The other day I was sat in a Starbucks, sipping on a mocha, and I was thinking about things. A lot of my friends think that I’m a bit of a Starbucks fanatic – I used to be in there every week. But that was mostly due to the following reasons:
- I had an ample supply of Starbucks cards
- There are no large sit in Tim Horton’s in England (to my knowledge), there were definitely not any in town!
- I love coffee. Moreover, I love Starbucks coffee. That anniversary blend was fabulous.
- Its a nice environment to sit in (especially when its raining outside). It has class.
- There were times when I had to wait for a lift
Its true though, I do enjoy a good Starbucks. And in the particular Starbucks I was sat in, this was on the wall ^. After sampling the delectable hot beverage I was holding, I decided to sample the decor, so to speak. Taking my eyes off the chocolatey delight in the cup, I looked up to see this little story thingading on the wall. Its a nice decorative feature, and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Even the calligraphy and styles of lettering are nice. Upon reading it, I saw that it was a story of two people talking in a cafe. Perhaps it was an old Starbucks employee story, or perhaps it was a gigantic hint at what the staff wanted the customers to do. Whatever it was, seemed to be working. People were talking, and people were also looking at it. In short, they recognised it’s existence. As with most things I come across in life, this got me thinking.
Up until I turned 18, I seemed to be invisible to a lot of people. Sadly, I saw this most at church. Other people’s opinions were worth 2 of mine, and if I wanted to start something new, like a youth worship band, I was looked down on like I didn’t know anything. I would like to point out here that I did know a thing or two – I’d studied classics! (If you want to read some funny classical literature, find Herodotus’ writings on Egypt or barbarians. Both never fail to please.) In a lot of people’s eyes, I was just a ‘kid’ (someone actually said that to me once), and I might as well not have been there, because I certainly wasn’t treated with the equality that my peers had (yes, thats right – some of them were the same age as me, but their opinions mattered more than mine for some reason). I didn’t understand this, and so I thought ‘shove it’. If I was going to do something that would make a difference, I would have to start elsewhere. So, I went to SOUL SURVIVOR. I treated it as my church. I got baptised in the Holy Spirit there. I attended as many Soul Survivor events as I could. I also discovered WORSHIP CENTRAL, and so tried to get down to as many of their events as I could. Some Sundays, I even travelled all the way up to Abundant Life Church, Bradford, just desperate to hear God’s word! I tried to get as much church as I could, because I wanted God to speak to me. I wanted to know how I could make a difference, and so I asked God.
To cut a long story short, God showed up and showed me how I could make a difference. I was already a part of the worship band at my church at that time, but I was a timid little backing singer who stood rigid all the way through the worship set list. Heck, I stood so rigid that sometimes my legs hurt from not having moved in half an hour! God helped me loosen up, and He provided a future for me – He provided me with a specific career path, and a means of getting there! I’m thankful for this. I kept being the studious guy I always was, and kept marching forward, with my eyes on the prize.
I continued as I always had, and tried to always keep God in the number 1 spot. Then I turned 18, and overnight it was suddenly like *POOF!* I had appeared into the world. I was suddenly worth talking to! My opinion started to matter. The youth worship band I had tried to set up years before was now up and running, and they (mostly) wanted me to be a part of it. They even wanted me to start a bible study group! And I was still continuing as normal. Nothing had changed but their attitudes towards me. Everything happens for a reason though, and it was all in God’s timing. Although I cannot see the big picture or grand scheme of my life, I must keep putting my faith in God, because I know He will open things up at the right time. He always provides for me and helps me out. ALWAYS. Thats a lot of time!
One day I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to be Jesus. I was like ‘whaaaaaaaa?’ and then ‘how sacrilegious!’. The person phoning me was inquiring if I would like to play a part in a PLAY or PLAY LIKE SKIT on stage. Personally, I think he should’ve led with that. It would have saved on major confusion.
I thought it was funny, that although I had remained the same person, people judge you on age and do not see you as mature enough to talk to until you were 18. And i’m not trying to be funny or anything, but I was mature enough to talk to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before then. Why is it that people are so judgemental? Why are they so quick to pass judgement without getting to know a guy? Or is it just people from where I’m from that are like that? Anyways, it was like one minute I wasn’t there and then POOF, I’d turned 18 and appeared into the world! It was like people were thinking “he’s there, but don’t tell anyone! Maybe if we can’t see him, he can’t see us!”
Today, I was reading my bible when I spotted another kind of POOF! moment:
Matthew 17
New International Version (NIV)
Matthew 17
The Transfiguration
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
I read this and I was like whaaaaaa? What was all that about? (I will tenuously link it to my anecdote above).
Jesus led a few of his disciples up a high mountain and then started shining. Yep thats right, Jesus was shining! Particularly shiny things at the time included His face and His clothes. And then POOF! Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. At this point, Moses was long dead and Elijah had been taken up to heaven. So this POOF moment was a bit more special than me turning 18. This was a heavenly conversation with a somewhat shiny Jesus. At this, Peter wants to build altars to the three of them, because its such a holy and special moment. But, God interrupts him and says “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”. The disciples are now pretty scared and fall facedown to the ground. Then Jesus tells them not to be worried. Its all a bit confusing.
Jesus has just taken them up a mountain, started shining and then started talking with some people who had gone to heaven a looooong time ago. Then, God appears in a cloud and declares that Jesus is His son, in whom He is well pleased. God has just divinely revealed His son to the disciples – and then something even more confusing happens. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone what they have seen until He has been raised from the dead. WHAT THE WHAT? Then they have a little talk about John the baptist, and seem to then just continue as normal.
So, as promised, the tenuous link: I kept going as normal and then when I turned 18, God provided me with opportunity and provided a way for me to proceed. Perhaps this was because there were things I couldn’t do until I was 18, or perhaps God was teaching me something for later in life through the experience. Whatever the reason, It was in God’s time and it must have carried a heavenly purpose.
In this passage, the disciples and Jesus are keeping on going as normal, when Jesus full on reveals to them that He is the son of God, and shows them something confusing but wonderful. Again, this was for a purpose and was in God’s timing. And the fact that the disciples were not to tell anyone until after Jesus had raised up from the dead was also for a purpose and was in God’s timing.
Sometimes, we get all hung up on the timing of things because we can’t see the bigger picture. The POOF moments in life can surprise, scare or excite us. But, as I would like to stress here, its not up to us, and its not for us to worry about.
God always prepares a way for us. He uses things we never thought possible to take us down paths we would never have dreamt of to lead us to places where we can make a gigantic impact for Him. He uses the POOF moments to teach us things and to open doors for us, although it may not be apparent to us at the time. God always has a plan – we just have to put our faith in Him and trust in His way. POOF.
Heres to a better run this year!! 
) The program consists of an old testament passage, a new testament passage and a psalm or proverb each day. Its really good, and I heartily recommend it! Soul Survivor even have their own wordpress blog that you can look at, which gives you the passages and a reading guide at thebibleinoneyear.wordpress.com . Check it out! It broadens your mind! And its also nice to hear another person’s interpretation of the day’s passages!
