1 Corinthians 14: 33... For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—
This passage is in a letter from Paul talking to the Corinthians about worship. But it reveals a truth of God that we need to live our lives by. In our Wrestling With Scripture Bible study, I asked the question, "What is Satan's goal?" Two or three people said in unison "chaos" which surprised me. I expected to hear sin or temptation, but as we discussed this, it became clear that chaos really describes what we face every day...the confusion, the distortions, the lack of clarity, the doubts that surrounds us.
Our study this week was the last few chapters of Acts. As we looked at all that Paul endured...prison, persecution, ship wreck, and all the uncertainty of his life, we became aware that he did not live in chaos. When we are confronted with life's challenges and trials, if we focus on all that is challenging us, we soon become overwhelmed. We become so focused on our problems that we forget that Christ is beside us. Psalm 23 1-2: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
Paul kept his focus on Jesus and he knew Him as that Shepherd who gave him peace and rest in the midst of trouble. He embraced the ministry that Jesus gave him and he considered those whom he witness too to as being granted to him by God (Acts 27: 24).
The wonderful thing is that as we focus on Jesus when we are in the midst of chaos, we allow Him to be our Shepherd and the chaos of Satan is put in it's proper place...behind us.
Discover and Proclaim the Truth of The Bible which is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:16 NRSV). Jesus came to humanity to proclaim and give evidence to that love and He has commanded us to do the same. We, who believe, must not merely be followers, but we must be proclaimers of the Gospel Message and we can only do that by being filled with the love of God.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Acts 23-25...God's Custom Designed Ministry
In our Wednesday evening Bible Study...Wrestling With Scripture...we read of Paul being persecuted, put on trial, the false accusations, the witness of his faithfulness to God, and his qualities as an apostle of Jesus Christ. As we discussed Paul's trials and his faith, we looked at his uniqueness which God used in very specific ways. Paul was a Jew, which allowed him to claim the God of Abraham as his God. He was a Pharisee, which gave him position and status in Jewish society that even Jesus did not have. He was highly educated, which gave him credibility and the ability to communicate effectively. And he was a Roman, which gave him rights that most Jews did not have.
Jesus could have blinded anyone on the road to Damascus, but He chose Paul with all these attributes, and as we read of Paul's ministry, we see how God used them to spread the Gospel. It was Paul's Roman citizenship which ultimately opened the door for Paul to go to Rome to spread the good news of Jesus to the most power nation on earth.
Paul lived for Jesus and he embraced God's plan as his own. Paul had no purpose other than to proclaim Jesus to the world. God's plan is so apparent in Paul's life and it becomes clear that Paul's ministry was designed by God, specifically for him.
God has designed specific ministries for all who believe in Jesus. We each have unique qualities, unique talents, and specific experiences that God will use for His glory. He gives us opportunities to share Jesus and the good news of salvation through Him, which we can share because we have experienced Him in our own lives.
The truth is though, that if we do not embrace the uniqueness of our relationship with Jesus and share it with others, we will not appreciate it for ourselves. When we respond to the opportunity to share Jesus, we will become more aware of the very special and unique role that He invites us to embrace. God has custom designed a ministry for each of us and God will equip us to carry it out as only we can, cloaked in His righteousness.
Jesus could have blinded anyone on the road to Damascus, but He chose Paul with all these attributes, and as we read of Paul's ministry, we see how God used them to spread the Gospel. It was Paul's Roman citizenship which ultimately opened the door for Paul to go to Rome to spread the good news of Jesus to the most power nation on earth.
Paul lived for Jesus and he embraced God's plan as his own. Paul had no purpose other than to proclaim Jesus to the world. God's plan is so apparent in Paul's life and it becomes clear that Paul's ministry was designed by God, specifically for him.
God has designed specific ministries for all who believe in Jesus. We each have unique qualities, unique talents, and specific experiences that God will use for His glory. He gives us opportunities to share Jesus and the good news of salvation through Him, which we can share because we have experienced Him in our own lives.
The truth is though, that if we do not embrace the uniqueness of our relationship with Jesus and share it with others, we will not appreciate it for ourselves. When we respond to the opportunity to share Jesus, we will become more aware of the very special and unique role that He invites us to embrace. God has custom designed a ministry for each of us and God will equip us to carry it out as only we can, cloaked in His righteousness.
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