Blog Archives: March, 2005 -- Word of Truth Family Church, Many, Louisiana

March 31, 2005 JOYFUL MOTHER OF CHILDREN

Even though I am reading Acts, I still must go back to Psalms and Proverbs at least every other day or so.

Yesterday I was reading Psalm 113 and came to verse 9:

“He makes the barren woman to be a homemaker and a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

I would love to share a testimony about what this verse has meant to me, because I want to give praise to the Lord. As I read this morning in Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

Craig and I were married in 1990. I was 27 years old. (Neither of us had ever been married nor had any kids.) About a year later, we decided we were ready to begin our family. Though it didn’t happen the very next month as I in my naïveté thought it would, I did become pregnant. However, barely six weeks into the pregnancy I miscarried.

Obviously, this was devastating to us, but we determined to try again. Things didn’t happen so quickly the second time. Month after month passed. As I faced the possibility that I would need God’s help in this matter (with my lightning-fast mind), I found Psalm 113:9 and began to stand upon it and speak it in earnest. I thanked the Lord daily that He makes me to be a homemaker and a joyful mother of children.

Let me just say that in September, 1992, Emily was born—followed by Katie in 1994 and Sarah in 1995. That verse bore much “fruit” for me! I had to quit speaking it!

I know my story of waiting months to get pregnant is bittersweet for many couples who go through years of trying to conceive, even spending much money on doctors and procedures. My heart really goes out to them. I know about the frustration and disappointment that arrives anew when you realize it didn’t happen that month. Especially when you go to the doctor looking for reasons it is not happening, and he can’t find any reason. To those women I say, Don’t give up. Put this verse in your mouth. Speak it out. Proclaim the word of the Lord aloud. You don’t necessarily have to tell other people (but you can if you want.) But speak it in your home, in your shower, in your bedroom, in your car. “I thank you, Lord, that you make me to be a joyful mother of children!”

I’d love to pray for you. If you’d like prayer, contact me.

In closing for today, let me just pronounce upon you this blessing that I read in Psalm 115:14-15:

“May the Lord make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

March 30, 2005 POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Something else I notice as I read the first few chapters of Acts is the POWER and thus the threat the Name of Jesus presented to the [Jewish] religious leaders of the day.

Acts 4:2, 7, 10, 12, 17-18, 30, 33

²They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

⁷They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

¹⁷But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

³⁰Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 5:28, 40-42

²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.”

⁴⁰His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

I think these verses speak for themselves. The disciples preached salvation in the name of Jesus and healed the sick in the name of Jesus. The Jewish religious leaders did not like their speaking of the Name, even though good was coming of it. They repeatedly commanded them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus.

It’s the same today, isn’t it? The name of Mohammed, Buddha, Dali Lama, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, Allah, or even “God” will draw no rancor like uttering the name of JESUS. That’s because there is POWER in the name of JESUS, and demons tremble at that name. You want to stir up demons? Mention the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus uttered from the mouth of a believer carries unparalleled power. If only we knew it.

Well, one sure thing will happen when you read the Word with the intent to learn and do--as you LEARN, you will have opportunities to DO. How fitting that I am reading the book of Acts, and the Holy Spirit within me is providing opportunities to ACT.

Case in point: At work, minding my own business, as in, doing my job. Coworker inexplicably begins talking about symptoms plaguing her. Here's my chance. In what we call the Great Commission, Jesus said certain signs will follow believers; among other things, "they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

I'm a believer. There was a sick person there. I have hands. The only thing missing is ACTION, or might I say, OBEDIENCE to His Word.

I'm not the Healer. I'm the believer with the hands--the hands that I'm supposed to lay on sick people, who are then supposed to recover.

I guess this is the sticking point. If you've ever laid hands on sick people, you've probably seen some healed and some not healed. The "not healed" part is what makes you reticent to do it again. The fear of looking stupid or "holier-than-thou." As in, "Pardon me, mind if I pray for you?" Like, you need prayer, and I've got what you need.

Well, I guess therein lies the problem: fear. Fear is not faith. Fear is in fact the OPPOSITE of faith. Fear is faith that bad will happen and good won't happen. Fear should not be present in a Believer, at least not for long. At least not in connection with doing the will of God. God is God. He only asks me to do my part, the part He has told me to do. I don't have to do His part.

And frankly, I DO have what others need. If they have a need, Jesus can fill it, and I have Jesus in me. The Need-Meeter is in me. He uses me to meet needs. So, I CAN say, with all humility, "I've got what you need."

