I Have Something to Give!

“But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!””  Acts of the Apostles 3:6 NLT

My friend and I were sharing stories over coffee. It had been a little bit since we had gotten together so lots had happened over the few weeks. As we shared, we realized we both had a similar story. Hers happened in California, mine in West Virginia. 

Both of us knew someone who was moving from their home to another place. They could not afford the rent and needed to find something more reasonable. In one case, they were really at the bottom of their resources, so the move was hard. They were both trying to move by themselves. Have you ever tried to move by yourself? What an overwhelming, daunting task. 

In my case, my son told me he was going to help. I offered to go along because six hands are better than four. I also asked my dad to come because eight hands are better than six. After we finished the moving part, we took our friend to lunch and then the grocery store to buy some essentials. 

My friend had a similar experience. In her situation, God changed their travel plans just enough so she landed in CA right when her cousin needed to move. She recruited her husband and her son because eight hands are better than two. She went and helped her cousin move so he was not doing it alone.

As we shared these stories, today’s verse popped into my head. We may not have the money to rent movers or to pay for someone’s rent, but we do have our own form of silver and gold. It’s us. Peter and John offered what they could give (Jesus) and helped a man walk. When we offer what we can give, we also help people get on their feet. We share Jesus by offering ourselves and in that moment miracles happen. Miracles of love shared, and relief given. Miracles of Jesus being in the midst even if you don’t mention his name. 

I love the idea that we can help people “stand” when we are willing to give of what we have, ourselves and Jesus. All it takes is us to show up. How will you help someone stand today?

Just Do It

27 So God created human beings[d] in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Genesis 1:27-30

These texts come after the story about creation. God created everything we need for life. He gave us light, air, food, animals and he created companionship for Adam.

As I read through this the thought crossed my mind.... God created all we needed to thrive. He provided for what we would need to “be fruitful and multiply.” He didn’t tell us to go figure it out. He didn’t say, “Look, here’s what I want you to do now go make it work.”

He said, “I’ve taken care of what you need. Now go and be fruitful and multiply.”

He does the same thing with us today. He provides and he says “Go share my love. Tell others about me. Be fruitful and multiply.”

Often we sit around waiting for the right time, the right situation, the right talent, or the right _________________ (fill in the blank). We have it backwards. He has provided for us. Now, we need to just do it. And in case you are wondering….He’s provided the Message, the Gospel. That’s all we really need.

No matter where you are, what you are doing, employed, unemployed, single, married, rich, poor…..you’ve got what you need to share Jesus…..what do you need? Only Jesus!

Yes, and......

We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. ! Thessalonians 2:8 (NLT)

The other day I was at my daughter’s house playing with my grandkids. My older grandson (the Little Dude) announced that he could count to 100. Then he asked if I wanted to hear it. I said Yes! As I sat there listening to him count, I wondered….what would our lives be like if we paid this much attention to others as they were doing things?

A little later, my youngest grandson (the Little Prince) came up and asked if I would play with him. I said yes and went to the room and sat down on the floor. I said “What do you want to play?” He handed me a car. I sat there a little lost in thought and he said “Aren’t you going to play?” I thought I was waiting for him and he was waiting for me!

I relayed the story of my youngest grandson to my son. He and my husband are masters at playing with the Little Dude and the Little Prince. I noted that apparently I wasn’t playing correctly. He said “That’s because when you play with them it has to be a ‘Yes, and.’” I said “What?”

“When they ask you to play, your response has to be “Yes, and…as you say it, you have to lean in and be excited and you have to take it to the next level with the “and.”  “Yes, and I will be the dinosaur” or “Yes, and let’s play hide and seek.” He said you have to enthusiastically say Yes and then really engage….really get involved in the task.

