Gifts

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

– Henry Neufeld

1For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you gentiles—2you have surely heard how the stewardship of God’s grace, given to me, was for you! — Ephesians 3:1-2 (HN)

Paul’s thinking sometimes gets ahead of his grammar, and I’ve tried to reproduce that in my translation of today’s text. “Surely you understand,” says Paul, “that the grace I’ve gotten was for you.” Let’s think about that!

Christmas is a time to receive gifts. Then we come to New Year’s Day, and it’s a time to make resolutions. Many of those resolutions will be broken, but many of them will be kept. Often we make excuses not to make any new resolutions because we’ve broken them so many times. But that’s also a part of grace. Grace let’s you do it all over again!

But there’s something else that I want us to focus on here. Paul says that he has received grace. He has received a gift. One thing I like to remind people of when I teach about God’s gifts is that Christians are gifted people. Gifts are not given only to some special folks. Everybody who is in the body of Christ has gifts.

Now I could add that every human being alive has gifts as well. So what’s so special about being a Christian? Well, one very special thing is that we are not given our gifts to hold onto. We are given our gifts to serve. It’s not so much what your abilities are, or what talents you have, or what spiritual gifts you have received. The question is this: What are you going to do about it?

For Paul, God’s grace came crashing down on him (I think that’s a good image!) on the road to Damascus. Now Paul could have said, “This is wonderful! I think I’ll sit around and kind of wallow around in this grace. I’ll attend meetings with the Christians, and I’ll just be blessed.”

Imagine what would have happened if Paul had done that. It’s quite possible there would be no Christian church, because of all the apostles, Paul was the one who truly spread the Christian message around the world. He received a gift, but he knew that the real difference between a follower of Jesus and everyone else was not how much he had received, but what he was going to do with it.

So let me suggest something for this New Year’s Day. This isn’t a specific resolution, but rather a type of resolution. How have you been gifted by God? Don’t worry about distinguishing talents, gifts, abilities, or any other words we use to describe what we have. It all comes from God, no matter how we get it. Make a list—mentally or on paper it doesn’t matter—of what you have received.

Then ask yourself this: For whom did God give this to me? Who am I supposed to benefit with this?

Resolve that God’s grace, in all its forms, will keep flowing from you to bless the world.

1As we work together, we make this appeal: Don’t receive God’s grace for nothing! — 2 Corinthians 6:1 (HN)

Posted in Ephesians | 1 Comment

God My Savior

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has looked at the humble state of his handmaid.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever.”             Luke 1:46-55 (WEB)
Does my soul magnify God? Does the essence of me extol, lift up God? That would mean that I give Him praise without even thinking about it! Magnifying God would be like breathing to me!
Mary said that even given the uncertainty of what could happen next – she is rejoicing in God who has brought all of this in her life! Do I rejoice when God throws me a curve? Do I whine because my life isn’t going the way I had plan? Do I crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head? Mary trusted God for her life. She held nothing back. She did not compartmentalize her life and keep God in a box to be taken out at her whim.
My pastor spoke about this passage yesterday. He had been meditating on who Mary was much like I was last week. He, too, came to the conclusion that she was not the stereotypical “Mary meek and mild”. He brought up an Old Testament connection to Elizabeth’s proclamation, “Blessed are you among women,…”. Those are the same words that Deborah spoke about the warrior woman, Jael, who drove a tent spike through the head of Israel’s enemy! Do you think Elizabeth spoke her words not realizing she was repeating Deborah’s words? I don’t think so. Wow! I learned something! Thanks, Pastor!
Mary’s song of praise is a song of revelation. God was showing Mary that her life was not limited. Her life and how she lived it would have an impact. She grasped the concept that allowing God to direct your life was going to reap BIG harvests. She remembers the promises of God and His promises are BIG.
This is Christmas week. I want my focus to be on God. I want my eyes on Him – and remember that His eyes are on me. I rejoice in God my Savior!

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Mary’s Testimony

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’ He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For everything spoken by God is possible.”

Mary said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.”         Luke 1:26-39 (WEB)

We often read this passage with joy. We smile and think of a young girl who has been chosen by God for what could arguably be the greatest ‘call’ ever given by God. And she, Mary, bows her head and says, “Yes.” It would be foolish and very short-sighted if we didn’t read at least the entire gospel of Luke, with special attention to chapters 2, 23, and 24. Mary was there in that cold barn giving birth to Jesus and she was there on Calvary watching Him die.

