The Ripple Effect

A few weeks ago, God showed me a small example of the ripple effect. It began with a whim to see a lottery home on the other side of our city. That was His idea but I didn’t realize it at the time. It was Sunday and a long weekend so our usual brunch at church was not happening. We were a long way from home, so after viewing the house we went to a nearby restaurant. It happened to have those newsletters that sometimes show up in eating places. This copy had an article about a city who build an inner city with structures for artists to paint murals. When we got home, I looked it up and was utterly amazed at the paintings, most of them done with the artist standing on a forklift or other machinery. They were done freehand and astonishingly beautiful. I know a young artist that lives on the other side of our country thinking he would already be aware of this place but just in case, and because he does outdoor art sometimes, I sent him a message with the link. He messaged back, very excited because he was thinking of taking a course involving mural work and when he saw the work done in that far away place, he was convinced to take the course. How delightful — because of a whisper that seemed like a whim.

Today’s reading offers a much more startling example of God at work making ripples. It tells how one book changed many lives:

A book by Richard Sibbes, one of the choicest of the Puritan writers, was read by Richard Baxter, who was greatly blessed by it. Baxter then wrote A Call to the Unconverted which deeply influenced Philip Doddridge, who in turn wrote The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. This brought the young William Wilberforce, subsequent English statesman and foe of slavery, to serious thoughts of eternity. Wilberforce wrote his Practical Book of Christianity which fired the soul of Leigh Richmond. Richmond, in turn, wrote The Dairyman’s Daughter, a book that brought thousands to the Lord, helping Thomas Chalmers the great preacher, among others.

Chalmers went on to write more than 30 books that also rippled out to affect others. This demonstrates the power of God to use the work of obedient people. It is about books, but could be about simple acts of obedience. Another author says, “You reflect the Spirit of God simply by the love you show to others. Your kindness will yield kindness. And, like a pebble tossed into a pond yields ripples, kindness flows outward from just one simple act, inspiring others.”

Another simple illustration is a yawn. Yawn and the whole room yawns. Smile at a stranger and who knows, that stranger is inspired to smile at another.

The book of Acts illustrates how God spread the Gospel like a pebble in a pond. Jesus told His disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15) then told them how it would happen:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Usually the effects of doing what God says or just being like Jesus in life’s situations is not obvious. Also, faith is the foundation for obedience, not any notions about what will happen because of it. One person insists that all we need to do is share what Jesus has done for us and others will want to know him too. That is not always the way it works. Ask those in the middle east. Many Christians have been persecuted and even slaughtered for telling others about Jesus. This does not stop God from using their obedience, but many of them will never see the results.

For me, this points to the worst event in history — putting to death the innocent man who is God. And God turned that into the best event, the most superior thing that ever happened. Yesterday we heard of the torture He experienced. Many in our church wore black and felt the pain of it — in a minuscule way compared to what Jesus endured. Tomorrow we look back at the reason we call Friday ‘Good’ and celebrate the reality that Jesus is alive and that the ripple effect that started with a few at the empty tomb has reached our hearts and minds. Millions live because He lives, and the ripple continues to use the obedience of His people to bring Good News to one person then another, then another.

PRAY: Lord, for a few days I’ve felt the deep sorrow that You, my best Friend, suffered as You did to save me from sin and the wrath of God. As tomorrow rolls closer, that sorrow turns to incredulous joy for the love that put You on that cross and the ripples that You used to bring me to join You there happened because of Your obedience — and because You rose and are alive!

Christ makes the difference…

Today’s reading says we need to know who we really are in order to know how we ought to live. In Christ, we are God’s children, His heirs, and His friends. But there are more ID markers.

He also calls us His sheep. I’ve had sheep. They are easily frightened, follow each other and need a shepherd to keep them in green pastures! Yes, I often behave as a sheep, but am glad that He enables me to hear His voice and follow Him, my Good Shepherd.

Jesus also says of me that I will be hated by all for His name’s sake and must endure to the end.(Matthew 10:22) This means behaving with endurance, not giving up when life includes persecution.
Lest I complain or fear that possibility, Jesus suggests in a parable that He is to be “allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me.” (Matthew 20:15) I am His child and His friend, but I am also His possession. I belong to Him. Not only that, when I feel weak, useless, unable to do as He desires, He says:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Being His child, heir, and friend sounds like good news, yet Jesus is not ‘my buddy’ for He is my Lord and Teacher, and also His disciple who must live obediently to what He teaches me:

So Jesus said to those who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (John 8:31)

What does that look like? Abiding in Him shows up in the way I live and treat others...