This made me think of Jesus. He did this. He didn’t just walk around nodding at people saying “God bless you.” He did the “Yes, and.” For Zacchaeus, “Yes, I see you and let’s go to your house for dinner.” For the woman at the well, “Yes, I know your life is a mess and let’s have a conversation so you will know how valuable you are.” For Peter, “Yes, I know you are going to say and do things that you will regret and I am going to stay and not leave you. Then you will see me.” There are so many.

What if we leaned into other’s lives like this? What if even when we were busy or distracted we noticed people like Jesus does. Notice I said ‘does’ there? What if we responded to their questions or His promptings with an enthusiastic, leaning in posture and said “Yes, and…..”

This way of living takes more time. It means we are really not in control (which for some of us is hard). But I have to ask myself, what if Jesus didn’t do this with me? Where would I be? I am so thankful that in my life He has said (over and over again).. Yes, and…..Aren’t you?

What's Your Witness?

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 1 John 3:18 (NLT)

Recently in Bible Study we were doing a topical study on what the Bible says about our witness. What are we supposed to do? How we are supposed to do it?

During the conversation it became really clear that God says our witness is our life. People see Jesus by our actions (or non-actions).  We share Jesus by living a life of love, acceptance, with the fruits of the Spirit alive and well in our every day. We talked about how witnessing wasn’t just about sharing Biblical facts but about sharing your personal story of Jesus.

I’m going to tell on myself a little here. During the time I shared a story about “how not to witness.” It was something I saw once that I didn’t like. That took us down the path of how God can use any efforts, even if they are misguided and how what I may think is a good witness may not be a good witness to someone else. He uses us all where we are to meet the needs of others where they are.

As we were praying at the end, I heard God say “if your witness is your life and your actions, how were you witnessing when you were sharing that story?” BAM! God’s lightbulb highlighted the error of my ways. You see, here I was talking about how I didn’t think you should witness and criticizing someone else’s witness...which caused me to wreck my own witness.

If my witness is my actions, the way I live my life and show love to others, criticizing someone else does not highlight Jesus. It highlights my opinion. The lesson I learned? It’s really easy to think we have it all figured out when in fact, we don’t. We are all in this together doing the best that we can. We should respect each other and see each other through the lens of Jesus’ heart. The only witness I need to worry about is my own and obviously, I need Jesus to help me with that every day.

Always Working

Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” John 5:17 (NIV)

As I walked into the room, he looked up. He asked me to come talk to him. When he started talking he said “I know God is part of your life. I need advice and I would like you to pray and ask God what I am supposed to do.” I responded with “That’s not how it works. You are supposed to pray and ask God what He wants you to do“. My friend went on to tell me that he walked away from God many years ago. He was sure God wouldn’t want to talk to him. 

We talked. I shared that I knew God wanted to talk to him....that God wanted to have a relationship with him and if he was interested in getting to know God, I would be happy to meet with him and share. 

A few weeks later he called. He wanted to start his journey. We started meeting and my friend has fallen in love with Jesus and is seeking to grow closer to Him. PRAISE!

I share this story because I think, pray and talk a lot about waiting on God. It almost gives the impression that while I am waiting, God isn’t doing anything. Which is so far from the truth. God is always working. He is always talking and moving in people’s hearts. Sure, I am waiting on specific things but all around my waiting are these amazing miracles. Any time someone is convinced that God is there and He is involved, it is a miracle.

Like the woman who was doing something at work that she felt was wrong. One day she decided she had to stand for what she believed in. She committed to going to work that week and talking to her boss. Before she even got to that point, she lost her job. But guess what? She had a job the very next day working for someone who prays over her business decisions. God was at work.

A young man was looking for a job. He commented that God is not involved in our everyday lives. We prayed together. The next week he went on three interviews and got a job offer at all three. During one of the interviews the owner of the business talked about God and something God said during prayer. This young man took that job. Later he said “I guess God is interested in what is happening in my life.”

Another woman had an addiction. She knew she wasn’t happy and she wanted more. She started on the journey to know Jesus. She’s been free of her addiction for 11 months! God is working in her life and she is beginning the process of helping others who have addictions. 

