As I re-read the story of Jesus' first miracle, turning water to wine, I had the same question come to mind that I always do. Why did He say, "My time has not yet come?" That is something that has puzzled me for years, because His next statement is bring me those water pots. I feel God gave me a revelations about this story that I've never thought about or heard preached.
I'll set it up for you. Jesus, His disciples, and His family were at a wedding. It must have been a huge affair because they ran out of drinks. Mary said to Jesus, "they are out of wine," as if she wanted to know what they could do about it. Jesus then tells her, "what does that have to do with you and Me, just leave it to me." Then He says it, "My time to act has not come."
The next thing to happen was key to the miracle happening. It was Mary's response to "It's not time." She told the servants to do what ever Jesus told them to do. Mary's faith was put to the test. She had been told, "no, not now," and she responded just like God wanted her to respond. She basically said, "get ready, because when it is time ,He will do something great, and He may want our help."
What do we do when God says, "It's not time?" Most of the time we get negative, and speak out of fear rather than faith. It's hard not to. Our flesh is naturally negative. We should be like Mary and say, "Okay God. Your the boss. Let me get ready for when the time comes for my miracle."
We need to realize that just before Jesus said, "not now," He said, "I'll take care of it." Sometimes we forget that God said that He would take care of us. We get so caught up in what is happening all around us that we forget about God's provision.
Jesus was just moments from performing His first miracle, but no one knew it at that moment. I think that the miracle happened because Mary didn't freak out and get negative. Who knows? You might be on the brink of your miracle. It might be moments away. Don't push it away with negative fear filled words. Remember God knows what you need and He said that He would provide it. Just wait on Him and be prepared! It might be today!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Bowling Trip
I had a great time with all of you bowling and eating. I hope that we can do things like that more often. I want to see us draw closer together as a group. As we get closer we will become more effective in ministering to others. God Bless you all and I look forward to the shopping trip. I don't think I'll get lost in Tupelo (Ha! Ha!).
Up Coming Events
Our next Laidies outing will be March 8, 2008. We will be going shopping at Tupelo, MS. I will post more details soon.
Intimacy With God
In Ezekiel 2:1,2 we see a portrait of an intimate relationship with God. It begins with Ezekiel on his face before God and then God speaking to him. God actually addresses Ezekiel as "son of man." How does God address you? Does God have a special name that He calls you? Are you intimately acquainted with God?
As I sat and thought of this, I began to see that Ezekiel and God were pretty intimate. God knew just what to say to Ezekiel to get his attention, and Ezekiel also knew the voice of God. As the book of Ezekiel progresses it unfolds like and autobiography of Ezekiel and God. It is really awsome.
I desire to be that close to God. I would like to have an autobiography of my life with Him, but what does it take to get to that place? The key is to become intimate with God. Webster's Dictionary defines intimate as closely acquainted, familiar; private, personal. How many of us are truly that way with God?
Many people see God as untouchable. They ask Jesus to come in and take away their sin but cower in fear of the Father. They place Him on a great throne and are afraid to approach except in extreme distress. They view God as a great authority figure like the president. He is someone of great power that cares for their wellfare, but they will never sit down to a meal with Him and share their day with Him because He is too, great.
God is great, but He also desires to have the daily chats about your day. He is like your best friend, mother, father, and spouse all in one. He wants to chat with you to get to know you, but mostly He wants for you to get to know Him, after all, He knew you before you were formed in your mothers womb (Jeremiah 1:5). The difference in people and God is that no matter what happens between you, He'll never leave you. If you get mad and say ugly things to Him, He is still there. When your world is crashing down, He is there. When you are having the time of your life, He's there. The Amplified Bible says it this way in Hebrew 13:5b, "for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]." We have a mighty God Who loves us unconditionally.
As I read the Bible, pray, fast, and worship, I begin to see just Who God is to me. It builds my desire to spend even more time with Him. As the intimacy grows so does my hunger for more of Him. One day we will have that autobiography about our life together. You can have that too. Remember, if you are going to put God on the throne, you have to be willing to crawl into His lap.
As I sat and thought of this, I began to see that Ezekiel and God were pretty intimate. God knew just what to say to Ezekiel to get his attention, and Ezekiel also knew the voice of God. As the book of Ezekiel progresses it unfolds like and autobiography of Ezekiel and God. It is really awsome.
