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...and the disciples were first called

Christians in Antioch.

Acts 11:26b

Pentecost was over. The Holy Spirit had descended on those present in the Temple in Jerusalem. The disciples had gathered there with others as Jesus had told them to do. The people were now empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the command of Jesus to take the Gospel not just in the immediate area but to the uttermost parts of the world. Peter preached a wonderful, articulate sermon and thousands were saved.

All those baby Christians were so excited and enthused. Have you ever been around a new Christian and witnessed their excitement and enthusiasm? They do okay until they get around folks who have been saved for awhile and that's all it takes to settle them down...unfortunately.

There then took on the form of a church. There were thousands who had been saved. There had to be some way of meeting their needs and thus an infant church was formed. From all descriptions of this infant church, we wouldn't recognize it in our day. It's difficult in our day to get church members to attend church on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights let alone every day of the week as the infant church experienced because it was their desire to do so.

Sometime, read Acts 2:41-47. In that small section of Scripture one can find a list of those things done on a daily basis by the new infant, thriving and more than enthusiastic church. This list includes:

• members had received the Word and were baptized
• they devoted themselves continually to the apostles teaching
• fellowshiped
• broke bread (thought to be the communion service)
• were devoted to prayer
• were together and had all things in common
• sold and shared possessions for the sake of those who were in need
• were of one mind
• ate in each others homes almost daily, eating together with gladness
• were sincere of heart
• consistently praised God
  

 

 

What was the result? The Lord was adding to their numbers day by day because of so many people being saved. There was no denying that something spectacular was happening in Jerusalem and the word was spreading all over the place, aiding in the spread of the Gospel. You see, what was going on was not happening only on a Sunday.

Now we come to Acts 11:26 where the last phrase of that verse tells us: ...”and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Disciples referred to “disciplined ones” but Antioch was the first place where the word “Christian” was coined. In looking up the word, I found that it means “partisans, or followers of Christ.” It also means, “Christ's people.” That last meaning gives me pause to think how someone would label my walk with Christ. Is my witness such that outsiders would consider me a person of Christ not just on Sunday but every day of the week. From the list of definitions, I decided to do an acrostic using that word “Christian” that would feature characteristics in keeping with those listed in the book of Acts.

Christian

They were genuine born-again people...no act, no facade, no put on..., the real thing.

Helpful

They couldn't do enough for each other. They sincerely wanted to help each other all they could.

Righteous

They were a people who wanted to do the right thing...living true and right in every way possible.

Inspirational

They inspired one another to go on, doing great things for the Lord.

Servant

They had the hearts of servants, seeing to each others needs through food and other provisions even to the point of selling their own property to give to others.

Truth

These folks were hungry for truth. They hung on every word the apostles taught them day after day. They couldn't get enough of the knowledge of God. Their taking in that truth and putting it into practice showed in their lives.

Intercessor

We are also told they were people of prayer.

Ambassador

The members of this young church were agents for Christ. They were anxious to represent Jesus well and outsiders were influenced through their lives and life messages.

Nurturing

As far as the relationships within the infant church, nurturing was being done all over the place. They encouraged each other, passed along the things of Jesus, saw to needs when they were made known and were loving and caring people in every way. The way I like to put it is that they were “Jesus with skin on” for each other.

How wonderful if we could be these things in the churches we attend. In our churches are people who need our prayers, encouragement, material help and the list goes on. I trust as Christians, Christs people, our goal is to be so like Him that we would hardly be able to even recognize our own personal selves. May we be found faithful...our churches desperately need us.

Dear Father, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to those folks in Jerusalem. I must remember though that the Holy Spirit that fell on the people in that time and place is the same Holy Spirit living within me. Empower me, Holy Spirit to be the Christian I was born-again to be. Thank you Father, for Your grace and goodness in my life. Amen

It's Okay To Be Choosey

As parents, I think there were things we all tried to instill in our children as they grew and matured. Of course, as Christians we wanted to teach principles from God's Word as best we could. However, there were times we took those principles and boiled them down into practical guidelines they could put into practice.

When our children were into the elementary school years, we did a lot of observing as to those things or people who were good or even bad for our children. We had more enforcement power during those days. However, during those pre-teen and teen years, our children began to make many of their own decisions regarding activities and friends. Our prayer was always that our children would do the right things and make the best of choices.

