the wee hours, was praise and worship to the Lord. Nothing pleased God more than to be praised and worshiped. Although the praise and worship go on, never ending in heaven, it is quieter now and God goes off to rest. He can always hear the angels and saints in the background, which creates for God a quiet rest knowing that all is well in heaven.
God goes to this throne and sits. Oh, the throne, it is so beautiful! Jewels and stones that are so beautiful that no one on earth has even seen any jewel that would compare. It doesnt hurt the eye with brightness but the beauty of the throne brings an awe to the heart. Just think about that. Our Lord sits there! If we could only see, our hearts would thud in our chest at the beauty of it all. God sits. He is comfortable and content. He is relaxed. It is Sunday. He has turned all the wars, hungry people, liars, cheats, devil worshipers, and all other evil over to his most trusted angels, just for today. It is Sunday. Also, the angels have been instructed that if anything happens that requires God, they know that He is always ON CALL-twenty-four hours a day, and if needed on Sunday He will gladly give up this precious rest time of His to come to the rescue of one more lamb.
So, God sits. God rests. Jesus strolls by and they chat about how well the angels did in the morning service. Both smile. They love Their angels and saints. They look at each other with an understanding that Their thoughts are the same. Jesus sits down at Gods right hand. God reaches over and touches Jesus and without words reminds Jesus that He is the perfect Son. Jesus smiles back, telling God, without words, that He could not have made it through his human life without God as His Wondrous Father. It is as if they are One.
Jesus, the Son, of course, is the youngest, although He has been around before the beginning of time. He feels that since this is Sunday and His day of rest also that he would prefer not to sit upon the throne, He does that every day. He wants a little freedom so he gets up and sits at the feet of God. There is a big fluffy cloud there and so Jesus can lay back and relax on this soft cloud and gaze around heaven. He sees the angels flying by and the saints are now at a big long table having their lunch together, talking about all the old days and the new days to come. God observes the angels too and then He looks down at Jesus and touches His hair lightly and communicates much love. God loves His Son. God loves all his children. Jesus feels Gods touch and His love goes immediately back to God.
Jesus saw a brand-new baby angel, who had just gotten his wings. He is taking lessons from one of the old pros. The baby tumbled on his first flight and softly landed on one of those fluffy clouds. Jesus knows that this baby will grow into a fine strong angel. This baby came from a very God loving family. They still miss their baby. Jesus knows this, so he sends down comfort to the babys parents as they pray for mercy from their earthly hurt. The baby is having a bundle of fun. " If his parents knew how well he was doing then their grief would be so much easier to bear. He is such a quick learner!" Jesus said to God.
God nods, "I will give quick healing to the hearts of his parents and when they arrive they will see one of the best angels weve ever had. But if they knew this while still on earth, they might get prideful and I wont let them bring pride with them, not to heaven. But when they do arrive I will allow them a really great joy. It will be one of their many rewards."
Jesus laughs, for about that time the baby does a somersault and lies on the big blue cloud laughing with the other angels. Jesus loves the little children. Jesus loves all the children. It shows on his face. He knows this is one of the very special ones. As much as it grieves the parents, Jesus hopes that they realize that He needed that baby here for a purpose that they dont understand. Eventually, He will give them the reason but for now, in the worldly way, they have to grieve. But they are praying constantly, so God will send the mercy and peace. They are strong Christians.
While Jesus was watching the angels and saints, Gods eyes roamed the universe. Even on Sunday, He cant get out of the habit of checking up on things for Himself. He trusts His angels but it is a habit that He developed from before time began. It is His responsibility to watch day and night, never stopping. His eyes come to rest on a small church in Indiana. He watches the preacher as he gives his sermon. Gods eyes open wider. "Jesus, look down there, in that little board county church, there are three people asleep. This is not good."
Jesus turns on his side, for He is lying down now, and props His head up with His hand, leans over the edge of the cloud and takes a look. "Aw," He says, "Not again. What does it take to keep these people awake? They just dont get it, do they?"
God says, in a very sad voice, "No, and it makes My heart sad." He didnt mean to cry, but as He watched, there were other things happening in that little church. As tears formed in Gods eyes, a cloud moved over that little church in Indiana. When each tear fell from Gods eyes, rain drops began to be heard on the roof of the church. Some of the congregation even looked up for a second, but no one knows what God knows. God wiped his eyes and when His eyes were all dry the rain stopped down on earth. The congregation thought it was just one of those short spring showers. "I will look for the good this time. It is Sunday."
