Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
….who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord! Psalm 106:48 NLT
Acts 19:11-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
Massey and I watched an old Western movie the other evening (older, as in it came out around the time he was born, not me! Haha!) Early on, one of the main characters entered a bar that was also a gambling hall and overheard the guy over the hall lambasting one of his underlings. The main character could tell that the “boss” was full of himself, and right way challenged him to his face. In fact, he slapped him hard across the face three times throughout the confrontation and quickly tossed him out of the establishment. Doing so, he easily set himself up as the new “boss”, truly to no one’s objection. His actions quickly provided him with the fear and respect he needed to take over the responsibilities of the position.
Today’s passage is far from a bar and gambling hall, but God used the terrifying confrontation involving the false exorcists to further His Kingdom
The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. v17 NLT
Often in life, it takes something big and maybe even a bit terrifying to get us to open our eyes and pay attention to what is really important.
Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire talks about a night when he was at the end of his rope. The story he shares in his book is utterly amazing and well worth the read but here is a shortened rendering of it.
His daughter, Chrissy, 16 at the time, had a great falling out with her faith and her family. (It’s not easy being a pastor’s kid!) She had run away, and her parents had no idea where she was. She was in a very dark place. But for the providence of God, she may very well have been lost forever.
A lady in their church felt impressed that they should stop where they were in a Tuesday night prayer service and pray for Chrissy.
32 hours later, Chrissy was home! She sat on the floor sobbing and said, “Dad I’ve sinned against God. I’ve sinned against myself. I’ve sinned against you and mom. Please forgive me.” And then she said: “Who was praying on Tuesday night?”
He didn’t answer, so she continued. “In the middle of the night, God woke me and showed me I was heading toward this abyss. There was no bottom to it – it scared me to death. I was so frightened. I realized how hard I’ve been, how wrong, how rebellious.”
“But at the same time, it was like God wrapped His arms around me and held me tight. He kept me from sliding any farther and He said, ‘I still love you.’ Daddy… Who was praying on Tuesday night?”
Chrissy out of her rebellion returned to Christ. And in the years hence, she, along with her husband, has gone forth to impact thousands of lives for Christ.
God uses our lives regardless of what we have done. No one is a lost cause. No act on our part is too vile. None of us are too far gone for Him to heal and use.
Lord Jesus, get our attention. Change us. Fill us. Use us. Amen.
June 30th, 2022, Thurs, 7:59 pm
