“I may not be every mother’s dream for her little girl And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world But that’s all right as long as I can have one wish I pray When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say
[Chorus:] She’s got her Father’s eyes, her Father’s eyes Eyes that find the good in things When good is not around Eyes that find the source of help When help just can’t be found Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain Knowin’ what you’re going through, and feeling it the same Just like my Father’s eyes My Father’s eyes My Father’s eyes Just like my Father’s eyes
And on that day when we will pay for all the deeds we have done Good and bad they’ll all be had to see by everyone And when you’re called to stand and tell just what you saw in me More than anything I know, I want your words to be“
[Chorus]
Amy Grant has had her share of the media’s spin in her life over the decades. Back in ’86 she received some negative feedback with Christians for recording a duet with Peter Cetera; “The Next Time I fall In Love”. It reached number one on billboards, top 25 lists. It was successful. Christians attacked her for recording with a secular artist. I thought that was greatest thing that could happen. A Christian artist going out all into the world. At least that’s how I saw it. She was going into the secular world. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do as Christians? We are educators, admin assistants, medical professionals, athletes, janitors, executive officers, mechanics, sanitation workers, volunteers, etc. even the stay at home mom has go out into the world and interact at times. Amy’s job at the time was a musician, singer. Was she suppose to stay in the Christian genre, just sing at church? God gave her a talent and she was sharing with the world. Even Jesus ventured into Samaria.
There is a Christian author I follow who also received some negative feedback from her followers for sending her kids to a public school. Some of her followers couldn’t see it. “How could she,” they asked. She was and still is training her kids to go out into all the world and share Christ, to be a representation of Jesus. The public school is her kids battlefield. The point is God can use anyone anywhere, to bring them to Him, even children, even Christian musicians.
But think for a moment the people that Amy Grant may have brought to Christ through her music. The people who may not have heard of her until she sang with Cetera. This was back in ’86 we didn’t have the technology like we do today. We don’t know how God works and He can use others and things to draw people to Him.
Not everyone is going to like me as an artist, a blogger, a YouTuber, a person and I am sure as a Christian. I pray that “When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say, She’s got her Father’s eyes…” I pray that people will see God when they read my blog, watch my videos, see my art, when they see my life. Even in my imperfections, God can shine.
When it comes down it, we ALL will stand before our Father and give an account for ALL our actions and words. “And on that day when we will pay for all the deeds we have done Good and bad they’ll all be had to see by everyone…”. Romans 14:10-12 – “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.“
So today as you go about interacting with others, look for our Father’s eyes. “Eyes that find the good in things When good is not around…”
“I would rather TRUST and KNOW God than trust and feel God.” That’s what I heard from God today. And honestly 80-90% of the time I don’t feel God. I KNOW that He is with me always His Word says so. I trust in His Word, I trust what the Bible says. (a side note here, I took a Bible study on the book of Daniel and the prophesy that has unfolded gave me shivers and there is no doubt in my mind the prophesy that is yet to come will happen. Read it for yourself, it’s amazing)
So back to back to knowing God is with me. There are 95 Bible verses about “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:8 is my favorite – “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
My feelings, feelings in general are fleeting, fickle. But if my knowledge is rooted, planted, ANCHORED in the TRUTH of God’s Word, I will be “like a tree planted by the water'” – Jeremiah 17:8 “They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (NLT). I haven’t found any versions that use the word anchored and I am not trying to add to scripture or change it. However, an anchor like roots has a similar purpose. While roots go deep int to the earth to stabilize a tree and draw water to maintain itself during droughts and still produce fruit, and anchor goes deep into the waters, hooks into, latches onto the earth to stabilize a boat in storm. Or in some cases, an anchor such as a Kedge anchor can be used to pull the boat to shore or move along still waters. Even in a spiritual sense anchoring in God’s Word can pull us closer to Him. James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you …”. We draw near to God by reading His Word, by praying and communicating with Him so that when the droughts come or the storm rages we can be rooted, anchored in God’s Word, anchored in Hope still producing fruit.
A cord of three strands we are with Him, He has woven us in love. With His connection and His power, we have extra strength from above.
With His help, we are given an extra measure of grace, showered down on us for good, keeping us in place.
All things are held together by Him. I’m glad we’ve become one, yet three. May we stand and forever be faithful, And to God be all the glory!
The one may be overpowered to can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)
Thank you Cindy for allowing me to publish your beautiful poem.
Cindy Evans is a published poet living in the greater Atlanta area with her husband Mark. When she’s not writing, you may find her at a Christian movie, attending a church activity or volunteering at the local faith-based hospice office.
