"I have heard..."

"In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"

"Yes, Lord," he answered.

The 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. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard..." (Acts 9:10-13a)

When I was reading through this passage the other day, I had to stop right there. Think of the number of responses that can follow this phrase. I realized that in spite of the number of times I've read this chapter, I expected an "I have heard and I'm off to do what you asked," or "I have heard and I'm on it." Something like that.

Ananias chose a very human response. He did not take the attitude "to hear is to obey." Ananias had something he had to clear up with God first.

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

Ananias had just heard from God. A one-on-one, personal message from the Lord. But he did not respond in the manner of Samuel who answered "Speak, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10). The voices he was paying attention to at that moment were those bearing the rumors, the news stories, the updates and all the bad news. Not surprising, really, is it though? After all, this chapter begins with Saul "breathing out murderous threats." Ananias had to be very well aware that he was one of the people Saul had permission to imprison or to kill. Whether he was thinking of the risk to himself or just reminding God what was at stake, Ananias had to verify God's request.

"Lord ... I have heard many reports about this man..."

("God, are you sure?")

The good news is that Ananias obeyed. I'm guessing it was probably one of the most difficult things he had to do in his lifetime, even with God's assurance. (Although if you read on, he had quite a time convincing the other disciples not to be afraid of Saul.) And yet, look how his obedience changed the world for all time. Saul went on to become the disciple Paul and one of the most fearless leaders of the early church!

What's the lesson to us?

I think it's this - Ask if you must, but ultimately, go. And you never now how God will use your obedience to change the world.

An old message a new way (Tamara Lowe)

Perspective for today

"Our weakness and frailty are not merely places of desolation; they are dance floors—holy places where the God of the universe is allowed to freely move in our lives." Mary E. DeMuth

Read the entire article around this quote at Proverbs 31 Ministries

Is Easter nonsense?

Today marked the end of another Easter season. Churches everywhere sang their songs, presented their pageants, put on their plays and coordinated their choirs. On this day, more than any other, the message of Christ's death and life is shared around the world. And for many people, this Easter Sunday marked the beginning of a new journey as they realized the personal power that Christ's death and resurrection has for them. What an exciting time to celebrate!!

As I was reading through Luke's account of that first resurrection day, I was struck by a phrase I'd never noticed before:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. (Luke 24:1-11, emphasis mine)

I, too, sang in an Easter choir today and I joyed in the power of the resurrection as I sang of the hope and promise that God has given me. Easter Sunday is really the day that makes the difference of eternity. If Jesus hadn't risen from the dead, he'd really be just another dead man. That's it. But his sacrificial death and then his defeat of death mean that we can be truly and forever reconciled with the God that loves us so much He made a way to pay for the sin that separates us from Him.

But how many people sit in churches and to them it just sounds like nonsense? The proof isn't convincing. The words they hear don't seem to fit the facts as they know them. The lives they see around them in that church may or may not fit the expectations they have of people of faith. And they leave thinking it's just nonsense. Maybe the family member or neighbor that came with you left that way. Maybe you're the one that walked out unconvinced.

But that doesn't mean the end of the story.

Let's face it - even the disciples thought it didn't make sense. When Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women came running back with a story of angels and an empty tomb, the disciples - those who had hear Jesus in person explain and predict his death and resurrection - didn't believe it. I doubt those women changed their mind. They had experienced it. The disciples hadn't. Luke even tells us Peter went and checked it out but he didn't go away convinced. He went away wondering what had happened. And who can blame him? It's a pretty mind-blowing reality to have to grasp. It had never happened before in history and has never happened since.

Here's the exciting part though - by the end of the chapter, they believed.

Why?

Because they met Jesus. They saw him, talked with him, spent time with him. They could no longer deny the experience of others because they'd come face to face with the risen Jesus for themselves. And they, too, became so convinced that that "nonsense" was reality that many of them later gave their own lives to share that truth with others.

My prayer today is that anyone that left an Easter service today, unable to believe because it didn't make sense to them, will still meet Jesus. That anyone that didn't go because it was nonsense will still meet Jesus. Come face to face with the message of the cross and be able to see it's promise for them. Because when you truly meet Jesus, "nonsense" makes perfect sense. The things we don't understand take on a whole new significance as he speaks to our hearts and shows us what we've been missing. It is the moment when we, too, can respond to the power of the risen Lord in confidence and trust.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Prayer time

I often find it hard to keep a regular prayer time going. My intentions are good but my results are not. What results? Not God's results - He has moved in some mighty and amazing ways and I am awed on those times when my prayers have been part of the process. No, the result I most often miss is the part where I listen to hear back from God. It's so easy to go to him with my list of requests and problems and even the occasional demands but how often do I wait to hear what the answer might be?

Not as often as I should. If I talked to my family the way I talk to God sometimes, there's be major trouble at my house. Those relationships would eventually just fall apart.

So it's refresher time.

What is prayer? Prayer is just talking to God. But it's not supposed to be just talking AT God. It's a conversation. A favorite verse of mine is found in Jeremiah:

"Pray to me and I will answer you..." (Jeremiah 33:3a)

Pray to me? Got it. There will be an answer? Oh. So if I don't hear an answer, maybe it's because I didn't take the time to listen.

Sometimes, when people pray, the answer to prayer comes before the prayer is finished:

"Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out..." (Genesis 24:45)

Of course, I know that God's answer may take time to come. Or I may not recognize it as an answer - particularly if it isn't what I wanted. But how often do we miss the answer because we've just rushed our Amens and walked away? Take some time to wait for an answer. Or at least to give God some space in the conversation.

What else can I expect from prayer? How about knowledge? The verse from Jeremiah above goes on:

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' (Jeremiah 33:3, emphasis mine)

Maybe a miracle?

"Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls..."
(Genesis 20:17)

"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 everybody'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." (Acts 16:25-31 - two miracles!)

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Maybe the assurance that God is listening:

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." (James 5:13)

"He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea." (Psalm 102:17)

Maybe it's just about obedience.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18, emphasis mine)

"... in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6b)

There are so many reasons to pray. So let's make our conversation with God just that - two way communication - and see what He will do with, for, in and through us.

Martin Luther said, "As it is the business of tailors to make clothes, and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray."

Let's get to work.

Knowledge & belief

"Human knowledge must be understood to be believed.

Divine knowledge must be believed to be understood."
- Unknown

For a change of pace ...