Okay, I admit from the start this might be the weirdest post ever but I just got to say, God's provision is amazing whether you can explain it or not. In this case I can't. This will always be one of those things that make you go hmmmm....

I got up early today. Spent some great time in God's Word and in prayer. I'm working through Beth Moore's Believing God Bible Study. At 8:10 I got on my bike while it was still cool with the goal of riding to Missouri and back on the Indian Creek Trail. It is a 40 mile or so ride. 

I was a little over halfway to Missouri when I came around a corner a little too fast. I was coming down a hill and making a right turn. Another biker was coming directly at me so I hit my brakes. When I did I started sliding on some real fine dirt left on the trail the last time the river washed over it a few days ago. My back tire went out from under me and my right knee hit the pavement. I skidded along picking up skinned places and bruises. More than anything I was disgusted I lost control. I noticed later on the way back that the trail slopes off toward the creek there instead of staying flat or better yet banking with the turn. 

Once I wrecked I knew I needed to get up quickly because the other biker would be right on me. But I wasn't sure I was all in one piece so I wasn't able to jump right up. This is where it gets weird. The first thing I saw when I looked up was a big man standing over me offering me his hand. I wasn't sure I wanted to admit I needed help but I didn't know if I could get up so I reached for him. He was wearing white spandex and was shirtless. He looked sweaty like he had been running. He had long white hair and he was strong like he was a weight-lifter. He helped me up and asked me if I was okay. Other bikers stopped too because the trail was busy today. My seat was sideways, my water bottle was halfway out but my chain was still on so I gingerly mounted my bike and continued my ride. My body worked okay despite being sore.

I kept riding of course because I had a goal. But as I rode off I began wondering, where did that guy come from. He wasn't behind me because I hadn't passed him. When I came around the corner what I saw was the other biker. But this guy got to me before the other biker who was moving pretty fast. The biker was the reason I hit my brakes. So who was this guy and how was he standing right there before the other biker even got to me. I was afraid the other biker would hit me that is why I knew I needed to get up fast but somehow this guy got there first. This is one of the strangest things I've ever experienced. Do angels wear white spandex and run shirtless? There was a bridge and an underpass for the path nearby, I guess he could have been there but if so why didn't I see him because it was directly ahead. Was he in the shadow but if he was how did he get to me so fast? Anyway, I guess I'll never know but I really appreciated his help. Whoever he was and wherever he came from he was God's provision and I'll take it.

I'm working through the Beth Moore Bible Study, Believing God. It is just right for many reasons and recently I learned something that I will never forget. I don't have the workbook with me so if you want to know the details you'll have to do your own research but here's what I do know. Thank you Beth!

When God spoke the world into existence the Hebrew word for "created" means "from nothing". We might say nothing existed before He created it. He spoke the world into being. However when the Bible says that God created Adam and Eve there is a different Hebrew word used. He "created" them from existing matter, from the dust of the earth. I like to think that God was willing to get His hands dirty in creating us. There is something meaningful to me that God shaped us with His hands and then blew His breath in us so we could have a living soul. So it is no surprise that when we die our body, made of the earth, stays here. While our soul, made from that which is eternal, lives forever. 

Here is where it gets good, when God says he creates in us a clean heart, the scriptures use the word for--guess which one--from scratch. Isn't that great? He doesn't use the recycled material of a heart gone wrong. He starts fresh. He creates a new heart from nothing! So when you are forgiven you are not just made new as in renewed--your heart is brand new--as in never soiled! That really encourages me. It makes me appreciate grace and God who gives it more than ever. I hope it does you too!

Belinda and I are studying Beth Moore’s Bible study, Breaking Free. I’m in week 4 now and I’m grateful for a study that pushes me spiritually. I’m digging into the scriptures and praying as if my life depended on it—because it does. We are exploring the “ancient ruins” of our lives and determining whether we are preserving them or rebuilding. We’ve determined to face the truth at all cost and give God complete authority to call us on anything. It is a painful study in some ways and very healing and freeing in other ways.

I am conscious today of the reality that it is very possible to pray without communing with God, to sing without really worshipping, to serve without being refueled by love as we serve. In other words we can have the form of Christianity without the reality. I refuse to live there.

I want to see Christ revealed in my life in ever-increasing ways. I’ve been a follower of Christ for many years but it is repulsive to me to go through the motions. I want to experience the reality of Christ so powerfully that every day is a new adventure with Him. I want to see His miraculous provision in my daily life. I want to obey so passionately that it is apparent that the kingdom of God has come to earth.