Wherever They Went

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went ( Acts 8:4)

Their homes had been destroyed or confiscated. Their friends had been captured, mutilated, or killed. Havoc seared the streets of Jerusalem. Thousands fled. Though they were displaced and had little to nothing of material possessions, they had the most priceless of treasures within their hearts—the knowledge that Messiah had come. Instead of burrowing within their sorrows, they praised God and preached the Good News to others. No wonder people listened. For what power made these people rejoice in their losses?

I wonder how I respond in difficult circumstances. Would anyone ask, “What gives you the grace to endure?” Would I rejoice in the opportunities my misfortune provides to exalt his name?

Sharing Can Bring Blessings

A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25).

I don’t think this means that if we give a hundred dollars to charity, we’ll win the lottery. I don’t even think it means that if we give a man our coat, we won’t be cold. If we only have one coat, we can still share. By wrapping around the two of you, you'll get the benefit from their body heat. Thereby, both are the warmer for the sharing.

Support our Leaders

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

How often we forget the work of our leaders. Most of them give of themselves not for their own betterment but as a gift of service. How do we respond when their work fails to meet our expectations? We become critical and even think perhaps someone else would do a better job. We are very quick to identify their weaknesses, and even quicker to make sure we tell them of our knowledge. We think we are supportive when we tell them how they should go about their work.

According to this scripture, we are going about it all wrong. We should be in constant remembrance of the motivation that drives our leaders forward. And we should give thanks for their labors.

Woman Interrupted

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “he told me everything I ever did.” John 4:39 NIV

Jesus confronted the woman at the well. There were many odd things about this event. First, that he came to the well when she did. She’d been scorned by her village for her unholy union. She’d had five husbands and now lived with a man not her husband. She went to the well alone because no one offered her anything but hatred. Even by today’s loose standards, this woman might be fodder for gossip. Secondly, Jesus talked to the woman. She had been used to people turning their heads and pretending they did not know her. Then Jesus did something even more amazing. He told her about herself. He did not point a finger at her and cry out for all to hear, “Sinner!” No, he pointed out her current situation to show her life had something better in store. When Jesus confronts, he does not condemn. He opens a door to abundant living. She no longer needed the degradation. She cast it off. And her joy rippled through the village like a contagion. I wonder. If she were at our well today, who of the village would I represent? Would I be one who chided or avoided? Or would I put an arm around her and point her to a new direction?

To Whom Does The Day Belong?

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1 NIV)

My elderly Mother, even under the ravages of advancing Alzheimer’s Disease, still corrects me when I state with any confidence that I’m going to do such and such tomorrow. “Lord willing,” she says. Since I was a young teenager, Mother has faithfully surrendered the day’s priorities to God. That year, she’d been asked to teach Vacation Bible School and promised she’d be there ready to go. Mondays were dedicated to laundry. Mother would not leave her family without clean clothes so rose exceptionally early to do the laundry before leaving for church. These were the days before automatic washing machines. Laundry took much time and energy. I awoke to moans and groans, and found my mother face down on the floor. I helped her to the couch and notified the VBS director that my mother was ill. I’d never seen her so sick before. By the next day, the virus past and Mother was back to her industrious self. But, from that day on, she made certain to give God charge of each and every day of her life.

We Are Not Called to Do but to Be

Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed
(Isaiah 55:13 NIV)

Earlier in the chapter Isaiah, speaking in God’s view, points out the promise of redemption. For a time Israel must endure God’s chastisement because of her disobedience. But God remembers His covenant with her, and He will renew her to her former glory. He promises prosperity, not in gold or wealth, but in spiritual richness. Just as the rain and snow descend on the earth, watering and nurturing the soil before it evaporates back to the air, God has planned that His Spirit will germinate and replenish our souls. The soil cannot demand the rain to fall. God designs the weather. The soil cannot brag for the flowers that grow. It is God’s faithfulness that brings about the bloom. Likewise, the believer cannot reap fulfillment by the deeds and work of his hands. Joy comes solely from intimacy with God. Christians delude themselves into believing they are called to a special task. Their joy is cheapened by their pride. While God does ask us to do certain things, our value to God is not in the doing but the being. Oswald Chambers writes, “God calls to no special task: He calls to Himself.” Our task is to pray; He will engineer the rest

Throwing Off Our Fears

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1 – 2).

No condemnation except that which I pass onto myself. Our human remembrance of our sin reaches far deeper than God’s. He forgets them, erases them from His existence. Yet, we display them like trophies.

The same holds true of our mistakes and failures. If we have confessed them and handed them over to God, they are no longer ours. So why do we take them back on our shoulders? Let us throw off any hindrance to the good work God wants us to do. Let us throw off our fears and doubts, our frustrations and feelings of futility. They have no place within the task God has given us to do.