Hope vs. Hate

I fell asleep last night listening to the Hawkeyes play the Badgers of Wisconsin on WHO Radio 1040 out of Des Moines. When I woke up, the radio was still on. A radio preacherman was giving a sermon and I was very intrigued by his message. He was speaking about how the devil tempts us and tries to silence the Gospel. This is a topic dear to my heart. As a fan of C.S. Lewis and The Screwtape Letters I rolled over towards the radio and listened intently.

What I heard was a long rant on witches in our churches, boogiemen behind the doors and that one driving factor should bring us closer to our Savior... FEAR!!! Fear of everything.

After about fifteen minutes I couldn't take it anymore. I turned the channel to Iowa Public Radio. There I heard stories that inspired. Stories that shared the amazing glory of the Lord. They made me want to jump up and down and run out into the street and share a testimony of His power. There was a story of stained glass windows in the Bethlehem Cathedral in Washington D.C. and how their kaleidoscopic light shines in the dark worship hall as a metaphor of how Christ's Light shined into our darkened world as in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Next folk music icon Emmylou Harris sang a song called 'The Pearl' which brought me to tears. It was the most beautiful song I have ever heard. Her haunting voice called through the radio like a ghost. These and the stories that followed shined a bright spotlight on God's awesome power and how only He can pull us up.

I thought about how glad I am that I was a Lutheran. I am free of fear. I can ever live in that freedom that Mike Williams used to preach on... A freedom in Christ to stop worrying and start reaching out to others in Christian Love. Light calls me to Christ... not fear of the dark.

The Gospel is filled with the message of LOVE and rescue. 90 percent of it is about love. The other 10 percent may warn us of how we falter and trip up but why would a ministry set out to inspire the masses with a doom and gloom. Christ wants us to reach out and spread love and life. He wants us to be the Light of the world... and how we do that is to show the AWESOME HEALING POWER OF HIS TRUTH AND HIS LOVE.

I am glad that I am free to live a life that FREE in Christ. WHO SHALL I FEAR??? Nothing can stand in the way of me and my Jesus... Not angels or demons or men or boogiemonsters. NOTHING.