I desire to be that close to God. I would like to have an autobiography of my life with Him, but what does it take to get to that place? The key is to become intimate with God. Webster's Dictionary defines intimate as closely acquainted, familiar; private, personal. How many of us are truly that way with God?
Many people see God as untouchable. They ask Jesus to come in and take away their sin but cower in fear of the Father. They place Him on a great throne and are afraid to approach except in extreme distress. They view God as a great authority figure like the president. He is someone of great power that cares for their wellfare, but they will never sit down to a meal with Him and share their day with Him because He is too, great.
God is great, but He also desires to have the daily chats about your day. He is like your best friend, mother, father, and spouse all in one. He wants to chat with you to get to know you, but mostly He wants for you to get to know Him, after all, He knew you before you were formed in your mothers womb (Jeremiah 1:5). The difference in people and God is that no matter what happens between you, He'll never leave you. If you get mad and say ugly things to Him, He is still there. When your world is crashing down, He is there. When you are having the time of your life, He's there. The Amplified Bible says it this way in Hebrew 13:5b, "for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]." We have a mighty God Who loves us unconditionally.
As I read the Bible, pray, fast, and worship, I begin to see just Who God is to me. It builds my desire to spend even more time with Him. As the intimacy grows so does my hunger for more of Him. One day we will have that autobiography about our life together. You can have that too. Remember, if you are going to put God on the throne, you have to be willing to crawl into His lap.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Effective Witnessing
Have you ever had trouble witnessing? I have! What do you say? How do you do it? Where do you do it? Who do you talk to? When is the best time? Why should you do it? As I was studying this morning I looked at some really good examples.
John 1:35-51 gives a real and effective witnessing experience. It shows how some of the desciples became disciples. It show different ways to approach people. It also shows tools that equip us for witnessing.
What do you say? John the Baptist said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!"(John 1:36, Amplified) It wasn't a lot spoken, but it touched the lives of two of his own disciples. These two decided to follow Jesus from just those words. One of the two, Andrew, went and told his brother Simon about Jesus and led him back to meet Jesus. I would suggest that you keep it simple and tell what you know. That is what these men did.
How do you do it? Let Holy Spirit lead you! God knows just the word or words that can impact a person to the point of making the decision for Life. We see this in how Jesus responded to each one that He came into contact with. For His first two disciples, all it took was showing them where He was staying. For Peter it took the opperation of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus used the word of knowlege and the gift of prophesy to tell Peter who he was and who he would be. Some may say, "but He was the Son of God!" We are too(John 1:12)! Jesus was a fleshly man opperating in the power of Holy Spirit. We are called to do the same. Jesus also used the power of Holy Spirit to get Nathanael's attention. If we will be sensative to Holy Spirit, He will tell us exactly what to say and how to say it.
Where do you witness? Some people think that witnessing is something you do at church. Wintessing is actually something you can do anywhere. You might be at work ,at Wal-mart, at a neighbors house, at a ball game, or even at the police station. You are not limited to a particular place. Let Holy Spirit be you guide. He'll set up the place for you.
Who do you talk to? I believe Jesus talked with the ones Holy Spirit led Him to talk with. Jesus was very sensitive to Holy Spirit and His leading. He is our example. That means we should be able to do everything Jesus did here on earth (see John 14:12). Andrew talked to his brother, Peter. Philip talked to his friend Nathanael. So, who do we talk to ? We talk to our friends, our families, and those to whom Holy Spirit leeds us.
When is the best time to talk to people? I think that goes right back to Holy Spirit. He will set up the time and the place and tell you what to say. Just tune in to Him. Jesus talked to people when the opportunity arose. The disciples talked to others about Jesus while it was fresh in there hearts and minds. I think we should follow their examples. Tell people about Jesus while what He is doing is fresh. Don't wait, because you might loose some of the fervor. Also, tell people about Jesus when the opportunity arises. Don't try to make it happen. Just let it happen!