God is always working. He is moving in hearts and lives to call as many of His children into a relationship with Him. He wants them all to respond to His invitation. Won’t you come? Come and know the boundless love of your Father. Do you already know? If so, come join with Him to point people to Jesus. There is work to do in the waiting.

Help Wanted

He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. Luke 10:2 (GNT)

The other day I was on a ZOOM call with someone sharing Jesus. As we talked, questions were asked and answered, stories shared and Jesus became a little more known. PRAISE! At the end of the conversation, my friend thanked me and said that our conversations were changing his life. This made me really uncomfortable because it wasn’t our conversations, it was the Holy Spirit. I shared that with him.

As I thought back over that moment a few days later, I realized something. If I had not said yes to this “job”, someone else would have. God has openings all over the place waiting for people to fill. And there are people willing to fill them.

This “job” of sharing Jesus can be filled by anyone. The job description would look something like this:

Required:
Love Jesus
Love People
Be willing

Skill set:
Able to pray for direction and whenever you come across something you don’t know (which is always)
Spend time reading the Word. When unsure of where to find a text, able to Google Bible texts to share
Willing to spend time with others (whether in person or via Zoom depending on the circumstances)
Understand your job. Your job is to share. The Holy Spirit’s job is to do everything else.

God has openings everywhere. In every neighborhood, every workplace, every family there are “Help Wanted” signs. When life gets harder, more signs are posted because more people need comfort.

Do you want to hear something really cool? I believe the more inexperienced you are, the more you get to see Jesus move. When we are more dependent on Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills in where we can’t. It is a life altering experience to watch. This is definitely the most exciting “job” I’ve ever had.

Fishing with God

1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,[a] great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,[b] its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. Luke 5:1-11 (NLT)

As I read these verses today, I had an epiphany. I act just like Peter in this story. It goes something like this.

I have been working hard. I’m tired and I want to go somewhere and sit by myself and not talk to anyone. Something comes up and I hear God say “Go. I have something for you to do.” I reply “God, I’m tired. Can’t you see how hard I’ve been working? I want to stay home.” Pause. “OK. I’ll go but only because you said to.”

I go. I experience the most amazing conversation with someone who wants to know God more. I am elated. I am so happy I went because I got to experience Jesus in the middle of my circumstances. I praise God and am humbled at the same time. My heart drops to a prostrate position and I am overwhelmed.

I am overwhelmed because that conversation where someone wanted to know more about God has just set me up to share that. I feel completely inadequate at this moment. How can I possibly do that and get it right? Can anyone truly share that in such a way that glorifies God as he deserves? I get scared.

And God say “It’s OK. I am here. This is not you but me working. Don’t be afraid.” And even though I am still scared, I go. Because fishing with God is way better than anything else I had planned.

Faith Shared

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Hebrews 11:39-40 (NLT)

We reach the end of Hebrews 11 and find out that all the people who have gone before us didn’t receive all that God had promised. The result of their faith was not complete. And if I am reading this correctly, it’s because we weren’t there yet. He wants us to realize perfection as well.

This makes a lot of sense. As the people that went before us walked the paths God gave them, they were in the thick of it. They were fighting battles, dealing with sickness, stuck in Lion’s dens, beaten and jailed. They faced all sorts of trials. When they were facing those trials, I am pretty sure they didn’t stop and say “Well, I will face this with faith so Elaine can read about it later and be encouraged.” 

They faced it because they believed in God and what he would do. The awesome thing about that though is the result of that faith. When they walked in faith, their example radiated to all those near them and to us many lifetimes later. 

Our acts of faith are never meant just for us. They are meant to glorify God which then impacts all those around us. Being faithful, living your faith each day has a deeper purpose than just getting us through the messy stuff. It is to be shared so that we can share Jesus (even if just in our response to life’s problems) with other people.