Jim May | living at His place

One of the blessings of God's restoration is eating the fruit of our own labor. When God brought his people back from captivity, He said, "Never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled, but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." (Isa. 62:8,9)

Don't get me wrong, I love sports and have enjoyed watching the Olympics, but there is a certain caution in all the nationalistic flag waving. The worship of sports heroes can be a "lose/lose" situation for the worshippers and the worshipped.

Why was I so angry? I was exploding in foul language at my cursor randomly skipping on my computer, writing addresses wrong, spilling my coffee, losing five games of chess on the computer, Kansas losing in the NCAA basketball tournament, etc. etc. etc. Then I made an insensitive remark to a guy at a party and was beating myself up all night, because I couldn't fix it. I couldn't get the words back in my mouth. If I called him at 2:00 A M, I would just make things worse!

As I have shared this breakthrough with others, the response has been astounding. Many have shared their deep fears and doubts. It seems most of us carry around unconscious lies that have profoundly affected our lives. One lady said she never really believed God loved her, despite hearing it all her life in church and knowing the right doctrine.

The Bible is a record of only a few of God's visits to man. Most of these visits did not happen in a worship service. They happened in the stuff of life in the market place, on city streets, in homes, during travels, while men were fishing, around campfires, and in all orbits of life. These visits were not periodic occasions isolated from secular affairs. In modern language of the business culture, God visited men and women in "the real world."