Story

So tonight I'm reading in Acts as the story of Paul's trial unfolds and God really challenged me with a lot as I read it. I'll try to "unpack" some of what He was saying to me as I read.

Paul is going around all of the region telling people about Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and he's making arguments for Jesus as the Christ based on scripture and personal experience. His personal experience with Christ is quite amazing and he's telling people this story and supporting his claims with the words of the prophets and through this, people are coming to know Jesus as the Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit through baptism and repentance.

God puts it on his heart to take this story to Jerusalem and face the most devout of the Jews with this vital truth that they reject. Paul receives warnings from all of his closest friends that he will face some serious persecution if he takes this story to these people, but he doesn't back down.

So Paul is in Jerusalem and he's simply telling his story and sharing how Jesus has changed his life and everything he knows, and people get really upset over this and they try to have him killed. Because of the special position that God put Paul in with his Roman citizenship, he is taken to multiple different "courts" to testify so that the government can get this straight before they make a decision about what to do with him. So Paul has the chance to make an argument for the fact that these people really don't have anything on him that deserves punishment, but instead of taking time to make that argument, he repeatedly goes before these "courts" and just tells his story. This is so impacting that some people start to take this Christianity thing seriously while others are convinced that he must be out of his mind.

All of this leads me to the point that our stories of the ways that God has impacted our lives can be very powerful to others, but we don't really seem to share them very often. So I'm gonna try it and I hope that you try it too, I mean think of the things that God can do if we are just obedient storytellers.

Stressed?

It's that wonderful time of the year, where people start getting stressed out over exams, travel plans, Christmas gifts, and the other random life events that stress us out. When I am stressed, the thing that I want most is peace. A feeling of peace where I don't really have to worry about anything because my burdens really are not my own. This kind of peace doesn't come from being confident in my abilities, or cocky, or anything like that; this peace comes from being confident in the truth that we are given in Scripture so many times about not worrying. A lot of people hear me talking about Matthew 6:34, but this time, I'm not talking about that particular verse. I am talking about the instance in Paul's letter to the Philippians where he tells them through the Holy Spirit, not to be anxious about anything, but in everything to bring their requests to God with prayer and supplication, and they will be given a peace that is beyond all understanding. Did you get that? "BEYOND ALL UNDERSTANDING", obviously, based on the concept of that, I don't quite get it, but I do know that when everything is falling apart and I am being pulled in a million different directions, with exams, work, traffic, family, holiday shopping, and other stresses trying to steal my attention, and my joy, I just have to take my requests to God and He will provide His incredible peace!

So as you study, shop, work, travel, or whatever it is that you are doing this time of year, when you start getting stressed, don't forget who's in control. Spend some time being amazed at who God is, His unconditional love, and bring your stress to Him, I have a promise from Him that if you put Him first, He will give you the peace that we all need so desperately.