Just Tell the Story

Hello, hello, hello! Glad to see you came back for another visit! Have you noticed the counter at the bottom of the page? We're over 500 visitors since I started this blog! And over 1000 pages have been viewed! The church's website has also picked up some traffic--we just passed 170 visitors over there since I added the counter in January. I pray that you continue to be encouraged through this blog as you read through the "Year of the Bible!"

Here's the question of the day:
Monday: Who were the first to see that the tomb was empty according to Luke? (Luke 24)

And here's the reflection of the day:
The little exchange between the disciples and an incognito Jesus on the Emmaus road (in Luke 24) displays a clever ploy of Jesus. Pretending to be ignorant of recent events, Undercover Jesus asks an "innocent" question: "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" Cleopas replies to him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And Jesus asks, "What things?"

We've probably heard this story before. We know how it ends with Jesus accompanying the disciples to dinner where he breaks bread and "their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight" (verse 14).

I once thought this was a once in a lifetime conversation. But I've been thinking about this little conversation a little more. And it might not be as rare as I once thought.

Let me explain. I think it is more and more common for people to know absolutely nothing about Jesus Christ--his life, his death, and his resurrection. More and more people will be using the words of Jesus, "What are you discussing as you walk along?" But they are not being clever. They are unaware. They have never heard the story.

Now, you have a choice to make. You can focus on the negative aspects of the situation and bemoan and/or wail about the state of the world and the deplorable state of religious ignorance of so many people in the world around you.

Or, you can see the possibility for evangelism in this situation. There are quite possibly whole generations of people who have no preconceived notions about God and no baggage or bad experience because of the church when they were younger. They are blank slates, just waiting for someone to tell the story of a God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son and who sustains us with His Holy Spirit.

All we need to do is tell the story; God will do the rest. Too often, when sharing our faith, we think it depends on the quality of our testimony or that it's up to US to help people find salvation. But we give ourselves too much credit; our job is simply to witness to what God is doing in our lives. It's God's job to pass along salvation.

Be on the lookout for those who need to hear the story of Jesus!
Allison

"Here comes the sun. . ."

Yeah for a sunny Thursday!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Weds, Apr 1 Where does the salvation of the righteous come from? (Ps 37)
Psalm 37:39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

And here's the question of the day:
Thurs, Apr 2 What did the Israelites (finally) stop eating after coming into the Promised Land? (Josh 5)


And here's the reflection of the day:
In the reading from Joshua 4, we see Joshua--the new, young punk who has replaced the wise and seasoned Moses--beginning to emerge at Israel's new leader. What God does for the Israelites as they cross the Jordan River is both to increase their reverence for Him AS WELL AS to "exalt Joshua in the sight of all Israel" so that they would revere "him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses" (4:14).

The most interesting part (in my opinion) of this passage is the stones that each representative of the 12 tribes are supposed to carry to the camp and set them up as a memorial of how the waters of the river Jordan ceased so that the Ark of the Covenant and the Israelites passed by. It is to serve as a reminder--an object that a child might ask a parent about.

What sorts of memorials do you have hanging around your house? What sorts of things do kids (or even grown ups) ask about when they see them?

In my house, there's lots of clutter to look at--some meaningful clutter (like the cross on the wall given to me by the leader of a trip to Greece or the small statue of a Vietnamese woman from a friend who served as a missionary in Vietnam) and some meaningless clutter (that I really should just get rid of one of these days).

How do you remember the tremendous things God has done in your life? How do you keep those things in the forefront of your mind? How do you keep from forgetting God's faithfulness to you?

That is what the Israelites were most concerned with--or maybe what God was most concerned for the Israelites about: that they not forget WHO they are and WHOSE they are. Hence, the importance of the Exodus story which we hear repeated over and over again, and things like this stone memorial. These are the things which are meant to endure for generations, stories to be handed down from parent to child.

That's how to keep the faith alive--passing down the stories. That was a main concern of Deuteronomy and is a similar concern of Joshua. And it is a concern of Jerome Creach, who dedicated his commentary on Joshua to his own children.

How do you keep the story alive?

Allison

Hello, Saturday!

Good morning/ afternoon/ evening to you! Glad you stopped by today.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Fri, March 13: What did Moses give to the “Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph”? (Num 32)
Numbers 32:33 3 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan-- the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.

And here's the question of the day:
Sat, March 14: How many towns in all, should be given to the Levites? (Num 35)

And here's the reflection of the day:
In Acts 25 we pick up again in the middle of Paul's trial proceedings, proceedings which seem fairly long and drawn out. Not much "due process" going on here, I must say.

But it seems to be of Paul's own actions that things are dragging on and on. He's moved from judge to judge, court to court. No one seems sure of what he actually did wrong, yet he has angered so many people, he can't just be freed. (Sounds a little bit like Jesus' trial, doesn't it?)

We might assume that Paul's request for a change of venue in Rome and a different magistrate (this time the emperor) is simply a way for him to get a fair trial, away from Festus and his ulterior motives. BUT, if you look at the last couple chapters of Acts a bit more closely, you remember Acts 23:11: The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

So, Paul's decision to use his Roman citizenship to his advantage is not because he is concerned about winning his trial; it is because he know the Lord has plans for him to go to Rome. This makes it a theological point, rather than a legal maneuver. As one commentary says, "Rome is the city of Paul's destiny because it is in the script of God's plan of salvation" (NIB Commentary on Acts).

Paul's life story is the story of a faithful God and a faithful servant. Ours can be that kind of story too. When our personal decisions are given divine importance and seen as a part of God's plan for our lives, our story becomes the story of a faithful God and a faithful servant. When the actions we take--or choose NOT to take--and the words we say--or do NOT say--are considered in light of the plans God has for each one of us, our story becomes the story of a faithful God and a faithful servant. If we can see our lives as a part of God's story, we realize that there are no inconsequential decisions or meaningless interactions.

No matter how trivial we think the moment is, it is a chance to be a part of God's plan of salvation in the world.

Keep your eyes open for "trivial" moments today!
Allison

"I love to tell the story. . . "

Good morning/afternoon/evening! The sunshine woke me up this morning (well, the dog and the sunshine), and what a burst of energy a little sun can give you!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Fri, Feb. 20- The goat chosen by lots is called a what?
Leviticus 16:8, “He is to cast lots for the two goats- one for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.” (So, that's where that word came from!!)

And here's the question of the day:
Sat, Feb. 21- Who was Cornelius?


And here's the reflection of the day:
It's Acts again this morning, Acts 10 to be exact. Here is the familiar vision of Peter and the sheet and the animals. It is God's way of declaring all animals to be clean, of declaring all the people--even the Gentiles--to be clean. And we see Cornelius--a Roman, gentile army officer--an outsider, even though he was a devout man, a Gentile in a Jewish world (10.28). He was on the fringes of the religious community. But the outside is about to be brought inside.

The vision brings Peter and Cornelius together. Cornelius says to Peter, "Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us" (10.33).

All Peter does is tell his story. He tells the story of God to Cornelius and those who gathered there with them. He simply tells the story of God and his love in Jesus Christ. He just tells a story. It's the Holy Spirit who does the work. And "while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message" (10.44).

Do you see what that means? God simply calls us to tell our stories--how and when and where we met God and what that means to us. God simply wants us to tell our story--the story of a God who loved us so much that he gave his only-begotten Son for us.

We tell the story and leave the hard part up to God; all we need to do is tell the story and let the Holy Spirit do the heart-changing. Don't be afraid; you just tell your story. . . let God do the rest!

Listen to what Mr. Alan Jackson says. . .



Happy Saturday!
Allison