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love…. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:9-10; 14-15)

These things are possible because Jesus lives in me. “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20) He changes my life because of the Holy Spirit who enables me to witness to the love and power of God…

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

And He enables the way I ought to live. While knowing who I really am is helpful, it is His life in me that enables the actions that I ought to have…

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

None of the “ought to” behaviors are up to me alone, but are the wonder of Christ using me to do His will, like a hand in a glove.

PRAY: Jesus, while the Bible does not use this metaphor, You are the hand in this glove and living as You desire me to live is all about You and Your amazing grace and power. I am so thankful that striving for excellence comes to even lazy and helpless people like me. You make the difference.

God’s goal for me . . .

When Paul became a Christian, God gave him a mission for life — take the Gospel to the world. This grand goal is for all Christians yet Paul’s mission was a specific call. He knew his purpose and spent his life fulfilling it.

I’ve not had that same sense of call, at least not for the ‘doing’ part of living. I’ve not sensed a call for a career or a specific goal like doctor, lawyer, or missionary either. Perhaps one reason is that God knows me — if I am given an assignment, I focus on it like a bulldog with a bone. I also tend to jump in without prayerful preparation.

Today I noticed that Paul wasn’t the first person to know God’s plan for his life. God spoke to Ananias while Paul was still blinded by the light of the risen Christ. He told Ananias to go to a certain house where “a man named Saul” waited for him to come and have his sight restored.

Ananias was worried. He said, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:13–15)

Ananias obeyed. Saul was baptized, regained his sight and soon had a name-change. He spent time with the disciples and much to their amazement, preached the gospel. Many listened, but there was a stirring of resistance. Soon the Jews were persecuting the Christians as Paul had once done. He and others moved to Antioch . . .

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:1–3)

These men were fulfilling Paul’s mission which the Lord first told to Ananias. On this first missionary journey and during the next two journeys, Paul preached first to the Jews of the region, then to the Gentiles. He was sometimes in Jewish synagogues, or before city leaders, or in prison. He used the Old Testament or found ways to point his listeners to God their Creator who loved them and sent Jesus to save them. But eventually Jewish resistance increased:

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. (Acts 13:44–49)

Jesus told them they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and this prophecy was coming true. Eventually Paul would say, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8) Paul fulfilled God’s goal for him.

My walk with God has been more of a step-by-step process, a ‘do the next thing’ rather than a life-long mission, yet He did give me a life-goal. It is found in Romans 8:28-29 where He says He will use all things to transform me into the image of His Son. These words were written on my heart right after I was saved, a goal so lofty that there is no way I could jump in and simply run with it. Yet being like Jesus cannot happen without prayer, obedience and time. He uses the events of life as tools to shape me and I need to pay attention.

^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I don’t know what was written on Paul’s tomb. I can imagine it had something to do with his life mission and that You were pleased to use him in such a grand way. The Word of God spelled out Your plan and he followed the directions You gave him. I don’t know what will be written on my tomb, but I’m thinking “Step-by-Step” would be okay or maybe, “Jesus carried her all the way.” Thank You for taking my hand and for fixing my eyes on Jesus. He is my incredible goal. Also, thank You for giving me peace with whatever happens. If I knew what You wanted me to deal with tomorrow or next week I would likely let go, run ahead, try to tackle it myself and just make a mess of things!

Scattered but with a Purpose . . .

Today’s world is mobile. I’ve moved an average of one move every 2.5 years of my life. However, this is not the case for everyone. Our children had school friends who had never been out of the city where we happened to be living. My parents moved six times in their whole lives and most of those were from retirement to nursing care to hospital.

I’ve wondered if people moved often during the time of the New Testament. I cannot find that information yet surmise that because people depended on foot travel or animals, they likely didn’t move very far. That begs the question: how would these words of Jesus come true?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

How would the new Christians witness to the ends of the earth? It seems obvious they needed more than an easy way of travel — they also needed motivation to go from where they lived and worked to the ‘ends of the earth.’ What would influence them to do that? The book of Acts tells how God helped them, not in a way that they would have chosen on their own . . .

And Saul approved of (Stephen’s) execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. (Acts 8:1–3)

The Jewish religious leaders felt threatened by this ‘new’ religion and began persecuting them. It began very soon and continued, yet the narrative in Acts shows God’s plan. As His people fled for safety they fulfilled those prophetic words of their Savior:

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:19–21)

Today if this happened in my part of the world, Christians might think it was a horrible thing to be uprooted and scattered because of persecution. We might not suspect that God had something greater in mind than our comfort and security. I’m marveling at what God was doing back then, but would I marvel if it happened to me?

