Monday Morning Munch No. 2- Common and Still Useable

Does the Lord use us, common men and women?

The following is a little food for the soul (and hopefully a nugget that will stir questions) that will answer that.

In Acts 3, Peter and John are used of God to heal a man lame from birth. They then take the opportunity to share the Gospel to everyone who saw the miracle. Because of their teaching and preaching they greatly annoyed the Sadducees and temple people, so Peter and John were arrested (chapter four).

When they went before the high priest and were questioned about sharing the Gospel, they did not defend themselves but started talking about all the wonders Jesus had done. Then boldly proceeded to share the Gospel with the very people who were telling them to stop. This is what happened next:

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." -Acts 4:13

What comfort and encouragement oozed out of this passage for me. They were uneducated (in the Rabbinical schools) and were common. Yet they were used so powerfully by God (because of their boldness) so that the high priests were astonished and saw and recognized they had been with Jesus, for there was no other explanation.

Does your life look different than the world?

Is it easily recognizable that you have been with Jesus?

The high priests end up letting them go even after Peter and John tell them they won't stop speaking about the Lord. Why did they let them go?

"(They let them go) finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened." -Acts 4:21

Take heart today, O my soul, for the Lord uses common men! It is my earnest prayer to be used by God and that everyone I encounter--whether they be for me or against me--would recognize that I have been with Jesus. May all the people praise the Lord. 

Praying we go forth in boldness to proclaim the Gospel,

God needs nothing, yet He desires us!

I hope you guys are having an amazing, God-filled week. I've been doing a lot of studying lately and the following excerpt from the book "Wired for a Life of Worship" by Louie Giglio, really spoke to me last night and I wanted to share it with you:


"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things." -Acts 17:24-25

Standing before the men of Athens, Paul took a deep breath and unfolded the mystery that his listeners had been searching for. He spoke of "the God who made the world and all things in it." Paul identified Him as "Lord of heaven and earth." And this God, Paul said, "gives to all people life and breath and all things."
Men of Athens, meet the God of gods.
Turns out they were right all along. There was another God greater than all their idols, higher than all the objects inhabiting their altars.
This God is powerful enough, Paul proclaimed, to invent the whole world and everything it contains. And He "does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything." Turns out, God doesn't live at the church after all. By the very logic of His immensity, He refuses to be contained by any church or structure.
What a shame. I guess we have to say good-bye to the warning we all were threatened with as kids, "SHHHhhhh! You're in God's house!" Although I have to admit it did strike the fear of God into me as I considered that the church building was actually where He lived.
It does make for a nice image, though. Can you see Him at the door after the service, greeting everyone? "Thanks for coming, appreciate you being here, glad you made it, hope you enjoyed it. Was everything okay? God bless. Oh yeah, I'm God--so, just...bless! Come back to see Me! Have a nice week!"
Is that God? Watching all the cars drive away, turning the church lights off, settling in for a long and quiet week, maybe playing a little on the organ, only to fling wide the doors again in seven days. "Hey! Glad you're back. Good to see you. Come on in!"
I don't think so. God isn't stuck in church-world. He might even care less about us running in the church halls than we think! Why? Because He's huge. Creator, initiator of all things. Way too vast to be stuck in some building all week. Far too interested in our lives to simply watch us drive away from Him. Much more worth of our time than just one hour of just one day.
This God is all-sufficient God. He doesn't need a thing! He made the world and everything in it. Paul wanted the men of Athens to know that He's the constant supply of life, breath--everything!
And he wanted them to know that God is near.
And He's near to us now.



I'm praying for each one of you. I hope we can all realize how much God wants to be involved in every aspect of every minute of our lives- He gave us those minutes, He wants to be involved in them. God needs nothing, yet He desires us! Ponder that one for a while... It's crazy awesome!

Blessings,
Sophie