" There is Sally Smith with her two children, late again, but no one pays her any mind. She is always late but she always brings her children and maybe two or three more. She seems to flit and flutter but she gets a lot done. She is one of the first to volunteer when help is needed. She is a good Christian. She also teaches the children." God likes that!
"And of course, there is Cecilia, she brought her favorite verse, which she recites every Sunday without fail. Her name is in my book and I wont forget her. She prays for the sick all of the time and that is such an asset to the church."
" Charlie is coming down the aisle. He is the farmer from across the way and his eyes are still blurry from lack of good sleep. He will doze off after the singing. The sermon lulls him into the most peaceful sleep." God stares at him! God feels a little anger. "Doesnt he know that if he dies in his sleep, while sitting in church, I will not know him on judgement day? He has been to church most of his life and there he sits, getting comfortable, knowing that as soon as the preacher starts his sermon it will be his nap time. How did he train himself not to snore? You know, I wish just one Sunday, he would forget himself and let out a big snort, then maybe that would embarrass him enough that he would sit up and pay attention to MY Word."
Jesus chuckled, "You gave him freedom of choice. He chooses to sleep his way through his earthly life. He is blind and cannot see. He is deaf and cannot hear. You know that you could shake his earthly world so badly that he would be awake and on his knees, if you chose to do so. You have done it before and that brings these sleepers straight to You! You know it works every time. Instead of shake and bake it will be a shake and awake or he will bake."
Jesus added:
" You know you dont have to bring death to them, but a near death experience brings a lot of our lambs to us, by their own fear, then they find that they should have been there all along. But today is Sunday, and unless you feel like working, you can leave him to the angels for one more day. Maybe, just maybe, one of the saints in that church will say something that will bring him about and make him remember why he is supposed to be in church in the first place. Remember? It is Sunday."
"Ok, its Sunday, and today is not the day of his earthly death, so I will leave him to the angels for today. But later on, not today, but someday in the future, when he least expects it, I intend to shake his world. I want him, I will call his name, and he WILL be mine."
God looked around and noticed a young woman coming up the side aisle. She is very neatly dressed and looks so prim and proper. She is the lady that plays the piano for the church. She plays so well. It is a gift that God has given her. Then He turns to Jesus and says, "Mrs. Wiley is just coming in and she is going to play beautiful music for this congregation. Also, take note of the older lady about five pews back. She is whispering to the lady next to her. She is telling gossip that will hurt Mrs. Wiley. This older lady doesnt know if what she is saying is the truth or not, but I KNOW. What the older lady doesnt realize, the gossip she is telling will be hurting her own chances of getting into heaven. The tongue is a terrible thing, double-edged sword, and if it is not kept under control it can destroy a church. If these two ladies think that Mrs. Wiley is such a sinner, they should be earnestly praying for Me to help her. They should pray for those who need My help, not gossip about them. They dont really know the truth of the situation they are gossiping about. Why cant they see that Mrs. Wiley would benefit more from their prayers."
God went on to add:
"Over on the other side of the church is a man that, well, I wont even reveal his name. Lets just call him Mr. Fake. He thinks he has everyone fooled. He believes himself to be a fantastic Christian. If you dont believe me, just ask him. He always talks in a rather loud voice when he gets up in church to testify about something. He wants to make sure that even the person in the farthest corner of the church can hear him. He also has this habit of bursting into tears, just to make a point. Whom does he think he is fooling? Wont he be surprised at how little he has impressed Me? He is in for a rather big shock. This is another one of the persons that need prayers from other people."
As Jesus watched, he said,
"It seems to me that the true Christians in this church should be coming boldly forth and petitioning for their fellow church goers and neighbors. We havent heard very many prayers from there that were directed especially for someone else."
God said, "Lets see what else is going on down there."
In one of the front pews sits a lady with her grandchild on her lap. God sees the love she has for that child and knows she has two more grandchildren she loves just as much. Beside her sits her husband. He is a leader in the church. He knows God, but he has a hard time following in Jesus steps. One time he hit his wife. He lost control. After many talks with him, God now thinks this man has found the right path. He never would have found it, though, if his wife hadnt prayed so hard for him. He is now a much better person and seems to have more control and keeps working at it. God is watching him closely and listening intently to the sincerity in his voice when he prays. God knows, as always, how this situation will end. He shows no expression on His face this time because He knows, but we arent to know the outcome yet?