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:22–26)

In parts of our world, persecuted Christians are still fleeing in fear for their lives. Our church has supported newlyweds from Syria who lived in bombed-out buildings for several months until they could escape to safety. We also are supporting families who fled from their homeland to another country only to find themselves in refugee camps, also unwelcome and persecuted. I’ve moved many times but cannot relate to what these people are experiencing. Relocating by choice or necessity is one thing but moving to escape death is quite another.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, I compare the attitude of these early Christians with mine and marvel at their faithfulness and steadfast purpose. They turned to You in faith and that faith carried them, even as they were threatened. I must admit that a forced move would challenge me. Would I share the Gospel as I fled or if I wound up in a foreign land? I know that many people are suspicious of immigrants here because of persecution. I pray that You will use them to share the Gospel even as you did in the early church. Sadly, our land is ‘free’ yet many of our citizens still need to hear the Gospel because many of Your people are too comfortable rather than being focused and faithful to that purpose.

One Lord, One Body, Together!

As a detail person, I sometimes cannot see the big picture or form an overview. Because of this, I really appreciate those who can make clear outlines, particularly outlines of a Bible book. The outline of Acts is fascinating because it follows the words of Jesus in the first chapter as He stressed the people and their mission to their world . . .

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The book I’m using for devotional prompts is called “Exploring the New Testament” and this is the outline the author gives for Acts. The main headings are the primary locations where the Christians would go, and the secondary headings name the main people God put to work in each location.

Acts 1:1–11		Introduction: Apostles commissioned
1:12–8:3		The Gospel in Jerusalem
	1:12–5:42	Peter’s ministry
	6:1–8:3	Stephen’s ministry
8:4–11:18		The Gospel in Samaria and Judea
	8:4–40	Philip’s ministry
	9:1–31	Saul’s ministry begins
	9:32–11:18	Peter’s ministry concludes
11:19–21:14		The Gospel in the uttermost parts
	11:19–12:25	Barnabas’ ministry
	13:1–21:14	Paul’s ministry
	13:1–14:28	First journey
	15:1–35	The Jerusalem Council
	15:36–18:22	Second journey
	18:23–21:14	Third journey
21:15–28:29		The Gospel in Caesarea and Rome
	21:15–23:10	Paul taken prisoner in Jerusalem
	23:11–26:32	Paul as a prisoner in Caesarea
	27:1–28:29	Paul as a prisoner in Rome
28:30, 31		Conclusion—Apostolic commission fulfilled

This orderly outline excites me. It tells me that the God I worship is orderly. What I see in this world is often not. In fact, it can be very messy and disorganized. Maybe this is because I tend to look at the details, but whatever the reason, I am glad that my view of a mess is incomplete. The Bible does say:

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace . . .  (1 Corinthians 14:33) (and therefore)

 . . . all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40)

This has many applications. As a follower of an orderly God who is remaking me into the image of Jesus Christ, my life should be orderly too. Think desk, kitchen cupboards, book shelves, etc. So also should my schedule —  do the priorities first, then the next thing and the next thing . . . rather than being distracted and all over the place without accomplishing anything.

Chaos and disarray have no place in the life and work of the church either. God is not the author of confusion. If we are listening to Him and following Him, then our worship services, times of prayer, and all ministries will be orderly. Some might have different views of what that means, but we will agree that it does not mean confusion.

One stumbling block for some is the idea that if everyone follows the Holy Spirit, the result will be a messy and noisy group of people each doing something different. This totally misses the point. The Holy Spirit is one Person, not a diverse group. If we follow Him, we will also be in harmony and united even with our different gifts and perspectives.

It comes out in group prayer. I’m often thinking that I should pray for a certain person or a burden but before I open my mouth, another person in the group prays exactly what I was thinking! That is the work of the Holy Spirit. He gives us the burden and motivates our responses; we are together when our thoughts come from Him.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, learning to hear Your voice is wonderful. Realizing that others hear the same thoughts is even more exciting. You live in Your people. You put the same burdens and ideas in our hearts. We are not robots, but able to respond in different ways even as we agree on what You are saying to us. This shows up in the outline of Acts and continues to show up in Your Body of believers two thousand years later. Thank You for giving us unity in our diversity and the ability to know and follow Your will — together!