Let's help the hurting people of this world!

Please take notice to the people in your life who are dealing with depression or some mental illness.  Instead of walking away or thinking they are being dramatic come to them with tenderness and love and lift them up, instead of pushing them down.  We are the hands and the feet of Jesus, and He never turned away from one that was hurting or in need of His healing.  We can and should always be as Jesus is and help the hurting people of this world.  Take note to the person standing beside you or the sad child who walks by himself, and be the one to make a change in their life by offering your words of encouragement and friendship.  It is up to us to not allow another person to lose their life because they feel alone or not worthy of life.  Every person is valuable and every person is loved.  Remember this when you cast judgment or make a joke at someone else's expense.  We don't feel their pain, but their pain is real.  Let's make a change and save God's children!

Complete Confidence in God's word

Acts 27:22-25  But (even) now I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship (23) For this (very) night there stood by my side and angel of the God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship, (24) and he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you. (25) So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me.

Imagine being on a boat for weeks, maybe even months, and knowing that you are nearing death and hearing those words come from one of your fellow crew mates.  

 The words that Paul spoke were very strong words, they were not weakly spoken words, left open for interpretation those words were clear, concise and to the point.  They gave clear direction to what everyone was to do and how they were to think.

Imagine the thoughts of these men who are trapped in what is described to be a typhoon.  They haven’t had anything to eat in days and are throwing furniture and supplies overboard to keep control of the ship.  The words that Paul spoke are going to either drive you mad in anger or they are going to soothe your soul.

Also, keep in mind that Paul is on this boat because he has been in jail for over two years now for disturbing the “peace” in the temple by the Jews.  They caught Paul performing purification rituals with other Jews, I might add, and a riot broke out.  This riot ensued over the detest of Paul and his belief in the resurrection of Jesus.   Some of the Jews from the province of Asia were there and they do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus and do not condone Paul’s teaching of Jesus and had Paul put into jail.

They had planned to kill Paul but every plan they had come up with had been foiled and every attempt they had to have him put to death or sentenced to jail has also been ruined, so this brings us to Paul’s travels to Italy on this boat.

Paul has been put through the ringer, as they say, and still he is standing firm in his faith and belief in God.  He is still so very connected to God through all of this that God sent an angel of the Lord to deliver Paul a message of safety.   From the beginning of this trip Paul had tried to persuade them into waiting till a better season for traveling by sea and here they are right in the mess that Paul had said would happen. 

I wonder if in the moment of Paul’s Prophecy if anyone had an “I should have listened to him” moment.  You know we have all had them.  We have all had that feeling that maybe we shouldn’t do something and then it’s confirmed by a not so random comment, but we go anyway.  We go anyway only to find ourselves in some kind of situation wishing that we would have listened to that small voice inside of us telling us not to go. 

By the way, that small voice is the voice of the Holy Spirit, telling you or trying to direct you on what is right and wrong for your life.  Paul in this case was the only one who was bold enough to voice what his inner voice was telling him. 

These four verses can speak a world of wisdom in their simplistic form.  They can speak life to any situation you are in.  You don’t have to be stranded on a boat in the middle of a typhoon for these verses to be relevant.  You can be sitting at your desk in the middle of a normal day and these verses are relevant, yes, even over 2000 years later.

These verses show us that yes, we are going to have problems and sometimes they are going to be severe problems, but no matter what they are whether the storm is big or small, have good cheer.  Be in good spirits and try to stay positive about your situation.  Paul actually says the words I beg you. 

I BEG YOU!

That’s a big request, which to me says that this is something very important.  It must be something that I have to do on purpose and put effort behind.  I need to work at this staying in good cheer and spirits.  That this isn’t going to be my natural inclination when a storm comes, but it should be the outlook I have on purpose. 

Verse 23 tells me that as long as I am serving, worshiping and belong to God that no matter where I am or what is going on He will send protection to my aid.  Verse 23 reminds me that as long as I cling to my God, my Savior, He will not turn His face from me.  He will make a way for me to have comfort in the midst of the storm.  He will make a way out and give me reassurance that even though it looks grim right now, don’t worry, be of good cheer and spirit because the God you serve, the Lord your Savior has got your back.  

I love that in verse 24 the angel of God tells Paul that he has a task to perform and since that task has not been completed put your rest and confidence in God, that you will be safe and all that are with you will be safe.  