Mary showed us that yes, we are to respond obediently to God’s call. She also showed us that He will supply all of our needs for that call… including courage and strength for whatever comes on our journey in that call. Mary showed us that we can ask questions, even obvious questions. Don’t be surprised if God’s answer may stretch our faith!

The angel, God’s messenger, gave more than the message. He answered questions. He gave a testimony that Mary would understand and receive. He told her that her cousin, Elizabeth, had received a miracle. It made his next sentence “For everything spoken by God is possible.” actually believable to Mary. That’s what testimonies do.

Take time today and read Mary’s prayer in verses 46-55. Read it in your own Bible that you are familiar and then read it in The Living Bible or The Message. Allow it to come in your heart as a testimony “For everything spoken by God is possible.”

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Glorious Stories

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

– Henry Neufeld

13After they had left, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you otherwise.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother at night, and went to Egypt. 15And he was there until the death of Herod. This was so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: “I have called my son out of Egypt.”    Matthew 2:13-15 (HN)

Let me sound complicated for a moment. We each have some set of metaphors for our life. A metaphor is something that is carried over. It’s a way of expressing something indirectly. We use metaphors more than we believe.

For example, the psalmist says: “Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest” (Psalm 55:6). Now nobody expects us to literally fly away and get into a nest, but the imagery is very powerful. It works for many of us when we’re tired.

As a nation, we have stories. Here in the United States, one of the major defenses of our freedom is the story of how we got them, how our founding documents were written, and how our founding fathers fought and acted in order to create this nation. Yes, I know, there are the documents themselves, and there are traditions of freedom passed from generation to generation, but have you noticed that we can hardly debate politics without making reference to the story of how these people acted and what they intended? The national story becomes part of our discussion.

One of the key stories of the Bible was the story of the exodus from Egypt. It involved escape from bondage, dramatic divine action, good leadership, conflict, and finally success. It was a story that shaped Israel. The prophets of Israel could hardly talk about their country without talking about the exodus. When they were taken into exile in Babylon and then returned they interpreted that story according to the exodus. They told the stories together, and the national story grew.

Jesus came to join the national story of Israel, and as such, he adds new dimensions to the story of rescue from bondage, of trouble, hardship, oppression, and then rescue. It’s a powerful story, and Matthew wants you to tie it all together.

What’s so important about stories? I’m going to suggest that there are overriding stories of your life, and you talk about events in your life according to those stories. Some people have as their main story all the things that have gone wrong in their lives, the way they have been mistreated, and how impossible it is for anything to change. They don’t have to say, “I’m never going to amount to anything.” The story of their life does it for them. Others, even many who have had great difficulties, tell stories of hope. They tend to remember and repeat good things. They don’t have to say, “I’m going somewhere!” Their life stories do it for them.

God enacted a story of redemption in the Bible. The story is repeated over and over. When things get really bad, God is there, redeeming. Matthew tells us in our passage today that Jesus experiences that same story as one of us. Jesus repeatedly tells the story of redemption throughout his life, and his death and resurrection again repeat that story of redemption.

Jody pointed out to me the silence in church when stories are told of people coming to Christ, or of miracles that happen in people’s lives. Why is it that we treat this kind of testimony as routine. A profession of faith, a baptism, [yawn]. It’s just the routine life of the church.

I think the problem is that we don’t really take in the story. What we do is add the “church story” to all those other dead stories in our lives. We don’t really expect things to change. But when we come to Christ, and are “buried with him by baptism into his death” (Romans 6:4) we have joined the story of Jesus. We have joined the story of God’s redemption.

We’re called out of the water into a new life. Our life story should now be about getting called out. Are you entrenched in failure? You are called out! Are you burdened by sin? You are called out! Are your relationships failing? You are called out? Do you feel far from God? You are called out!

Let the fundamental story of your life change. I don’t know what it was. But in Christ, it should be this: Called out for glory!

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My Fears … My Savior

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

– Henry Neufeld

As evening was approaching that day, he said, “Let’s go to the other side.” So he left the crowd, and they joined Jesus in the boat where he was already sitting. There were other boats with him. And there was a violent wind storm and the waves were coming over the side of the boat, so that it was already filling with water. And he was in the prow sleeping on a pillow. So they roused him and said to him, “Teacher! Doesn’t it matter to you that we’re dying here? So he rose up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be calm! Shut up!” And the wind stopped and there was perfect calm. Then he said to them, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have faith yet?” Then they were very afraid, and the said to one another, “What kind of person is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”       Mark 4:35-41 (HN)

What makes you afraid?