A couple of pews behind is a rather large man. He loves God. His family loves God, too. He reaches over and touches his wifes shoulder and she looks at him and smiles. His grand children sit with him and his wife. They have smiles on their faces this morning. God is pleased with this family.
Toward the back of the church are another man and his wife. They always sit close and he puts his arm along the back of the pew. They hardly ever come to church but they are here today. God knows why they are there. They are still searching for an answer, which is one reason they sit so close. It is a type of fear they have. They want to know, but the answers just havent filtered through. They do not realize that the answers wont come until they give themselves back to God. The door they are knocking on will then open and it would be a whole new life for them. But instead, they come to church on Easter and Christmas, as if that makes up for all the other Sundays they miss. Once, in a while, like today, they come and it isnt a holiday. They truly are seeking answers but have no idea how to go about it. All the answers are in the Word. God shakes his head back and forth in wonder.
He says to Jesus, "Im going to have to come up with a plan for those two. They cant seem to draw themselves close to Me, and of course, I want them. I will think of a way to bring them fully to know Me. I really cant stand this Easter and Christmas business. This kind of thing irritates me. Where do they think I am the rest of the year?"
Jesus replied, "Free choice."
God said, "Ugh! If I hear that one more time . . . never you mind, I think I will look somewhere else for now."
Gods eyes intently scanned the church then he added:
"The preacher seems to have all the right scriptures and all the right comparisons, when he teaches. He is a teacher, more than a preacher. But people learn sometimes more that way. He does promise that all of the text that he uses comes from My Word, the Bible, and he tries SO hard. We will send him a special blessing this week for his good efforts. He shook hands and chatted with the crowd last Sunday, but this Sunday he seems to be in a hurry about something. The people in the church notice this, but they dont know the reason. I KNOW! His reasons are not always good. He wants out of this church because he has this complex that He feels like the congregation doesnt like what or how he preaches. He wants to take the blame for every little thing that the people would like to change. He is forgetting the church and thinking with the letter I in his mind. All they want is for him to preach the full gospel, you know, things such as: what the Bible tells about healing, the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the reasons for water baptism, and many more things like that. What he teaches is right out of the Bible but he is leaving out a lot of it for fear he will cause some kind of contention within the church. Part of this is good, because no one should deliberately split a church. To be an effective preacher, he has to tell the whole story, not just part of it. They need all the answers even if they dont particularly like them."
God adds:
"Thats how they learn to grow and become better Christians. He needs to realize that by allowing his congregation to become placid and relaxed to the point that they are bored and asleep that he is not doing them any favors. In fact, some may go to hell because of it. That is a shame! The man has a Godly heart and wants all this congregation to get saved. Funny, he never even mentioned the word SAVED at all today."
Jesus looks down again with pity in his heart, "He does have those family problems, You know?"
God replies, "Yes, but that is no excuse."
Jesus said, "Lets look over there. You see that Sunday School teacher that puts her heart into the lessons for the children? She loves those children. That is my kind of Christian! Her family is all saved Christians, isnt that just wonderful?"
Jesus was excited and added,
"In the pew toward the back of the church is a whole family of true Christians. They have a new baby in their family. I had almost forgot about that."
God said, "I didnt forget" and He shakes his head, smiles at Jesus because He knows Jesus didnt forget either.
God told Jesus:
"The family in front of them has a little girl in their family and she is truly sick. She will be with Us soon. It wont be long now. The family will grieve, but they will be happy that she no longer has to suffer any pain or agony. They know that once she is here that she wont hurt, cry, or feel any pain. In a way, I wish We could show them the little angel trying his wings so they would not grieve so deeply. It would lessen some of the pain they feel."
Jesus commented:
"They will make it. They are praying Christians and they will ask for mercy and You will give it freely to them."
"Over there sits a teenage boy. He has the fidgets." Jesus chuckles, "Remember when I was a young earthly boy, how I would fidget and play around when Joseph wanted me to get busy and work on making a yoke for an ox? But this boy is a good boy, just like I was (Jesus smiles again) and He will forever be one of Our followers. That is really praise in advance, because We KNOW what that boy doesnt. He will be one of our special people. He will be a leader of men and a very strong believer, but today he has the fidgets. I love boys (and girls) who fidget, as long as they remember that the time for believing never ends, and that they always need US in their lives"
God nods.
