Sometimes I feel so slow-minded

I have been using a journaling tool for almost 9 months now that I found for the Macintosh. At first, I used it for only for my own personal spiritual journaling.

Near the end of November, 2005, I upgraded the program and was able to blog directly from it. That has been a joy and a challenge.

This morning, it occurred to me that I could also use it as a prayer journal (thus the reason for the title of this blog). It is so easy to update and keep in a usable form that I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me sooner.

At this time, I now use my journaling program for:
1. Personal/spiritual journaling
2. My “Missionary Musings” blog
3. My prayer journal
4. Keeping track of random thoughts regarding my strategic plan for our work in Slovakia

Okay, now to more useful -- and hopefully more encouraging -- thoughts.

Today, I came across this thought from C.H. Spurgeon (one of history’s greatest preachers and renowned pastors):

“Whoever communes with God is always at home.“ C.H. Spurgeon

A profound comment, yet so elementary. I’m reminded that the more I remain ”in communion“ with the Lord Jesus throughout each of my days -- hour by hour, minute by minute -- the transformation from this life to the next will be less drastic. I will leave this earth and enter His presence and it won’t be such a shock to me as compared to not remaining in communion with Him -- in which case the transformation from this world to the next will be drastic!

Another thought that continues to spin in my thinking -- and that needs considerable attention with regards to application to daily life -- is that as I remain in communion with the Lord, and as I enter the ”work-a-day“ world of the marketplace, business, sports, school, or whatever, I take the Lord Jesus with me -- essentially, I take the essence of the Church to the world and bring it (rather HIM) to the world.

Spugeon continues, ” The divine omnipresence surrounds such a person consciously; his faith sees all around him the palace of the King, in which he walks with exulting security and overflowing delight.“

I can’t help but see Charles Schultz’s character PigPen right now. Everywhere he went, that cloud of dust and dirt followed him. Everyone with whom he talked could not deny the presence of something ”bigger“ than PigPen himself. Everyone with whom he had contact was touched in some way by his mysterious ”cloud.“

I certainly don’t mean to demean our Lord’s presence or be sacrilegious, but I simply want to illustrate that PigPen’s ”presence“ was obvious, almost tangible, ubiquitous, and UNAVOIDABLE.

My challenge to myself is this: When I come in contact with people throughout my day, is the presence of the Lord UNAVOIDABLE to them?

Just another rambling musing from an old missionary.....