Consider a driver, recklessly speeding and driving erratically.  He is in danger.  Perhaps he is intoxicated.  But generally he’s not afraid.  Then the flashing lights come up behind.  Now he’s afraid.  Why?  Because he’s going to be pulled over and suffer consequences for his actions.

He should have been afraid when he was weaving down the road.  That was the greatest danger.  The consequences for his actions will be considerably less than they would have been for an accident, in which he might have faced death or permanent physical disability.

But the strongest fear comes in the presence of authority, and authority that is going to save him from himself.

The disciples are not doing anything wrong, but they are in danger.  They may be swept away by a storm and drown.  They wake Jesus up.  I’m not really sure what they expected.  Clearly they hadn’t said to themselves, “Let’s wake Jesus up.  He’ll stop the storm.”  Perhaps they thought he would help bail out the boat.

Jesus commands the storm to be quiet.  Authority.  Action.  Decisiveness.  And because of who he is, the storm obeys Jesus.

While Jesus calls the disciples “fearful” of the storm, the result of them seeing Jesus in action is “great fear” or perhaps we could even say terror.  Who is this?  How is it that even wind and waves obey him?

This, I believe, is where the disciples were pointed in the direction of moving from faith to trust.  They knew Jesus was powerful.  They’d seen miracles.  But this was something more.  This was incredible power.  Wouldn’t you be afraid of someone who could command a storm to stop?  Can you trust someone with that sort of power?

Trust is the key.  The disciples had to learn to trust Jesus.  We have to learn to trust God.  We can realize that God is powerful without trusting him to do what is best.  As long as we do not get that trust, we will remain afraid of God.  Not in awe of, or having an appropriate fear of God—being afraid of God and what he might do.

Like the reckless driver in the car, our own lives are the real danger.  God may discipline us.  He may allow discomfort, but he’s the solution.  We need to learn to fear the right thing, and trust the right thing.

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Hmmm…

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. Now it happened, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”     Luke 1:5-18 (WEB)

Zacharias and Elizabeth were good people and even more, they knew and loved God. Their relationship with God was characterized in their obedience and love for Him. They had a problem in their lives. They had no child and they were now old. They knew they were asking God for a miracle. As a priest, Zacharias knew God was in the miracle business. He knew the stories of God’s miracles. And yet Zacharias was surprised and afraid when the angel appeared. Hmmm.

Angels must be impressive. Whether their size, their bearing, or just because they have been in the presence of the Lord Almighty, most of the accounts about angels include words like “fear” or “awe”. Hmmm.

The angel tells Zacharias to get past the fear and listen – “God has heard you!” I have been praying, crying out to God, for Him to hear me. I get discouraged sometimes when it seems like God doesn’t hear because I do not get wheat I am requesting. If Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying for a child since they were married and were now “advanced in years” – they must have been praying for 2-3 decades! I am not in their league! God always answers prayers. He may be helping me to build my “faith muscle” with a “wait answer. He may be building my “obedience muscle” with a “no”. He maybe teaching me and I haven’t heard or learned the lesson that needs to come before the “yes”. Hmmm.

The angel tells Zacharias that God has heard him and has given Zacharias the desire of his heart – a son. And Zacharias – doesn’t believe! How do you not believe when you are having a holy visitation play out in front of your eyes??? Oh, before I get all incredulous and righteous – let me remember and revisit those times of fear and unworthiness. (like yesterday!) Let me remember those times when my relationship with God was “minimal” or only the obligations and not about a daily, moment – to – moment walk and then God blessed me incredibly and I reasoned it off and doubted it could be an answer to my heart – because I didn’t think I had given Him my heart lately! “How can I be sure?” Because God loves me. I cannnot earn or deserve any blessing He gives – He just loves me. Hmmm.

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Rules

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

– Henry Neufeld

When your child asks you, “What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments that YHWH our God commanded you?” (21) you will tell your child: “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and YHWH brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. (22) And YHWH provided powerful and terrible signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and against his whole household while we watched. (23) But he brought us out of there so that he could bright us here and give us the land which he swore to our fathers. (24) And YHWH commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear YHWH our God, for our benefit all the time, and to keep us alive to this day. — Deuteronomy 6:20-24 (HN)

How about it!  A set of instructions on providing your testimony to your children.  Should your child ask you about God’s will and God’s laws, here are some keys to your answer:

1.    Start with God’s saving activities
2.    Bring yourself into the story.
3.    Include the whole community
4.    Affirm God’s power and activity
5.    Affirm God’s faithfulness
6.    Only then do you talk about the rules

Imagine what would happen if we started our personal testimonies with a testimony to God’s saving power and how it has impacted our lives!  I’m not talking about the formal testimonies we give in church; those we plan, and we know what we’re supposed to talk about.  You know — the three points:  What it was like before, how Jesus came into my life, how things are different now.