AND YET...how often have we in our adult years failed in our own lives to live up to some of those same standards we worked so hard to instill in those young lives in our care.

To my dismay, there was a day of confrontation between my children and me. I don't recall who said what, but upon my return to our house after lunch with a friend, I was approached with some questions by my children (who were being home educated at the time), all asked with respect but still asked in order to make a point. I don't recall the questions by their exact words but they went something like this:

“Mom, why do you go to lunch with Mrs. Brown?” (Not using her true name)

“When you do, you always come home sad or upset.”

“You have told us to pick the right friends.” To which someone added:

“You told us that we have to be careful picking friends even at church.”

Wow...there wasn't a lot I could say to those things. In fact, I don't even recall how I responded to those statements that came at me pretty quickly. I can't tell you what hearing those things from my children meant to me and I've never forgotten that day. For one thing, in a tasteful way I think, I withdrew from that friendship even though the other person was not real happy about my withdrawal. I also evaluated within myself the kind of people I felt I needed around me, those I would regard as the best of friends. I had to think about personal needs in my life, and what I need from others to help me be the best Christian I can be. I'll quickly suggest some of those things that have been a real help to me in evaluating relationships and hopefully that I can return in kind to those ladies who are such a blessing in my life.

(What I watch for when seeking a dear friend...a kindred spirit are as follows. Please keep in mind that I'm not looking for a perfect person because I'm certainly not perfect either.)

At the top of my list is a friend's walk with the Lord. I'm not talking about someone who talks the talk but who doesn't walk the walk. I want a lady of prayer and who loves and studies the Word of God. I want to be able to share freely with my friend what the Lord is doing in my life. I want her to be someone I know will pray for me, especially when big things come into my life. I in turn want to feel a freedom to be these same things for her.

Next, the older I become, the more I am looking for positive people to be around. I'm tired of whining, negative women who haven't learned that negative attention isn't always the best attention. I want someone who sees the silver lining of darker clouds, who can smile through difficulties. May they be complimentary in an honest way and yet find a way in that honesty to point out those offensive things in me that may be damaging my witness for the Lord.

I want friends with a sense of humor who can laugh at the craziest of things with a belly laugh that can bring tears running down their faces...folks who at times can even get the giggles in church and choke them back with a borrowed handkerchief.

Along that line, I also want friends who aren't ashamed to let me see their tears. I want friends to feel that they can literally cry on my shoulder, but in return will freely offer their shoulder for my occasional tears.

A friends confidentiality is very important to me and by the way is a rare find in anyone. We need to feel that when sharing, we can trust friends to keep things to themselves. Mixed in with this is the hope that friends will stay with me despite circumstances that can sometimes beat up on a friendship.

There are so many verses in Scripture that give us guidance regarding friendships and we should look them up and heed them. There is a verse in Proverbs that has always fascinated me as it speaks of what a mutual respect between two parties can mean to both individuals:

Iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens

another.

Proverbs 27:17

I have a wooden block that holds various types and sizes of knives in it. However, there is one implement in that block that doesn't cut anything. It is an implement that can be used to sharpen the knives in that block. The official name for this tool is “honing steel.” It is made of practically the same material as the knife that rubs against it to improve the cut of that knife.

Although the roles are different between the knife and the honing steel, a vital exchange takes place as one moves against the other. Such is the way our close friendships should be that both parties benefit the other in a very positive and yet helpful way. I want close friends, very spiritual ladies who can encourage me to be at my sharpest and that I can do the same for them.

It's difficult to pull away from friendships that for any number of reasons has changed and not for the better. You and I need as many positive people as possible in our closest of relationships...iron that will sharpen iron with both parties benefiting in the process.

Lord Jesus, that You for being my very best friend. I'm so grateful that I have in You what a friend ought to be and that You set the right example for all of us. Help me to be wise in choosing my closest of friends but to be friendly to everyone I come in contact with. I rely on Your wisdom and thank You for being my all in all. I love you...Amen

Loving Respect For The Word

...do not be grieved, for the joy

of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10b

One could take a poll of Christians as to what their favorite person or incident is in the Bible other than Jesus and His ministry. In younger years, I went through stages. For a time, Moses was a hero of mine and by the way, still is. For a time, I moved to favor David, the man after God's own heart. I also at one time leaned toward Daniel, then Peter and of course Paul. However nestled into a part of the Old Testament book of Nehemiah is a precious incident. I have through a period of time, come to love Nehemiah and Ezra. Both of them are post captivity prophets if I may refer to them as such.

