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Today’s reading is Acts 19: 21-41 Following Jesus will not always result in peace. In America, particularly in the south, we tend to think about following Jesus like a fairy tale. You get saved, your life turns around, everyone loves you. … Continue reading
On Wednesday mornings, I teach one of the most fun Bible studies I’ve ever taught. I teach our Older Adults here at St. Matthew’s a Bible study based off the classic book Hard Sayings of Jesus. Now, if anyone has … Continue reading
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Sometimes there are things that we really want to do; things that we really believe that we should do. Things that may even be good things. Noble things. Even important things. But they aren’t what God wants us to do.
Sometimes there are things that we really want to do; things that we really believe that we should do. Things that may even be good things. Noble things. Even important things. But they aren’t what God wants us to do.
And that can be frustrating for us. That can make us even doubt sometimes. Come on, this is a good thing; an important thing. Why can’t I do it?
Listen to what happens today in Luke 8: 38-39:
The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Jesus healed this man, brought him back to life. Brought him back to wholeness and completeness. And all he wanted to do was follow Jesus.
Wow, what a great story! Now this man who Jesus healed will follow Him and become a disciple. Wow, that’s awesome!
But that’s not what happens. He goes to Jesus and wants to go with Him. And Jesus says no. He had other plans. Instead of following along with Jesus, the man was to go to his own hometown, and tell everyone what had happened.
Jesus had other plans. It wasn’t that the man’s plans were bad or wrong. But Jesus had other plans.
What do we do when God has other plans?
We trust. We know that God’s plans for our lives are better than our dreams for our lives. If God says no to something that we want to do; even a good thing, it’s because He has something better in mind. When we don’t understand, we trust.
We obey. We don’t obey God because of what we get out of it, we obey because of what He’s done for us. Here’s the thing, when we obey, God does amazing things through us, even if we don’t understand why or how or what. It’s not for us to always understand, it’s for us to always trust and obey.
We are thankful. Because here’s the thing. God has a plan for you. The almighty God of the universe has a plan for you. Look what happened in this text. This entire city heard the good news of Jesus because of this man. Wow!
Why God’s plan for you may not be your plan for you, know this. God has a plan for you!
Wow.
Today, may we follow in that plan.
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I really wish that life was all unicorns and rainbows. That’d be awesome. It would be great if life was only made up of things that were easy, of things that we liked doing; of things that we would chose to do.
That’s not the way that it works. Life is not always made of up things that we would choose to do. Life is not always made of up the things that we’d choose to.
It’s sometimes, more often than not, made up of hard things. Things that we think we can’t do. Things that are too great a challenge. Things that, in the end, we just don’t want to do.
Look at what happens in Acts 9:10-17:
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Look at Ananias today. He didn’t want to go talk to Paul. He didn’t want to go heal Paul. Why? He had good reason. Paul had been destroying the church. Paul had actually been coming to Damascus to destroy men like him. And now God wants him to go and heal Paul.
No way! I don’t want to!
But he did. And look what God did through Paul. Through Paul, half the New Testament was written, and those us today that aren’t Jewish can say that we are Christian because of the work that God did through Paul.
And the only way that God could have done that was by Ananias doing something that he didn’t want to do.
Today, God may call you to do something that you don’t want to do. That looks hard. That puts you in a tough place. That makes you want to stop your feet and say no! I’m not doing that.
Today, do what God calls you to do. Be obedient. He has something for you. And He has something for that one that He wants to reach through you. When we are obedient, even when we don’t want to be, God can do some great things.
Today, even if our first impulse is to scream I don’t want to! when God call us, may we do what He wants. For in being obedient to His calling, we find more life than we could ever imagine.
Thomas is excited because today is “mismatch” day at school. He is wearing one of his crocs, and one of his flip-flops. I never thought he’d like anything as much as his crocs.
Until he got his flip flops. He thinks they are the coolest thing ever. He has hasn’t told me why, but I think it’s because he thinks it’s cool he gets to see his feet all day long.
It’s like being barefoot, except not.
We don’t often think of feet as cool or neat, or really something worth talking about about.
But Paul listen to what Paul says today in Romans 10: 14-15
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Paul says today that when are our feet are obedient and take the gospel to others, they are beautiful. They are beautiful for they are being used for a beautiful purpose.
To tell others about the grace of God.
There is not a part of us, of our story, of our lives, of all that we are, that God can’t use for beauty. There’s not a part of us, that when we submit it to God and use it for His purpose and plan that isn’t beautiful.
Today, you are beautiful. Today, through His grace and for His purpose, you a beautiful.
Today, live in His grace and for His purpose. And through that, know how beautiful you are.
Each day is full of choices. There is nothing unique about that.
That’s the way that’s it’s always been.
In the Garden, Adam and Eve had a choice to make about eating the fruit. They chose to disregard what God had commanded, and they ate the fruit.
Noah had a choice to listen to the voice of God and start building the ark, even when his neighbors probably through he was off his rocker.
Peter and the other disciples had a choice to make when Jesus told them to “Follow Me.” The chose to follow.
The rich younger chose not to follow.
Choices are all throughout scripture. Choices run all throughout our lives. We have choices to make. We have choices to make today. Listen to the words of Joshua:
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Today, we have a choice to make. Who will we serve? Will we serve and seek after God? Or will we serve and seek after what the culture tells us we should be about?
Will we choose to be faithful? We will choose to disobey?
Will we choose to follow God’s path? Or will we choose to follow our own?
We will choose to listen to God’s voice? Or will we choose to listen to the voice of the evil one?
Today, I have choices, you have choices. I can’t make your choices for you, you cannot make my choices for me. We each have choices to make today.
What will we choose? Will we choose to serve and follow God? Or will we choose to disobey?
Today, the choice is ours.
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