Dave Bosquez.com
My space to capture my personal growth… out loud. Sometimes I try to be clever… if you say the title real fast you’ll hear two song titles!!
My personal site seems to be leaning towards my growth in my relationship with the LORD.
And with my Emerging Man project moving forward, my spiritual experiences are lending themselves to that endeavor as well.
Amos, Moses, Me and the apostle Paul each have had a personal experience with the LORD. More than one actually, but we’ll just focus on one today.
Moses had his burning bush; Paul had his encounter on the road to Damascus; and Amos was just out tending his flock, and tending to his sycamore-fig tree’s… when the LORD said, “Hey, Amos… I need you to do something.”
I love Amos’s words when confronted by Amaziah the priest of Bethel, he tells Amos… “Get out!!”
And Amos responds…
“Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” ~ Amos 7:14-15
So what is he saying? He’s saying… “Hey, look, I was minding my own business, you got issues… take em’ up with the LORD.”
Talking with other Christians is, who read their Bible is easy, “they get it.”
Talking with people who are not, and who do not… is hard.
It’s like being on a two man pool team, shooting a game of 8 Ball.
I’m on one end of the table, and can clearly see my partner has a bad angle on the next shot.
But he’s adamant that he can make the shot; and he won’t even walk the table once to get ALL the angles; and a little different perspective. [No pool player ever, doesn’t walk the table, but it’s just an example]
For instance… people today who don’t read the bible, may think God is God, but that He doesn’t work that way anymore.
So it’s hard to explain when we have our own personal experiences with Him. Or when He asks us to check in on somebody.
Part of my calling, which is becoming clearer, is to take these experiences, break em’ down into a manageable thought string, and provide the world at large with a “simpler to understand” article that may shed some light on Him and His Word.
So… here goes…
I was having a bad mental couple of days. But now in life instead of becoming lost in the vice like grip that causes a real stress headache, I start asking questions, usually of The Holy Spirit.
I still suffer through the headache, but I know now that there is a lesson in there somewhere.
He said, “What have you learned in the Word about you and your wife?”
Whoa, what?
Headache, headache, headache.
Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public.
Headache, headache, headache.
As the battle got tighter, I just kept thinking and repeating those words… “Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public… Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public… Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public… Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public.”
Then… now pay attention here… there is something very important that happens, a few things actually, so… watch.
Then, Jesus Himself says, “Hey, Dave… come up here by me.”
I thought I was with you???
“Just get up here.”
So I climbed up, to where He was standing.
“Look… what do you see?”
And instead of seeing a “battle field” I saw… my wife, my dogs, and my 4th year college student, sleeping on the couch… when she was supposed to be doing laundry.
So that’s what I told Him.
“What sticks out to you?”
My wife does.
“What were the words you garnered from my Word again?”
Well… I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public.
“Now stand here, where I am…”
I slide over. [Think… game of 8 Ball analogy.]
“Now… say those words, as if you were me.”
“I can’t divorce her; I can’t hurt her; I can’t be mean, verbally; I can’t bad mouth her out in public.”
“From my perspective… now what do you see?”
My wife… but…
“But what?”
She’s the world. She’s all people. You can’t divorce her…
“What comes to mind when you think divorce?”
Someone walking away. Calling it quits.
You don’t do that. If anyone walks away it’s us… turning and walking away from you. But some of your verses also came to mind… “all day long I hold my hands out to an obstinate people,” “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered,” and this one was pretty loud…
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
And as I recited His words back to Him, standing and looking at things from His perspective, He looked at me and gave me a “knowing” smile.
And as I looked around, I understood, I understood that I have “increased enough to possess” these words; and principles; and… responsibilities.
Using my wife as an example, literally, “brought it home” to me, on how I am to approach the World.
A quote from author Toni Morrison, gives me the template in my approach…
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
I wish someone would have written some of the stuff I had to write, the way… the simple way… that I wrote it. I think that’s my niche.
Writing about hard topics in a simple, real life, “what does it look like” manner.
I’ve moved a couple of hearts so far doing that. Kinda cool.
There’s only one guy I know who can make that happen.
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