We Are His Offspring!

Good morning to all. Waine and I are in Thomaston this weekend listening to the birds singing. It has ben a wonderful weekend; the air is dry and warm and plenty of sunshine. Aleron is in the Dominican Republic so please pray for his safe return today.  My sister and her family, Freddie and his family , Waine and I were in Houston last weekend for a mini family reunion. We all had a GREAT time. It is always good to be wit my kin-folk and the little ones. We had good Hailie and Kai time and look forward to many more moments with them. Our Columbus office saw 88 patients in the 1st week of operations and we are off and running on this venture. God is very good and I for one cannot stop talking about it.

I am continuing my journey in Acts 17 1-34 "When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.  But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.  Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. 

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)  Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.  When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council.  Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others." Amen! May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

One of the things that struck me in this passage is the boldness and conviction with which Paul, Silas and the other Apostles preached the Word of God. They were not ashamed and often had to argue their case in front of learned men and women who had other beliefs. They were not there to CONVINCE or CONVICT because that is the job of the Holy Spirit, they were there to preach and provide their testimony concerning Christ and the life everyone could live with Christ. We all have such opportunities. Most of us live in the "Thessalonicas, Breas, and Athens of this age. We walk and live among folk who worship an "UNKNOWN GOD" because they do not want to submit their lives to the One and True God. We live among people who think it is okay JUST to be moral --but it is not because morality has no place in Heaven. We live among people who worship satan and demons. We live among people who worship power and money. We live among people who worship themselves. Christians, however are the OFFSPRING of GOD and we are to live and move and have our very existence through the relationship we have with God through Christ. Our lives are to reflect the love and power of God. If we mirror the world then the world will not see Christ through us.

That simple phrase, "What would Jesus Do?" is a phrase I remind myself of often; especially when Stephanie gets in the way. Instead of reacting to people and situations, I pause more and think "This is an opportunity to witness through my life!" When you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, it removes SELF and all the messed up "tapes" we have running through our heads. We, as Christians, are to allow JESUS to live, move and have His being in us, so that this sick world will receive the gift of salvation. We are His offspring and have His Spirit and therefore others should recognize us as His own. Would they? Would You?

To know Him to is 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

Cross references:

1. Numbers 6:24 : S Ge 28:3; Dt 28:3-6; Ps 28:9; 128:5
2. Numbers 6:24 : 1Sa 2:9; Ps 17:8
3. Numbers 6:25 : Job 29:24; Ps 4:6; 31:16; 80:3; 119:135
4. Numbers 6:25 : Ge 43:29; Ps 25:16; 86:16; 119:29
5. Numbers 6:26 : Ps 4:6; 44:3
6. Numbers 6:26 : Ps 4:8; 29:11; 37:11, 37; 127:2; Isa 14:7; Jer 33:6; Jn 14:27

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Your Life is a Witness--You Never Know Who is Watching!

Good morning to all on this Palm Sunday morning. Waine and I are in Thomaston this weekend. We (ZOe) hosted a Easter Egg hunt at The Rock Ranch yesterday and over 2,000 kids attended. The kids were able to hunt for eggs , zip line and climb the rock wall. The event lasted from 11 AM - 2 PM; I was working the Saturday clinic so was unable to attend. Jill, Brooks and Mackenzie came for a short visit. Brooks was competing in an international Taekwondo tournament in Atlanta and daughter Jill used the occasion to see the new house in Thomaston. It was a short and lovely visit. Our Columbus office opens tomorrow. God has parted the "Red Sea" for us and we are walking through. I witnessed about this vision that God had for ZOe  in Columbus so many have seen the Power and Glory of God work to bring this about. When God is for something, nothing can prevail against it, hallelujah! Pray for us that we would be a continued blessing to the patients we serve.

I am continuing my journey in Acts, chapter 16 verses 1- 39, "Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. 

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” 

But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left." Amen. May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

There were several puzzling portions of this passage or me. The first of which is why would Paul be annoyed that the slave woman was proclaiming that they were servants of Christ. I had to think on this for a minute because I couldn't understand what about that was annoying. Then I got it. The unclean spirit in the woman was more mocking than prophetic. The spirit meant to belittle the Power and Majesty of Christ. Christ is more than a fortune teller, He is the future and does not need Satan or his demons to qualify it or substantiate it. Remember always that Satan knows the scriptures more than we do. Satan is quite aware of the Power of Faith and the Power of the sacrifice of Jesus. Satan is one being who understand fully what eternity without God is like, he (Satan) experiences this reality daily. Satan also knows what eternity will be like for people who do not accept the atonement made possible through a faith in Christ. Satan is intent on getting as many souls as he can to be with him in hell for eternity.