But we have a problem in the church with passing on the faith from generation to generation.  Our young adults leave and often don’t return until they have children of their own if they return at all.  Could it be that the problem is that we answer our children’s questions with lectures on the rules instead of taking them back to the solution—God’s saving power?

Is the question about drugs?  Talk first about the Savior and then point to the wonderful opportunities he has provided for us to find joy in his presence.  Sex?  God has provided us with such a wonderful opportunity for love, pleasure, and joy in the institution of marriage.  Instead of listing the rules, we can talk about how God wants such wonderful things for our lives that he has provided us with such a positive set of laws to help make us happy.

Come to think of it, why don’t you review the rules you have for your household.  Do they fit the pattern?  Do you have just a list of things the kids aren’t allowed to do or are there some household rules about being a family (perhaps we go out together to eat once a week)?  Are you a supervisor at work?  Have you thought about your rules in the light of God’s plan?  Could you present those rules positively?

If you’re stuck with just following the rules, have you asked yourself how they got to be that way?  One of the differences between a permanent follower and someone who is moving up to be a leader is that the leader learns something about the “why” of things.

With thought and effort, rules can even be a good thing.

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Mary and Joseph

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:18-19 (NIV)

It is time to think again the enormity of Mary and Joseph’s faith and obedience. If I think my life is a faith-builder and that it is difficult to be obedient to what God has asked of me, I need to consider this passage and the example that this man and woman have set for me.

Mary was more than engaged to Joseph. A pledge in Jewish tradition is a ‘done deal’. It is a covenant. A man and woman who are pledged are committed in a covenant to each other and before God. For Mary to be found pregnant means, to her community, she has committed adultery. Remember the plan for the woman caught in adultery?(John 8 ) Death by stoning was the verdict with little time or effort spent for a public trial.

Joseph is a good man. He doesn’t want to harm Mary and that means he wants to make a way for her not to be condemned by the public. Maybe there was a way for her to move to another area and go in seclusion. She could have the baby and always say that the father died. It would still be a very hard life to be a widow and have a child to raise but at least there would be a chance for survival.

Divorce, even this time, carried a price; a stigma. Divorce is statistically a common occurrence today. 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. That statistic is the same for church-going Christians as it is for those who profess nothing. Divorce still carries a price; a stigma. No matter the circumstances, the two people involved must live with the ‘death’ of what they were once committed. The grief of that ‘death’ doesn’t go away any more than the grief at the death of a loved one. It becomes a part of who you are.

Joseph believed that divorce was what he was to do. He thought it was the compassionate and right course of action. Matthew describes Joseph as a ‘righteous man’; a man in a ‘right relationship’ with God. But Joseph was going down the wrong path. God corrected him.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)

Angels are bringing messages from God every day. Are they always celestial? No, sometimes they are our closest friends or an acquaintance or even a stranger. I know they are a messenger of God because I hear the truth of God in the what they say. When I seek God, I will find Him. It has been life-changing for me to ask God every day to give me ears to hear and a heart to receive only His words and plan for my life. No, I do not always want to hear what God has to say but I know it is Him!

Mary and Joseph. I bet they were nothing special in their communities. Good people but not outstanding by the world’s standards. In the hands of God, they were beyond extraordinary. They were an instrumental part of the Who that changed the world – forever.

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God With Us – Everywhere and Every-when

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Henry Neufeld

18Now the birth of Jesus happened like this: His mother was already pledged to Joseph, but before he had actually married her and taken her to bed with him, she got pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19Joseph, her husband was a righteous man, but he didn’t want to publicly shame here, so he was planning to divorce her quietly. 20But while he was considering it, an angel of the Lord put in a surprise appearance in a dream, and said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what she has conceived comes from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22This all happened to make complete what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

23‘Look! The virgin will get pregnant, and will bear a son,
And they will call him Immanuel!’” {Isaiah 7:14}
(Immanuel means “God is with us”) — Matthew 1:18-23 (HN, slightly paraphrased)

For us, Advent is a very time oriented part of the year. There is a sense of expectation. We light one more candle each week, indicating the coming of the light. Now in modern times we rush things a bit. I saw Christmas decorations and heard Christmas music in October. But in that year so long ago, there was no early Christmas cheer, no bustling purchase of presents, no string of Christmas parties to cheer one and all.

