On the Road Again: Destination, Everywhere

"But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus." (Acts 8:4, NLT)

For some reason, it has been harder this year for me to let go of this Adventureland season. It has been such a good year and I was just not ready for it to be over.

. . . and then they all began to leave . . .

Ready or not, reality began to set in on Tuesday, when Jack and Karen Gregory left. And then one-by-one my friends began to leave. Finally, on late Saturday, Bob and Karen Johnson rolled out. That pretty much just left me. On Sunday, I went one more time to Church of the Cross, which was a great blessing as usual. Then on Monday, it was my turn to go on my way, back to Sioux Falls for a few days, then on to Little Rock, then to Minneapolis . . . well, that’s another story.

I couldn’t help but think as we all began to depart, that once again we were like those early Christians that we read about in the book of Acts. All through this summer, whenever we met in those small Bible study groups in the various homes, it always reminded me of those early Christian groups, meeting in homes and assembly rooms of various types, hungry to hear the latest letter from Paul or one of the other Apostles; eager to feast on the word of God, to share what the Lord had done in their lives in recent days, and to lift their hearts to Him in prayer and praise.

And now just like those who were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, we were now dispersing throughout our world. There is a fundamental difference of course. As I say in my book (here’s your second look at "Going Forth in the Name"):

"The travelers in the book of Acts, and elsewhere in the New Testament probably would have been just as content to stay put in familiar communities, but the economic upheaval and social unrest of their day, and particularly the persecution of the Christian Church moved them around the Roman Empire. In our time, RV travel is an outgrowth of modern technology, economic prosperity, and social and political freedom unprecedented in the history of the world."

Somehow, even though it took for the first Christians, and often also does for us, a certain degree of hardship to spur us on, I really think that the Lord is even happier to see us going forth in joy, sowing the seeds of His word.

I think about how much each of us has grown this summer, and I just know that we are going to take that growth with us and use it at the Spirit’s direction to keep the fire going.

I don’t know if any of you remember an 80's movie called "The Quest for Fire" (or something like that), and I don’t know how historically accurate it was, but it depicted cavemen carrying with them a pot of hot coals as they went about their hunt. They would take those hot coals when they camped for the night, and would use them to start a fire. Then, when they moved on the next time, they would take some coals from that fire to start one at the next campsite.

Similarly, I kind of picture in my mind each of us taking our own pot of the Holy Spirit’s fire, and starting a new fire with it in each destination to which we are all going.

I also imagine that as we travel, we run the risk, as I’m sure that those cavemen did, that if we let the coals cool down, the fire could go out. I am starting to feel a little cooling down myself, as the hustle and bustle of life does it’s work on me. So I would encourage you to get involved in a local community of the Body of Christ, and let that fire start anew. Jesus didn’t mean this journey to be a solitary one. Let Him lead you to where He wants you to keep your fire going.

He has chosen us to be a part of what He is doing here in this world. Not because we are so good at it, but because of His love for us, He wants us to have a part in His work here in this world. What a remarkable privilege that is, to share in the work of Almighty God Himself!

I pray for all my friends, as I know that they do for me, that we will be led by His Spirit to get those fires going, and to begin again that work that He has started in each of us.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

So Glad to be Part of the Family of God

This will be short and sweet. I just witnessed something marvelous!

I'm listening to K-love radio. The DJ is Lisa Williams. A lady called in from Missouri called in asking for prayer. She was going to drive from Missouri to Arkansas to pick up her Aunt and continue on to Texas to be with her father who had cancer. She asked the listeners to uphold them in prayer as they traveled.

Soon, a lady from Texas called in to say that she was praying for the travelling sister. Soon listeners were calling from everywhere, saying that they were praying for this listener and her family. This, of course is not to mention all of us who didn't call in who were praying for her.

I was overwhelmed! I couldn't help but think "what a great and powerful thing we are all a part of!"

The Bible tells us that we are "God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him “Father, dear Father.” For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:15-16, NLT)

And what a truly wonderful thing this is: to be the beloved children of God; to be on the winning side of spiritual battle; to know His love and to share this love with one another, and to uphold one another in prayer!

We are the Body of Christ, and our great God has given us the privilege to be part of this remarkable thing that He is working in our world.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.