EXCERPT from GROWING THE SPIRIT CHAPTER 1 JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY The phone is ringing, ringing, ringing me. Hello, hello, will you please take the call? Wrong number, I say somewhat loftily. Dial over, Im on my way to the mall. Im very busy, no time now, I say, And, stranger, I have none to waste, you see. Cant you take just a minute out today? Real danger faces your souls last destiny. No, I wont force you to pick up the phone. My love for you is just too great for that. Yet this same love makes me forever prone To always be with you to ask just that. The phone is ringing, ringingshould I stop Accept the Spirits gifts from Gods own shop? On a bright December day just before Christmas, small powder puff clouds dotted the sky as a gentle breeze rolled them through the Heavens. Lew sat alone at his desk. The phones were silent. His heart was at peace. He had time to reflect on the sum total of his life, or just savor the calm of the moment. Forty-nine years had passed. Lew had enjoyed reasonable success. Though he had no great wealth of material things, he lived in a comfortable house, had plenty to eat, his own transportation, and a little fun-money. More importantly, he enjoyed the fruits of the Spirit. He felt close to God and communed with Him on a regular basis. His wife, the source of his earthly comfort, loved him, and so did his blind mother who shared their home. He led an active life of bowling, golfing, lifting weights, teaching Sunday school, and singing in the volunteer choir at work and at church. Lew was getting to that stage of life where he had vivid memories of things that happened thirty or forty years ago, but could remember little of what happened two weeks ago. In his mind he saw a little cotton-top five-year-old, wearing patched overalls with a broken strap tied at the shoulder, sliding down a sawdust pile in rural north Georgia. From there he raced through the meadow to splash into the icy mountain creek that yielded chestnuts from its banks. That little boy never dreamed he would be where he was today, doing what he was doing, thinking what he was thinking. ... The phone startled him to reality. Lew Adams. Can I help you? This is Doug Harris in Macon. I dont understand why we didnt meet our counseling standards. These statistics must be wrong. This was a typical phone call on a typical workday. Lew carefully explained how the standards were derived and how they rolled up into a grand total by which the individual offices were judged. When he hung up the phone, he laughed to himself. There was no sexy redhead pounding on his door begging for help, no shot in the dark, no lost diamond brooch, and no great mystery to solve. If his day was shown on television it could cure insomnia. But little did he realize that he was about to undertake the greatest adventure of his life. He had finished his prayers. He enjoyed talking to God while driving home. Now he had begun wrestling numbers to see how far the budget would stretch to cover his familys monthly bills. Suddenly he felt like he was floating. What a strange sensationlike being in total harmony with the energy of the universe. He was aware of being, but had no idea whether he was alive or dead. Whats going on? he blurted out. We are God. Lew was stunned, as though his jaws were wired shut. We are God. Welcome to Our home. Looking around him, Lew found everything inexplicably beautiful, the prettiest he had ever seen. Yet this place seemed familiar. He felt that he was home, as if he were stretched out on the oversized, tattered sofa in his little frame house. Yet brilliant lights permeated the atmosphere, though the sun was not visible. He finally uttered, We? I am God the Father. I am God the Son. I am God the Holy Spirit. We are One. We are God. Lew was dumbfounded. Habits are powerfulhe answered like he was on the phone at work: Can I help You? God laughed and replied, Yes, Lew, We think you can help Us. We have chosen you to be an interpreter. Still dazed, he replied, Uh, OK. God said, We have sent great leaders, great rulers, great prophets, and great teachers to Earth. We came to Earth as a man named Jesus. We gave all believers Our Spirit to help them understand Us more fully, though it saddens Us that so few people use Our gift. The man stared into space before he could muster something to say. You want me to do what? We have selected you to show people how to tap into the Holy Spirit. Well ... am I dead? Our children never die. However, We understand your question. You are still in the state you call physical existence. To Us, it is just a stage in your development. You mean Im alive? Yes. Mr. God ... Lew said as his face flushed with embarrassment. He was so tongue-tied he couldnt think of how to show proper respect to the all-powerful Creator. I dont know how I can help. Im not Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John, Peter or Paul. And forgive me, but my lifestyle is far removed from the example set by Jesus. We know exactly who you are. After all, We created you. But We have given freedom of choice to all Our children. You may answer yes or no to Our request. Either way, We will love you. Lord, I mean no disrespect, but I dont see how I can save the world, he responded as intense discomfort gnawed at him. We do not ask you to save the world. We have already given the world salvation. We want you to help make the Spirit a conscious realization, to demonstrate how to tap into the Spiritual reservoir.
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