Why should we wintess? Besides the fact that it is a requirement for all Christians (Mark 16:15-20), it is exciting to tell others about the good things that are happening in your life. Think about when you first found out you were going to have a baby. You wanted to tell others. You might have called your mom and his mom and your best friend and a your neighbor. I told just about anyone I came into contact with because it was such a miricle in my life. As that life grew inside of you, you started to "show" outward signs of what was going on, on the inside. That outward "showing" is attractive to others. People are curious as to what is going on. Sometimes they even want to touch it. Oh, if we could only be that way about salvation. If we would share with those around us, what Jesus has done on the inside, what an impact we could make on this lost and dying world. If what Jesus did on the inside, grew to the point that it was "showing" on the outside, people would be curious and want to touch. We have that "new life" growing in us, and people around us should see that. Rather than asking why should I wintess, maybe we should ask ourselves why shouldn't I witness.
John 1:35-51 gives a real and effective witnessing experience. It shows how some of the desciples became disciples. It show different ways to approach people. It also shows tools that equip us for witnessing.
What do you say? John the Baptist said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!"(John 1:36, Amplified) It wasn't a lot spoken, but it touched the lives of two of his own disciples. These two decided to follow Jesus from just those words. One of the two, Andrew, went and told his brother Simon about Jesus and led him back to meet Jesus. I would suggest that you keep it simple and tell what you know. That is what these men did.
How do you do it? Let Holy Spirit lead you! God knows just the word or words that can impact a person to the point of making the decision for Life. We see this in how Jesus responded to each one that He came into contact with. For His first two disciples, all it took was showing them where He was staying. For Peter it took the opperation of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus used the word of knowlege and the gift of prophesy to tell Peter who he was and who he would be. Some may say, "but He was the Son of God!" We are too(John 1:12)! Jesus was a fleshly man opperating in the power of Holy Spirit. We are called to do the same. Jesus also used the power of Holy Spirit to get Nathanael's attention. If we will be sensative to Holy Spirit, He will tell us exactly what to say and how to say it.
Where do you witness? Some people think that witnessing is something you do at church. Wintessing is actually something you can do anywhere. You might be at work ,at Wal-mart, at a neighbors house, at a ball game, or even at the police station. You are not limited to a particular place. Let Holy Spirit be you guide. He'll set up the place for you.
Who do you talk to? I believe Jesus talked with the ones Holy Spirit led Him to talk with. Jesus was very sensitive to Holy Spirit and His leading. He is our example. That means we should be able to do everything Jesus did here on earth (see John 14:12). Andrew talked to his brother, Peter. Philip talked to his friend Nathanael. So, who do we talk to ? We talk to our friends, our families, and those to whom Holy Spirit leeds us.
When is the best time to talk to people? I think that goes right back to Holy Spirit. He will set up the time and the place and tell you what to say. Just tune in to Him. Jesus talked to people when the opportunity arose. The disciples talked to others about Jesus while it was fresh in there hearts and minds. I think we should follow their examples. Tell people about Jesus while what He is doing is fresh. Don't wait, because you might loose some of the fervor. Also, tell people about Jesus when the opportunity arises. Don't try to make it happen. Just let it happen!
Why should we wintess? Besides the fact that it is a requirement for all Christians (Mark 16:15-20), it is exciting to tell others about the good things that are happening in your life. Think about when you first found out you were going to have a baby. You wanted to tell others. You might have called your mom and his mom and your best friend and a your neighbor. I told just about anyone I came into contact with because it was such a miricle in my life. As that life grew inside of you, you started to "show" outward signs of what was going on, on the inside. That outward "showing" is attractive to others. People are curious as to what is going on. Sometimes they even want to touch it. Oh, if we could only be that way about salvation. If we would share with those around us, what Jesus has done on the inside, what an impact we could make on this lost and dying world. If what Jesus did on the inside, grew to the point that it was "showing" on the outside, people would be curious and want to touch. We have that "new life" growing in us, and people around us should see that. Rather than asking why should I wintess, maybe we should ask ourselves why shouldn't I witness.
If Jesus has done any thing in your life, then you have a story to tell. When you share that story with others, you are being a witness. It does not matter what church you go to. It doesn't matter who you are. Everyone who has asked Jesus in their heart has a story that can touch someone's life. Let's get out there and share! Lord, help me to tune in to Holy Spirit. Help me to be sensitive to what You are saying to me. Let me be ready to act when Holy Spirit sets up a witnessing encounter. Lord, most of all let my words be what you want people to hear, not just what I want to say. Make me an effective witness for You. In Jesus name, Amen.
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