Good morning to all from Phoenix Arizona. Waine and I are in Phoenix to celebrate Mackenzie's 16th birthday!! She picked us up from the airport--she is driving!! I can't believe that is has been 16 years. She is a junior in her Health Sciences/Engineering magnet school and is committed to her vegetarian lifestyle. We had a marvelous evening which started with a play about Martin Luther King's last day on earth--"Mountain Top". If you are able to see the play its well worth it. Brooks has grown taller and is quite handsome. Has matured a great deal from the summer. Freddie and Tracy and the kids were up for Thanksgiving and we enjoyed them immensely. Aleron and his friend Simon also joined us as did Ms. Bertha's daughter and granddaughters. Velma, Michele, Marco and Kenzo drove up from Miami. That was a wonder present and I so enjoyed having my family around me. Everyone said that was the best turkey I ever made. I guess my culinary skills are improving. I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was meaningful and filled with family and friends.
I am continuing my journey in Acts 4 verses 1-22 " The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is "the Stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone." Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in This name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. " Amen! May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
When the Holy Spirit gets a hold of you, silence is not an option! I am always filled with the Holy Spirit and when I allow myself to get off the throne of my life and the Holy Spirit takes over, I am a different person. I know no fear. I am bold in my proclamations and I live without confidence and boldness. There is no fear of failure; no fear of threats of what men can do to me; no fear of loss; no fear of harm because when you are in the God Zone you understand that nothing bad can befall you. When you allow the Holy Spirit to take the throne of your life you have a peace that SURPASSES UNDERSTANDING!! This is what Peter and John were trying to convey to the Jewish religious leaders. Remember these are the same guys who had just crucified Jesus. They were full of themselves because they thought they are quelled the influence that Jesus had and then these two upstarts begin to perform miracles too. Instead of repenting of their sins, these religious leaders begin to plot how to control Peter and John. What they don't understand is that you cannot control the Holy Spirit. When Peter and John kept their focus on the "Cross" the Power imparted to them was and is unconquerable!
The same Spirit lives in us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to "rest, rule and abide" we become as Christ ordained it. We are able to do greater things than He did. That's His promise. Most of us don't live this victorious life because we allow the constraints of the world to limit us. Think, however, about the times you prayed for a miracle and was granted that. Remember the feeling you had. Remember your bold proclamations that "this is not how my story will end" and then remember the redemption that followed. This is how we are to live our lives. Like Peter and John we are to proclaim the Good News so that those in the darkness can come to the Cross and the Light. Five thousand men were saved! When was the last time an unbeliever came to Jesus because of your life and your proclamations. This is our purpose as Christians--let our Light so shine that others may come to know and love the Jesus of the Ages. Jesus the Christ who sacrificed Himself so that we could live victorious. Not to live victorious is not honoring Him. To know Him s to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to love you.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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