I arrived at church a bit early today and as the old folks used to say, I witnessed a treat. The man seated behind me had an inspiring conversation with his friend. Now, I wasn't ease dropping. At least I don't think I was. If you are having a loud conversation in a public place that can be easily overheard, I don't think that qualifies as ease dropping, right?
But I digress. Man A has apparently been out of work for months. His friend Man B has recently been blessed with a job after being out of work for 13 months. So far the conversation isn't looking so hot, is it? What was inspiring was how these MEN were encouraging each other in their tough time thru God's Word. Man B told Man A that he truly believes in God's goodness after He kept him for 13 months. And Man A gave Man B an amazing compliment. He said that he knew what was going on with Man B but never saw him falter. Never saw him looking down. Never saw him give up. I loved it. Men encouraging each other. Christians helping keep the each other lifted.
And I think about my own friends. Wow, how conversations have changed over the years! I love that I can call K or Fi or AJ and immediately get some encouragement in a tough time. I love how MWF, NP, NE, CS, JT will drop whatever they are doing and pray with me. I am so blessed to have friends who are more than kick it partners, but prayer warriors. Don't get it twisted. We can kick it too. But anyone can kick it. A true friend will stand in the gap for you when you are too broken to stand there for yourself.
Also, I am truly proud that I can return the favor. That my friends know that they can come to me and we can take it to the Lord quick, fast, and in a hurry.
So while I do believe that "sometimes you have to encourage yourself." I do believe that God calls us to encourage others as well. So take a moment and reach out to God on someone else's behalf. Believe me, when they are blessed you will be too.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Persecution Problem
Disclaimer: I am not a Bible scholar, pastor, or minister. I am a believer and only speak from my interpretation of the text. So if you believe something different or if your pastor has broken down the scripture in a different way, that’s ok. But you clicked on my blog, so this is what I’ve been given.
Acts Chapter 9: The story of Saul on the road to Damascus. You know the story, right? Let me refresh your memory. Saul is the persecutor of the Christians. He is going on a quest to find more believers and arrest them. While Saul is traveling along the road to Damascus, he has an encounter with God and is struck blind. Saul continues to Damascus with the help of his friends. While Saul was still traveling to Damascus, God spoke to a believer named Ananias. God told Ananias to go pray and lay hands on Saul. Anasias does as God instructs him and Saul is healed. Not only is he healed of his blindness, he is also healed of his disbelief.
Now that is the cliff notes version and it doesn’t do the story justice. Matter of fact, pull out your Bible. Yep, I mean right now. Pull out your Bible. For the Bible challenged, open another web browser and go to biblegateway.com. Read Acts 9. Yes, right now. Don’t worry. I’ll wait….
See I told you. My version didn’t do it justice, right? That’s ok I am not offended. My lil’ blog cannot compete with the bestselling book of all time.
Ok, but back to the story. Read the story again and take out Saul’s name and insert your own. Don’t object, just do it. I know you are thinking, “Why? I love God. I never persecute other Christians.” Hold up. Wait right there. Are you sure about that? Let me speak from personal experience. I persecuted other believers. Yep, I said it. I persecuted other believers. I didn’t call it that, but that is what I did. And I didn’t do it just once. I did it often. I remember being younger (spiritually) and thinking when I see people worshiping (shouting, crying, running) that it doesn’t take all that. I remember thinking that they were faking or just putting on a show. But then I went through my own tests and moved from religion to relationship. After that I understood being so excited about God’s mercy/grace/goodness that I couldn’t stay in my seat.
But my persecution didn’t stop there… I was a member of the “I would never..” crew. You know the “I would never” folks. They are the folks that always have an opinion on a situation. And their opinion always starts with “I would never,” “If I were you, I’d,” or “That would never happen to me.” Yep, that was me. Truth be told sometimes that is still me. But God will break you of that habit of persecution real quick. It’s like all of the things I said I would never do, God said “Do you love Me enough to eat those words? Do you love Me enough to be obedient to what I say, despite what others may say about you?” I can’t say that it’s been easy. But God sent many Anasias’ to help me. The same folks who I was shaking my head at thinking “they must be stupid for going through all that mess” are the same ones who are holding my hand and praying me through tough situations. It’s very humbling when you have to ask for help from the same folks that you once badmouthed.