God looks around heaven and notices that the saints have finished their lunch and have gone to sit on that extra big cloud that holds so many. God had to have that big cloud custom built because there must be tens of thousands of saints by now, all relaxed and satisfied by their meal and their drink. They know they will never have to go hungry, be thirsty, have pain, aches, or tears. They are relaxed and have no fear in any bone in their bodies. God shudders because through His mind, like lightening, He saw what each one of them had to endure to get here. They never wavered. They stood their ground and never denied their belief in God and Jesus. They have their reward. Now there are joy and laughter and singing and praising continually. There is a smile on every face. These saints are very precious to God. He looks at them again and sends over an extra reward. We cant see the reward, but the saints feel it and they all turn toward God and smile to show Him that they appreciate His blessings.
God nods. The saints go back to chatting and then suddenly stop, get on their knees, and start praising God. God smiles. He is very pleased. Just for extra measure, He sends a little more love their way. Yes, more love! The saints knew Gods love before they came, but THIS love is entirely beyond anything they could imagine while still on earth
All at once God notices that the saints got quiet and the angels stopped playing (the ones that also had this Sunday off) and God looked across the way and here came three more new saints to join their brothers and sisters. God saw the saints arise to meet the others and the angels also flew in that direction. There were much hugging and kissing of cheeks and welcoming. This happens every time, God thought. They are doing what comes naturally. They are showing their love for their fellow man. The angels even touched the newcomers gently with the tips of their wings. God overheard an angel talking to one of the newcomers, "Hi! I am glad you are here. I have been watching over you for all of your 85 yrs. Welcome to the House of God." The old man had diamond-like glistening eyes as he looked around heaven. Who said there were no tears in heaven? Well, maybe just diamond-like glitters when joy is so abundant. God blessed the man where He was sitting. He knew the man was thankful.
The man saw God, he fell on his face and worshiped Him as never before. God never had a doubt that this man would someday be here, but the man had withheld a twinkle of doubt, so he asked God to forgive him for this. God smiled and said, "It is forgotten. Go now and receive your rewards."
The man arose, there was that glistening look in his eyes again, and said, "Thank You." Then he was immediately surrounded by saints and angels and was lead away to enjoy life everlasting. The angels began to sing songs for him and they all rejoiced together that one more saint was added to Gods kingdom. God smiled.
One of the other saints that came was a young woman who had suffered with cancer. She had been so weary on earth and really joyful to be here. She smiled her thanks to God, but she just stood there. She was admiring the glow and peach of heaven. She couldnt fill her eyes with all of the wonder that it held. She just couldnt get enough of it. God smiled at her and said to Jesus, "Shes awe-struck. I think it will take her a few days to really comprehend what has happened to her." About that time, more angels and saints came to surround her with love and hugs. She was swept away with them to enjoy the rewards of this lovely place.
The last of the three new arrivals finally appear was a little girl about eight years old. She had blond hair and blue eyes. Her eyes sparkled. You could tell by the look on her face, she knew where she was and how she got there. She seemed to know what to expect. She was smiling the biggest smile ever, when an angel flew close to her and stood by her side.
The little girl said, "Its just like you showed me in the dream. It is so beautiful and so perfect."
The angel replied the little girl:
"Angels dont lie and we knew you had Jesus in the depth of your heart. You may be young but you are very wise about Jesus. You believed and trusted He would bring you here. We gave you the dream so when the time came for you to come, you would not be afraid of the journey. I was with you all the way."
Then the angel added:
"Would you like to see Jesus face to face?"
"Oh, Yes!" cried the little girl.
The angel took her by the hand and they walked over to where Jesus was lying on the cloud. Jesus sat up to welcome the little girl and opened His arms as wide as he could. She let go of the angels hand and ran to Jesus and leaped into His lap. His arm immediately enveloped her and held her close. She rested her head upon his chest. He held her like this, in silence, for a long time. She really knew that she was safe now. Nothing could ever hurt her again. Jesus leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She giggled. His beard had tickled her cheek. With big wide eyes she looked up at him and said, "I love you."
Jesus replied:
"I have always loved you. I am so glad you are here. Now, go with the angel and the angel will show you your new wings. You will have to practice and soon We will see you flitting across the sky like all the other angels."
The child exclaimed:
"That sounds like so much fun! I would like that." Then she became very serious and said, "I need to ask you something."
