Forever Famous - Rabbit Trails

Glamour.  Grease.  Fabulous.  Funny.  The Who that have "It".  They were all there. Paparazzi.  Clicks. Interviews. Red Carpet. Divine Cuisine. Sparkles. Shy Smiles. Coy Poses. Lasers. Swords. Diamonds. Anybody who was Somebody.  

We're not talking the Academy Awards.  STUCO at Covenant Christian threw the gala banquet... THE place to be.

The place to see... and be seen.

 Heads up here...  these are copyrighted photos.  DO NOT use these photos in any way.

Thanks for understanding!

                                                                                    

                                                                                               

Have you ever experienced the electric-charged atmosphere surrounding celebrities?  People read up on the latest bits of gossip, wanting to be in the know.  If a starlet appears nearby, such pains are taken to predict the precise time and place that perhaps they can rub up against them... maybe even speak to the diva or hunk.   Swoon!  Then just imagine the story to tell, because wouldn't everybody want to hear about how they became the star's new personal confidante?  (OK, not really, but that would be ♪ awesome! ♪)

I had the opportunity to be called up as paparazzi for the Big Event.  So glad I went!  What those kids pulled off was fantastic. I got to be "in the know"... sneaking around, getting glimpses, listening in, scoping the scene. I was "there".

And now I go off on a rabbit trail....
Two thousand years ago, word got out of Someone who could pull off mighty feats.  The blind received sight, the lame walked, those who had leprosy were cured, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the good news was preached to the poor.  Oh, and sometimes He fed the whole throng that mobbed him.  Story goes that He just had two small fish and five loaves of barley bread.  So the mob tried to follow wherever He went. The talk and whispers circulated like none other in pre- cell phone days.  They were good at it.

Word would go ahead of Him and the people would wait.  Smaller adults in trees, others lowered through thatched roofs, incognito just to touch His cloak, some under the cover of night, up into mountains, out in the wilderness...  it didn't matter.  They would find a way.
Short detour here:
Take a look at the definition of renown:
re·nown /riˈnoun/

Noun:	The condition of being known or talked about by many people; fame.
Synonyms:    :	fame - reputation - celebrity - glory - repute - kudos

God uses the word renown to refer to His fame.

(I'm hearing the beginnings of a song in my head. Here.  I'll post this video of the song so you can hear it, too.  Click on it... you can keep reading.)

OK.  Back to the Old Story.
Know how dignitaries send "their people" ahead of them to get "things" ready?  John, a.k.a. the Baptist, was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way - to get the people's hearts ready to hear the Good News coming upon them. Smoothing the way.
The crowds now followed Jesus, and He challenged them with a question about John (and I like this question!).  "What did you go out into the desert to see?"  In other words, what did you expect when you went out to see John?

Funny thing about crowds.  They are packed with all kinds of characters.  Believers. Skeptics. The Curious. Haters. Friends. Moochers. Needy.

And this makes me stop to consider.

This Mighty One is my God.  He loves me.  He saved me and is changing me to be like Him. (yahoo!  What a relief!)  He even calls me His friend.  (Really this time.  Not just wishful thinking.)

Now, back to 2012 - with a twist.  Which character are we like in the crowd that follows after Jesus - the Famous One?  What do we expect to see?
(Insert Jeapordy-style waiting music here... ♫ -  but we'll skip that since Chris Tomlin is singing.)
Done thinking? It's not a trick question. Just making us stop to consider our hearts.

This is from Isaiah 26:

The path of the righteous is level;
you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you;
Your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you.

"We wait for you."
Is that me? How much do I wait for Him... like those crowds or paparazzi that would do anything for a glimpse of Him? Do I yearn in the night AND in the morning to spend time with Him, hearing from Him in the Bible and talking to Him in prayer?  Do I look forward to going to church to hear from Him?

"Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."
How much is the desire of my heart to be walking in the way and waiting, to know His Name and His renown? What was that definition of renown? "The condition of being known, or talked about by many people." So is that my desire, to know God, and to be known by Him?! Am I part of the buzz - like the crowds that talked and whispered about Jesus; word spreading family to family, then town to town? Do I read the Bible - like someone would a glam magazine to get the latest scoop - about the God I love?

••••••••

Looking back over the years walking with God, one simple and most helpful "aha!" moment came when God finally got through to me to understand that God really means what He says. I know. Kinda simple. But sometimes it grates against the old way of living in me. Then I realize, hey, He's right. Go figure. I can't tell you what joy there is walking with Him, His Way. So taste and see for yourself!

Psalm 145... Read it! Are you one to use a pencil to mark your Bible as you read? You may want to try it. 

• Underline all the verbs that describe our part... the things we say or do to relate with God.
• Circle all the adjectives and nouns that describe our God and what He does.

The fun part is going back over it when you're done, to read through what you've underlined to get a picture of what it means to delight in God. Then look at every wonderful thing circled about our gracious and glorious God. That will give you something to talk about! With God. With others. With your family. ♥

Take a verse... and be brave. Be very brave, and simply obey it! For instance, how about...

  Every day I will praise you. That's today. ☼

Do you have more time this week?

• Read Psalm 111 Keep that pencil busy.
• Habakkuk 3:1-2 This is just a short passage. You can do it!
• What other passages speaking of fame and renown do you like? Let us know in the comments below.

"We will tell of the power of your awesome works, 

I will proclaim your great deeds."