Proximity defined as: principle of art and design, spatial relationship between elements of design that can portray a sense of connection or separation. Proximity can achieve two purposes:
Create a connection between visual elements and design, organize relevance hierarchy and give shape to a piece.
Or create a disconnect by illustrating non relationship between objects or elements or to break up the organization of a structure or design. In other words proximity can help communicate a message in a design either by close relation of objects and elements or by their separation.
For example, the information on the business card on the left is all over the place. The viewer doesn’t know what to read first. Very unorganized, the hierarchy of the information isn’t clear. With the card on the right, the text in bold font in the upper left highlights a name, maybe a business name, maybe person’s name the viewer still isn’t sure what piece of information is important. The hierarchy still isn’t clear.
On the card above, the information that is relevant to each other is in proximity to each other. With center alignment, the name of the business is in a heavy bold font, the most important information. Underneath the business’ name is the business owner’s name. It is a little more clear what is more important just by it’s organization. There is clear direction where the viewer’s eye should go.
Brief overview of the design principle proximity with a brush lettering tutorial
Let’s see how this can design principle can apply to our lives. The word proximity isn’t in the Bible, so I looked up the Greek word for proximity and it’s actually a preposition; with, or para; close beside, closely along side, introduces someone as very close. Luke 18:27, “But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” We are able to do the hard things God call us to do when we are in close proximity to Him. If we are walking in the world’s way of doing things, if we are living and trying to accomplish things with what the world has to offer us, the hard things are a real struggle to do on our own. Enduring that health issue, that financial struggle, that difficult relationship, those hard seasons in life are hard to navigate when we have the world’s mentality. It’s impossible to have that peace that passes all understanding, (Philippians 4:7) in that hard season. BUT with God all things are possible when we are in close proximity to Him, We can have peace, we can have endurance. I don’t want to take the next step in that hard season without me being in close proximity to God. That means I need to be in alignment with Him and to do that I need be reading His word daily, communicating with Him daily, since He is the plan for my life.
If we live our life like a composition, like a piece of art, in proximity to God we can communicate to the world we belong to Him. Like wise when we aren’t living in proximity to God, we won’t bear fruit and if we have a discerning heart will be able to see that in others and in ourselves. John 15:5- ‘ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’” Others can see the fruit we bear of being in close proximity to God thus “making the information (us) relevant.”
In what ways do you feel closer or connected to God? How do you connect with God? What do you do to put yourself in close proximity to Him? What are some things that can keep us from being closer to God? We talked about this a little in alignment, what are some things that can keep us apart from God. The second part of James 4:8 says, “… Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double- minded.” Impure hearts, double-mindedness are some things that can keep us from God. Let’s not forget unforgiveness and unconfessed sin.
Distractions, like not being in alignment with God, aren’t sin per se, but they can cause us to lose sight of our priorities which if not kept in check can lead us to sin.
There are a few things I have observed in my life as well as others that happen when we draw near and live in proximity and to God. 1. God draws close. James 4:8 – The king James version says “draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.” The Greek for draw near engisate; I bring near; intrans: I come near, approach. biblehub.com. Draw near translates the same in “He will draw near to you.” God is always with us, He is omnipresent, so I wonder if we can say that when we move close to Him, He moves in closer.
We are ultimately separated from God by sin as well as separated by time and space. In God’s design for our life He desires for us to be near Him, as James 4:8 says. Sin is a no-brainer when it comes to separation from God. God had a plan to bring us closer to Him. It’s funny when you start to think about it it’s not so much about US getting closer to God, it about God getting closer to us. We are the ones who run away. He wants us under the protection of His wings. He’s the one that provided the way to salvation. We just have to accept His offer of salvation. God loves us that much to sacrifice HIS SON so that we could be closer to Him, so that we have a way to be in proximity to Him. A verse that came to mind was Hebrews 4:16 The New King James version says, “let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.“ We can live boldly in proximity to God, to His throne of grace!
2. We develop a Christ likeness. It’s common to see this amongst family members. It does have a lot to do with genetics but you typically know when someone belongs to family by mannerisms and speech, physical appearance. Adopted children can pick up habits from their adopted families, they pick up phrases and sayings. They may even develop some mannerisms over time. We repeat words and phrases of our spouses because we have spent so much time with them and it is a way of bonding. My bird has picked up some phrases, “I gotta check my email.” or “Time to go bed now” these were phrases I wasn’t saying to her, just phrases I was saying that she picked up because she’s always within ear shot. We may even develop some mannerisms or actions from spending time with a friend. Sometimes we can develop certain tastes and a fondness of things just because of friendship. So it is with our relationship with God, the more time we spend with Him the more we sound like Him, act like Him, become like Him, have Christ likeness.