Yeah, it's fairly easy to be quick to pray for your kids or husband when they ail, but it ain't so easy when it's a peer. So what did I do?

I went back to my desk. Then the Holy Spirit jumped all over me, and I knew the only way to get Him off my back would be to do what I knew I was supposed to do: lay hands on her.

"Oh, yes! Please do! I need it!" she smiled. So I laid hands on her and prayed for her to be healed.

Well, certainly one cannot read very far into the book of Acts before realizing what has already been said here--that the Holy Spirit is a major player in this book. And you cannot help but notice the transformation in the lives of the apostles after they were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4. A major characteristic that comes forth is boldness and courage. But, after all, isn’t that what Jesus said would happen in Acts 1:8? “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses…”

This is exactly what happens. In Acts 2 Peter preaches that great message, “adding about three thousand to their number THAT DAY” (emphasis mine). Then in Acts 3, Peter heals the crippled beggar at the temple gate called Beautiful (so fitting, isn’t it?) in the name of Jesus. (How was the man healed?) This caused quite a stir, as the man was over forty (So? What of it!) and known by the people. The man was naturally quite excited about it and immediately began “walking and praising God.” When the people saw his healing, “they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” What a great witnessing tool! If you really want to draw a crowd, heal somebody (in the name of Jesus, through faith in His name) who is known by all to be sick, and you will get everybody’s attention. Then you can start preaching, as Peter did.

By the way, this bold preaching about Jesus caused Peter and John to be thrown in jail overnight, but I’m sure they were gratified that “many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” (Acts 4:1-4) Talk about rapid multiplication, and this in a pre-electronic age (i.e., no radio, TV, fax, satellite, Internet, phone, etc.).

The next day, Peter and John were brought before their accusers. The Bible says that “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,” began to address them. (Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, SAID. Being filled with the Holy Spirit should cause us to DO or SAY something.) Anyway, they noticed the COURAGE of Peter and John, and “took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Being filled with the Holy Spirit should produce an ACTION which draws attention to Jesus. Then people are faced with a decision to either accept or reject Him.

Finally, on their release, “Peter and John went back to their own people” and told the tale. Then, together, they raised their voices in prayer to God. They raised their voices in prayer to God. They raised their voices. Hmmm. Apparently, the early New Testament church was not offended or nervous or uncomfortable with raised voices in the church.

The prayer they prayed in Acts 4:29-30 we should also pray. What’s really cool is that “after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.” (Somewhat like Acts 2 when the Holy Ghost first arrived?) “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” Wait! I thought they were already filled in Acts 2:4? Now they’re being filled again? Guess we need to continually be filled. I’m not going to get into that right now.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit AND SPOKE the word of God BOLDLY.”

The beginning of Acts is so full of stuff happening. Jesus ascends to heaven just after telling the disciples to wait for promised gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples choose Matthias to replace the traitor Judas. Then they, “along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers,” gather in the upper room to pray and wait for the gift. What anticipation they must have had!

But I’ll tell you one thing that jumps out at me after reading the first two chapters: Peter’s boldness. Now, certainly, as you read the gospels, you see boldness is not a characteristic Peter ever lacked. He was bold and impulsive. Remember he cut off the ear of one of the guards who came to arrest Jesus? But also, he was the one who walked on water.

There they were, on the stormy seas. They see someone walking on the water in the distance and are afraid. “Is it you, Lord? If so, bid me to come,” Peter ventures.

“Come,” Jesus invited. Upon that one word, Peter leapt out of the boat and began walking on water. That’s pretty cool. He had to be awed just a little bit about it, too. “Hey, I’m walking ON the water!” You know the story. The wind was blowing, the waves were high. He lost sight of Jesus, became afraid, and began to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cried. Jesus came to his rescue and said, of all things, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Lord, just the fact that I’ve never heard of anybody actually walking on water before…I guess I was just a little doubtful.”

And remember, Peter is the one to whom Jesus said, “Upon this rock (of the revelation of who I am) I will build my church.” Read about this incident. Jesus is asking a question of the disciples and Peter gives the “right” answer.

He had to be feeling pretty good about himself. He walked on water. Jesus said he would build his church upon him (well, you know, upon that revelation that he had of who Jesus was).

But then something pretty big happened. After Jesus was arrested, Peter denied THREE TIMES that he even knew Jesus. And this was after telling Jesus that he would NEVER deny him.