Nehemiah was allowed to return to Jerusalem to aid in the planning and rebuilding of that decimated city. It's interesting to read how he handled all of the opposition that came his way. In the book of Nehemiah we also see that Ezra returned to Jerusalem as well. God's purpose in his return was to encourage revival in the hearts of the people. Many returning from Babylon had never been in the blessed city of Jerusalem after a lengthy captivity of God's people. Many didn't even have a good grip on their faith, having been away from all of the laws and customs. Something dynamic was about to happen to the people and Ezra was in personal preparation for the moment.

I love Ezra 7:6 that says that Ezra came from Babylon and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses. All he did was because the the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. As a scribe, it was Ezra's job to make copies of whatever Scripture he had available to him. In that process, he became a real student of the Word. However, the real excitement was about to happen.

We go to Nehemiah 8, and there we find the following in some verses in that chapter.

In verse 1, we find the people gathered at the Water Gate asking Ezra to bring the book of the law to them. Verse 2 shows us Ezra bringing the Word before the people to read to those who could listen with understanding.

I find it interesting that Ezra read from the law from early morning until midday. Can you imagine that? We go to church and expect a service to last one hour and one hour only. Woe be to the pastor who preaches too long. Not only that, but when Ezra opened the book to read it, ALL of the people stood up in one accord. So in all of that time, their respect ran so deep that they couldn't do anything but stand out of love and respect.

The people responded to the reading by answering the reading with “Amen, Amen!” They were lifting their hands and then verse 6 tells us that they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. There were men...interpreters of sorts...who were roaming through the crowd translating Ezra's words for those who no longer spoke Hebrew.

Further into verse 9, we find something interesting. We are told that all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Ezra encouraged them to go, eat and regard the day as being holy. He then spoke to them to not be grieved...

“...for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

These folks were so starved for the Word of God, they could hardly wait for Ezra to mount the wooden podium that had be built especially for that moment when the Word would be read in Jerusalem to returning exiles perhaps for the first time in 70 years. They shouted, stood, then bowed and finally wept because they were so touched by the precious words being read by Ezra.

I am finding in our day an almost disregard by God's people for God's Word. Why do the atheists seem to get their way all the time? I think it's because we have an “I-don’t-care attitude” as Christians. We somehow feel we are entitled and that we will always be free in the study and preaching of God's Word. Those Israelites did watch a “clock.” They couldn't get enough of just the reading of the Word. They didn't need a special, entertaining speaker to read those precious words. They were so hungry for the Word, they would do anything to be within the hearing of the reading of it.

So I ask myself:

How enthused am I about hearing God's Word read and preached?

How long would I be willing to STAND listening to it?

When was the last time the reading of the Word brought me to tears?

When was the last time I uttered an “Amen” during the preaching or teaching of it?

I dearly love this incident that God chose to include in His Word about a dedicated Scribe (Ezra) and a people so hungry to hear God's Word read that they could hardly stand it. I look at this incident periodically when I want my heart rewarmed toward the Scriptures.

Ezra didn't want the people grieved and crying. He knew the source of the peoples strength....the joy of the Lord. That same strength is available to us as well today. May we just “splash” around in the Lord's joy, knowing He will pour His strength into us. Remember the following?

The B-I-B-L-E

Yes that's the Book for me.

I stand alone on the Word of God

The B-I-B-L-E!!!

Thank You, Lord Jesus for Your Word. The only captivity I can really know is a self imposed captive to self and forgive me for that. I want a genuine and loving enthusiasm toward Your Word, not as some gimmick but in order to walk in obedience and to know You like I haven't known You before this moment. I love you.....Amen

Serving At Great Cost

You are my hiding place; You

preserve me from trouble;

You surround me with

songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:7

You are my hiding place and

my shield; I wait for Your Word.

Psalm 119:114

I don't know how many years ago it was that I first heard of Corrie (Cornelia) ten Boom. My interest in her really peaked with the release of the movie, “The Hiding Place” that was produced by the Billy Graham Association. The great shock for me was when that movie appeared on a major TV network unedited. Having been a history buff for a long time and having been young during the World War II days, I picked up on Corrie, her family, and their ministry.