Jesus said, "What, my child?"
She was kind of shy but she asked:
"Are my mommy and daddy sad?"
Jesus answered truthfully:
"Yes, but we have a plan. When you learn to fly really well, we will allow you to dart across the sky so very fast you will look like a falling star from earth. Then one night, when your parents are outside on their patio, looking at the stars and praying that you are all right, they will see this brilliant falling star. They will know in their hearts that this is was a signal from you telling them that you are well and happy. Then from that time on, their hearts wont be so sad all of the time and it will strengthen their faith in Me. When the right time comes you will see them again, right here in heaven."
"I cant wait," she said. She jumped up, planted a kiss on Jesus cheek and ran to the angel.
"Lets go learn to fly!"
Jesus eyes look moist and seemed to glisten.
God smiled. He had the perfect Son.
Jesus smiled too, nodded his head, and looked over the edge of that cloud on which He was lounging. He looked again at that little church in Indiana. He noticed one man in a wheel chair. This man would also be with Him one day for he is a true believer. Jesus heart was immediately filled with joy.
Jesus again started scanning the church and He spotted one older man, who was also dozing off during the sermon. Jesus turned and looked at God, as if to ask, is this another who is blind and deaf?
God, knowing what Jesus was thinking, spoke:
"No, he is not blind nor deaf, he is a strong believer but the reason he is sleeping in church has nothing to do with boredom. He is old and he is ill. His wife sits beside him every Sunday and she knows that her husband will not be on this earth much longer. She also knows that after he is gone she will follow him shortly thereafter. Although they never speak of it to each other, they both know. She doesnt wake him in church because she knows he is ill and cannot help it. He sleeps a lot like that at home, too. She is praying that when he does go, that he will die in his sleep. She doesnt know it, but I KNOW, she will get her prayer answered. She is right. She wont stay down there on that old earth very long without him. She will also die in her sleep. Death will be very peaceful for both of them. They wont have too long to wait and both are ready to come Home to US."
Jesus nodded. He understood now.
Jesus said, "Lets look at the children. Oh, yes, there they are. Good-looking bunch, but then again You never made any junk, right?"
God said, "Jesus, I think you are picking up some of that earthly lingo, but that is OK, We all have to keep up with the times. Oh, speaking of earthly lingo, who came up with that FROG business?"
"It means Fully Rely on God," Jesus answered."I really think it is sort of neat."
God says:
"I know what it means, but who would have thought of such a thing in the old days. Can you imagine some of the old testament saints going around saying FROG all the time?" God chuckled and added, "But you can be assured that they did fully rely on ME. Bless them."
God chuckles, shakes his head, smiles and says, "What next?"
"As I reminded you before, you gave them a mind of their own, " Jesus replies.
God says:
"Yes, I know, as long as it is headed in the FROG direction then I am pleased, too."
Jesus said:
"Some of the kids are wearing those bracelets that have WWJD on them. They are to remind them to ask themselves what I would do if I happened to get into a the same situation. It is a good reminder. I am glad they have them and hope they keep using them. If they act like I do, then everything will come out fine for them. Every time they do the right thing, they are adding to their rewards here, even if they dont realize it. They are believers in Christ, My death of the Cross, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. They cant go wrong if they stick to The Way."
"Yes," God said, "these reminders do help our children. I am glad they have them. We do need more reading of My Word to the children. They need this type of education more than a college degree."
Then He added:
"Look down there, there is a mother praying this very prayer for her son. She wants her son to know Me as his personal Savior and friend. She is praying so earnestly and hard. I know she is a Christian."
Jesus said, "I know her. She prayed to me about three weeks ago. She wrapped her son in a package with a beautiful bow on it. It was one of the most beautiful presents I have ever seen. She walked the stairs to heaven slowly and laid the gift at My feet. She told me how precious this gift was to her. She knew she had no power to bring her son to know You or ME, so she gave him to Me. I took the gift box upon my lap and took her son out of the box. He is a full-grown man and once as a child seemed to know something about God, she said. But now he was away from God. She needed Me or You to bring him to the proper place where he will find us. I stood the young man on his feet and looked him over. He is savable. I took him into My heart and watched as the lady with tears in her eyes, walked back down the stairs. She left her son completely in My hands. She knows and believes in her heart that I can make this man do a turn around and come to know US Both. She fully desired for him to have a personal relationship with You. She had the faith to bring him to US for she knows she can do nothing without US. Her heart is very much lighter since she did this because she knows that he is in the best of hands and that We will take care of this situation. I wish more mothers and fathers would bring their children to God, give them over for Us, and pray for their children and see that they go to church and find God when they are young."
