Week 2 Chapters 6-15

Ladies,


First some housekeeping information. We have decided to do our July 10th study in the hotel after dinner since the majority of us will be attending the Women of Faith Conference. For those of you who are not able to join us, I will post our comments as soon as I can.


This week we completed two sections of the book, Finding the Way and Miles and Missions.


Our lessons pick up with the stoning of Stephen with Saul cheering on each blow. We learned of Stephen's forgiving spirit and what is, perhaps, Saul's first experience with true grace. As the life leaves Stephen's body, he cries out on behalf of his persecutors, begging for their forgiveness. We questioned whether we would, in the same or similar situation, be able to show as much of Christ in us as Stephen did. Would we be dominated by the Holy Spirit or by a spirit of hatred and revenge? Moore states that "the more Stephen poured out his life for Christ, the more Christ poured His life into Stephen." We are all human, flawed and fickle. Stephen was no exception. The difference is how much reign we are willing to let Christ have in our lives. Stephen had given himself over to Christ completely....have we? Our ability to forgive, our ability to make Christ-like decisions of grace is a wonderful testimony of our faith. No doubt that we will struggle with human nature but in the end it only matters whether or not we let Christ win the fight for us. After all, He already has.


In the next chapter we see the dramatic conversion of Saul. I kind of feel sorry for Saul. He is so sure of his beliefs, but he is surely wrong. What a lightbulb experience this must have been for Saul (only I guess his lights went out). Remember Saul was on his way to Damascus to bring back Christians in order to have them executed. Saul is up to his neck in nastiness. He is out to get people he doesn't even know. Christ confronts him with the the question "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4) Suddenly this obsession that Saul has with a faceless group of troublemakers becomes personal. Christ makes it personal. Saul isn't just persecuting his followers, he is persecuting Jesus himself. Big mistake! So Jesus strikes him blind and forces Saul to spend some time in real prayer. Has God ever had to force you to your knees so that you would really spend some time with Him? At the end of the 9th chapter in Acts we meet a man named Barnabas. He plays an important role in the development of the great missionary named Paul. The other apostles were not quite ready to accept Saul's conversion, probably out of fear, but Barnabas brought him in. Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, took the first important step to reach out to Saul, to welcome him, and to make him feel like part of the group, much the same way that Christ would have done. It takes courage to go out on a limb for somebody, especially one as notoriously mean as Saul. But look at how the church grew under Paul's ministry. Do you stand in the way of a modern-day Paul or do you open the door wide and welcome all those who want to enter?

Chapter 9 focuses on the story of Peter and Cornelius. We see Peter experience a revelation about equality. In this vision, the hierarchy of spiritualism is torn down. God wants ALL people to come to know Him. This was a new concept for the Jews of Paul's day. To this point there had always been a "chosen people" but now God is making it clear that everyone is welcome at the cross.(kind of makes sense doesn't it, since He created us all) Peter is being called to minister to the Jews while Paul is being called to minister to the Gentiles.

In Chapter 10 talks about Paul being a mold-breaker for Christ and His church. We discussed at length how molds have been broken over the years in our church. Things as simple as clapping at the end of a special music to the drums being played during worship. We shared our opinions on why these molds existed in the first place. Most of what we find is that these molds are based on tradition, not biblical rightness. It is important when we feel that our worship is being effected by change that we examine why things are changing. Are things changing because the Holy Spirit is at work and therefore we can't remain the same? Are things changing because Satan is trying to distract us from our God-focused perspective? We don't want to be a stick in the mud and if we look at the early church we see that change was the only constant.

In Acts 11:23 we see that Barnabas is still living up to his name as he encouraged the believers to "remain true to the Lord with all their hearts". Moore points out that what he is really saying is that we need to plan to be faithful. We have to plan during the smooth sailing that when a storm starts to build we will remain true to the Lord. What a great point! It reminds me of a marriage committment. When we say our vows, we are essentially planning to remain true to that relationship. When we committ our live to God it shouldn't just be for an instant, it should be for an eternity. Plan to remain true.

The next section of the book is called Miles and Missions. Paul sets out to answer his calling. Paul and Barnabas go to the church at Antioch. Moore describes this church as being full of "willing evangelists, willing recipients, effective disciples, and strong leadership. If we were to evaluate our church, would we be able to say the same? Which areas are we lacking in? Which areas are we strong in? Moores writes "The leaders of the church in Antioch were constantly ready to hear from God; therefore, when He spoke, they were listening." What is he calling us to do? Where is he calling us to go? Are we listening or too busy talking?
Next we discussed miracles. Beth Moore asks the question "Do you ever wonder why God doesn't more often perform miraculous works?" We concluded that God performs miracles everyday but we often allow Satan to blind us from seeing God's hand. Several of us shared recent examples of miracles we have experienced. What a great way to reaffirm our belief in our awesome God! If anyone has a miracle they would like to share, please post it and I will take it to our group next week. Moore points out that God uses both natural and supernatural means to deliver us from danger but both are divine provisions. Maybe we need to change our definition of miracle to help us see God at work in the everyday.
Trials and hardships are not fun things to discuss but we braved the topic anyway. Scripture states that "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). So we know they are coming....the question is How are we going to deal with them once they get here? Have we planned to remain faithful in difficult times? Have we decided to accept the inevitability of trials and suffering so that we can move on to the responsibility of remaining faithful no matter what? I think that Paul had to know that he would surely suffer a painful end, just as Stephen did as he looked on a cheered, but he committed his life to Christ anyway. His suffering would not be in vain. He was a forgiven child of God and would, after his earthly trials were finished, be in heaven with the Christ who saved him from himself. We concluded our discussion with the topic of legalism. How can we pursue a godly lifestyle without becoming legalistic? Moore says "When we paint the picture of salvation for others to see, we may use different colors, textures, and shapes on the edge of the parchment but in the center can only be a cross." We must focus on the love God has for his creation (all of us), the sacrifice of His only Son, and the forgiveness we ourselves have experienced through Christ.