It was a dry and dreary time in Palestine. The country was subject to King Herod the Great. History would call him “great” and he did accomplish some extraordinary things, but he combined those with extraordinary cruelty. It was a time of darkness. And even after the birth of Jesus, things didn’t look up much. We see Christmas as a time of great joy—and rightfully so. Then we see Good Friday as a kind of “down” day, followed by Easter, which is great joy all over again. But such was not the feeling of the people at the time.

And that’s the thing about us humans. We’re very time oriented. But you see, God is not so time oriented. God is all over space, and he’s all over time. He’s all over everywhere and every-when. He’s with us all the time.

When God sent Jesus, he wasn’t doing something new to him. He was expressing who he always was. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That’s a wonderful thing. I may be in a good mood one day, and a very bad mood the next. I may be cheerful and encouraging one day and drag you down the next. But God is always the same. When it’s dark, he’s there. When we have only one candle lit, he’s there. He’s still there when we light the last candle.

Matthew tells us that all this happened to fulfill what Isaiah had spoken. Now we have trouble with the word fulfill. We think it’s just a matter of predicting one event, and then the event happens. But God has much more than that. He fills events with meaning.

When Isaiah spoke the words that Matthew quoted, he was talking to a king who felt abandoned. He was checking out the defenses of Jerusalem because he expected to be attacked. He wasn’t a particularly good king, and he had no reason to expect God to come to his aid. But God, the same in Isaiah’s time, in Jesus’ time, and in our time, was on the job. He sent Isaiah the prophet to find King Ahaz and tell him this: God is with you.

That was a little sign of who God is, a little intervention. It opened a window of light. But Ahaz didn’t want to make use of the light. He didn’t recognize “God with us” in Isaiah’s words.

It’s advent, and time for us to ask the question: Are we going to be like Joseph, who went on after his dream to marry a pregnant bride—a dangerous thing in his day? Or are we going to be like Ahaz and say, “I don’t want to get involved in this.”

God was present in both places. Will we be there?

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Am I Willing?

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus; that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.             Luke 1:1-4 (WEB)

“Many” have written about Jesus… but Luke decided to write his Good News any way! Yes, it is the Good News of Jesus Christ but when I share Jesus’ Good News – it becomes a part of me, too. There are many people who find (what they call) “discrepancies” of the four gospels – upsetting. These “discrepancies” have caused people to deny their faith. They have a need for all the ‘facts’ to line up and match. This has not been a problem for me. Have you ever been involved in a – situation? You were some place and something happened out of the expected. I was at the mall one day and suddenly two women started screaming at each other. What could only be called a ‘cat fight’ happened in the middle of a mall! The 20 or so people who saw it, if asked to write down what they observed, would not write down the same facts. And if asked to write it down now, ten years later, I know that we would probably have more differences, even the day and time that it happened. That would not mean the event did not happened, just that those who were remembering were fallible humans. God uses fallible humans. That does not seem to bother Him much.

Luke was a doctor. Many consider medicine a science. It isn’t. It is an art. There are few 100% absolutes in medicine because the primary factor in medicine is human and no two humans are exactly the same. Luke says he investigated. Luke, the doctor, wanted to find out as much as he could about the events that he had been told. I can see him sitting with Mary, Jesus’ mother, and asking questions and then just sitting quietly as she relayed her memories. Maybe there were tears in her eyes as she remembered that moment when she first felt the baby move inside of her or the difficulties of the journey to Bethlehem and giving birth without the support of the women in her family. Luke gave his testimony of the events as he learned them from those to whom he spoke. He did it for Theophilus. He did it for one but it rippled to many millions over the next 2000 years.

God hasn’t asked me to write a witness statement that will affect many millions. Or has He? Did Luke know that ‘big picture’? No, he didn’t. Luke did what was in his heart to write. He wrote what was the ‘fire in his bones’ that he had to write. The experience that Luke went through as he investigated was a blessing to himself first! It taught him and encouraged him. Then it taught and encouraged Theophilus. That may have been all that Luke knew until the day he stood before Jesus and was shown the ‘big picture’.

God asks us to be His witnesses. We may be a doctor who becomes a writer. We may be a nurse who becomes a teacher. Or a student who becomes a leader. The question that God asks is: “Are you willing?” It is God’s hand who grasps me and makes me into an extraordinary tool. My usual cluelessness is because God is the One with the plan. Am I willing? … to spread the Good News.

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