I beg to differ!

"Alone...just me and my Jesus" continued:

In this same time with God as my last entry (Alone...just me and my Jesus), after reading John 8, I was told to read Acts 15. Here the Spirit revealed to me the importance of restoration and unity in The Church. The Jewish Christians were demanding that the Gentile Christians must become Jews first (through circumcision) before they could follow Jesus. The Gentiles were confused and frustrated. So Paul and Barnabas called a meeting among the Jewish leaders to set them straight on this. God does not make differences between Jew and Gentile. Once one has accpets Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit is placed in them. There is no need for circumcision. The elders and deacons came to see the truth in this and decided it best to write a letter to the Gentiles freeing them from the religious Law of the OT. So, they sent the letter with some of the Jewish leaders along with Paul and Barnabas back to the Gentiles informing them. There was much celebration over this. Paul and Barnabas then felt they needed to go visit all the believers in all the churches from thier first missionary journey. Barnabas requests that John Mark accompany them. Paul refuses, becuase John Mark had deserted them when they were imprisoned. A heated argument ensues, and it is resolved with Paul and Barnabas dividing into 2 groups. Barnabas took John Mark with him to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas to accompany him. (The start of Paul's second missionary journey)

BUT the story is not complete! There was a heated argument, which led to seperation... BUT was all part of God's plan to bring unity. WHAT??? How does a fight bring unity? Doesn't that bring discord?

Well, here are the parts that I left out... remember the arguing over circumcision? Well, Silas was one of the Jewish leaders sent to deliver the letter to the Gerntiles freeing them from this ritual. Paul chose HIM to go with him on his next journey. When the believers commissioned Paula and Silas for the journey, they sent them off ENTRUSTING THEM TO THE LORD'S GRACE!

And remember Barnabas and Paul's "split?" This too was God's plan... two great preachers formed TWO teams... TWO MISSIONARY ENDEAVORS INSTEAD OF ONE! The Gospel spread faster!

The Lord used this passage to show me that even when things get really ugly among Christians, HE is still in control. He is bigger than our plans, our minds, our vision. When we are FULLY reliant on the Holy Spirit in our lives, through adversity and hardship, God's grace is sufficient. Christians don't always agree. AND problems can be solved by seeking wise counsil (eg: Paula and Barnabas' wisdom in circumcision) and agreeing to disagree and letting God work his will. (eg: Paul and Barnabas' disagreement).

So what did I learn today? To sum it all up in a few short sentences:

When times get really ugly, and they will, I must rest in the Father, keeping my eyes on Jesus. Agree to disagree. And allow God to work his perfect will.

"Alone... just me and my Jesus"

The kids had gone to bed, Mike was with 2 of his friends for an LTG, and it was really late at night. So, all the lights in the house were out. I was alone, just me and my Jesus. I was not tired and was longing to spend some time with Him praising and singing and praying. I was drawn to my front proch where I sat and praised my Heavenly father through song-- I sang quietly so I didn't wake up the neighborhood. :-)

When I first sat down, I could feel a strong spiritual battle all around me, so I starting proclaiming the name of Jesus and commanding Satan and his army to flee. Afterall, we are God's army and all authority and power has been given to us through Christ Jesus to overcome spiritual darkness. That was it. The battle was over! I sat there on my porch praising Jesus' name and singing songs in praise to Him.

After a half hour or so, I felt the Spirit tell me it was time to go to bed. I wasn't tired, but the Spirit said, "You need your rest. Tomorrow you have a battle to fight." Whoa! Off to bed I immediately went. I slept really good last night, the first in a few weeks. This morning, the Spirit woke me up early and said, "Get up. It's time to put on your armor." End of sleep. I rose up, dressed, and was reminded not to forget the Helmut of Salvation.

My kids were still sleeping, my husband was already off to an early morning meeting, and there I sat on the sofa... alone, just me and my Jesus. He told me to go to John 8 and then Acts 15. So, I read till the Spirit stopped me. John 8:21-30 is where I stopped. As I read it, the Lord showed me another word picture of what life controlled by the Spirit looks like. In verse 28, Jesus tells the Jewish leaders, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will realize that I am he and that I DO NOTHING ON MY OWN, but I speak only what the Father taught me. And THE ONE WHO SENT ME IS WITH ME-- HE HAS NOT DESERTED ME. For I always to those things that are pleasing to him." What a beautiful picture! Jesus had the Father with him, too becuase he was not just God incarnate, but also FULLY MAN. He needed God! We are given this same gift. We are fully human, and God has put the Holy Spirit in each follower of Jesus.

to be continued...

Wheels in Motion

Ezekiel 1:15-21 says this: As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels on the ground beneath them, one wheel belonging to each. The wheels sparkled as if made of chrysolite. All four wheels looked the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. The beings could move forward in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. The rims of the four wheels were awesomely tall, and they were covered with eyes all around the edges. When the four living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. The spirit of the four living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings went, too. When the living beings moved, the wheels moved. When the living beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the living beings flew into the air, the wheels rose up. For the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

Ezekiel was an Old Testament Prophet who God spoke to through visions to communicate to the Jews God's goodness to those who faithfully seek to obey him, and the promise of a glorious future ahead. This excerpt is taken from the beginning of the vision with which God spoke to Ezekiel. These verses popped off the page at me. Now, I am in no way going to communicate what his vision is symbolizing, the message it holds, etc... but rather I am going to state how God took these verses to show through a word picture what it is He has teaching me.

The wheels represent believers who are fully surrendered to Jesus, and the living beings represent the Holy Spirit living inside those believers who are fully surrendered to Jesus. When the Spirit inside them moves forward, backward, up, down, speaks, doesn’t speak, stops, etc… the believer, being fully surrendered to the Spirit, does the same. The Holy Spirit is TOTALLY in control… not the fully surrendered believer. This was HUGE for me to get a word picture for what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and totally submissive to Christ. When this happens, which I have experienced, the “eutopia” that is experienced is truly amazing! I totally am ONE with Christ. This is just too cool! But as soon as I take over the driver’s seat, I remove myself from this “ONE-NESS” with Christ. No I don’t lose my salvation, but I no longer am fully surrendered to the Spirit, which means the relationship is broken/damaged.

Beautiful Waterfall, flow over me... and FILL me till only YOU remains!