ACTS 16

Today I will be praying through a bit of what we read today. Specifically the events that occurred after Paul and Silas were put in prison.

The first part of that seems like a really good lesson. While they were in prison praying, an earthquake flings the gates open and takes the chains off of them. The prison keeper guy assumes that everyone has escaped and responds by almost killing himself. Paul and Silas stop him, explaining that they are all still in the prison. Then the prison keeper runs to them, asking about the Lord and is in turn saved.

By all means, it seems that Paul and Silas had the right to walk out of there as soon as the chains came off... yet they held back and walked in a more self sacrificing direction, trusting in God. The results were beautiful.

As the officials called for their release, Paul and Silas seem to respond differently, insisting on being treated better than they had been. It's interesting...

Sunday Service

Friends!

We are in need of help for set up and tear down of the Auditorium this Sunday.

Are you and your group available to help with this?

We need people to help starting at 430PM and break down after the second service at 1030PM

Please respond if you're available and let me know also if you're not available to help. Thank you.

Shalom,

Tom

thanks!

Thanks for praying for me last night; my voice was back to normal this morning! :)

-Allison

Tuesday Sphere Meeting

Tuesday night at 8pm we will be meeting at the same place as last week. Barnies Coffee in Baldwin Park (New Broad St.)

You may like to read this

http://www.colenesmith.com/?p=1754

Acts 9: Questions by Jesus and Saul

"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" - Jesus.

It strikes me as strange that Jesus would ask this question. If we understand Jesus as being the preeminent Son of God, it would be strange that He asks this question. Surely He knows the answer.

There's something about this phrase that strikes me as intensely emotional. Like Jesus is taking Saul's persecution against the church very personally. The Bridegroom defending the Bride...

Part of me wonders as the timing of His appearance to Jesus. Why now? Why not during those three years when Jesus was roaming the dusty streets of Palestine or the shores of the Sea of Galilee or the synagogues of Jerusalem? Why was it only now that Jesus revealed Himself fully to Saul? Saul could have had three years with Jesus on earth, but instead He gets knocked on his butt and blinded for a few days, with no personal history with Jesus. He could've had an intense but solid friendship with Jesus like Peter. We all know how the story goes: he becomes one of the founding fathers of the church and perhaps the greatest evangelist of all time.

But not without a track record of murder and persecution.

I often find myself frustrated with God's timing. Life constantly feels like a series of stages where we are aching to move onto the next stage. If we're in school, we want to graduate. If we're not in school, we're thinking about going back to school. If we are employed, we are trying to find a way out of that cubicle job into what we REALLY want to do. If we're not in a relationship, we want to get into one. If we're in one, we're looking to the uncertainty of the future to define the present. We're looking for the next trip, the next escape, the next relationship, the next phase.

I'm learning and re-learning that God's not the one that needs to speed things up or slow things down to accommodate my preferences. I'm the one who needs to humble myself, adjust my perspective and recognize that His timing is always, always perfect. I need to trust. I need to wait. I need to rest in His peace.

And like, everything else, these imperfections and inconveniences and even tragedies are opportunities for God's amazing grace to break through and show us that He is Love and we truly don't deserve an ounce of what we get from Him.

The funny thing is, is that Saul doesn't even bother to answer Jesus' question, "Why do you persecute me?" I'm not exactly sure what Saul/Paul's answer was, but I think we all know and feel the answer to that question. We're broken, we don't see clearly, we are made up of a thousand tiny excuses and self-entitlements. We persecute Jesus and His church with all the tiny trespasses of our hearts that demand that we remain the center of our own universes, that our comfort and reputation and agenda and motives far surpass the glory of the kingdom, or the grace and love of Jesus Christ. I'm not dragging people off to prison but I sometimes wonder how much I persecute the church when speaking truth and voicing honest frustrations quickly devolves into unnecessary cynicism and criticism.

