The Small Branch

 Have you ever felt pressure to witness in "just the right way" so that someone would come to know Christ?  Have you ever thought, "Oh no, I forgot to pray for that person's salvation today!  What will happen?"  I'll admit to thoughts like that.  For me, they come from a background of people teaching me that Jesus was necessary for salvation, but then I had better get to work to sanctify myself.  Of course, that isn't what the Bible teaches.  I have been studying Acts recently, and I came upon some verses I wanted to share with you. Acts 16:14 says, "A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Acts 18:9 and 10 say, "And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you , and no man will attack you in order to h...

 Acts 16 tells of Paul and Silas' missionary journey.  At one point, they are put in prison after being beaten with rods.  Their feet are even put in stocks.  But look at verse 25: "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;"  You know they were probably in too much pain to sleep, but they aren't complaining.  They are worshipping.  Their eyes are fixed on Jesus, not themselves or their circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-2).  This is lesson enough for us, but did you catch the last part of the verse?  I must admit, as many times as I have read that verse, the last part didn't really strike me until this morning. The last part of Acts 16:25 says, "and the prisoners were listening to them;"  Their fellow prisoners, criminals, were  listening.   They weren't mocking or ignoring or even sleeping.  They were listening.   How many times in our lives ...

 I haven't been posting much because I am feeling a little lost.  I know that God always has a plan for my day and a plan for the whole of my days, but sometimes I feel like I can't possibly figure out what that is.  I usually end up doing something lazy at that point because I just don't really know what to do with my time.   This morning, I was continuing my study of the New Testament in Acts.  Acts 16:6-8 says, "They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas."  Paul and Silas needed direction.  They needed to know where to go and where to preach.  Did God make it a mystery?  something hard to figure out?  NO!  He made it clear to them by His Spirit. Why isn't it as clear to us?  Mostly, we aren'...

 John 3:5-6 says, "Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In order to be saved, we must be born of the Spirit.  This is Jesus' answer to Nicodemus.  We are often confused about what this means.  Many people talk about "inviting Jesus into your heart" or "making Jesus Lord of your life" or "praying the prayer" to be saved.  None of these things aline with what the Bible teaches.  God does the work of our salvation, we just have to repent and believe.  Jesus already is Lord of everything, including our lives.  We repent because we have rebelled against that Lordship.  His Holy Spirit chooses to take up residence in us because, by the faith God has given us, we believe that we are sinners and Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to pay the price for our sins s...

I have been taught that we are to reflect Jesus in all we do, like a mirror.  But I am not sure that is the best picture.  We are told in 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"  If the Spirit dwells in us, then we need to be a cleaner window, not a mirror.  "Me" dirties my window.  "Me" makes it hard to see through to the Spirit.  Genesis 1:27 says "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."  If we are created in the image of God, then He should shine through  us, not be reflected off of us.  Maybe being sanctified means that our dirty window gets cleaned to clear glass so that the image of God is what people see rather than the dirt of ourselves.