Digging Deeper

Acts 22:1-16

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” ²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸” ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

” ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.¹⁵You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

When I think back on my life and some of the stupid things I have done, I wonder how I have come to point that I am now. How am I still alive? How did I end up in church? How did I end up with a family in which I have been so blessed?

GOD gave them to me. Despite all the garbage in my past GOD chose to use me to reach out to his people.

Each of us has a different past. We all have done things we aren’t proud of. Things that we feel make us unusable to GOD. The question is, do we presume to tell GOD that he is wrong that he can’t use us.

Jesus in the beginning of his public ministry shows us his use for us by the choosing of his disciples. In that time children learned the Torah (First Five Books of the Bible) word for word. After that they continued to learn the books of the prophets. If the children were deemed worthy enough they were chosen as disciples, otherwise they were sent off to work in their father’s profession.  When Jesus met Peter and Andrew he looked at them and said come follow me. Two brothers who according to the Rabbi’s of the day were unfit to preach the message of GOD were told by Jesus to follow him. They had to be thinking, Rabbi not us, we are nobodies. Jesus however saw importance in them, he knew their heart and their potential.

The great thing is when it comes to spiritual gifts it’s not about you. It’s about the Holy Spirit being in you.

GOD has plans for all of us. Don’t get in the way.

.Geoff.

Ok, so I am going to take a left turn from what I am supposed to write about. I had to share this story with all of you. It is so inspiring and convicting at the same time. I have changed the names, because I wasn’t able to get my friend’s permission to write about her. So I will tell the story with new names.

I have a friend from homeschool gym (we’ll call her Bindi). She and her husband (we’ll call him Akil) were both born in India. Akil came to America with his parents when he was very young. But Bindi was raised in India until she was married. In India the #1 religion is Hindu. Akil was raised Hindu here in the states while Bindi was raised Christian in India. Very interesting! He was worshipping here freely while she was worshipping in hiding. Only 3% of India is Christian. You could be killed for claiming to be born again, and you would definitely be cast out of your family.

While Akil was in highschool he had a friend who he admired very much. Akil admired him because he was always positive and seemed to prosper in everything he did. He wanted to know more about what this boy had. Akil’s friend shared Christ with him and eventually Akil gave his life to Christ. His family, who practiced Hindu, was not happy at first, but eventually they let him be baptized. Today they are very supportive of his choise, even though they don’t believe. Talk about amazing!

Even though Bindi’s  family didn’t believe the way most Indians believe, they still practiced some of their cultural traditions. One being arranged marriages. Bindi’s father put an ad in a newspaper looking for a husband. Akil answered it. He and Bindi knew each other for only 15 days before they were married and they are still madly in love today.

Here is what I find so incredible: that young 15-year-old boy who led Akil to Christ had no idea all the lives he would touch. Akil’s future wife was believing in the same God on the other side of the world. And eventually his children would be worshipping the same God years later.

What if that boy had never shared Christ with Akil? We have no idea how much our decision, good and bad, will impact future generations!

Lisa Caupp

God has a plan for everyone. We can choose to be a part of it, or miss out on something completely amazing! What if Ananias had been too afraid to meet up with Paul? What if we are too afraid to step out and serve?

Acts 9:1-19

 ¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

 ⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

   ”I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

 ⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

 ¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
      ”Yes, Lord,” he answered.

 ¹¹The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

 ¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

 ¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

 ¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

We praise God when we see a sunset. When we take a nice quiet walk in the woods, we can’t help but worship Him in the midst of creation. When we tuck our kids in bed, we thank Him for giving them to us. When we are missing our spouse, we thank God for working in our lives and bringing us together. What happens when we look in the mirror? Do we praise God? Do we thank God?

Usually I find a new gray hair and try to resist the temptation of yanking it out. I turn my nose up at my nose. I have never liked it. I gripe about my eyebrows. Even though my husband says it was one of the first things he noticed about me. I notice scars on my face. I think terrible thoughts about the weight I have gained since having the kids. I think about how I hate that I am so talkative (remember from Monday?).

Is this following God’s Word? It says I am fearfully and wonderfully made! How awesome is that? When we complain about how we look or our personality, we are spitting in the face of God. When our children have done something to disappoint us, we would never say, “God, how could you make them. Couldn’t you have done a better job?” That sounds so absurd. We would never say those things to God. I know my gray hairs are years of hard work raising my little blessing. The scars on my face are from an accident I was in and should have had severe damage to my face, but God had another plan.

Whenever we feel less than, like we are not fit for serving in church, remember that God created each of us. He knew us from the beginning. We have always existed in His wisdom. Therefore a plan and purpose was decided long ago. We are missing out on an incredible life, if we would just accept who we are and praise God for it.

Lisa Caupp

^{Exodus 3:1-14}

^1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

 ³ Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

 ⁴ God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

   He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

 ^5-6 God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

 ^7-10 God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

 ¹¹ Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

 ¹² “I’ll be with you,” God said. “And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain.”

 ¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?”

 ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’”

Exodus 4:1-5; 10-17

¹ Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’”

 ^2-3 So God said, “What’s that in your hand?” “A staff? Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!

 ^4-5 God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

  ¹⁰ Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”

 ^11-13 God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say. “He said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!”

 ^14-17 God got angry with Moses: “Don’t you have a brother, Aaron the Levite? He’s good with words, I know he is. He speaks very well. In fact, at this very moment he’s on his way to meet you. When he sees you he’s going to be glad. You’ll speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll be right there with you as you speak and with him as he speaks, teaching you step by step. He will speak to the people for you. He’ll act as your mouth, but you’ll decide what comes out of it. Now take this staff in your hand; you’ll use it to do the signs.”

“Your hands shaped me and made me.” Job 10:8

Those who know me, know that I am a talker. I don’t deny it. Believe it or not, I use to be worse. I talked a lot…and fast….and usually too loud. I hated it. I would try really hard to stop. I would tell myself that I wasn’t going to talk anymore and it lasted about 1 minute. I even prayed for God to take it away. I didn’t want to be that way anymore.

I met someone in my Single’s Group at church that was a talker and he was annoying! He would talk and talk and talk….usually about nothing. I would stand there, not listening, and thinking about the people who told me I talked too much. I would think to myself, “Am I that annoying?” I would be so critical of myself. Why did God have to make me this way. If I was more mature and in control, I would just stop talking so much.

Well, I don’t talk as fast or as loud anymore, I think growing up has had a lot to do with that part, but I still talk just as much. I have learned that God doesn’t mess up. Talkative people have a purpose. One of the things I love to do is work First Impressions. I love to mingle around the café and talk to people. That is a way I serve in the church. Some people might think talking too much is annoying, but when new people need to be welcomed, who do you send? An introvert who doesn’t like to carry on a conversation or an extrovert who loves to talk to people?

God can use anybody to reach people. Even if you think you are annoying…….

Lisa Caupp

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalms 25:5

I have always loved music.  I love all different types of music.  If you looked through my ipod, you’d see that I have every decade represented from the 1940’s till now.  I have Classical, Jazz, and Blues.  I have The Beatles, Sinatra and Jethro Tull. There’s Alien Ant Farm, David Crowder Band and Ella Fitzgerald. You name it, it’s probably in my ipod.

In my car, I belt out the lyrics song after song.

Unfortunately, I can’t sing.  I don’t mean it in that humble, ‘aw shucks, I can’t sing.’ kind of way, I mean I absolutely cannot carry a tune. If I were on American Idol, I would be one of those that are let in just for comic relief.

I am always awestruck by our own Ruth Schick. When she leads worship, her voice is clear, strong, and beautiful.  When I sing along, I sound more like a bullfrog than a songbird.
I have often thought, “I wish I could sing like that!”  “Why can’t I sing?”

Until this series, I didn’t realize that by coveting someone else’s gifts, I’m putting my own on a shelf.  Every Sunday, I can be found with the babies in the nursery, soothing the cries and changing the diapers.  I can’t imagine not being in the nursery!

Helps and Mercy are two of my gifts.  My focus should remain on those gifts I’ve been given to further the Kingdom rather than dreaming of having the gifts of another.

Father, forgive me when I put my gifts on a shelf. Help me to remain active with my gifts so that I can bring others to You.

Jeanne Roberts

There were disciples of John the Baptist who were upset because people were following Jesus instead of John.  It’s easy to grow jealous of another’s popularity.  John remembered his mission. His was the same as ours is now: to influence people to follow Christ, not us.

Jeanne Roberts

John the Baptist’s Testimony About Jesus

John 3:22-36

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.

“The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

I love cake.  Chocolate, white, hazelnut, lemon, pineapple upside down… There is nothing bad about a cake.

What is the most important ingredient in a cake?  Is it the flour?  The eggs?  The salt?

There isn’t one ingredient that’s more important than the next, nor is there any ingredient that you can leave out and still expect to have a cake worth serving.

A little of this, some of that.  When mixed together properly, vastly different ingredients that couldn’t stand on their own become something delicious.

As Christ followers, we should look at it in the same way.  When we’re in our place, great things happen for the glory of God.  Each of us has a different strength, but that doesn’t make any of us any more or any less important in the eyes of our Lord.

How easy it is though, when we’re in our place, in the right measure, to feel boastful.  An opportunity to worship becomes a performance.  An opportunity to teach becomes a self-serving soliloquy.  To avoid this, we must remember that everything we have- every gift, every talent, indeed every beat of our heart- is given to us by God to glorify not us, but Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for continually blessing me.  Forgive me when I use my talents and my gifts for my own glory.  It is You alone Father that I wish to glorify through my words and deeds.

Jeanne Roberts