The Pursuit---Part 1.

A Short Story by Pastor Steve Gardner

Julie sat quietly at her kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. She was lost in thought and contemplation concerning her faith. Not that she was questioning her faith; because she had lived for Jesus since that year at Youth Camp when she surrendered her life to His Lordship. Since that time, she has lived as a genuine Follower of Christ, seeking more of Him through reading His Word, prayer, and fellowship. She even attended a Christian college to be in an environment conducive to her faith as she pursued her degree in Early Childhood Education. She graduated, got her teaching certificate, and began teaching at a little Country school not too far from where she rented a small house. She had always been a “Country-Girl” at heart, even though she was born and raised in the city. There was something that beckoned to her whenever she was out in the country, and she always felt at peace there. So, with her graduation and certificate in hand, and her dog “Beaker” by her side, she packed up and moved to the country! Now, she felt at home, and with her career fully before her and her faith to guide her, she was as ready as she could be for her future.

Julie began looking for a church to attend that matched her passion for Christ. She tried several within about a 25 mile radius from her home, but it was through a colleague at work that told her about her church, and when invited, Julie went. She was warmly greeted and the worship was very anointed and inspired. The Pastor preached a powerful Word that seemed to “burn” into her heart! The message that very first day was entitled: “The God Who Has Your Future!” With Julie newly engaged in her future, this message added a strength and comfort that Julie felt reassuring. She was HOME! Within a matter of a few weeks, Julie went forward and officially joined the church! That was two years ago, and now today, Julie sits at her kitchen table sipping coffee, lost in thought and contemplation concerning her faith.

Again, her contemplation was not about “leaving” her faith, or anything like that, her contemplation was that of a huge “ACHE” that began within her heart as she was doing an in depth study of the Gospels and Acts. She read about powerful moves of the Holy Spirit and incredible demonstrations of His power that always validated the proclaiming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! People who were idol worshipers were so deeply impacted when the Early Followers of Jesus were used by the Holy Spirit through signs, wonders, miracles, healings, and other powerful validations of the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ, and His Kingdom message! To her, it went something like this: The Followers of Jesus would go to areas where non-Jesus Followers were living and conducting business. The Holy Spirit would lead them to a person or group of people who needed a powerful encounter from God, and then the Holy Spirit would “USE” them in one form or another of the miraculous! Then they would proceed to tell them that they had been healed; or delivered; or even brought back to life, by the Lord Jesus Christ! They would then share the Good News of salvation and about having a right Relationship with the One and Only God, through His Son, Jesus Christ! Julie’s heart ACHED for that kind of, what she referred to as……..”JESUS POWER!” She wasn't interested in gaining a reputation as a “HEALER” nor was she looking for anything that even remotely elevated her name or persona! She was ……….HUNGRY! Hungry for more of the Glory of Jesus Christ; hungry for more of what she read in the New Testament and what those early Followers of Jesus considered the “NORM!” She was hungry for……………………THAT! She loved Jesus, but when she looked at what she, and all of her friends who followed Jesus, were describing and living, as what it meant to be a “CHRISTIAN,” she felt a great “disconnect” from what she read as everyday life for Early Followers of Jesus. She loved her Pastor; she love her church; she loved her Brothers and Sisters in the Faith; but she loved Jesus even more, and so for the past two months, she had been praying for…………………MORE!

Unknown to Julie, at that exact same time in a quiet bedroom in a little house across town, Julie’s Pastor was praying! He was weeping and praying for MORE of the Glory of the Lord, and MORE of the Power of the Holy Spirit to be manifested within his ministry; his family; and his Church! Through powerful and really good worship, and incredible moves of the Holy Spirit, a “FIRE” had been ignited within his soul! So, this pastor humbled himself and prayed to his Lord……………..”Please, Lord, ……..more of YOU!” Words spilled from his mouth, …..no, from his soul that seemed to emanate from the very ache he felt within his heart! He genuinely loved God, and loved being one of his True Shepherds, but what the Church in America, the very “BODY” of Christ, had been reduced to, had created a weight and burden that could not be satisfied any longer with “Good Moral Lessons” of Jesus Christ! He asked himself, his wife, his peers, and now even His Lord;…….”Where is the POWER?” The power he had preached about SO many times from the New Testament, but was almost completely “absent” from most of the Church services he had been involved in. And now that he began this reflective prayerful seeking of the Lord, his heart cried out for………..MORE! The “Great-Disconnect” between Christian life and faith today, and what he had studied and preached for 21 years now, had become so glaringly blatant, that to ignore it and give a good Christian homily, would no longer satisfy!

What Julie did not know as she sipped her coffee and contemplated what God was doing within her heart, was the man standing in the corner of her kitchen! If fact, she COULDN'T see him! This man was quite astute at remaining “UNSEEN” until the command was given to make himself known! He was on assignment! Assignment from His Lord and Master, Jesus Christ! He was one of His Ministering Angels that was often dispatched to one of His Lord’s Human Followers. And even if she could see him, she wouldn’t recognize his attire. It was not a “modern” outfit, nor was it what most humans would consider as, well,……….normal! He wore a type of robe that glimmered with an appearance of white refined gold! He was about 8-feet tall, had arms and legs like humans, but had two wings that when outstretched, had a wing-span of approximately 9-feet! Strapped to his side was a double-edged sword that, because of its weight, could not even be held by most humans! That sword had helped him in many battles against his former brothers, who were now darkened fallen angels that rebelled with Lucifer. He wielded that sword with Ninja like skill that any Martial artist would envy! That sword, whenever he drew it, would glow like translucent gold! Actually, that sword glowed because it was empowered by the very Words of God! The Lords Words, well they’re sharp and they,………….CUT! And that sword, sharpened and empowered by the very Words of God, had served this warrior of the Lord very well!

…….TO BE CONTINUED!