Corrie and her sister Betsie lived with their father above the family's watch making business. In fact, Corrie was the first female in the Netherlands to become a licensed watchmaker. This family was about as devoted to the Lord as any people you could ever hope to meet. They lived in the city of Haarlem, Holland in the Netherlands. World War II was raging and the Nazi's were moving into almost every European country and finally arrived in the Netherlands. The queen of the Netherlands and her cabinet barely made it out of the country as the Nazi's were arriving.

Right away, the Jews in their city were being persecuted. They were required to wear their yellow star patches with the word “Jude” on them. Their businesses were destroyed and many were beaten and abused in every way possible. Jews were being shipped out of the city. Rumors were that they were being taken to work camps. Later, it would become known that the work camps were actually death camps.

Jews were looking for places to hide and because the ten Booms had a large house, they worked to adapt it to accommodate extra people that they could hide from the Nazis. This house became known as “The Hiding Place.” The ten Booms identified with the Jews feeling it only right to take care of God's people as best they could.

They were of course, found out...betrayed by a neighbor. Corrie and Betsie were taken to one processing center and their father to another. Mr. ten Boom was quite old and only lived a couple of weeks before he could even be sent to any specific camp. Corrie and Betsie were moved a couple of times but ended up in the Ravensbruck death camp. There's just too much to tell here about the torture they endured but the blessing in their story is all the many ways God provided for their every need and their faithfulness in ministering to the women in their barracks.

Betsie died in the camp of a serious illness. Later, Corrie was called out from the morning roll call with some other women. This was usually what happened when certain women were to be executed. However, through a “fluke” in paperwork, Corrie was “mistakenly” put on a list of those women to be released. She spent the rest of her life ministering and traveling encouraging an attitude of forgiveness in everyone she spoke to. She had a massive stroke a few years ago that took her ability to move about and even to talk. She died at the age of 91.

(Let me encourage you to go on your computer and go to CORRIE TEN BOOM.MUSEUM. It's a fascinating history and tour of her family's home in Haarlem.)

I look at a life like Corrie's and I am caused to do some deep thinking about my own faith and faithfulness. We Christians in America are so very spoiled. I realize that things are heating up brought on by atheists and people of other cults or religions, all of whom just want Christianity to go away. Believe me, it's not going away. I can't believe what I'm seeing now in comparison to the Christian country I knew growing up as a young girl. Satan is alive and well. He doesn't just want to take our country's motto off of our money and “under God” out of our pledge to the flag. Satan wants to get down and dirty and he's only warming up in the bull pen in these days.

So I ask myself:

How strong is my faith?

Am I willing to give up my life for Jesus if it came to that?

If I think I would give up my life for Jesus, then what am I doing in these day as a witness?

Am I bold in speaking up for Jesus and what He means to me?

We have friends in other countries controlled by non-Christian governments who would be in great trouble if they were caught reading an article like this. We have several ladies that I pray for regularly who are regular readers some of whom would love to either have a copy of God's Word or could be in great trouble if found carrying a copy of it. If they meet in homes for worship and are caught, it could mean imprisonment or their lives. They are reading this same article as you.

Could I run the risk of doing what the ten Boom family did in saving lives?

If ever arrested for my faith, would I be bold enough to take a firm stand for Christ no matter the cost? Should a gun be put to my head by a terrorist demanding I deny my Savior, how would I respond? That doesn't even seem like a probably scenario, does it...seems far fetched. A few years ago, one school girl at least was told to deny her faith and when she wouldn't, was shot and killed by a fellow student in Columbine, Colorado. In our day, however, nothing should surprise us.

Do I know enough Bible by memory that if I were denied the right to have one, could I remember any amount of Scripture to sustain and strengthen me? What is my prayer life like? Do I pour my heart out to God only when in trouble or in great need? Have I made the Lord my own personal hiding place?

I can't resist as I finish writing, to quote from Corrie's personal wisdom. Even now she speaks and encourages us to be all for Jesus we can be.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable and

receives the impossible.”

“If God sends us on stony paths, He provides strong shoes.”

“Conditions are always changing; therefore, I must not be

dependent upon conditions. What matters supremely is

my soul and my relationship to God.”

“God has buried our sins in the depth of the deepest sea.

He then posted a sign saying...”NO FISHING.”

“We must mirror God's love in the midst of a world full

of hatred. We are the mirrors of God's love, so we

may show Jesus by our lives.”

“In the center of a hurricane there is absolute quiet

and peace. There is no safer place than in

the center of the will of God.”

