Every experience God gives us, every person that He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see.
- Corrie Ten Boom

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Grasp

This week has been a monumentous one for me, for both my husband and I. On Wednesday, my husband, who has been out of work since June, was offered a new job about an hour from where we live, which means at least it will be a short move, rather than a long, drawn-out state to state move that we have had in the past. The other news in even better, though, and something only God could orchestrate. I'm pregnant! This is often a great piece of news for a married couple, but if you know our story, it's even more amazing. If you go back and read http://nlpowers.blogspot.com/2012/05/infertility.html you'll see why. So, for now, I am just trying to grasp the concept that this is real and deny Satan the pleasure of stealing the joy of it with the worries of a first time mom who has longed for this time for so long.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Power

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8 NKJV

This was not the actual text of this morning's sermon, however, it was a part of it. Since the content and sentiment of my post on Friday was along the same lines, I'll take it as the Holy Spirit's leading in MY life that something is about to change (or should, at least). If you read my post from Five Minute Friday a few weeks ago you know that change is nothing new for me; it happens more frequently for me than some others, it seems. That doesn't always mean I like it, but I probably tolerate it better than some. 

Anyway, I am pretty sure that I memorized this particular verse at some point before I was a Christian, so perhaps it didn't have the same impact on me when I would read it afterwards. Maybe you are in the same place? 

Think about it, we will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. God's power, the power to do what HE wants us to do; the POWER to do what Jesus did in human form. That's pretty awesome, isn't it? Often times, at first, we are a lot more upfront about our faith, I know I was. But then, it's also pretty scary to see what a little fear, a little doubt, a little self-consciousness reduces us to. "What will they say/think/do if I ___?" 

Sometimes, I believe wholeheartedly that the Holy Spirit does have us hold back, because the time is not right. Sometimes it is our actions and not our words that does the most talking. Many times we are called to plant or water seeds and someone else will have the pleasure of harvesting. Other times, we are called to do that end part, or even the more special and sometimes more difficult part of discipling a new believer. 

Most of the time, all of those things need to take place and you never know where in that process any one person is, so keep your heart open to the Holy Spirit's still small voice this week and see if He doesn't use you to reach someone else. 



Friday, September 21, 2012

Wide

"Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide..." You may or may not remember that song as a Sunday School favorite. I've sometimes learned that songs that I sang ALL THE TIME in SS, others did not, and vice-versa. So, I guess this word will force me to take a look at my own spiritual life and examine whether or not it truly is deep and wide? Does my faith permeate every decision that I make, and then take wings and reach out to others? If I am honest with myself, not as much as it should, I don't think.

I am comfortable talking about my faith, my co-workers know that I go to church, where I go to church, and that I help teach a kid's SS school class. I am comfortable practicing my faith, in small ways, at least. Most of the time this is recognized as simply "kindness." Not a bad thing, but anyone can be kind. And I don't want to be pushy, so I often wait for the right time, the right words, the right way to say, "You need Christ." Maybe that's a good thing. A Pastor friend of mine wrote on facebook this week, "Saying to a pre-Christian that they need Jesus is like saying to someone who doesn't yet know that they are diabetic that they need insulin." So, what do you think, is that an excuse, or a valid statement?