And finally, the big verse, or the power ballad at the end of the movie, verse 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me;

I almost don’t have words for that other than… Paul believed that statement!  That verse was Paul’s life.  His faith was extraordinary.  He’s belief and confidence in God was paramount.  His ability to lay back on the chest of God and know that He will take care of things was and is one to be imitated.

Paul’s faith was unshakable even in the shakiest of seasons.  Paul had every reason to question God, here he was in a boat on his way to Italy after being in jail for years and God could have taken care of this like he did before.  We don’t see anywhere where Paul complained or his faith waned.  No, we see the opposite.  We see Paul trying to bring people, being King Agrippa and his wife Bernice to know Jesus in the middle of pleading for his life.

Paul’s testimony is rock solid and never changes.  He stands on the word of God and his intimate experience with Jesus.   What do we stand on?  Would we have been one of the people to get angry with Paul after his declaration on the boat or would we have been filled with thanksgiving for God’s hand of grace and mercy? 

It’s hard to say exactly what you would do because we are not in that exact situation but we can take a look at our lives and see if we lean more towards the faith of Paul or the lack of faith of Saul.  We have the ability to use the life of one man and make the same adjustments that he made.

Paul decided and stood on his decision to worship, praise, serve and belong to God the Almighty.  I personally really love the belong too part.  I belong to God… that just sounds really good.   It makes my heart leap in my chest.  We can all be like Paul.  We can stand on the storms of our everyday lives and choose as he did to be of good spirits and take heart, ask God for help, listen for His advice and then have faith that He will do exactly as He said He will do.

There are many…many, verses in the Bible that are life changing, life giving verses and many people that we can admire and look up to but for me, these four verses are four that I need to tuck into my heart, mind and spirit.  I need to rely on these verses and put them to memory.  I need to use these verses to strengthen me in times of struggle or times of doubt.

I need to look at the transformation of Paul’s life when I am wondering if God can do exactly as He has promised me He will do in my life.  Acts 27: 22-25 have been profoundly eye opening for me, and faith building scripture that I intend to make my own, I encourage you to do the same, if you, like me find yourself at times, struggling to hold on to that mustard seed of faith.

You too can be transformed!!

In Acts 16:16 we find Paul and Silas traveling to a place of prayer when they came across a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination, claiming to foretell future events and disclose hidden knowledge.   After days of being followed by this slave girl Paul finally had enough of her shouting and murmurings that he demanded the spirit leave her in the name of Jesus Christ, and so the spirit fled her at that very moment. 

Now, to us, well to me, this sounds like Paul did a good thing.  Paul freed her from living in sin and with a demonic spirit, but that is not how the owners of this slave girl felt. They were so enraged with Paul’s actions that they had him and Silas brought before the magistrates.  They found both of them guilty and the penalty was to be disrobed and then beaten with rods, shackled and thrown into the inner jail, or better known as the dungeon. 

While in there Paul and Silas, around Midnight were praying and singing songs to praise God, and the fellow inmates were listening.   Verse 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and every one’s shackles were unfastened. (27) When the jailer, startled out of his sleep, saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, because he supposed that the prisoners escaped. (28) But Paul shouted; Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!

How incredible is this!  And it gets better, but first things first.   So you are in jail, for healing a slave girl of her spirits, beaten, and then you are shackled.   What would most people do in this situation?  Do you think most people would be praising God and praying to Him?   

Probably not!

I think most people would be crying and wracking their brains trying to figure out how to get out of there, or what is going to happen to them.  They are not going to be praising God in a situation like that… BUT Paul and Silas did!!

In my head God saw their utter devotion to Him, and since we know there is no pit to far or deep for the arm of God to reach, He did exactly what He needed to do, He shook the ground beneath them.  He set them free; by breaking the shackles clear off of them.

This is a metaphor for our lives, and a very good song by Mary Mary, but if we praise God in the middle of an unfavorable situation we are showing God our devotion, and He must move.  He must make a way, whether it is by sending an Angel to set you free, or causing an earthquake to disturb the ground, He will set you free!   Remember He is our shepherd, and He will go looking for the one out of the 100 that is missing.

Now, as if this isn’t enough, you know God rattling the ground to set Paul and Silas free, here is the clincher, they didn’t leave!  They stayed put.   Why did they stay put, because God didn’t tell them to move.  Why didn’t God tell them to move, because He was getting ready to use this situation to bring a family home to Him?