Lord Jesus...I never want to disappoint You. I want to stand for You at every opportunity with no shame or embarrassment. Give me Your wisdom that I will handle the worst of situations that come into my life as You would have it to be. I love You and thank You for Your unconditional love for me despite all of my sinful ways. Amen

Climb Every Mountain

The title of this blog was also the title of a very loved song from The Sound of Music, when the Reverend Mother sang it to the VonTrapp family as they were about to escape from the Nazi's by walking over their local mountains into a safe country. The song though, didn't just speak of those Austrian Alps but also of the mountains they were facing as a family.

As I write, I'm sitting at a great vantage point of being able to view a lovely valley with mountains a little further on that seem to be stacked almost on top of each other from the foothills to the tallest of them...all sizes and shapes exhibiting their own unique beauty. What is there about mountains that draw people to them? Our local national park is the most visited national park in our nation. There is a peace here that people experience despite age or background.

People love mountains:

• they like to look at them and drive through them
• photographers go to them in droves hoping for the perfect shot
• folks love climbing mountain trails
• tourists love being inspired by mountain beauty
• families picnic in them and children splash in their streams
  

 

 

There is something mountains have in common no matter where you go in our country and yet they exhibit their own particular uniqueness depending on the area, such as:

• some mountains are bigger than others but are still mountains none the less
• many seem to overlap each other as you look at a range of them
• mountains, even foothills look to be insurmountable
• they may even appear ominous and intimidating
• all ranges have their own beauty and characteristics depending on location
• mountains are beautiful no matter the season
  

 

 

Mountains are frequently mentioned in Scripture. Many people of Scripture felt their own call to a mountain, always for purpose such as:

• Moses met God on Mt. Sinai as he received God's commands
• Noah's ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat
• Abraham was called to a mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac
• Jesus taught the most memorable of sermons from a mount and died on a hill
  

 

 

Whether standing on top of a mountain looking down or standing at the bottom of one looking up, one can get a kind of perspective of herself. From either vantage point, when it comes to mountains, we seem pretty small in the whole scheme of things.

I have learned in this life of mine, however, that there are other mountains you and I face that aren't associated with any national or state park. These are mountains that have different circumstances every time we are confronted with them. These mountains are also very individualized. In fact, their mountain names may sound pretty generic but they are still not the same from person to person. Some of those names might be:

• disease
• job loss
• debt
• drugs, alcoholism
• erring children
• breach in friendship
  

When it comes to these types of mountains, all of us are mountain climbers. They present themselves at the most inopportune times often leaving us winded, with little strength for overcoming a hill, let alone a mountain that stands before us.

There are some things I've noticed though regarding avid mountain climbers and difficult trail trekkers...some of those things are that these climbers and trekkers:

• rely on some kind of guidance be it verbal instructions or maps
• wear appropriate clothing
• take healthy, light weight foods
• carry canteens, usually drinking mostly water on the trail
• know when to rest, not pushing to the point of utter exhaustion
• take time along the way to contemplate and even meditate on the scenery around them.
  

 

 

The same must be true of we Christians who are facing mountains of any size. We are given guidance and instructions from the Word of God as well as godly encouragement from fellow Christians. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and have even been provided with the armor of God (Ephesians 6). We are to feed on God's precious Word knowing He also provides us with the water of life that will quench our thirst for the journey. We find our rest in Jesus. We also need to think and contemplate along the way as we see the mercy of God poured out upon us. Climbing our mountain can be compared to a regular hikers activity. During these times that are difficult, we need to eat even when we don't feel like it. Along with that we must stay hydrated. One of the most important things is to still get our physical rest during difficult days. We also need to be people of prayer and contemplation as we with God's help conquer whatever mountain stands before us.

We must remember with regard to any mountains large or small that we face in our lives, that mountains can also represent strength and power that inspires us. Mountains can be daunting, but can be inspiring beyond what words can explain. The Psalmist puts it so well in 121:1,2 (NASV) when he says:

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From whence shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

No matter our mountain, we can look to our Great Creator who stands ready to help us with any mountain we face. We will never walk those difficult mountain trails alone without His help, encouragement and comfort.

Father...what a wonderful Creator You are...it is just beyond words. Even with all the power You have, You are still willing to stoop down to my every need. The problem mountains in my life become mole hills when I trust and rely on Your help and strength. Thank You for being who You are in my life. Amen