In my last missive, which was far longer ago than I ever intended (but equally as bizarre in the time of day it was authored; guess I'm a late night scribbler), I commented as to whether it was okay for a Christian to have a muse other than Jesus Christ, implying as I did so that I wasn't all that worried to have my rather road weary muse, Ralphie, by my side. And that is, in fact, the point. A muse which travels alongside one is one thing; to have any other than Jesus Christ pointing the way, quite another.
Since my last missive, I was considering a ghost writing assignment from a woman who entitled her project "Spiritual Gifts Assessment". From the camp in which I, and many others of similar theological persuasion, find myself, such a title brings to mind many tests given to determine whether a person is "gifted" in certain aspects of ministry to the local church: discernment, speaking in tongues, wisdom, administration, helps, et cetera. So I thought, "Perfect fit!" and immediately launched out a hopefully well-crafted reply, along with my curriculum vitae, listing my various achievements as a Christian writer/editor. (Anyone interested in seeing these and hiring me is welcome to visit my website: www.onwordcommunications.com.)
She responded graciously that, though she respected my viewpoint, she thought I should check out her blog, as we might perhaps not be as harmonious a duo as I had imagined. The title was indeed a bit scary: www.deadgirlsguide.com. Still, I decided to investigate. Generally speaking, the advice she gave in the sampling of blogs I read could not be faulted. It was basically good advice. That doesn't mean it can be trusted, however. The source for her wisdom was gravely in question. According to her own testimony, published at her own site, the woman says her insights for helping others come from conversations she had during a near-death experience with two angels, posing as Gabriel and Raphael. I say "posing" because the Bible clearly tells us that Satan and his horde enjoy presenting themselves as "angels of light", and so I contend were those that contacted her. Why?
1 John 3:24b-4:6 says, "And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater that he who is in the world. They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them. We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
The angels this woman spoke to never spoke to her of Jesus Christ, at least not that I can tell from any of her blogs. Also, she knew by my own bio that we would not be, shall we say, on the same spiritual playing field, playing by the same rules. If the angels she spoke to had been messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ, they would have told her the path of salvation and perhaps we might be playing on the same field by the same rules and writing that book together today.
Of course, I took the opportunity to share this concern I had about her angels with her in my reply and I pray for her, that she may be set free from these "posers" from the dark side and learn what true spiritual gifts are, the primary one being Jesus Himself.
What about my traveling companion, my muse, Ralphie boy? Let's just say he's a composite of some interesting brothers in Christ I've known, who knew the Master and had tasted and seen that He is good, even when life is not. He reflects intimately the many faces of people I have met on the mysterious road on which the Master has taken me, people whose lives have intersected my own and made my life the better for it. For more information on the Ralphie boys that have changed my life so powerfully, see a blog written by my pal, Steve Kimes, on homelessness here at Google.
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Sue,
ReplyDeleteI know very little about blogs, okay I'm just now beginning to understand facebook, but i think this is really cool! Keep up the great work and, speaking of work, I'm sure the Lord will provide something, soon, that you will love and at which you'll excel!
God bless you and all you do!
Thank you so much, Kingkong! I am thrilled to get a response to what I am writing. So sorry it has taken me a while to reply. I'm only getting courage again to create another entry. It's a bit of a scary prospect, hanging out one's heart on such a public forum. So it's good to get positive feedback already :)
ReplyDeleteJesus comes to us in many ways--just as one of my favorite stories about a man who had been told in a dream/vision by Jesus that He would be his guest on Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThis man did some shopping in order to be able to put together a great feast for Jesus. Then, he waited for Jesus to arrive.
However, he was distracted three times: once by a hungry beggar who was lacking in shoes and clothes to stay warm.
Then, by a woman with a baby who needed milk.
Finally, by a little boy who had ended up staying out after dark and couldn't find his way back home.
He gave the beggar some of his own clothes and shoes--then, went back to watching for Jesus.
When the woman and baby arrived, he gave her food for herself and milk for her baby--and hoped that Jesus wouldn't mind that there wouldn't be quite so much left for them to eat once He arrived.
Finally, he walked the little boy home again--hoping that Jesus wouldn't arrive during the time that it took to do so.
After that, he went back to his place and waited for Jesus to arrive and eat with him.
But the day ended, and Jesus never arrived.
In his nightly prayers, he asked Him why He had decided not to show up. Had he done something wrong?
Jesus appeared to him again and replied:
"I visited you three times: once in the form of a beggar, once in the form of a woman and her baby, and once in the form of a lost child.
Thank you for being such a wonderful host!"
I believe that Ralphie represents those very special--and, more often than not, unrecognized--personal visits from Jesus!!!
Call him a muse, call him a composite of people, but he is, most importantly, a spiritual gift from Jesus!!!