In Acts 16:28 when we see that Paul yelled out to the jailer to stop him from killing himself, because no one had escaped, you know that had to change the heart of the jailer.  Here are these two men who were beaten, shackled and thrown in a dungeon for no real reason, and they are still there, when they could have run, and on top of that, they saved his life. 

Where do you go from here… that’s right, right into the arms of your loving Savior, and that’s exactly what happened.  In verse 30 it says And he brought them out (of the dungeon) and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved?

God took the heart of a man, who just hours before was holding Paul and Silas prisoners for healing a slave girl, and set him free.  He is free to be a child of God.   The jailer and his household went on to accept Jesus and be baptized.  He also fed and bathed Paul and Silas.

Now, how is that for a transformation! 

God can take any situation you are in and turn it around for His good.  You would never have thought when you started reading these verses that the jailer would come out of it a believer and baptized in the Holy Spirit.  That’s not what our human minds expect the outcome to be, but you see we are not working within the confounds of our human minds, we are working with God.

God can do anything.  He is all things, He is the Alpha and the Omega, and He is light in the darkest of hearts.  He can take a catepillar and turn it into a beautiful Butterfly, so just imagine what He can do with you and me.

The jailer surrendered.  He reacted with a pure heart, after seeing what had happened around him, and the kindness of Paul.  His hardened heart had been softened towards God, and quickly he surrendered his life to Him.

Have you been trying to surrender your life to God and find it a little more difficult than the jailer did?  Yes, me too.   But the amazing thing is that catepillar didn’t turn into a butterfly overnight.  It took the catepillar some time to change, and become the magnificent creature we see floating through the air. 

Your path to God will come when you fully surrender and trust that He has you in His hands and protected.  Maybe you are like me, and it will take a little more coaxing, but we will get there, in the mean time we can be like Paul and Silas and praise His name where we are, glorify Him for blessing and loving us, exactly the way we are.

   

The Truth will set you FREE

We like to throw around the phrase “the truth will set you free”.    We use this phrase a lot of times as if there was no meaning behind it.   I bet if you asked someone where this phrase originated they wouldn’t be able to tell you the story behind the phrase, they would just know they have heard it and found themselves using the phrase.  

 

This has occurred many times with phrases from the Bible.  We have taken the phrase and reshaped it till the true meaning has been lost.   I was reading tonight and studying the Book of John, and came across this phrase.  Now, of course I have heard the phrase before, and have used it myself, and I knew that it was a Biblical phrase, but never really took the time to understand it, fully.  

Tonight this phrase was revealed to me in a different way.  Tonight I saw it as a way to divide the saved from the unsaved.  The sinners from the pure of heart.  The Believers from the unbelievers.   This phrase was no longer about being honest, and allowing that honesty to open up life to you, no, it’s about the dividing line between people who followed Jesus and those who did not. 

 

Jesus was teaching people in the Temple and the Jews had decided to enter into a verbal sparring with Jesus about his real identity.   I would have loved to see this take place as I am sure Jesus remained calm and collected during the entire conversation.   The Jews were sticking to one main point, one that Jesus clearly revealed many times over at this point, but this was their only point, and they were sticking with it.  They kept asking Jesus who he is.  While Jesus had answered this politely they were not able to hear what he was saying.  The thought that he was indeed the Son of God, was not a thought they were able to conceive, because their teaching had taught them something else, and since it didn’t fit the rule book they were taught on, it couldn’t possibly be true. 

The Jews kept missing that Jesus was saying, I am the Son of the Father that you read about and say that you love and worship, but yet, you don’t recognize his son.   Jesus began to prophesy to the people that he would be hung on a cross, and this is what it is going to take for them to understand he is who he says he is, but at that time, it will be too late.   

He went on to say in John 8:29-32  That the Father who sent him, Jesus, is with him always, and never leaves him alone and that Jesus always does what the Father tells him to do, so he is well pleased with him.   This is a message that we need desperately today.  We can’t enter Heaven or into relationship with God based on our works, our fleshly works.  We can only enter into Heaven and right relationship with God, by being obedient to his words.  Jesus is saying God, his Father, is well pleased with him because he sets himself to listen to his Father, and being obedient to his commands.  

