The Power of a Story

This section of scripture didn't make a lot of sense to m upon first read. I read it over a couple times, calling upon a variety of translations, just to get the gist of it. I understand what it says, just not what the significance is. It is always helpful for me to understand the culture a little; to grasp what was going on at the time.

Paul was preaching about Jesus and the people were hearing him. "This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the LORD, both Jews and Greeks." (Acts 19:10) Verse 11 continues by explaining, "And God was doing extraordinary miracles the hands of Paul."

Some of those observing these things assumed this was Paul's 'thing', how he made is living, not what he lived for. So they decided to make a living doing the same things. "Then some of the itinerant Jewish 'exorcists' undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 'I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.'"

As with many of our plans, theirs didn't turn out so well. It got ugly, and to make a short story of it, the sorcerers left town. Those who witnessed the events were changed, they told others what happened and word spread, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Those who were practicing evil repented, burning their books of magic.

The most exciting part of this entire story of confession and repentance is proclaimed in Acts 19:20; "So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily."  When we change and turn from our sin and friends and family are witness to this, we just might be helping spread with Word of Jesus too. Our story is powerful when we tell it.

Acts 19:13-20

It’s Confession Time

Colossians 3:12-17

 Do you notice anything unusual about this picture? Does anything look out of place? What about the grill? Aren’t grills normally on your deck in the back of the house? But this one is on the patio in the front of a condo…. my condo.

 For the past nine years our grill has been on the deck in the back until this year when we received a notice from our condo board that there is a state law that you can’t do that. Who would’ve thunk it? In order to comply, we moved our grill to the front patio. Problem solved right? Wrong!

 About a month ago we received a “First Notice for Rule Enforcement” from the condo board stating that our grill was on “common property” and therefore, according to the By-Laws, must be removed immediately. Even though this is a confession, I won’t share my initial, uncensored reaction when I read this notice at the end of a long day at work.

Eventually, after calming down and thinking rationally, I composed what I thought was a well-reasoned and thought out letter signed by my wife and myself. It explained why we disagreed with the board’s position and backed it up with the condo By-Laws.

That should have been good enough for me to put this matter in the past; but it wasn’t. My anger and resentment kept poking its ugly head up from beneath the surface. Then this week, in preparation of writing this devotional, I read my verses.

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.           NLT

 Darn! There are so many times it would be much easier to not be a Christian; to not have to follow Christ. I would much rather be angry and unforgiving. I prefer to justify my actions because of some perceived wrong. It’s so much easier to be angry because people don’t live up to my expectations. Then came the dagger.

 ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  NLT

It’s confession time. Do you feel convicted after reading these verses? I do. As a result, although I’m not sure what we will do about our grill, I most certainly need to change my attitude and to represent the Lord well. 

A Lesson in Confession

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

This verse is a stumbling block to me. 

Isn’t it enough that I confess my sins to God? I’m not Catholic, after all. I believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, for as Romans 10:13 proclaims, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Why then need I confess my sins to others?

Consider that other alone: Scripture alone. The Bible - the whole Bible! - is the inspired word of God and the sole infallible rule of faith and practice. That includes James 5:16. Further, this is not about justification; it’s about sanctification. We do not confess our sins to each other so that we may be forgiven or justified; we confess our sins to each other so that we may be healed.

So why don’t I do it?

Because people would think less of me. Confident though I may be in God’s amazing grace and unconditional love, I don’t fully trust His church to mirror His character. I fear their haughty eyes and self-righteous condemnation. I desire their approval, their admiration even, so under a veil of righteousness I hide my sinful heart.

Who then do I aim to please - God or man? Who do I glorify - God or self?

I must confess I have sought to please man that I might be glorified. This verse is a stumbling block to me because I have a pride problem. Pray for me so that I may be healed.

In The Eye Of The Storm

Last week we had a hurricane in South Florida.  It was my families first experience with a hurricane.  To say it was exciting and terrifying would be an understatement.  The category 4 hurricane was headed our direction and so we prepared. 

We were ready for days without power and water.  We stocked our pantry with nonperishable foods such as canned fruit, beef jerky, trail mix and lots of supplies for PB & J’s.  The most important supply we purchased according to our son, FLASHLIGHTS!

Evan is not afraid of the dark, but being stuck in a violent storm in the dark is a whole other thing.   We made the prospect of being in the dark fun, telling him we would play flashlight tag when it got really dark.  He was definitely down for a game that involved flashlights.

Well, we got lucky and the storm passed us by.  Other than some above average winds and rain, the hurricane was a non-event and my husband and I were grateful.  We knew others in the world were not as fortunate, so we did not take this lightly.  As we were counting our blessings, or son was disappointed.  He never got to play flashlight tag.

As parents we learn to master making a bad situation look good, so our children do not feel the weight of our circumstances.  As Christians we have to be careful to not do the same thing. 

Playing in the dark as a Christian is an entirely different game.  When we spend time in the dark, as stated in 1 John 1:5-10, we have no fellowship with one another or with God.  The dark is where we go to hide our sin.  God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  We cannot be hiding sin and be around God. 

So what do we do?  Admit our sin.  God is not waiting around to shame us, he wants to cover us with his love, but not admitting our sin keeps his love from penetrating our brokenness and healing us of what drives us to sin.  If you are hiding in darkness trying to keep your sins a secret, stop playing games and give it to God.  He knows how to protect you from the storm.

Read today's Scripture here