The Power of One

Good morning/evening to all on this glorious Thursday from Bangkok, Thailand! Waine and I arrived here this morning at 1:00 AM and as you can see I am jet lagging but Waine is not having any problems sleeping. We left Atlanta on Tuesday morning at 10 AM and flew to Seattle to catch the flight over the Pacific to Tokyo and then Bangkok. It is a little disorientating when you fly west because you are always chasing the sun. I think we also crossed the International Dateline and lost a day but who knows. I thank God for the traveling mercies He gave us and the strength to even enjoy this adventure. We have our first full day in Thailand in about 8 hours and I pray I will be up for the challenge. Its about 80 degrees here and is considered their High Season, although the person meeting us at the airport couldn't tell us why. Continue to pray for ET and his family and continue to pray for Violet. She is home now and is able to get around in her walker and her spirits have brightened considerably.

I also want to continue to feed my spirit as God has richly blessed Waine and I and will therefore continue my journey in Romans 5 verses 12-21, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen!

Can't you just feel the love that Paul has for Christ and His Father! The love just jumps off the pages at you and this is a man that never walked with Jesus. What struck me as I was reading the this passage is that there is always Power in One. In this case sin entered our world through Adam and with sin came death and destruction. Christ then gave us the power of Grace and Mercy through His sacrifice. It doesn't stop with them. We are all powerful in our own right --we have the Power to rain blessings on the world or the Power to remain silent and let sin and death continue to rob the world and the people in it of the JOY and Peace that comes through a relationship with God through Christ. Each of us has the Power to change the world daily-it starts with ourselves and then runs as a wave in the ocean to affect all that we come in contact with. We have the Power to either negatively or positively affect our circumstances daily. Look at Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, Rosa Parks jsut to name a few ONES that decided to make a difference in the world. For example, I was confronted with a situation on Monday as I was hurrying in my usual manner with a million things to get done before heading off on this trip. By noon I still had packing to do, paperwork to finish for a client and proposals to finish writing. As I was out and about, my beloved called to tell me that we were having dinner guests. At that very  moment, I had to make a decision about my attitude and the receptiveness that I provided my husband. I actually didn't know how I was going to cook and get everything else done, but I knew that my God did so I prayed and left the work in His capable hands. i had the Power to turn our evening into Joy or criticize my husband for his jesture. I think this was the lesson Christ was trying to teach Mary when she went about working and her sister sat at the feet of Jesus. When you do the right thing for the right reason, the outcome will always turn for the GOOD especially in the hands of Jesus.

As it turns out the evening was wonderful; all the packing got done; all the paperwork got filled out and I learned that God loves me enough to take care of each detail I turn over to Him. And therein lies the lesson-Jesus never forces His will on us. We must freely take on the Yoke of Righteousness and turn every detail of or lives to Him. I don't know what you are facing but I know what I am facing--the future is not known to us which is why God tells us not to even think about it. Today has enough challenges to keep all of our angels busy. He wants you to have spiritual rest so let the Power of the One rest rule and abide in you today and forever. I am blessed just writing about it.

Stephanie