We have just finished up a week in Marion, IN at the Fellowship of Christian Magicians convention. Cindy had a rough week with some pretty major muscle/nerve issues that caused her a lot of pain. We found a great physician/chiropractor in Marion – Dr. Arnold – who truly worked miracles on her. Her neck and shoulders were completely locked up, head splitting in great pain and she was unable to perform. She was in so much pain she wasn’t even able to travel. We made our first visit to his office on Tuesday and within a couple of hours, he had her feeling much better. The next couple of days she just relaxed and continued to see him. By Friday, she was pain free and had great flexibility (something she needs for a show). The performance went great last night and now we’re on our way back home – taking our time so she can continue to rest.
The theme for the week was Standing in the Gap. We saw and heard many illustrations through the week about what that can mean. Our final challenge to the audience on Friday was to define what “standing in the gap” means in our lives. The words are taken from an old testament book of the Bible, Ezekiel 22. God was looking for a few good people to stand up for truth, honesty and integrity during a time in Israel’s history when they were not worshipping God. He was looking for someone to “stand in the gap” for Israel and defend them so He wouldn’t have to scatter them in order to get their attention.
This conference urged attendees to be the kind of people who stand up for those qualities in the world in which they live. That means more than being available to “serve God.” It requires those of us who are Christ-followers to allow God to unlock our destiny and character through a vibrant and growing friendship with Jesus Christ. It requires us to discover our God-given purpose; define and develop our God-given abilities and to use them to honor Him in everything we do.
God doesn’t ask all of us to fill the same “gaps.” I can’t be responsible for standing up for these qualities in anyone’s world but my own.
One of my favorite passages in the new testament of the Bible comes from Romans 12. It tells us to “take our everyday, ordinary lives – our eating, sleeping, getting up, going to work lives – and place them before God as an offering.” It really is that simple.
God can and does use ordinary people – just like me, just like you – to do extraordinary things when our attitudes, motives and actions are guided and empowered by Him.
We’ve got a busy week ahead of us and I should have the full tour schedule up on the website by the end of the week. I look forward to meeting lots of you on the road this year!