3. Others will see our actions and behavior. Others will start to see how we react in certain situations. When we aren’t gossiping at work, or when they see us acting kind to someone who was rude to us they are going to think “what’s different about her,” “why doesn’t he get back at him or her for …” Others will start to wonder.
Another passage of scripture that came to mind was Mary and Martha. Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus. You can’t get much closer than that. Her sister was frantic in preparations and I am sure things may have been a bit chaotic. But in that chaos, Mary chose Jesus as her priority as a guest in her home and her Lord. Staying in proximity to God is what God has designed for our lives. It can be a challenge some days I know, but we have a God who comes near to us when we come near to Him.
Some good news, maybe some bad news, depends on how you look at it. I have decided to merge my lives. LOL. I start Caryn’s Corner back in 2009 on Greeting Card Universe. It’s still there Caryn’s Corner, check it out. That’s who I have been in the art world. But a few years ago, I decided to start this blog during a time in my life where change had been happening and the older I get the more I don’t like change.
Back in 2019 sometime I purchased my domain name and it wasn’t until January 1, 2020 that I posted my first blog entry. It was a crazy time (still is) in the world and I thought the beginning of a new year was a good time to start uploading some encouragement to those experiencing difficult changes and to offer hope in this chaotic world.
If you go back to the earlier days you can see I posted wallpapers with scripture verses. The idea was to help memorize scripture, because how often does one look at their phone? Me? A jazillion times a day. Then I moved on to coloring pages with scripture to help with memorizing verses. This is when I started to think I should merge the two or maybe keep them separate but why?
Well the summer of 2022 or was it 2021? anyway I was asked to teach a small group at church hand lettering as I tied in some design principles and Design for Life was born. Someone suggested I take it YouTube. And I did but it was under Caryn’s Corner and I was sharing it on the Kedge Anchor as well, It was becoming confusing and time consuming. So after much prayer I decided to close Caryn’s Corner and open the Kedge Anchor with everything in one spot.
Caryn’s Corner on YT will stay up until I get everything merged, so please stay tuned as I get ready to launch the next Design for Life video on The Kedge Anchor. I hope to have all that up and running by the end of September and then I will slowly and gradually close my Caryn Corner shops and/or rename them.
This morning I listened to a meditation on one of favorite apps, Abide. If you haven’t heard about this app, go check it out. They have some free meditations to listen to so you can try it. I use their sleep meditations to help put me to sleep or to just relax. The title of the meditation I listened to was ” God’s Devine Design.” The main verse was Job 12:7-8; “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.”
We can learn about the ways of God through watching and observing creation. The testimony of creation is God, the Creator, is sovereign over all just as God was in control of Job’s life. True wisdom and power belong to God and this is the reason why Job chose to trust God even in the midst of all that was afflicting him.
We know that when God created …”every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (NIV). In verse 26 of Genesis, God gives man rule over creation. Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (NLT). The birds, squirrels, all the creatures God created are well cared for by Him, how much more valuable are we to God? I have to ask, how well cared for are the birds and squirrels in you yard? LOL. Ours are well, fat and happy. Now I’m not saying God asks us to put out bird feeders and squirrel feeders, but we should be kind to them when we can. If you live in an apartment a bird feeder may not be possible. Perhaps you have seen this video of a man giving water to a thirsty squirrel from a bottle.
God gave us charge over the animals, we should help them when we can. Especially when it comes to our pets, some pets are abused, 😦 .
If God can provide for the animals that roam in our yards and in nature, how much more is He going to care for us? Sometimes we may question what God is doing. Job had his moments but he chose to trust.
God created us man, animals and the earth and called it all good. He gave us charge over the land and animals. We are far more valuable to Him than the birds, how much more is He going to care for us? God is in control, He is sovereign. We need to trust Him as Job trusted Him. Easy? No, not always. It’s a choice and a step of faith in obedience.
This is a short post today after being away for so many weeks. I missed posting and sharing. And whilst I am here I am merging my sites, Caryn’s Corner Btq will soon merger entirely with The Kedge Anchor. I’ll still be posting regularly but with art tutorial videos, scripture, book reviews, it will all be in one place, so please pardon the dust and delays. So on to toady’s post. : )
How many times have I read in Scripture the word cup? Matthew 26:39, “… let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (ESV), Psalm 23:5, “…my cup runneth over.” just to name a few familiar passages. Never really thought about it until I was reading in the book of Jeremiah. Now I feel kinda duh, like why didn’t I make this connection before? It’s ok, you can laugh, I’m laughing with you.
