SIMPLY REJOICING 3: Rejoice and Proclaim His Good News

TELL YOUR STORY

“What you have seen and heard may touch another heart.” (PL)

SATURDAY, June 7

        Heading for home today so this will be brief.  In this “Tell Your Story” section, author Lewis writes of Jesus and children and being childlike in our faith.  I especially was moved to consider her last few lines:

          “Who are the children God is calling you to lead to Jesus and disciple?  Be on watch – the fields are ripe for harvest.  Does he have a Timothy for you to mentor?  Is there some young person who would benefit from hearing your story?  Keep alert!  Perhaps he has a lesson to teach you from a child who is excited about his or her faith and wants everyone to have the joy of knowing Jesus.  Those are thoughts IO’m pondering and questions I’m asking myself as I meditate on the teachings of Jesus regarding children and being childlike in faith.” (p. 79)

          The ‘fields are ripe for harvest’.  Hmmmm….those lines sound amazingly familiar to our missional team.  Open Door is one way our church has reached out to youth by meeting their needs for fellowship and food.  Where else is God calling us?  

FRIDAY, June 6  Like a Child

Luke 18:16-17 MSG

“Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

A Recycled Scribble today from Mark's similar passage

          Jesus loved children.  He relished being with them and playing with them.  But more importantly, Jesus saw the importance of children – to approach life with the simple openness and honesty of a child.

          How do we view children?  Are they a burden to be seen and not heard?  A nuisance that leave toys on the floor and make messes at inconvenient times?  Or do we look at a child and see the miracle of potential within?  Do we see God in their face in their blatant acceptance of everyone and unselfishness?  Do we see a harvest to be reaped in the very best way imaginable? 

          Our church values our youth, and that impact will reap rewards for the Kingdom of God that we can’t imagine.  The more we spend time with the youth and share our stories,  the more time we spend listening to their struggles and dreams, the time we mentor without knowing it, we make a difference.  Even more, the interaction usually is of benefit to BOTH sides.  You don’t have to be a designated youth leader – everyone can be a part of youth ministry.  God calls us in various fashions, but we are all a part.

          Make no mistakes in Jesus’ message: we must come to God with the same trust and simplicity of a child if we are to understand the Kingdom. 

WITNESS THE MIRACLE
"An amazing answer to prayer leads to the next bold request." (PL)

THURSDAY, June 5  Holes in the Wall

“The losses that puncture our world may become holes to see through to God….There’s a reason I’m not writing the story and God is.  He knows how it all works out, where it all leads, what it all means.” Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts

        Praying hard also means continuing to pray even when the answer isn’t apparently what we want.  Praying hard when the answer seems to be exactly the opposite!  Praying hard when the answer hurts and is painful.  Because God has a much bigger plan than our little world and experience.  We are just a piece in the puzzle and only God knows how it fits together.

          Ann Voskamp’s words made me envision a wall between us and God.  When everything goes smoothly, we have no need of God, no need to trust and put our faith into action.  And hence, we really don’t know the vast capacity of God’s love.  But when we experience loss, when we experience forgiveness, holes are punched in that wall that allow us to see God more clearly. 

WEDNESDAY, June 4  Tell the Story

Galatians 1:15-16 VOICE

But God—who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace—chose, to His great delight,  to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations.

          The apostle Paul, formerly persecutor Saul, knew what it meant to be ‘saved’.  His conversion is probably one of the most dramatic reversals in the Bible.  When I remember Paul, how can I ever doubt that God can work miracles of his chosing?  God-Holy Spirit is ready to work through me to proclaim the good news. 

          I think my problem is I equate proclamation with street corner preachers and that isn’t my modus operandi.   But perhaps God doesn’t use all of us in that way.  Perhaps I am currently writing or drawing my proclamation.  Perhaps I don’t even know who reads my morning ramblings, the reach of an internet blog to a world I don’t see. Who sees a Scribble and is renewed, a prayer drawing and is encouraged?  Perhaps I don’t know who is watching my actions and my witness.  Perhaps….No, FOR CERTAIN, God is at work without my knowledge.  My job is to remain open and willing, to trust God to work through me, and be ready to embark on new journeys. 

          This section of Lewis’ book ends with another thought by Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker, a thought that reminds us that the journey isn’t easy, but filled with unexpected and abundant rewards:

          “By definition, praying hard is praying when it is hard to pray. And it’s the hard times that teach us to pray hard. But if you keep praying through, the peace that transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind.”  

TUESDAY, June 3  Proclaim!

Acts 1:8 MSG

"... and when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

          Rejoice. Witness.  Proclaim.  I think I do ok with the rejoice part.  I’m working on recognizing God at work and celebrating God’s presence.  I try to live my life as a witness by who I am and how I act.  But proclaim?  Actively announce and share?  That’s a little more overt.  I do it if I sense a listening heart or a fellow believer.  But to proclaim to a hostile audience or to those who may rebuff me?  That’s much, much harder, and I’m afraid I have a long way to go in that mission. 

          So…my prayer today is to be a better proclaimer for Christ.  To be more vocal in what guides my life.  To risk the rebuff and allow my rejoicing to publicly call others to God.  A lofty goal?  Yes, and I can’t do it alone.   But….with the Holy Spirit, all things are possible!