As Jesus is talking he notices that there is a group of people that believe in him, have faith that he is who he says he is and he addresses them in John 8:31.   

He says if you abide in my word, hold fast to my teachings and live in accordance with them you are truly my disciples.  I am reading this from the Amplified Bible in Verse John 8:31.   He then goes on to say in the next verse, and here comes the phrase, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.   

Now, you see how we have changed the tone of this verse completely.  This verse isn’t about the truth as we see it; it’s about the Truth of believing.   The truth that will set you free is Jesus.  You are seeing him as who he says he is before he goes to the cross.  You are following him which makes you a disciple of his and his Father (God).   

We have made this a way to tell people that if they speak truth that it will set them free, and that is true, but in such a water down form, that it loses the true impact of the statement.    Jesus is saying here if you want to be free, if you want to understand real freedom follow me.  Listen to what I am telling you and follow what your heart is revealing to you is truth.  You don’t need a book to tell you who the Son of God is or who he isn’t, you need to allow your inner witness to lead you to the truth, and that will set you free.   

Jesus is getting ready to perform the ultimate sacrifice in setting all the captives free, by going to the cross, and the way you receive his free gift, is by believing he is who he says he is.   

We make it so much harder than it needs to be!  All we are commanded to do is Believe.  Just Believe, and you will receive Jesus.  Jesus will lead you to the Truth and that equals Freedom!!!   

We have become such a society of only believing what we see, myself included, but in this section of John 8, Jesus is clearly saying to the Jews, stop being so rigid and factual.  Stop only believing what your eyes can see and believe what your heart is telling you.  If you put down the books that you have made your law and realize that life is happening all around you, they would have recognized that Jesus was the Son of God.  

Let’s not be so focused and continue to be like the Jews with blinders on, and look around at the world and believe what we don’t see.   Let’s see the beauty in people that might not be surfacing as of yet.  Let’s see past a person’s actions, and into their hearts, and recognize them as a child of God.  Why don’t we take a chance and let down the guards we are all carrying around and expose ourselves the way that Jesus did, and let people see our Truth.

 

Who is ruling your life Darkness or the Light of God?

Acts 8:9  But there was a man named Simon, who had formerly practiced magic arts in the city to the utter amazement of the Samaritan nation, claiming that he himself was an extraordinary and distinguished person. (10) They all paid earnest attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is that exhibition of the power of God which is called great (intense).

In reading these two verses tonight in Acts, I was actually amazed that people over 2000 years ago were dealing with acts of darkness.  I don’t know why I was so taken back by this, but I truly was.   It amazes me that for over 2000 years we have still believed and bought into the powers of darkness. 

I believe all of this “magic” talk and acts have diluted the understanding of God.  I think many people, including myself for some time, thought of God’s miracles as a “magic” trick.  I thought that is was some form of “magic” for lack of better word.  I feel like this confusion and ignorance still exists today.

I know that in any town, city or even rural area you can find a psychic, tarot card reader, palm reader or some variation of all three, who will claim to tell you your future, at a cost, of course.  I have in my past visited people who have read my palm, cards or told me my fortune, and some of them I foolishly believed.   I was among the population of people who didn’t realize that it was wrong for me to do this.   That by doing this I was personally inviting darkness into my life.

These two verses made me think of that time in my life, and made me ache for people who actually live their lives by this evil and darkness.   I thought it was interesting that people that long ago were also falling victim to the same traps we are still falling for today.  

In verse 10 where it states that people thought that this man Simon, was exhibiting the same power that God exhibited, was eye opening to me.  It opened my eyes to the way the deceiver, satan, can work wonders without us even questioning the acts.   Simon was walking around considering himself to be an extraordinary and a distinguished person, but his life was consumed by evil and darkness.  The people he came into contact with also, bought into the lies of satan.

Please tell me you see these things happening in our lives today.   We have more television shows glorifying the likes of black “magic” than I remember ever having.  There are more shows about vampires, ghosts, zombies and dark forces than I care to even recognize in the world today.  This is a way to glamorize, influence and water down, the effects of darkness and satan. 

When we are watching things like these as entertainment, we are glamorizing sin and destruction that has been in the world for thousands of years now.  We are giving it a stamp of approval.  I am not condemning anyone who watches these shows, as I wonder just like Simon; do they realize exactly what they are doing?