He answers Jesus' question with a question: "Who are you, Lord?" I think that's something I need to ask myself more frequently. Who is Jesus to me? Is He an abstraction, a vague comfort? Or is He an actual presence, the God-Man (as our friend Trent Shepherd likes to call him), that has a living, active daily interest, purpose and intimacy in my life and the lives of people around me?

I hope my heart recognizes the latter is true on a daily basis.

Thoughts on Chapter 9

Today we read about Jesus revealing himself to Saul(soon to be Paul). Something that I read over several times that speaks to the 'constantly developing' aspect of our christian walk was in verse 22:

"Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful" (NLT)

The reason that this stood out to me was because it takes place after Paul had been baptized and presumably filled with the Holy Spirit. Especially in terms of the accounts that we read earlier in Acts of the extreme ways that the Holy Spirit worked through believers, my assumption is usually that as soon as we receive the Holy Spirit, we are suddenly at our maximum level (my point here is less about the word "powerful" and more about "became more and more"). This tiny part of a verse spoke to me today about the process that we are engaged in. The journey that is our life here on earth.

Just as when we are born as babies we are suddenly alive, yet we spend a lifetime growing in strength, understanding, and ability, I believe this verse displays that same process of INSTANT spiritual life, followed by long term growth.

SPAM ALERT!!!

Just in case some of you have stopped getting emails from me/us, make sure that they aren't in your spam folder. There have been various reports of this happening.

prayer.

A few weeks ago I had a really great conversation about "mini-miracles" or God answering "un-prayed" prayers. I see it happen in my life all the time and would encourage you guys to be on the lookout for them as well:

Examples:

Losing your keys, going crazy, sitting down for three seconds to pray for Jesus to help you find them, and then getting an image of your keys in the freezer and then BAM, they are in the freezer.

Worrying about how you are going to get a ride somewhere and then instantly someone calls you and asks if you want a ride.

Noticing your bank account is waaayyyyy low, slightly freaking out, and then finding $20 in your pocket.

I believe the Holy Spirit lives in us and hears these cries whether we pray about them or not and then, not coincidentally, answers them for us.

This has nothing to do with the book of Acts, but I am thinking about it in terms of some mini-miracles I am needing in my life right now. And I seeking your prayers to make these miracles happen:

1. That I will not get sick again before I fly away for the summer on June 16th.

2. That I will get my normal voice back and stop coughing.

3. That I can find a roommate and a house for next year at graduate school and that they won't be crazy.

4. That even better than not being crazy, that God will hand-pick that person and show me with his divine assurance and peace that I am supposed to live in that exact place with that exact person.

5. That I will finish final exams, say goodbye to my students, enter grades, pack, move, get my wisdom teeth out, find a roommate for next year, and prepare for two months of sleeping in a sleeping bag and supervising 14-year-olds on a wilderness/road/trip adventure without going crazy.... all before June 16th.

I had a mini-breakdown yesterday to my friend Lauranne, a tear or two was shed because of the overwhelmingness of of it all, but I was once again assured that life is always so much more than we expect it to be, and that God is always, always, always guiding our steps. I will be keeping up with you guys while I am gone via this blog and praying for you often. Thank you for the inspiration to pray and spend time with Jesus every day.

Space Jame Sphere 2012?!?! I'll see you Tuesday, and then Lord willing, at then end of the summer before I move to graduate school in NC in August.

much love,

Jess (who has only been to sphere once but still thinks you guys are great anyways.)

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"The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus."

I feel like this might be handy to keep in my mind.

Tuesday night at group I found out that we were going to start reading Acts; I was less than thrilled. Acts is one of my least favorite books in the Bible because I feel like churches and christians alike use verses that are found in the book as well as the book of Acts itself as this cliche way that you should live your life. The part of Acts that I despise the most is actually the part that I used to love and want to aspire to. It’s Acts 2:42-47, it talks about how the believers lived together and shared everything and worshipped God. Ugh, I can’t stand those verses. Everyone uses them in such a cliche way. I don’t think I’ve actually witnessed anyone truly living them out. It really frustrates me. This morning, I read those verses and then quickly shut my Bible. I just wanted to stop thinking about it as quickly as I could. No one takes the verses seriously, they're overused.