Jeremiah 25:15, “For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. “” I just began to wonder, what does that look like? Was it a literal cup? What I discovered is evil and good events are oftentimes represented in Scripture as cups. Then Matthew 26:39 started to make sense. So I thought some more what is a “good cup” represented in Scripture? Psalm 23:5, “my cup runneth over.” God was giving me a visual and I missed the connection. Something else that I am learning is that reading different versions will help me see or read things differently and get me asking questions. I also need to stop and smell the scriptural roses. Like in Matthew 26:39, I had just become soooo familiar with the passage I guess I took it for granted. It wasn’t until I read Jeremiah 25:15 that it made me question, what is a cup in scripture. Well, now I know, I am today old when I learned this and this are as crystal clear as a crystal cup and it runneth over.
It’s Christmas in July and so let’s celebrate our freedom and Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6. We all long for peace in this chaotic world. We don’t have to go far or look far to see the chaos in society today. There’s enough external chaos to distract us and keep us in an anxious state. Then let’s admit it, we can create our own chaos. A slip of the tongue, posting something we shouldn’t, not doing something we should or shouldn’t can all be the beginning of chaos. For myself, I don’t have try. Words slip out or I may misuse a word with unintended negative meaning, I’m horrible at math so I can send our checkbook in a downward spiral, not having my priorities straight, that’s just what I can do make my life a little chaotic.
Perhaps you have kids all with different activities, maybe you have over committed yourself at work or at church leaving you no time for family, for yourself or more importantly for God. Housework piles up, work piles up, maybe you’ve been so busy you forgot to pay the water bill. Life in itself happens. Turn on the news or open a social media app and the chaos surrounding us can be overwhelming, discouraging, leaving us to wonder is there any hope? We don’t need to look for chaos sometimes we create or it finds us.
But what we all are searching for is peace. We want order in the chaos. We may not be able to control the chaos in the world, but we can have peace in the chaos in our lives. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6 -“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I heard something the other day that I thought was interesting. I was watching the Bible (Season 3, Episode 8) Rountable on The Chosen app, Rabbi Jason Sobel refers to Genesis 1:2, he references the Spirit of God hovering over the deep when the waters were in chaos in the beginning and Matthew 14:26-33 where Jesus walks on water. He says in a “sense the storm represents the chaos in the beginning.” I highly recommend watching this Roundtable episode, at approximately 24:42 Rabbi Jason speaks of this. I believe that the Trinity was there creating the world. Jesus the Prince of Peace was there bringing order, peace to the chaos.
We are all looking for peace in our lives. I know many people are dealing with and struggle with anxiety, that alone creates chaos. They don’t need to look outside of their own hearts to see chaos and experience. Peace sometimes can be something we see as unattainable, almost impossible. But we can have peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father. We can pray for peace and God will give us peace. It’s been said that we shouldn’t pray for patience because God will send us situations to test us in patience. Does God test our peace if we ask for it? We may still struggle but that’s on us because we are sometimes reluctant to surrender. I don’t believe God will create disorder and chaos in our lives to teach how to have peace or to test us. We create the chaos. Adam and Eve created chaos in the Garden. God will use the chaos and disorder we create or whatever is around us to grow us or call us closer to Him. If we ask for peace, God will lead us to it.
The Bible tells us “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14. We are to seek and pursue peace. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, then we should be seeking Jesus and pursuing Him.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God
Matthew 5:9
Here are some verses:
John 14:27 – “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (ESV)
John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV)
Isaiah 26:3 – You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (ESV) (this is where I believe we need to surrender and fix our hearts and minds on Jesus).
Judges 6:24 – “And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the LORD is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day.” (NLT)
Philippians 4:17 – “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
2 Thessalonians 3:16 – “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (ESV)
Psalm 29:11 – “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (KJV)
Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams… “
This is what I have learned about prayer. Sometimes praying can be dangerous. Be careful what you pray for. While I don’t think God would lead us to chaos, I do think He will use the chaos that is already around us or the chaos we have already created for ourselves. He may open our eyes to it or make our hearts more sensitive to it so that He can work peace through and in us.