It says in Acts 8:12 But when they believed the good news (the Gospel) about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) as Philip preached it, they were baptized, both men and women. 

We see here the adjustments made when the light of Jesus entered into their hearts and minds.  We see that there was a change in their thinking and what was appropriate for them and what was not appropriate for them. 

When you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, which comes when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, your desires begin to change.  You begin to want to fill your life up with things that are pleasing to God.   Things that make Him happy and comfortable, the Holy Spirit will never be comfortable living in a place of darkness, as He is the bringer of light.   Both cannot exist in the same space, which is why the Holy Spirit and His light will chase the darkness out of not only you, but also your entertainment choices.

Now, we see that the people around Simon have changed, but what about Simon?  I am sure as the people changed around him, so did the glory and acceptance of him change.  I am sure Simon was confused and befuddled as Simon, was also misled to believing he was doing something that was good and acceptable to God.

In verse 13 we find out about Simon.  Even Simon himself believed (he adhered to, trusted in, and relied on the teaching of Philip), and after being baptized, devoted himself constantly to him.  And seeing signs and miracles of great power which were being performed, he was utterly amazed.

Simon was restored!  He was made whole!  I love this!! I want to clap and cheer as once again light has defeated darkness! 

The last sentence of verse 13 is powerful.  Remember Simon was the one who was performing “magic” acts, so when it says that after he saw signs and miracles he was utterly amazed.  His spirit connected with the truth of God’s signs and miracles.

Simon saw truth instead of darkness and lies.  His eyes were opened and he was informed of our Lord and Savior.   He had been deceived into thinking that he was acceptable and right, not only by  satan but also through the people around him, who were also being used by satan.   Simon was given a false sense of security that his actions were approved and acceptable, until he recognized where his approval and acceptance was coming from. 

When you live in a lifestyle that sin is acceptable it is very difficult to differentiate yourself from your acts of sin.  There is no one telling you that your behavior is wrong and that you are in fact harming yourself with your decisions.  When you encircle yourself with people, entertainment and behavior that are of the world, you will find it hard to step outside of the sin that you are committing.

They say a lot of people who have drug addiction problems will feel uncomfortable around people who do not use drugs.  They feel abnormal in those surroundings.  This is part of the problem when needing to break free from not only the addiction, but the surroundings that led you to that addiction. 

My mom has always told me that traditionally, you are like the company you keep.  I can say in most cases, she is right.  She would be so happy to hear me say that!!  The influences and distractions of people who are living a lifestyle similar to yours will give you a false sense of security, just as it did Simon.

BUT!!!!  Just as Simon was able to change, so are you!  Simon was given restoration when he saw the error of his ways, and accepted Jesus as his savior, and so can you!  There is a way to move away from the darkness of sin and sadness that has you en snarled.  There is a way out!  I promise you there is a way out! 

I wish I could take your hand and make you walk through the open door that is Jesus, but it is a decision you have to make for yourself.  This is a step that you must take on your own.  I know that it is scary.  I know that it is confusing and that there are a million questions with no answers right now, I know this, because I too, was like you are, and on the other side of that door.

I too have made poor decisions that were supported by the behavior of my friends.  I was living a lifestyle that was not conducive to prosperity or happiness.  I was living for the feelings of the moment instead of the life ahead of me.   I have done drugs, gone to psychics, have had many different sexual partners, have lied, have committed adultery, I have done a lot… so I know the way it feels to live on the other side of God.

I can tell you, that living my life for God, is so much better than the life that I was living before.  The hope of tomorrow, of today, of knowing that my life is taken care of in itself, is worth putting all those things down.  

We all come to God on our own time and in our own way, but I hope that your decision to come to God is one that you make sooner than later.  I pray that you fill that ache in your heart and soul with God instead of with another drug or sexual encounter.

The work that God did in Simon is available to you!  God will leave you standing back in utter amazement, just as he has done for Simon, for me, and for many other people who walked through His open door.

All you have to do is accept Him and His Son Jesus Christ, and your transformation will begin as well!

Are you playing for Team God?

I believe that being part of a team, whether it be a sports team, club or some kind of after school activity, that it teaches you how to work with other people, and that is really important.  I know that not only did sports play a big role in my adolescence, it helped me learn how to work as a team.

