Hear Paul speak to the Corinthians:
For instance, I know a man who, fourteen years ago, was seized by Christ and swept in ecstasy to the heights of heaven. I really don't know if this took place in the body or out of it; only God knows. I also know that this man was hijacked into paradise — again, whether in or out of the body, I don't know; God knows. There he heard the unspeakable spoken, but was forbidden to tell what he heard. This is the man I want to talk about. But about myself, I'm not saying another word apart from the humiliations.
If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I'd still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I'll spare you. I don't want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you'd encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Well, now I've done it! I've made a complete fool of myself by going on like this. But it's not all my fault; you put me up to it. You should have been doing this for me, sticking up for me and commending me instead of making me do it for myself. You know from personal experience that even if I'm a nobody, a nothing, I wasn't second-rate compared to those big-shot apostles you're so taken with. All the signs that mark a true apostle were in evidence while I was with you through both good times and bad: signs of portent, signs of wonder, signs of power.
Over time, I’ve come to believe that Paul was not alone in his life of great giftedness and great suffering. As I get to know more of God’s people, the clearer my understanding that so often, great strength emerges on the other side of unspeakable difficulty. If we can imagine a great warrior, gifted in that horrible art, we can only guess the hardships, the pain, the loss, the separation that such a life might require. Or, if we considered a great athlete, would we see only her grace, her skill, the moves honed to a beauty, precision, and speed that no machine can imitate? Or would we imagine the disciplined suffering through which she took her body in order to be able to experience this kind of power and performance?
Why do we disrespect greatness? Often we are distracted by the new, the exciting, or the well-marketed without considering, “What is the fruit of this?” The fruit of Paul’s life was immeasurably beyond that of the ”super apostles.” The super apostles were just better at singing their own praises (and can’t we tell that it provoked Paul to sarcasm to have to respond in like kind?).
The reality is that greatness is around us all of the time. We fail to see it, to praise it, to thank God for it, but that does not change the reality of its presence. Every human being bears the image of God. Every human being has the potential to help us see and understand God in some way that is unique to them, even if they deny that gift. Yet every human being also has a struggle, often directly proportionate to their potential to become a great instrument in the hand of God.
Let’s show a little respect and love for each other, and for the mixed bag of giftedness and suffering that each one of us represents.
Grace and peace,
Ron
2 Co 12:2-12 - THE MESSAGE
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Here I am to worship ...
Paul and Silas in Prison
One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved."
This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And instantly it left her.
Her masters' hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. "The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!" they shouted to the city officials. "They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice."
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, "Stop! Don't kill yourself! We are all here!"
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he 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, along with everyone in your household." And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, "Let those men go!"
So the jailer told Paul, "The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace."
But Paul replied, "They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!"
When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
Acts 16:16-40 NLT
Every time I read this passage of scripture, I am blown away at Paul and Silas' attitude of worship. No matter where they were or what had just happened to them today, they were hardcore God-followers, longing to have that close time with their Father. I hope that over the past week, you have had so many of those times with your Father. I know that I can feel God working and moving in my life in ways that I haven't experienced in a long time. I am seeing changes in the lives of those around me, and I even have been noticing changes in some of our boys.
Tonight at the Wellington Athletic Center, we all decided to take our boys and our families to just get some time and get some exercise and have some fun. While we were there, a woman walked up to me and asked me where we were from. I told her that we were from the Westview Boys Home and that we are here just having fun together. She asked me several questions about our ministry, and she commented that she could tell that we were "church" people as she called it. She said that she hadn't seen such polite young men in a long time. She commented that she had a grandson that has had so many problems lately that she wished she had a place like Westview that she could contact and get some help for him. I gave her the office phone number. We will see if she calls.
What does this have to do with anything? Paul and Silas had so many things happen to them. No one would have blamed them if they had done a little complaining that day, but they worshiped. They lived their lives and spent their time in such a way as to let everyone around them know who they love and what they stand for. I believe that our boys were doing that tonight. One of the boys was even running around the gym singing "Here I Am to Worship". How appropriate could you get?! God moves in our lives. He is working every day just trying to break down the barriers in your life. Once he has started breaking through, he wants to overflow into the lives of those around you. Paul and Silas witnessed this firsthand and the Kingdom grew that day. I pray that you can see the change in your own life as we continue on our journey to spiritual growth.
Jason
One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved."
This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And instantly it left her.
Her masters' hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. "The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!" they shouted to the city officials. "They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice."
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, "Stop! Don't kill yourself! We are all here!"
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he 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, along with everyone in your household." And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, "Let those men go!"
So the jailer told Paul, "The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace."
But Paul replied, "They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!"
When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
Acts 16:16-40 NLT
Every time I read this passage of scripture, I am blown away at Paul and Silas' attitude of worship. No matter where they were or what had just happened to them today, they were hardcore God-followers, longing to have that close time with their Father. I hope that over the past week, you have had so many of those times with your Father. I know that I can feel God working and moving in my life in ways that I haven't experienced in a long time. I am seeing changes in the lives of those around me, and I even have been noticing changes in some of our boys.
Tonight at the Wellington Athletic Center, we all decided to take our boys and our families to just get some time and get some exercise and have some fun. While we were there, a woman walked up to me and asked me where we were from. I told her that we were from the Westview Boys Home and that we are here just having fun together. She asked me several questions about our ministry, and she commented that she could tell that we were "church" people as she called it. She said that she hadn't seen such polite young men in a long time. She commented that she had a grandson that has had so many problems lately that she wished she had a place like Westview that she could contact and get some help for him. I gave her the office phone number. We will see if she calls.
What does this have to do with anything? Paul and Silas had so many things happen to them. No one would have blamed them if they had done a little complaining that day, but they worshiped. They lived their lives and spent their time in such a way as to let everyone around them know who they love and what they stand for. I believe that our boys were doing that tonight. One of the boys was even running around the gym singing "Here I Am to Worship". How appropriate could you get?! God moves in our lives. He is working every day just trying to break down the barriers in your life. Once he has started breaking through, he wants to overflow into the lives of those around you. Paul and Silas witnessed this firsthand and the Kingdom grew that day. I pray that you can see the change in your own life as we continue on our journey to spiritual growth.
Jason
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