The example of the fortune teller is contrasted to that of the jailer who was an unbeliever until he saw the power of God especially as it relates to His chosen ones. God sent an earthquake to destroy the jail. He was demonstrating at that point that there is no power on earth or in heaven that can hold the servants of God. There is no power that can stand against His children. Paul and Silas understood this which is why they did not need to flee. They understood that their incarceration was part of God's plan of salvation for the jailer and all other who witnessed His true power. By not fleeing, Paul and Silas demonstrated their faith. As children of God we do not have to flee any situation. We are to stand firm so that others can come to the realization that what God says is true; He will be our Shield, our Rock and our Sword. No power or principality of this world can stand against us. We need only stay true to our faith!

Are there chains holding you today? Are you burdened by any particular thing? You need only pray and believe and you jail cell will be opened and your chains and shackles will fall off. Just look at Waine and I. So many of our "shackles" have been removed. Jill remarked that she was in awe of our current situation. She called it our "victory lap" and it is. Our time and circumstances now is our victory lap. It is God telling us and the world through us that you are never too old to experience success --the only ingredients are faith and obedience.

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

Preaching Religion and Not the Word of God!

Good morning to all on this Tuesday morning. I know I usually post on Sunday's but this Sunday was taken up with going to church in Columbus, GA. It has been a challenging but filling last couple of weeks in which I continue to learn about the sovereignty of God and His love for me and all of us. Zoë will be opening its 3rd site on 4/14/14 in Columbus, GA. God has "opened the red sea for us" and we are walking through to this new venture. Staff are hired; office is equipped, and God will send the patients. Oh what a difference it has been establishing this location than when Waine and I opened the Thomaston location. God has blessed up mightily wit Thomaston and rewarded our faith with Barnesville and Columbus. Continue to pray God's mercy, grace and wisdom for us as we move forward.

I am continuing my journey in Acts 15, verses 1-41, "Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.  Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.  When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me.  Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ things known from long ago. “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” 

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. 

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”  Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.  He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

This was an interesting chapter to me. There is a tendency in the church to make up rules of worship which is why the Baptist have their rituals, the Methodist have their rituals, the Catholics have their rituals, the Presbyterians have their rituals and so on. This chapter is significant in that is should remind believers that the birth, death and resurrection of Christ fulfilled all the laws of Moses--or said another way all the rituals that provided evidence of purification of our hearts towards God was fulfilled by the sacrifice of Christ. He, Christ, is the fulfillment of all the laws and commandment. As Christians we are only commanded to 1) love God with all of our hearts, mind and soul and then 2) to love one another just as Christ loved us, sacrificially. On these two (2) commandments hang all the laws of the universe. We now need no rituals to receive the love of God so as Christians we are not authorized to judge--we are only to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.

Likewise, when we have disputes among each other, we are not to separate but to find common ground through Christ. When all else fails, we are not to stop loving each other but to love each other even through disagreements as God commanded. As Christians, the love of God through Christ should so shine in and through our lives that others, who are lost may come to know Christ and accept His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. If the world sees us bickering with one another, why should they believe in this great LOVE  called Jesus. Remember, Christ warns us in the last days of many false prophets; many who are wolves in sheep's clothing. If you have any doubt then speak the Good News of salvation and if it is the devil he will flee from you. Be alert as Christians that you are not led astray by our own thinking. We are only to preach the salvation of the Cross.

To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to love you. Have a great week. 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.

Cross references:

1. Numbers 6:24 : S Ge 28:3; Dt 28:3-6; Ps 28:9; 128:5
2. Numbers 6:24 : 1Sa 2:9; Ps 17:8
3. Numbers 6:25 : Job 29:24; Ps 4:6; 31:16; 80:3; 119:135
4. Numbers 6:25 : Ge 43:29; Ps 25:16; 86:16; 119:29
5. Numbers 6:26 : Ps 4:6; 44:3
6. Numbers 6:26 : Ps 4:8; 29:11; 37:11, 37; 127:2; Isa 14:7; Jer 33:6; Jn 14:27

Stephanie