The Apostles

We often try to visualize something to better understand it. In praying for those in Ukraine, I try to picture what it would be like to have air raid sirens go off and you have to scurry to a bomb shelter. How it would feel seeing everything you have worked for and all the effort you had put into building something, literally blown up. What is it like to have the only heat this winter be the fire you have made with scraps of wood you have gathered throughout the day? It is hard for us to imagine these things.

I feel so fortunate to have visited Hannah and Bryson when they were serving in Haiti. They had told us of life there, described certain things, even showed pictures of what life was like. But until I was actually there I couldn’t fathom what it was like, or how taking a shower was a little stressful as you made sure none of the water went into your mouth because of the germs in it. And yeah, it took thinking, not just mindlessly rinsing when it came to teeth brushing—never just automatically rinse the toothbrush in tap water and then put it in your mouth. Visiting Haiti was an eye opening experience.

The importance of being there is seen with Jesus coming to this earth. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that He shared in our humanity. While over in Hebrews 4:15, we are told that He was tempted in every way just as we are. Jesus’ feet trod the soil of this earth, but more importantly He experienced what we experience. In this way Jesus understands what we go through. That understanding is key to understanding.

How about the apostles? What was it like being one of the apostles as they traveled along with Jesus? Over a three week period starting January 22nd, we will attempt to do just that in a series we are calling “In Their Sandals.” We will look at some of their experiences that led them from a rag tag group of common individuals to a power team that led the revival of God’s people and beyond. They were a group powered not by their own abilities, but by the Holy Spirit.

Each of these three weeks we will look at the individual apostles. It will be an inside look at who they were and how they were transformed by their time with Jesus. We may not be able to actually walk in their sandals, but by taking a closer look at the apostles and their walk with Jesus, we may find we identify with them more than we realize.

Understanding others,

Randy

Walk the Walk

Coming up in 2023! Join us as we strive to walk the walk.

When Christ called His first disciples He simply said, “Follow Me.”

These humble fishermen responded by leaving their careers, their possessions, and even their families to follow Him (Matthew 4:18-22). A parallel passage in Luke 5:1-11 uses the phrase “they forsook all” as they began this new journey with Jesus. The word “forsake” literally means that they turned their back on their former lives. It implies a choice and a commitment.

This wasn’t just a part-time project for them where they could change their minds in a few days and go back to their profession as fishermen. They left everything — and by doing so they were making a promise to complete the course and finish this new assignment.

By agreeing to follow Jesus they consented to be His students or His learners in the Jewish method of a Rabbinical school of discipleship. They recognized Him as a teacher and a leader, and they made this commitment to be His disciples.

His followers were expected to learn from Him. He wanted them to be students, to be eager pupils who desired to soak in everything He could possibly teach them. (christianity.com)

Are you ready to walk the walk?

FILL UP

As we continue this series looking at these two servants of God, we see a transition. Elijah has been taken up into heaven and Elisha becomes the focal point of God’s work to the nation of Israel. It starts out with Elisha grabbing Elijah’s cloak that was left behind as he is taken up into heaven. He rolls it up, goes back to the bank of the Jordan River, calls out to God, and taps the water. Miraculously the water parts and it is noted that the spirit of Elijah is on Elisha (2Kings 2:11-15).

Once again water will be in the forefront of God showing His power and ability to heal. Elisha arrives in a town that is in good shape except for their water supply. As we know, water has always been an important aspect for man and where he lived. A little salt in a bowl of water and again we see a miracle at the hand of God’s servant through the power of God (2Kings 2:19-22).

We are familiar with the multiplying of the loaves and fish by Jesus. Elisha, though not fish and loaves, also had a multiplying of sorts going on. A widow of a prophet, who was having some problems with creditors, approaches Elisha as she is about to lose her two boys. They have a jar with a small amount of oil in it. To follow Elisha’s advice, they then filled jar after jar from this small amount oil. The jar just kept filling up! No matter how much they emptied out, it keep refilling. Not only was this enough oil to take care of the debt but also to take care of her family (2Kings 4:1-7).

And speaking of feeding a multitude, something else happened in this chapter. Still no fish involved, only barley bread and some heads of new grain (2Kings 4:42-22). And just before this some flour Elisha put into a pot that had “death” in it became cleansed and those that ate had no harmful after affects (2Kings 4:38-41). There is another instance of a multitude being fed, but there is a lot to that situation and I will save that for another week.

What we see in these situations with Elisha is God taking care of people in miraculous ways. Wouldn’t it be great if that happened today? I mean look at the witness it would be to those around us if we took our single portion of General Tso’s Chicken into the lunch room, said a prayer over it, then proceeded to pass it out to the dozen or so that were there—everyone eating until they were full. Or maybe, it’s bringing a pizza to a movie night with friends and not only does everyone have multiple slices from this single pizza but also the slices are their favorite type. How powerful would these acts from God be!

Why doesn’t God do that today? Because He uses something even greater to pass on knowledge of who He is. 1Corinthians 13 is called the love chapter and it ends saying some of the miraculous aspects we associate with the Spirit of God will pass away. Three things remain, with the greatest of these being love. The power of God does still exist today and it is seen through the love that we have for others.

The miracles aren’t any less powerful, just less instantaneous. It may not be “Pow, Wow!”, but a change in heart over time. A thinking that didn’t use to be that way. A love that has grown because of a powerful God working in a heart. Or a powerful love that expresses itself in the treatment of others. So, pray for the double portion that we talked about last week, and let it manifest itself in our treatment of others. The miracles are still there, we just have to make sure we are the vessels for the Spirit to work through. God can fill us up with His love over and over again as we continue to pour it out on others.

Fill me up, Lord--

Randy