This afternoon as it was pouring down rain I felt like I should re-read those verses. So I did, I read them several times before I noticed a few words, phrases, and ideas that stuck out to me. The people were not selfish. They had glad and sincere hearts. They praised God and enjoyed the favor of all the people. It really made me stop and think. Am I unselfish? Do I have a glad and sincere heart? Do I praise God and just enjoy being around people?

By re-reading and meditating on these verses it really made me change my perception of that scripture. I no longer view it as cliche or overused. I find it as a challenge and an inspiration. It challenges me to be like these people and also inspires me to know that there were people who were so focused on God that they weren’t concerned with material things. It shows me that people can live like that again, it makes me want to live like the people in Acts 2.

Allison

Lectio Divina

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to the practice of "lectio divina," an ancient way of reading and meditating upon Scripture, both personally and in a group setting. I later found out that Christians--including Benedictine monks--have been reading Scripture using this technique since the 3rd century, which I found amazing since I'd never heard of lectio divina before.

Also, it's pronounced "leck-zee-oh di-vee-nah," which I was also not aware of, apparently.

Anyway, every time I've had the opportunity to participate in lectio divina in a group setting, it's been an amazing experience. I wanted to share this way of praying through Scripture with you guys, since we are a sphere devoted to prayer and Scripture.

Lectio divina is simply Latin for "divine reading." It is a four-fold method to read passages of scripture according to the following parts: lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio. (And yes, for this part of the blog, I've shamelessly ripped off of Wikipedia). Lectio is simply reading the passage slowly, several times over, and allowing certain words to jump out at us, paying attention to those that do. Meditatio is reading through and seeking God's presence in the text and discovering how He reveals Himself in the text. Oratio is actually praying through the Scripture and seeking how the self relates personally and individually to God. We search for the truth on how this passage can break us, move us, transform us. Contemplatio is simply resting in His presence and adoring Him through what we see/hear in the Scripture.

Lectio divina is also something that can be practiced in our own private, daily readings of Scripture, as the same principles apply. And in the group setting, it can be particularly powerful. Every time I've participated in lectio divina in a group setting, I've been amazed at how quickly the usual distractions fade away and how the passage seems to come alive. Usually a leader reads the passage aloud to the group and they must simply listen to the spoken word, as Christians did for the first millenia and a half of Christianity (until that dude Martin Luther came along and jacked up the system;). In our current postmodern society where we rapidly scan blogs, update our facebook statuses, and tweet and tumble in relentless ADD fashion, I've found that it's a beautiful thing to hear the words with our ears, rather than let our eyes distract us.

I've realized this week that lectio divina is something that cannot be rushed. Even today, I was trying to squeeze in my required reading of Acts and I realized that I cannot rush through His Word, in a hurried attempt to simply to meet my goal each day. I have to learn to savor the Word and really wrestle through it and pray through its implications if I am going to really meet with God and be transformed by what I find in Scripture.

Anyway I encourage you guys, if you haven't heard of/tried out lectio divina, maybe give it a shot this week? See what God does...

-Mel

JAMES: last weeks enhanced episode

As we finish reading through the book of James, I just wanted to share a few things that stood out to me as being particularly encouraging for this process that we're partaking in as a group.

Chapter 4:8

"Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. "

NLT

That first sentence is so great! Presented simply as a statement of a fact, as we move toward God, He moves toward us. Every step we take in the direction of seeking God results in dramatically increased closeness. I think I used to imagine God as either being stationary, or God moving in his own direction that I had to catch up with. How beautiful is it that God so desires us that He moves as soon as we move... that He is willing to come to us as soon as we decide we want to go to Him.

Also, the part about our loyalty being divided between God and the world... this isn't something to fill you with guilt and make you beat yourself up. I think much more than that it is something that we all deal with, but the recognition of it as our own reality allows us to actively move away from it.

-Lander