And honestly, most folks need to be struck blind before they change their ways. Not literally, but really hit rock bottom. Most folks will keep on persecuting until something drastic happens to give them pause to change. Maybe you’ve been there, or are headed there. There’s no shame in being a Saul. The only shame is in staying a Saul. Saul illustrates how amazing God’s grace and mercy is. Think about it. This person who had persecuted Christ’s followers is made blind by an encounter with Jesus. If we served a vengeful God, the story would have stopped there. But we serve a loving God, who must at times correct us with a stern hand but always offers us a chance to start again. So I am thankful when I look over my life and see my many Saul moments. I am overjoyed when I think about how each one of those moments laid the groundwork for me to become a Paul.
Acts Chapter 9: The story of Saul on the road to Damascus. You know the story, right? Let me refresh your memory. Saul is the persecutor of the Christians. He is going on a quest to find more believers and arrest them. While Saul is traveling along the road to Damascus, he has an encounter with God and is struck blind. Saul continues to Damascus with the help of his friends. While Saul was still traveling to Damascus, God spoke to a believer named Ananias. God told Ananias to go pray and lay hands on Saul. Anasias does as God instructs him and Saul is healed. Not only is he healed of his blindness, he is also healed of his disbelief.
Now that is the cliff notes version and it doesn’t do the story justice. Matter of fact, pull out your Bible. Yep, I mean right now. Pull out your Bible. For the Bible challenged, open another web browser and go to biblegateway.com. Read Acts 9. Yes, right now. Don’t worry. I’ll wait….
See I told you. My version didn’t do it justice, right? That’s ok I am not offended. My lil’ blog cannot compete with the bestselling book of all time.
Ok, but back to the story. Read the story again and take out Saul’s name and insert your own. Don’t object, just do it. I know you are thinking, “Why? I love God. I never persecute other Christians.” Hold up. Wait right there. Are you sure about that? Let me speak from personal experience. I persecuted other believers. Yep, I said it. I persecuted other believers. I didn’t call it that, but that is what I did. And I didn’t do it just once. I did it often. I remember being younger (spiritually) and thinking when I see people worshiping (shouting, crying, running) that it doesn’t take all that. I remember thinking that they were faking or just putting on a show. But then I went through my own tests and moved from religion to relationship. After that I understood being so excited about God’s mercy/grace/goodness that I couldn’t stay in my seat.
But my persecution didn’t stop there… I was a member of the “I would never..” crew. You know the “I would never” folks. They are the folks that always have an opinion on a situation. And their opinion always starts with “I would never,” “If I were you, I’d,” or “That would never happen to me.” Yep, that was me. Truth be told sometimes that is still me. But God will break you of that habit of persecution real quick. It’s like all of the things I said I would never do, God said “Do you love Me enough to eat those words? Do you love Me enough to be obedient to what I say, despite what others may say about you?” I can’t say that it’s been easy. But God sent many Anasias’ to help me. The same folks who I was shaking my head at thinking “they must be stupid for going through all that mess” are the same ones who are holding my hand and praying me through tough situations. It’s very humbling when you have to ask for help from the same folks that you once badmouthed.
And honestly, most folks need to be struck blind before they change their ways. Not literally, but really hit rock bottom. Most folks will keep on persecuting until something drastic happens to give them pause to change. Maybe you’ve been there, or are headed there. There’s no shame in being a Saul. The only shame is in staying a Saul. Saul illustrates how amazing God’s grace and mercy is. Think about it. This person who had persecuted Christ’s followers is made blind by an encounter with Jesus. If we served a vengeful God, the story would have stopped there. But we serve a loving God, who must at times correct us with a stern hand but always offers us a chance to start again. So I am thankful when I look over my life and see my many Saul moments. I am overjoyed when I think about how each one of those moments laid the groundwork for me to become a Paul.
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