God said:
"I know her, too. She and I have a personal relationship. I met her personally while she was on an Emmaus walk. I called her name and she answered. She gave her whole life to Me to do with as I pleased." God grinned and added, "I think at the time, she was truly shocked that I would come to her personally. She knew I was there. I put the warmth of light on her face when she was singing. She was singing, I GIVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO THE LORD and in her mind she told me that she did give me her whole life. She didnt want it, it was of no use to her, it wasnt fun anymore, and she had a very hard time. She wanted to cry over just about everything that happened."
God went on to add:
"It is a long story, but she had lost her mother about a year and a half before that. She could not deal with the death of her mother, although she pretended to everyone else that she did. She would cry and pray sometimes half the night in sheer agony over her loss. She felt she couldnt take it anymore. She sometimes wanted to die. She gave herself to Me instead. We had a talk that night, and believe Me, it was an unusual kind, but she gave herself to Me, and I spoke her name. We talked and she gave Me all her sins. She totally repented and acknowledged Me as the ONE AND ONLY GOD of the universe. She gave Me her grief too and when she felt the lightness of the load she had just given Me, she realized she had been born again. She was surprised. She had gone to church off and on all her life and she believed in Me, but she wouldnt give herself to Me completely until that time. She had to be at a breaking point. A lot of pride and self assurance had to be dealt with. She was one of those I CAN DO IT MYSELF type. But somewhere along the line after the death of her mother, she realized that she couldnt do it by herself. She came to the point where she didnt want to even try. When the Holy Spirit entered into her and she was born again, she was eager to learn all she could about US."
God took a breath and resumed the story,
"She reads every book she can get her hands on. But the best is, that she loves the verse Fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, You are Mine. I dont think she could live without that verse. She will always remember that I called her by name. She does intercessory prayer for several people, so You may hear her voice a good many times. She knows that I chose her by calling her name and she loves Me for it. It took a personal visit from Me to make her Mine but we are both happy with the results. She will be with Us someday and she knows it. She rests on Me and trusts Me."
The congregation in the little church began to sing. I t was part of their regular worship service.
"They are singing now," Jesus said, "Listen, I can barely hear them. Why dont they sing a little louder and with more joy? I dont see the joy in a lot of faces that should be radiant with the Holy Spirit. Do you suppose that they dont know what the Holy Spirit can do for them? Havent they been taught? Something is wrong here."
"Yes, I know. There are those who are trying to help bring more joy to that church. It is going to be a long haul. Many of these people are set in their ways and have missed some important things in the Bible that they should already know. One of the things they have missed is to be generous. Did you see the balance of that bank account? They are giving people, as far as giving to their church is concerned, but then they hoard that money and dont give much away or help others with it. They use most of it for their own needs, such as expanding the size of their church. They need to learn to give more to the outside world or use it to hold some of their youth by encouraging them to come to church. Most of them think that the church gives away enough. They are being miserly or maybe they are just afraid."
God went on telling His story:
" Maybe somehow I could find a way to send them the story about old John Smith. Do you remember him? He had oodles of money and possessions. He knew he was supposed to leave all of his worldly possessions behind. Yet, he kept praying so hard and he wanted to bring just one thing. He pestered Me so much about it that I let him bring only one thing. Remember what he brought?"
Jesus nodded and smiled, "Yes, he converted everything he possessed into gold."
God said:
"Right, and he came to heaven with his gold, only to find that in heaven, all gold is just road tar. We pave our streets with it. We have no other use for gold. He did ask for forgiveness and I forgave him. We paved a new street. We didnt name it after John either. We called it Fools Street, as he requested. Now, he is a guardian angel to another very rich man. Actually, this man is just like John Smith. He has an abundance of earthly riches. John has his hands full but this is an assignment he wanted. He wants to somehow find a way to save this man and to help him see that earthly riches mean nothing. Maybe we need another John Smith to help that little church so they will see that hoarding the earthly riches will achieve nothing. Old John would be yelling down to them, "Road tar, Road Tar!"