When you are playing Baseball every person has a position and a purpose on the field.  You each have a call to action and your other teammates are relying on you to protect your position.   There isn’t one position that is more important than another, which is why it is called a team. 

When you look at the scoreboard at the end of a game you are seeing the runs batted in, and that is a sum of your team, not one individual player.  Even if you have only one run on the board, your defensive team did the work to keep the opponents from scoring, while at bat.   Team work is incredibly important in today’s society and one of the things we have really started to falter at.

I have been reading Romans 12 for a couple days, really trying to get an understanding and lesson from each verse, and what I have found is that verse 12 reminds me a lot of playing on a team.  Our team being Team God of course.

Starting in verse three, we find Paul telling us, to be aware of our own haughtiness.  That by the Grace (unmerited favor of God) we cannot think more of ourselves than we should.  Verse 3-6 reads like this. 

For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought (not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance), but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.  4 For as in one physical body we have many parts (organs, members) and all of these parts do not have the same function or use.  5 So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts of one of another (mutually dependent on one another). 6 Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: (He whose gift is) prophecy, (let him prophesy) according to the proportion of his faith; 

What we are seeing in this snippet, which actually carries on through verse eight, with the examples of the gifts from the Spirit.  We are seeing that Paul is telling us, we are not to esteem ourselves higher than another person.  We are not to give ourselves more credit than another person.  We are all working on one team, and each person’s gifts are to add to the body of Christ, not take away from it.

 Each person is to realize that we are all different but the common goal and purpose is the same.  This is true in all areas of life.  You may have a Doctorate from College, which is amazing, but maybe I didn’t graduate from High School, that doesn’t make you any more valuable in God’s sight than I am.  We are all equal but with different talents and gifts.  

Paul showed this one point to us when he mentions that everyone should use their gifts according to the proportion of his faith.  Now we also know and see that every person is given a measure of faith.  This is what connects us.  We are all given a portion of faith from God, which means we are all on a level playing field.  

On a Baseball team if you don’t have a catcher, who is going to collect the ball when thrown from the pitcher?  Who is going to control the speed of play and give direction to the pitcher and the rest of the players on the field?  This doesn’t mean that the catcher’s position is more important, no, this means that without the catcher you wouldn’t have a complete team. 

You wouldn’t be able to have one person cover the entire outfield.  That is too much ground for one person to cover and cover effectively, which is why you have three to four players in the outfield, depending on whether you are playing Baseball or Slow Pitch.  Each one brings their ability to the team, which equals the team.  There is a saying about the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This is like the body of God.  We are to work as a team, and be united in bringing people to God.  We are to lift up and support our fellow man kind and help advance their gifts instead of being envious of them.  We are not all meant to be famous or in the public eye, some of us are meant to be behind the scenes, but we are all one, we are all equal. 

God can’t use us all in the same way, because we are all different people.  Some people really appreciate nature and love to garden, I am not one of them, and that may be part of their gift from God.  Does that mean that since I am not talented and gifted in that area I should condemn them or be jealous of their behavior?  No, that means that God gave them a different ability than He gave me and I am blessed to be able to appreciate what they can do.

God has most likely given me a gift they are not able to perform, so we can appreciate each other’s abilities and do them unto God. 

Some of the best teams around work under these same ideas and rules.  They know that they are weak individually but together they are strong and a mighty force.   When you come up against the New York Yankees you know that you are going to find a team united, and a team that works off of each others strengths and weaknesses. 

 Derek Jeter, while just amazing, isn’t able to play short stop, second base and third base all at the same time.  But since he knows that he has equally talented players in each of those positions, when he makes his play he is secure in their ability to do their part.  That equals working as a team and a winning team at that.  

I want to be part of a winning team for God.  I want to do my part to bring more people to know the Lord that I serve.  I want to help shine the light on someone else’s talents and gifts, while using my own, to win souls for God.   If God didn’t have a purpose for me, or for you, we wouldn’t be here.  If He didn’t know that the world needed exactly what He created you for, you wouldn’t be here.

We need to start to realize that when we operate in jealousy and envy we are operating in darkness, and God isn’t in that place.  You can’t glorify God while you are jealous of the pastor or the worship leader.  You have to find your gifts and talents and use them to serve God. 

Remember our whole is greater than the sum of our parts.  The Bible tells us where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is.   Work together as a team, and bring your gifts and talents to Team God and let them shine before men!  

