There's this TV commercial about a 70 year-old man who's getting ready to retire from a car racing and restoration business. He's been at it for most of his life. As he's departing the business another 70 year-old man enters in. He's about to begin a new career, the racing and car restoration business. I love that commercial, as it depicts the old guard leaving, while a new man comes in to find a new re-invented LIFE.
I thought about this as the Lord has actually led me through a couple of times in my life of reinvention. As a matter of fact, I'm finding myself there, now. Again.
How many times have you heard about people saying, "I need to reinvent myself." It's a need. It's something that some people need to do. It's a good thing. Perhaps, you're one person who has lived your life through a mundane, boring and otherwise, uneventful career/life. You want and need a challenge. You want excitement. You want fulfillment. Or maybe, you just mucked up your whole life and you want to start over. I'm telling you, right now, YES it's OK to want to start a new life. It's OK to reinvent yourself.
I want to give you some examples of how God reinvented some lives. Take Moses, for instance. Moses started out being a Hebrew baby, who then was adopted by the Egyptians and then became a Prince. One day he discovered his true identity. He killed a man, rather by accident. He fled the scene. He left Egypt. He ended up with Jethro and the Midianites. So here's Moses becoming a shepherd, a far cry from what he was before. Soon he has the encounter with the burning bush. God speaks to him and tells him that he's going to turn him into a Deliverer. God sends Moses back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, and tells him, "Let my People go." In short, you can say that Moses became more than he ever thought he would be, certainly more than he was, a Hebrew. But today, we look at him as a hero.
Then, there's the story of Abram. Abram was hand-picked by God. God asked him to leave his country and he did. God began to make all these great and wonderful promises to Abram, told him he would have a son even at a ripe old age. And God told him he would be, "the father of many nations." El Shaddai forced Abram into a position of supernatural faith. How? He changed his name to Abraham, meaning 'Father of a multitude' or 'Father of many nations'. So, every time he greeted somebody, he would say, "Hi, I'm the father of many nations." Even though still child-less, he would tell his name to everybody, and hear it from everybody! In this way, Abraham heard every day the meaning of his name, every single time he spoke his name to somebody. That powerful concept went down into his spirit and helped build his inner faith. The "new image" was working on the inside of him, to create his new "self". This went on for almost a year, the end result being his faith kicked in, amazingly. Before you knew it, bingo, his wife had a son whom they called, "Laughter" (Isaac).
Now, let's not forget Simon-Peter, the old salty fisherman that Jesus chose to be one of his disciples and an apostle. Simon's name means "he has heard" . . . but Jesus insisted on calling him Peter, instead. Peter, "The Rock." Why did Jesus do this? Well, Peter wasn't exactly what you would call, a super-committed guy. Jesus knew that he vascillated on things. By Jesus calling Peter, "the rock," he introduced the character trait of stability into Peter's life, not to mention that he ended up being quite an outstanding apostle as well.
Now back to me!
Jesus saved me in 1974. That's when he came into my life! Pow! It was powerful. I was on fire for Jesus, and wanted to tell the whole world about him. But through time, religion came to mess with my head and life, and it wasn't so rosy. In 1985, God came to me and spoke to me saying, "I'm sending you far away and starting all over with you." I ended up going to California. That's about 1987 then . . . the year that "God overhauled my heart". The Lord had to get rid of all the "doctrine-head" I had, and teach me LOVE. I got filled with the Spirit again, and I had the "divine triangle" fixed in my heart -- I was a changed man.
In 2006, the Lord came to me again and said, "I'm returning you to your 'rock roots'". I spent years in ministry, including music ministry, and He was trying to show me that I wasn't being 'true to myself', in essence, not really "me". Oh I loved CCM and christian rock, but there was more. Hey, I like Pink Floyd and Deep Purple and Yes and Jethro Tull, and prog rock music too! That was the time that we developed, with God's help "The Music of DLivahh". Music that Delivers. I wanted to produce real music that also had the element of deliverance in it. I wanted to express the artistry that God had already put in me, that was formerly squelched by others. I also had a prophecy saying that God was going to use me in "the industry".
Lastly, but not final or least, I sense that The Lord Jesus and His Spirit are on the move again, in my life to re=invent me into something ... something I hope is greater than what I have experienced before. To do all that he has laid upon my heart to do, and to utilize ALL the talents that he has bestowed upon me . . . and to operate "outside of the box" as a "radical pastor", teacher, blogger, author, musician, deliverance minister, humorist, voice=over guy, as well as just being plain ol' me … The Eccentric Tony that is a husband and father and friend and lover of Jesus, not limited by opinions or religion or anyone that can't understand this:
I can't just focus on doing ONE THING only!
I Like doing many things! I have been blessed with several talents.
I tried "focusing on one thing". Doesn't work for me.
I have to do ALL the stuff, and I think I do several things "pretty good" … I work at it really hard and I've seen some successes. And so, even while it looks like I'm "all over the map", I'm really just expressing myself the best way I know how, wearing many hats, but enjoying the ride just the same!
How about you? Do you need to "re=invent your self"?
(What's wrong with a little "new improved you", huh?)
Let God Almighty do it … He's really good at it!
Very good and encouraging.
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