Jesus chuckled and shook His head, "Youre right about that. Poor old John learned his lesson fast. Remember the look on his face when You asked him why he brought road tar?"
God answered:
"Yes, I remember. It was a pitiful sight. He had put such stock in that gold. The little church down there needs to realize there are more important things than a fat bank account. That fat bank account wont help their church, just sitting in the bank, if they lose their congregation. There needs to be a meeting of the minds down there to decide what is the best way they can put their money to use to GLORIFY ME. They should know that it will come back to them tenfold. I told them in the Bible. I know of a couple people down there that has heard the story about John Smith, so maybe one of them will find the right place and time to pass the word along and just maybe some changes will take place. Basically, they are a good church. They are looking for a new preacher. Maybe they will find one that will preach the full Gospel and bring these people the joy they deserve. They already know of the free gift of life everlasting, but I think some of them are missing the fruits of the Spirit because they have never been taught what they are and just maybe they will learn to be more giving."
"Myself, personally, I wish they would put more heart in those songs, I can barely hear them," Jesus said.
God smiled and chuckled. "Like you reminded me, I gave them a mind of their own, and if they use it to their benefit or not are up to them. They have no excuse if they have heard the Word and read the Word. It is all there. All the free things that I will gladly give them and all they have to do is ask. Why is it so hard to ask? I may take time one of these days and ponder on that. Why do the words, free of charge, scare so many people? I guess because in the earthly world nothing is free. There is always a cost. These people need to be taught that there is a difference between physical and spiritual things. They have to be taught that the spiritual comes first. That should always be the priority in their lives. I am God. I am First and Last. If they could only turn their lives over to me, ask forgiveness, then they would have everlasting life. Also, their physical lives would be so much better because I could bestow so many blessings on them, if only they would believe and trust in Me. Sometimes it makes me a little tempted to take back this free will business . . . but no, I have made a plan, and it is a good one, even if they dont understand now. My plan is the best plan and it will work."
Jesus said,
"Well, even if their singing is a little weak, there are good hearts and good Christians in that church. Surely it will continue to grow and prosper if they can bring themselves to share more. There are some in that church who know us well and they will do their best to push, prod, and plead the others in the right direction."
Jesus commented. "Their service is over now. They are headed for home or wherever. I hope they got enough out of that service to last them till next Sunday."
God kept watching as the service ended and the people filed out of the church:
"Im not giving up on any one of them in that church." God said, "As you know, I am quite stubborn about that. I dont want to lose one person to that old Devil. I will keep trying and trying to find a way for each person on that earth to know about Me. It may take me awhile, but there are a lot of saints working with and for us yet today. No, Ill never give up! When that last day comes, it is going to be a pleasure to rid the earth of the devil and his troops. They keep trying to convince all of My people that the Devil knows best. Well, one of these days, the whole universe will see Me in all My Glory and then . . . they will see, hear, and they will know that I, and only I, am the true God of this universe. Even the wicked will have to bow down to Me."
Jesus was getting excited just thinking about that time:
"I can hardly wait for that day so I can bring all the saints home where they belong. Your Word tells them to be alert for My coming. Do you think everyone in that little church in Indiana is alert and aware?"
God shakes his head.
We dont know what His answer is. Which way do you think His head shook? Are we ready?
God and Jesus got up and walked over to where all the saints were chatting. They sat down with them.
One of the saints immediately asks another to tell him about what happened in the Old Testament times. "Hey, Job, tell us your story again. I love that story," the saint said.
Job stood on his feet and looked around at all the other saints. Job looked over and saw God sitting there. He said to God, "Now, make sure I dont miss anything and that I get all my facts straight. You know that was a long time ago."
God said, "Dont worry, Job, I have always had my eyes on you." And He grinned.
Job said, "Dont I know it." Everyone laughed. "OK, one more time, but if anyone nods off, you are in deep trouble." They all laughed again and Job began telling his story. There were a lot of stories told this Sunday. Sometimes the listeners were solemn, bright eyed with wonder, laughing, in awe, and many other feelings went through the crowd that day. You could even catch one of those diamond-like glistening in an eye, now and then. It was a perfect day.
After all, you are in heaven.
So, if you had the whole day to think about it, what do you think God does on Sunday?
Is He looking at your world, your country, your state, your local town, your church, your family, your prayers, your faith, your actions, your mind, your tongue, or maybe what is in your heart? What do you think? Use your imagination.
What does God do on Sunday?
