In a bible study the other evening, we went over 2Cor2: 12-13. Paul writes...
12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The point of our lesson was that things in ministry (and in following Christ for that matter) just don't always go the way we feel they should. The side story is that the bible is so amazing in that it is real. Things go wrong. Everything is not perfect. If "man" were fabricating a "holy book" it would seem perfect. I digress.
My question is this. Should Paul have left Troas? Too often, I believe people feel that everything Paul did was perfect. Not true. I see it two ways.
1. Paul should not have left. God opened the door. Paul, looking at earthly things instead of God's provision and plan, was discouraged and bolted. He should have stayed.
2. Paul mentions having no, "peace of mind". This is his explanation of feeling that although the Lord opened the door, that He was now telling him to not continue.
Your thoughts?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Moses moments
Did you ever feel called to something? Hard question, I know. Have you ever wanted to do something? Sure. Have you ever had to do something? Sure. But called? If you don't follow Christ this may even be strange term. Oh, perhaps you are a cat freak and know that owning 12 cats, dressing them like people and giving them children's names is your calling but I believe I'm talking about something different. Have you been called by God to do something for Him?
I think that this is a tough question for two reasons. One, many of us are called by God and yet we are afraid. We don't want to do that which God has called us to do. We say we aren't sure and hem and haw. We make up every practical excuse as to not follow through. These are people who have not had a lot of people support them in life ("I haven't even done the simple things right in life. How could I pull this off?" They worry.) They haven't been accepted much in their world ("What if I fail?" their fear tells them). They lack a good bit of comfort when things go wrong ("It hurts too much to screw up" they realize). They eventually stall long enough and the Lord releases them to ineffectiveness and faith threatening luke warmness. Two, many others of us, and sometimes the same people as the first, get called to something we really want to do. It's a perfect fit with little inherent dangers. Yet, we hesitate. Why would God make it this easy or transparent? I should have to suffer more. This is too perfect of a fit we say. These could be people who haven't had much affection ("How could God make it so easy for me?" they surmise). They, like the first group may have not had much attention growing up and thus feel unworthy of a calling at all ("Who am I to have a calling from God after all?" they think). We all have emotional needs that haven't been met. They hamper our abilities to hear from God in many ways. I'm just guessing at a few here.
I'm in a different place. I know what God wants me to do. I'm clear in His calling. Yet, I wonder (that's a self protective way to say, "I'm scared and lack faith and am full of self doubt."). Yes, I "wonder" how God is going to pull this off? Will He? Sure. Will He use me? Sure. But how? Can I screw it up? What if I'm wrong? What if I don't answer the call with what I am required? Moses did the same thing. God called him to some big time things. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about you can check it out. It's chronicled in a history book called, I believe, the Bible. Check out the first part of the book and it will lead you there.
Moses gave God every excuse. The problem was, he was focusing on himself, not God. I'm doing the same. Should I? No. Do I? Yes. Why? Well, growing up, I lacked a good bit of comfort, didn't always get the support I needed..........hmmmmm, it's easier to point it out in others like I did earlier. I'll just keep moving forward and follow His lead. It worked for Moses.
I think that this is a tough question for two reasons. One, many of us are called by God and yet we are afraid. We don't want to do that which God has called us to do. We say we aren't sure and hem and haw. We make up every practical excuse as to not follow through. These are people who have not had a lot of people support them in life ("I haven't even done the simple things right in life. How could I pull this off?" They worry.) They haven't been accepted much in their world ("What if I fail?" their fear tells them). They lack a good bit of comfort when things go wrong ("It hurts too much to screw up" they realize). They eventually stall long enough and the Lord releases them to ineffectiveness and faith threatening luke warmness. Two, many others of us, and sometimes the same people as the first, get called to something we really want to do. It's a perfect fit with little inherent dangers. Yet, we hesitate. Why would God make it this easy or transparent? I should have to suffer more. This is too perfect of a fit we say. These could be people who haven't had much affection ("How could God make it so easy for me?" they surmise). They, like the first group may have not had much attention growing up and thus feel unworthy of a calling at all ("Who am I to have a calling from God after all?" they think). We all have emotional needs that haven't been met. They hamper our abilities to hear from God in many ways. I'm just guessing at a few here.
I'm in a different place. I know what God wants me to do. I'm clear in His calling. Yet, I wonder (that's a self protective way to say, "I'm scared and lack faith and am full of self doubt."). Yes, I "wonder" how God is going to pull this off? Will He? Sure. Will He use me? Sure. But how? Can I screw it up? What if I'm wrong? What if I don't answer the call with what I am required? Moses did the same thing. God called him to some big time things. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about you can check it out. It's chronicled in a history book called, I believe, the Bible. Check out the first part of the book and it will lead you there.
Moses gave God every excuse. The problem was, he was focusing on himself, not God. I'm doing the same. Should I? No. Do I? Yes. Why? Well, growing up, I lacked a good bit of comfort, didn't always get the support I needed..........hmmmmm, it's easier to point it out in others like I did earlier. I'll just keep moving forward and follow His lead. It worked for Moses.
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