Showing posts with label paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paul. Show all posts
As I write this post on Sunday evening the television is 
broadcasting horrible images of tornado damage in the heartland
of the United States.

I've never actually seen a tornado in person.
I hope that I never do.
But, with technology today we can get a closer look
than ever before.

The Bible refers to many storms.

There was poor Jonah...
on his way to escape a direct command from God
when a huge storm got in the way.
Oops!
Wrong move, Jonah.
That cost him three days in the belly of a fish
AND he still had to complete the mission.

(Perhaps we should learn from this lesson)

Paul was shipwrecked in a storm
that probably should have taken his life.
But he survived to minister some more.

Jesus calmed a storm with a very simple 
instruction.....He spoke, it obeyed.

Storms.
They are a part of our reality.
Both the kind with wind and rain
and the kind that happens in our hearts 
when our marriages struggle, 
our children wander or 
we suffer a job loss.

But here is another reality.
Something we observe in the storm "stories"
we read in the Word of God.

As powerful as these storms are,
HE is more powerful.

As alone as we may feel in the midst of the storm, 
we are not alone.
He is there with us.

Storms tend to cleanse the atmosphere.
They leave behind brilliant sunshine and often times 
stunning rainbows.
One of the best known storms of our world history
occurred pretty early on.
Only Noah and his family survived that one to see
the rainbow promise.

Storms in our lives may make us doubt our ability to go on.
We may be panicked like the disciples in the boat before Jesus miraculously
appeared to them as He walked on the waves.
However, Since we know that God is unchanging we must
believe that just as He walked to the disciples in that storm
He will walk with us in our troubled times.

I'm sure we will all be in prayer for those who have lost 
so much in the tornadoes referenced at the beginning
of this post.
Also, we continue to pray that the people of the Philippines 
will be able to get the help they need both physically 
and spiritually after the typhoon that was so 
decimating. 

Even so, let us pray for those around us who are 
enduring storms of emotion or life events.

May we always remember that none of this catches our 
Heavenly Father by surprise.
And He is way more powerful than the strongest 
of those storms.
He is at work in every situation.

Hugs,









Have you encountered Jesus in your life? I sure have!

                        http://www.etsy.com/listing/75253041/rosary-chaplet-bookmark?ref=sc_1
It was, after all, an encounter with the risen Jesus that makes it all happen for Paul, with the Confession of St. Peter, it was not Peter, but his confession of Jesus that was the Rock, the anchor for the foundation of the Church. So it is not Paul, but Jesus who has the vision and shares that vision of what the Church and its mission might be.


The extraordinary thing that we learn about God, in Jesus, is that forgiveness and conversion are possible at all. Acts (and we must admit that Luke may exaggerate for the sake of the story) portrays Paul as the greatest enemy of the earliest followers of “The Way.” But rather than smite him, or demonize him, Jesus instead takes Paul's gifts of zeal and persuasion, and puts them to work for the Gospel.

An encounter with the risen Lord can do that for a person. There have been countless stories over the years that proclaim this basic principle. The hymn, “Amazing Grace,” sings it not only as Paul's song, but also as ours.
The first good news in this story is that God doesn't give up on Paul, nor does God give up on us. Even when we are at enmity with God, God loves us and claims us. And since God does not separate us into “good” people and “evil” people, we no longer have to do that with each other.


We need not justify our actions by pointing at others and proclaiming how bad they are, quite simply because God does not!

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Conversion happens. Turnarounds happen. But they don't happen because I make them happen in myself. They happen because I am grasped, grasped by the bottom of my seat. I am in the middle of HIS miracles, time after time after time, in an encounter with the risen Christ.
Such is the wonder of our God.

Until next Monday...spread the word
Monika
myuropeantouch.etsy.com
WORSHIP




Acts 16:24-26 (New International Version)

24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.


*************************************************************************************


Psalm 42 vs. 8 by AngelsasHeartWork




A true heart of worship is seen in this passage. I am not sure that I would have had the guts, or the strength, to worship in this situation. Paul and Silas were in jail, and they were innocent. They had just been beaten badly, and must have been in much pain. Not only were their bodies probably hurting, but their hearts and souls as well. I can't imagine being thrown in jail having done nothing wrong, and then being beaten half to death. I would probably be discouraged, upset, maybe even mad at God. But Paul and Silas, they decided to worship Him even in the midst of this awful situation. Notice I said they decided! Worship is a choice, attitude is a choice. They set their minds on Jesus and sang songs of praise to their Lord and Savior. They did not expect that their worship would set them free, they did it out of love to their God. And then they were set free. Once we decide to worship, in the midst of any nasty situation we are in, then we are free. Even if God does not free us immediately from our situation, we are set free in the Spirit. Our attitude of worship will change our outlook on the situation and we will listen to God's voice and directions. It is hard, yes, but it is what pleases our Lord and it can make a vast difference in our situations. Worship Him because He is HIM. I don't worship Him just to get His attention so He can get me out of my bad situation. I worship Him because I love Him! I love Him because He is my Lord and my All, not because of what He can do for me. And I'm blessed for it.


by Anastasia Watson of mattscraftywife.