Reporting All That God Has Done For You!!

Good morning to all on this beautiful Sunday morning. Waine and I are in Thomaston and the weather is beautiful. All the trees we planted last year survived!! We don't have a lot of azaleas but will correct that this spring. Its a nice quiet Sunday morning and I enjoy the quiet of some down time. Had spiritual lessons to learn this week and took my faith to another level. Continue to keep me in your prayers as God teaches me to slow down and relax in His LOVE.

I am continuing my journey in Acts, chapter 14 verses 1-28 "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.  The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. 

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”  Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.  But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, He let all nations go their own way. Yet He has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 

They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.  And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. " Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

When was the last time you were excited about what God has done for you? I remember when I went on a high carbohydrate diet and lost 40 pounds, I was so excited and told everybody I could about the virtues of this high carb diet until I gained all the weight back and then some. I remember when I discovered the truth about how to add years of life through exercise and proper eating until I couldn't go to the gym every morning at 5 AM. It is easy to be EXCITED and so hard to sustain the enthusiasm. Paul and Barnasbas however was not only excited they were CONVERTED!! They knew first hand what a life for Christ and the Good News did for them. They had experienced the Mercy and Grace of God through Christ and WOULD NOT BE QUIET! I can't remember the last time I was with Christians outside of church and felt this level of enthusiasm. There are the Joyce Meyers, Crefelo Dollars, TD Jakes and Joel Olsteens of the world but where are the millions of Christians living their every day life? Where are the proclamations coming from the "you's" and  "me's"?

Waine and I recently opened our 3rd medical office. When we announced to our staff we were going to open another office the staff looked at me like I had 2 heads. Most thought it was just a passing fancy. I decided that I would proclaim my faith that God had a plan for ZOe Pediatrics and set a date to open. With each passing week I would proclaim to the staff the progress we were making. As doors opened and obstacles were moved, I again proclaimed the Power of God. I professed daily the power of God to remove barriers and make the way clear. I at one point announced to the staff that if they ever wondered the practicality of God and how He answered prayer they needed to look no further than their nose. Now most of my staff profess to be Christians (we are living in the South) and I was amazed at the lack of "hallelujahs" and "praise the Lords". What I have concluded is that most Christians live in the mental bondage of fear. They live in "Spiritual Egypt" too afraid to believe that God will be faithful to their prayers. Most of us would rather the routine of "Egypt" than the adventure of the "wilderness" which has to be experienced before we partake in the abundance of the "Promised Land". Speaking as someone who decided to Believe God for the vision that He gave me in 2008 --the vision of prosperity and happiness--My Story is unfolding right before my eyes. Hallelujah! I can't stop talking about it. I still have areas of my life to surrender; I still have to remind myself daily to rebuke Satan when fear and doubt creep in; I still walk with Jesus hand-in-hand minute by minute AND I am learning daily how much God through Christ loves me and you. WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING! OUR FATHER HAS NUMBERED THE HAIRS ON OUR HEAD AND ONLY HAS LOVE AND GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT US. It is time that people of faith REPORT THE GOOD NEWS OF ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE FOR THEM THROUGH FAITH. Not to do so is not only cowardly it robs the ability of others to turn from sin and experience the abundance of God. To know Him is 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