Heart Fire

Today I wanted to start looking at El Olam: THe Eternal God, or the Everlasting God.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow- He is the Eternal God. The Holy Spirit was and is and forever will be. Father God.....He is the beginning and the End, the One who works His purposes throughout the ages. He gives strength to the weary.

So...I have been thinking about the death of Whitney Houston. Here was a woman that was "discovered" early in her life, and enjoyed great success. She was in the limelight, and the world was at her feet....adoring her. Here's the thing: I don't think we were made, or structured to be adored like that. I think we are too fragile, in our sinful natures- to deal with that much praise and adoration. At some point, it has to get into your heart and into your head and start to poison you.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Jesus is meant to be adored., He will not change. So, lets go back to Whitney Houston. A woman that was known for her drug dependency. She left the limelight- on top of the world and had some skirmishes with the media, where the public could start to see her demise.

She was meant to sing at the Grammy's. How much pressure was there for her to - BE THE SAME?? How much expectation was there on her to step back in time and belt out "I wanna dance with somebody...." like she was a woman in her 20's...with the voice and the image of a woman in her 20's? How much pressure was there for her to have NOT CHANGED?? Frozen in time...put on a shelf, like a little china doll- waiting to perform another day. Was her adoring public now a judgemental mob -waiting for her to fail?

El Olam is the only eternal, the only thing meant to be eternal and adored. Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson...they couldn't be eternal, they shouldn't have been adored....we do not have the constitution to handle it. We age, we change...

Have you changed?

Wrinkles, some gray hair, a little "more" of you in some places? Perfect.

That's how its meant to be. Jimmy Buffet says, "The wrinkles only go where the smiles have been"

Are your hips a bit wider than they were when you were 20? Perfect- look at your children and praise God!

A bit of gray hair starting to shine through? Perfect - there is dye for that....Wanda can fix that right up!!! (hah- expecting something about wisdom there, right??)

My point is: We were meant to age, and grow and lead others to Christ. We are meant to share our lives and our hearts with each other, to never have the spotlight directed on us...but rather, being a body that works together. WE are second....He is first, always will be. Always should be in our hearts. Let's reserve the adoration and the praises for El Olam, and diligently give our lives - and our hearts- to magnifying HIM, not ourselves. THAT, gives us the freedom to change, to grow, to age and to do it all gracefully! The way I see it, we have to let go of yesterday and embrace today, expectant for tomorrow. In this place...we are meant to push our sleeves up and work for the Kingdom. Get dirty, get busy, laugh and love with abandon and do it all in Christ's name. We will all share eternity in His presence- but, now there is work to be done! Shine it all back on Him! ;- )