I think he had to feel pretty bad about that. I’ll bet the devil really used it against him, too, in the days that followed. “Oh, yeah, you were such a great disciple, then you DENIED Jesus. THREE times! How could you? Because you’re not great, and you will never amount to anything!”

Oh, yeah, and he was also the one to whom Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan!" That had to hurt a little.

So, what I see in the first two chapters of Acts is that Peter seems to have overcome the mistakes he had made. In chapter 1, he’s the one who stands up among the gathered ones and leads them in choosing a replacement for Judas. Then in chapter two, after the Holy Spirit has come and they are all speaking in tongues and drawing a crowd, Peter stands up and addresses the large crowd. He preaches a great sermon. You should read it. The end result is that 3,000 people were saved that day.

Actually, Peter’s name is mentioned about 72 times in the book of Acts. It seems he didn’t allow failure to hold him back. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he pressed forward and did great exploits in the early church. We should do the same.

Well, I went ahead and finished the book of James (see previous entries) which still had much treasure to be found. However, I have been feeling impressed to read the book of Acts again. Some Bibles refer to it as "the Acts of the Apostles," but it could probably more accurately be called the "Acts of the Holy Spirit." In fact, the word Spirit (used alone or with "Holy" as in "Holy Spirit" and referring to the same) is used, as I count it, 58 times in the book of Acts' 28 chapters. See for yourself. (Of course, don't include references to evil spirits.)

Baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:5, 2:4, 4:8, 4:31, 9:17, 11:16, 13:9, 13:52

You can also test the Spirit (Acts 5:9), resist the Spirit (Acts 7:51), be compelled by the Spirit (Acts 20:22), and lie to the Spirit (Acts 5:3).

The Holy Spirit in the life of the believer witnesses, strengthens and encourages (Acts 9:31), sends (Acts 13:4), makes as overseers (Acts 20:28), warns (Acts 20:23), and even forbids from doing things that are not in the will of God at that time (Acts 16:6-7). Oh yeah, and he translated Philip to another location (Acts 8:39).

The Holy Spirit worked closely with the early church (as he will with us). I like the familiarity expressed in Acts 15:28, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us ...."

Even though they found it difficult to believe at the time, Jesus truly spoke well when he told the disciples that it was better for them that he go, so that he could send the Holy Spirit who would be with them and in them. He would guide them (us) into all truth. The Holy Spirit is a valuable companion for us, and it would behoove us to take advantage of all that He offers. He won't force it upon us.

What a beautiful day in Many, Louisiana! We had a high of 80 degrees. The tulip trees and red buds are blooming, and even a few of my azaleas are beginning to bud and bloom. Spring is really my favorite season of the year. The cold, gray, deadness of winter gives way to a burst of color, warmth, and newness of LIFE!

This morning my husband Craig and I went for a long walk down a picturesque country lane. The sun was shining for what seems like the first time in a very long time. The March winds were blowing. The beauty of nature always helps me appreciate the awesomeness of God. He is so big, so creative, so .... You just run out of words trying to describe Him. He's really indescribable. It makes me think of Romans 1:18-20:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

You really can't look at creation and believe that it is all an accident, that it all evolved from a lower order. That is really not the nature of the universe. Quite the opposite: the natural direction is for things to proceed from order to chaos. Take a child's bedroom for instance. Does the room evolve to cleanliness on its own? No, left alone, chaos results. Someone said that to believe the earth "just happened" is something like believing you can blow up a junk yard and expect all the parts to fall back down to earth in the form of a shiny, new Corvette. It just ain't gonna happen.

No, there is an intelligent Creator, and He is God. And the only way to reach Him is through the Way He has made: His Son, Jesus. Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." You can't get to God through any other religion. They don't all lead to God, even though they may claim to. Jesus is the only way, because that's the way God made.

However, let me hasten to add: IT’S NOT EASY. It's not easy to love those who do evil to you. But it becomes easier as I practice it, and as I grow in my revelation of HIS great love for me and for others.

If you really want a sobering thought, think about someone who has done you wrong in the past. GOD LOVES THAT PERSON AS MUCH AS HE LOVES YOU. Now--mind you--He doesn't necessarily love what they are DOING, but he does love that person. He wants the best for them as much as He wants the best for you. He wants to bless them as much as He wants to bless you. However, we must get in a place (of obedience, walking in love) where we can receive the blessing of God. It's not automatic, and it's not entirely at His will. His blessings are conditional.