Jesse Birkey's blog

“Hey what’s going on today?”
 

The man (we’ll call him Joe) raised his head as a tremor worked through his body, rattling his teeth like fine china.  “I dunno, I just…lately my muscles they just—

I watched steam hover in the air as the mirror fogged.  Hot water swirled like my thoughts before disappearing down the drain. 

I had reached a breaking point.  Jealousy and envy had plagued my heart for so long and I needed to be done with it.  I’d brought the issue before God numerous times but the results never really seemed to be long lasting.

Remember that time God told you a joke?  Maybe you do and maybe you don’t.  Have you ever stopped to think on whether or not God even tells jokes?  How about his laughter?  Do you know what his laughter sounds like?

I remember one day walking home from our community pool.  Outside of the refreshing water I was a drum the Florida sun beat on relentlessly.  I sucked in some warm air and looked around.  I had been thinking about the topic of God’s laughter and whether or not He had a sense of humor. 

The gray sky showed no sign of giving up the onslaught of rain.  I shoved my hands in my pockets as I ambled towards the store.  It’d been days and the clouds still hid the sun like a bully.  Maybe this is how the Great Flood started out…maybe that’s a bit dramatic.  

It’s my privilege and honor to introduce you to the author of this guest post that will most likely challenge you in a great way.  Marc Dejeu is the Pastor of The SOMA Gathering in Beaver Falls Pennsylvania.

The love he has for people is evident by the way he lives.  He has been family to me since 6th grade.  My life wouldn't look the same without him.  Enjoy this look at the widow who gave all she had through a lens you may never have.

“Hey man how’s it going?”

The large man’s elbows rested on his knees and his breath was heavy but that didn’t stop him from responding to the guy interrupting his workout.  “I’m doing good man.  How bout you?”

I stared at the woman in front of me.  She stared back.  Her brown eyes glittered with hope, expectation, and a trace of apprehension.  I shifted my weight as a bead of sweat crawled across my forehead like a spider.  I was stuck in the middle of an exercise that had quickly become uncomfortable.

Worship music played and bounced off of the walls surrounding me as I rested in the presence of God.  I had no agenda.  I just wanted to be with Him. 

It wasn’t long before I began to hear His soft voice grab my attention.  He asked me to look and I saw a large stone.  It just seemed to hover before me like a marionette.  But it was still.

It seems that tithing has become more of a hot button issue over the last several years.  It could just be me, but I don’t think so. 

I think it has a lot to do with how the generations on the earth now, and those coming after, aren’t accepting things as they once did.  The reasons “because I said so” or “because God says so” aren’t as affective as they once were.  We want real reasons why we do the things we do.

Whew!  Hot topics can certainly create a stir.  Or maybe the stir creates hot topics.  In any case there are certain things that tend to get the evangelical community in an uproar more than others.  Abortion, homosexuality, New Age and others are some of those things.

But people can ignite a community as well.  Chances are that the picture above moved you to one side of the line or the other.  It’s a little tougher to remain neutral with some things.