Changing your reflection

If you have read any of my other posts you have read that there is a person that I love dearly, who is struggling with addiction.   During our relationship I saw him struggle with which lifestyle to choose, and ultimately, he chose the lifestyle that is easier for him, the one that caused him less change.

My heart hurts for him every day and grieves for not only the relationship, but for the man that I saw him to be.  I believe this pain is only temporary as I believe God has healing in his future, and will turn this addiction into his ministry. 

Tonight I was spending time reading in Acts and came across verse 11.  This immediately made me think of him, to the extent I wrote his name beside the verse.  Acts 17:11 Now these (Jews) were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

A little back story here, Paul and Silas were traveling preaching the word of Salvation through Christ and came across some Jews who were not keen on the preaching that Paul and Silas were doing.  They came to the home of Jason, who was helping shelter Paul and Silas and demanded to know where they were.  Paul and Silas had already left for their next land in Beroea, but the unsettled Jews had created a mob and threw Jason in jail.  He was later released after paying his bail.  The uproar of these Jews was that Paul and Silas were saying that Christ was the only true King, and one Jesus. 

Paul and Silas went into Beroea to continue preaching about Jesus and that’s where we find Verse 11.  This verse filled me with hope and excitement.  I loved that Luke went to lengths to explain to us the state of the hearts of these people.  They were ready to be taught.  They came expecting to learn of Jesus and have their hearts filled with His word.  They had already been teaching themselves on God and His ways, before Paul and Silas got there. 

I am sure we have all experienced in life trying to teach someone something and it was like hitting a brick wall with every word.  This is how I felt with my relationship.  I tried to convince him that his life meant more than his addiction, and the people that were holding him back from being the person that God created him to be, but you see, he had not come to the place where his heart was entirely ready, accepting, and welcoming of the changes. 

We can’t make people change, nor can we make them see themselves the way we see them.  I often say to God, why did you allow me to see him with your eyes instead of his eyes?  Or even the eyes of my old man.  Why did you allow me to see past his addiction and into the heart of him?    If I would have been able to see him with my eyes, and not see him with the eyes God allowed me to see him through, I would have never allowed my heart to open to his.  I would have never given him a chance to enter into my life, and in turn maybe I would have stunted a growth that was needed for me in God. 

I am not quite sure of what that answer is yet, I am still waiting, praying and listening, but I do know that we can view people in different ways.  We don’t always see damaged people as damaged; sometimes we see them as they are going to be in the future, after God is finished with them.

After sitting on verse 11 for quite some time I continued to read on and came to verse 13.  But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, disturbing and inciting the masses.

This verse actually angered me.  It caused me to think of the people who would not allow my relationship to flourish.  They would not allow him to have change in his life, for fear they would be left behind.   Fear can cause us to do horrible things, even, stealing a fresh start and new beginning to someone who desires one, because you will be left alone or behind.   We don’t want to be the only ones dealing with our issues.  We always feel better when we have someone else in the same boat as us, and to ensure that they stay there, you must keep them there. 

The Jews of Thessalonica were fearful, in their own way of the Word of Christ being spread to the Jews of Beroea.  They wanted to stop the spreading of the life changing word, or as they put it in verse 6 These men who have turned the world upside down, referring to Paul and Silas.  They wanted to stop them from bringing other people up and out of their current situations.

What I am learning is you can’t hold someone captive to the past or to the future.  You have to allow them to make their own decisions.  When you are trying to stop someone from pursuing what is in their hearts you are doing so because of the fear in your own heart. 

I can’t give you the words to say to stop fear, as I deal with it on a daily basis, but I can say that the word of God is a sword against evil.   Just as Paul and Silas could not be stopped from preaching and sharing the Salvation of Christ, neither can the word of God be stopped today.    

When you come up against something or someone who sees themselves through the eyes of the enemy pick up your sword of God’s word and change their reflection.    You have the power to pray strength into that person’s life with the word of God.  You have the power through Jesus Christ to have their eyes open to the life around them, and have God change their desires. 

I saw who God wanted me to see, maybe so I could pick up the sword of God and from afar change his reflection, so he can see what I see.  

The only thing that can change someone, is God, and His word, as verse 11 states, Now these (Jews) were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Don’t ever give up on helping God change someone’s reflection!!