May It Not Return Void

Today we took my students to a conference in Lubbock, TX. I had been praying that the Lord would bless it. I have the privilege of working in what is probably the most economically, socially, ethnically, and spiritually diverse school in my city, so I knew that my students have been raised in strikingly different religions or faith systems, or whatever you want to call it ranging from Pentecostal to Mormon to Muslim. With this knowledge and having pretty good relationships all around, I took the initiative to strike up a conversation with one of my students regarding his religion. He answered all of my questions as a young man who was very informed about the teachings of Mormon, and strikingly misinformed regarding the Bible which is what Mormonism claims to be based on. He seemed a little nervous as I asked honest questions that I have had for a long time about his faith (I turned out to be slightly misinformed on a few points)even laughing to us that "Gosh, it sounds like it's a cult or something". I was surprised by his honesty and blessed to hear the Spirit speaking through me Truth over the lies that his religion has taught him. The old lie is still alive and kicking and it made me sad to hear this bright young man talking about someday him, being able to create life. That he would one day be the same as Jesus. The old lie, by the way, being that we can become like God, the lie that the serpent deceived Eve with in the Garden, the old lie that has become the new age as I heard one pastor say of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and the "Church of O". This is why the Bible says that we are to "walk humbly with our God" and the world says to "Walk proudly with our heads held high". The Lord has been challenging me to ask Him to make Himself more real to me than He has ever been. I pray this over every brother and sister I know as well and also for this world in general. When we stand before the Lord in judgement, there will be no doubt that the words from the, ahem, epic tale of Rudy hold true "There is a God, and I am not Him". This is something that I have to keep reminding myself of, and even more that He is not what I make Him, that my ideas of the Lord are not necessarily what He is. That I have at least to some degree up until this point been at least in part, in love with my idea of God, and not necessarily with Who He is. I want so desperately to know Him and to be known by Him. Even today, as I have been walking with the Lord for over four years now, I feel like a baby Christian, like I'm just now beginning to start to get ready to begin making some progress in getting down to the nitty gritty with the Lord. That's cool and scary and sweet...and scary! I hope and pray that the Lord would clear up the thorns of my ideas, cleanse me of all unrighteousness and transform my mind to be in love with Him in truth. I pray that the conversations that went on today between myself and my students and my students and my other students would at least make them think. His Word never returns void, I pray it wouldn't return void in me. I've been really off- subject-y here maybe, but I said what I needed to.