January 20, 2019

  Assumption vs Reality  

Acts 21: 26-36

Acts

So Paul agreed to their request, and the next day he went through the purification ritual with the men and went to the Temple.  Then he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.

The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him.  They grabbed him, yelling, "Men of Israel!  Help!  This is the man who teaches against our people and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws.  He speaks against the Temple - and he even defiles it by bringing Gentiles in!  (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

The whole population of the city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed.  Paul was dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.  As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.  He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd.  When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.  The commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains.  Then he asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.  Some shouted one thing and some another.  He couldn't find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, so he ordered Paul to be taken to the fortress.  As they reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift Paul to their shoulders to protect him.  And the crowd followed behind shouting, "Kill him, kill him!"   

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 Thoughts....

First, don't try to be somebody you are not, OR step outside the bounds of who GOD intended for you to be.

Second, if GOD calls you to do something, you should do it. 

Third, remember that GOD said "Love your neighbor as yourself", JESUS reinforced that.

See Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:27-37; Leviticus 19:9-10.  

Fourth, how are people going to know about GOD unless you tell them? 

Fifth, remember that the author of confusion is Satan. 

Sixth, who kills, steals, and destroys?  Satan.

Galatians 5:16-26 reads:

"So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.  Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just the opposite from what Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.  But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results:  sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.  Let me tell you again, as I have before that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

BUT when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Here there is no conflict with the law.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.  Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another."

Next, let's look further at the Scripture.  

All that violence due to assumptions.  

Assumption - without full knowledge.

Did you see the article online with the photos of 300+ asylum seekers/immigrants who dug under the Mexican/American border, surrendered themselves immediately and were peacefully standing in line waiting to be 'signed in'?  With only 2 Border Patrol vehicles and a couple agents?  

The asylum seekers, seeking refuge from violence, death, and destruction, and the Federal agents, were calmer than Walmart and Best Buy shoppers on Black Friday waiting in line all night for a store to open.

What did you ASSUME, based on what you've HEARD the President of the United States say lately - ok, all along -  about those coming over the border?

Do those pictures speak 300+ words to you, like peaceful, seeking asylum?  Needing safety and sanctuary?  

Who would pack drugs and an arsenal and walk up to a Federal agent and say "help me"? 

Did you see chaos?  NO.   Dead agents?  NO.  Stressful agents?  NO.  Anybody running?  NO.  Not even the agents.  

Yah.  So.  Learn the FACTS before you REACT.  

Remember Galatians 5:16-26 as noted above.  Who's side are you on?  How will you respond to GOD?

'All God's children get weary when they roam.'  Does it make you want to open your home?

Never assume anything.  Be knowledgeable:  KNOW the FACTS, then ACT....in all the ways GOD intends.

Remember what you read in Leviticus.  GOD said to leave the grapes on the ground for the foreigners around you.  That indicates he expects foreigners to live among you....and I....all of us.  But don't just leave fruit on the ground for them.  Loving your neighbor as yourself under the new law means giving them the best fruit you have to give, spiritually, emotionally, as well as materially.  If you shop at thrift shops, share.  If you shop at Macy's, you MUST share.

God loves you.  He loves all the asylum seekers, too.  They just want what you have, and I have.  A safe place to live and raise their family.  A place to find peace, serenity, and a living wage.  

When I hear the U.S. President speak about Hispanic people the way he does, or Africans, or Others, it turns my stomach.  I live and work amongst all.  I see 'Dreamers' every day busting their backs working 1-2 jobs to get ahead and pay their way, taxes and all., including their educations.  They may never reap the benefit of Social Security they've paid into, if Trump has his way.

They have never known any other life, having been brought here as children.  Some never knew they were not legal until the fact was thrust upon them, with parents in shock as well, believing the steps they took were legal ones based on what they were told. 

I've seen some of the brightest students with a yearning to succeed in college that far outweighs many U.S. born kids with entitlement issues.  Kids that have desire in their hearts to be great at what they feel called to do and be....Psychology majors to be able to counsel kids in schools, Border Patrol agents to be like those who helped their family so they could be safe every day, Pastors to reach out in love, Mom's who don't have to worry about their kids walking out the door, Dad's who labor with love to insure their families have sound roofs over their heads and the same luxuries like furniture and clothing, medical care, even the basics, food, not one car, but two. 

These are people made from the same God as you and I, regardless of country from which they come.  They may have some cultural differences, but they still love, dream, hope, pray, believe, and expect that God will answer their prayers.  They want the chance to be safe, have the opportunity to work, eat, breathe clean air, become further educated, and  more.

Whomever taught you that when you go to church the person sitting next to you had to be 'free, white, and over 21' was wrong.  They were not reading the Bible, and if they were, they read it in the spirit of confusion with Satan's utterance of lies, rather than being led by the Holy Spirit.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists."

And on the pedestal base of the Statue of Liberty is a poem in part [starting from "Keep, ancient lands"]  by Emma Lazarus entitled "The New Colossus".  It reads thus: 

' Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
MOTHER OF EXILES. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" '

And lest you attempt to go down the road that says your relatives went through Ellis Island with the lady statue, legally, I encourage you to realize that it was built in 1882 in France and proposed by an anti-slavery activist to honor the centennial of independence and friendship with France, having been dedicated in October of 1886.  The onslaught of Irish arrived years before that (1607-1820), others before Lady Liberty as well, and America is still stating that Africans are not American despite having arrived as early as the 1600's.  Hek, America doesn't even still recognize American Indians as valid, yet they were here L O N G before 'white man' showed up.  Who do we ALL think we are?  

Love your neighbor as yourself.  Assume nothing.  Gain knowledge....truth.  Live in reality.

P.S. I'm white, woman, 66.  Yes, I am 'that old'.

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Let Us Pray

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit I praise you and thank you.  Please forgive the world of our sins, so that we may be a cleansed vessel through which you can readily flow.  A healed and healing vessel, one that loves, and gives, and cares for and about others. Thank you for making all things clearer, so all of us in the world can understand what is expected from you on how to live, breathe, and have our being....and love our neighbor as ourselves.  Lord God, Lamb of God, Holy Spirit Teacher, help us all....please.  Bring safety, and peace, and sanctuary to all.  I praise you.  I thank you.  I love you.  Amen.

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 More love.... 

  Benediction....Blessing

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'.

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation. 

'All who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him.  There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.  For you are all Christians - you are ONE in Christ Jesus.'  Galatians 3: 27

  It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!

Teach tolerance....reach in acceptance....worship as one!

Respect....Embrace....Encourage!

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Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

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  Our Continual Cause

It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, animals, the earth, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart.  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and God's....and may God richly bless you ! 

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  One last thing....

Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.  I encourage you to pray your own prayers as well.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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NOTE:  I said it long ago, but let me say it again.  If you are wanting to lead a group, start a church, or are confined in an institution, or live in a country where the Gospel is not preached, and you don't know what to say or how to say it, and yet feel led to share, teach, or preach, besides just reading straight out of the Bible and sharing what God puts on your heart, please feel free to share any or all of what I've written, if it will help you, as long as you include where it comes from, due to copyright laws.  Jesus gave God's love and healing freely, as well as his message.  Our responsibility is to get the Word out to those who need to hear it.  If what I've written....by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit....or what he has said through me....has helped you, it may help others that you know.  You are welcome to share it.  God calls all of us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.  Please share it with the fullness of love that God, Jesus, Holy Spirit....and I....have given it.  Amen!

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