We stopped last night somewhere in Indiana, just off I64, not far from the Illinois border. We only have about four hours left on this trip to Cutlip Auditorium in Fulton, Missouri. The weather has been beautiful and spring is so close. You can smell the change of seasons in the air and see the heads of daffodils pushing through the earth.
Those of you who know us, understand that we are entertainers. It is our goal to do our very best, in the situation we are given, to provide our audience with an amazing show. We don’t “preach” to our audiences about our faith but I do use this forum, my personal blog, to share with people more intimately the events that happen in our lives and how we view those things. One of my good friends puts it this way: We are entertainers who are Christians; not Christian entertainers.
I think that whatever you believe affects your entire life and the way you live it. For me, that means doing the very best I can to give the audience the best show possible – entertain them! In doing that, I fulfill one of the purposes of my life and use the abilities that I’ve been given in a way that doesn’t glorify me, but glorifies the One who gave me the talents in the first place.
Some of you reading this may or may not agree with that statement. That’s okay. I’m not here to convince you to believe the way I believe. I’m just sharing my life with you, in a very small way, through this blog. So, here it goes….
I don’t often have the chance to go to church during the touring season. On the road, I download the morning messages of one of my favorite speakers to my computer and put them on my iPod. Then, as we drive, I go to iPod Church.
The last message I heard was profound and John’s words continue to penetrate my thinking and my heart. He spoke about Jesus promising to give those who believe “rivers of living water flowing out of their inner being – their gut.” (John 7:37-39)
All things in my life eventually merge into one purpose – God’s purpose. Every event; every challenge; every temptation; every circumstance; every single thing that happens in my life merges into one place and one purpose – to transform me into the image of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? I believe it means that these situations are designed by God to give me a better understanding of Who He is and who I am. They change the way I view myself. They change the way I view my God. He is Almighty. He is Truth. He can do anything He desires. If I allow these events and trials and challenges to change me, that means I can develop the sensitivity to see God in all things and to be disposed to His purpose. It means I am better equipped to use the talents that He has given me to Live My Life at this moment in time to tell His story to the world!
If you read this blog regularly, you know that we’ve come up against some challenges in the last month. I’ve come to learn and understand that these challenges come in order to prepare me for an even greater blessing. I shared many of those with you but there are countless others that give me reason to know, in my gut, that everything is going to be okay. While the “storms of life” may descend on us without warning, God always has a “rainbow” planned for those who turn their lives over to Him and trust Him, even in the most difficult circumstances.
I look forward to iPod Church.