God is sovereign and will use anything to get our attention. He also doesn’t answer prayer as we expect Him to. Read the book of Habakkuk. God didn’t create the evil, He used the existing evil to defeat the evil surrounding Habakkuk. Not what Habakkuk expected. But I believe we can ask for peace and God will use the chaotic situation around us or in to draw us to Him or draw us even closer to Him. I don’t believe He will lead us to chaos and disorder. I could be wrong, but will He test us in trying to have peace? Like salvation, peace is there, we need to ask, we need to surrender. He leads, we need to follow. We may need to surrender and that may be something He is trying to teach us, there may be other things He could be trying to teach us. He could be leading us to “peaceful streams” and “green pastures” and we are the ones not following the right path.
We are free to celebrate Christmas anytime of year! So let’s celebrate the Prince of Peace, seek peace and pursue it!
A few years ago I read a book titled, Amazed and Confused by Heather Zemple. The book is based on the book of Habakkuk about his determination to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and how his expectations didn’t line up with God’s actions. Habakkuk wasn’t afraid to ask God questions about the evil and injustices he saw. How could a good God allow bad things to happen to good people? I think we all have asked that question at some point. Habakkuk pleaded with God for revival in the hearts of those who were faithless and return back to God. “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (1:5 ESV). God’s vision was one of warfare and exile. Not what one would expect from a “good God.”
The part about our expectations and God’s actions hit me. How often have you been in a situation where you are always thinking of a way out or a solution. “Maybe if I did this, “ or “Maybe if I try this,” or “What if I said this?” often mulling over and over in your head how things could possibly work out even after hours and days of praying. Exhausting, right?
I have learned there is two parts to walking through a trial and expecting an outcome. One, is waiting. Ugh I know. Habakkuk wasn’t afraid to pour out his heart to God asking questions why and how long to the injustices he saw, Habakkuk 1:1-4. (I encourage you to read Habakkuk, read some commentaries along with it, it’s only four chapters). Chapter 2:2, God instructs Habakkuk to write down His answer to warn others. God is telling Habakkuk in verse 3 to wait, wait for what He is going to do. I think it’s helpful to write down our prayers and requests in a journal and document when and how God shows up, so that we can look back and be reminded of God’s faithfulness. The hardest part about verse three, is wait. Ugh how hard is that?! Especially when it comes to injustice, we want results NOW!
Recently my husband and I were praying for a situation where he works. Everyone was pretty much unhappy and grumbling. I began to pray a dangerous prayer and ask God to work so that his workplace would be a blessing to everyone there and the community. Not long after that four people quit!! Not what we were expecting, maybe some changed hearts and attitudes, raises perhaps is what we were looking for. But God replaced those people with others who had better attitudes and wanted to work.
So we may find ourselves in a situation where we just don’t know how we are going to make it through. We have more month than money or a relationship is broken and it seems like a resolution is not going happen, we need and are looking for a miracle. We play over and over in our head various outcomes. We try to predict how God will work. Anyone else do this, it is just me? Do you find yourself predicting an outcome in detail? I do and it hasn’t worked for me, ever. All it does is frustrate me and causes me to doubt, a trap by our enemy. Then God lovingly reminds me, Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” – Psalm 115:3. God is sovereign, He sees the big picture. What appears to be unfair to us now, God is delivering us grace. That can be a hard pill to swallow. Through all the injustices we see now, all the heartbreak, God sees, He knows what He is doing. We need to have faith and trust Him.
The other thing I have learned, that when I am in the middle of doing life, living, doing the things God has placed before, housework, making art, caring for someone else in need, noticing needs in others, anchoring in Jesus, actually letting go and letting God do His work, that things work out better than I can imagine. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV). When I am not mulling over and over possible outcomes and not worrying, God will reveal His answer. Not. An. Easy. Task. I am still learning how to do this and I am seeing how God works without my trying to take over. My outcomes never line up with God’s. My expectations and God’s actions are never the same. It’s never what I expected, it’s always better, but sometimes I am confused by the outcome. That’s ok because, Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,…”
So I am learning that the only expectation I need to have is to expect God to work things out, for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28). It may not be the outcome I am looking for but God is sovereign and He sees the big picture. All we need to do, or learn to do, is trust, be obedient, remain faithful and faith-fueled. Stay close to God, it makes the wait easier.
Here’s something to think about, what is the difference between grace and fairness? What we think isn’t fair could be God being gracious and what we think isn’t grace could be God being fair. Romans 11:34, “Who can know the mind of God…”
Scripture verse to memorize – “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” – Habakkuk 1:5
The past few weeks at church our pastor has been speaking in Acts. This past Sunday we were in Acts 6: 1-7. In this passage the Hellenists; Greek speaking Jews, had a complaint against the Hebrews or the apostles. They noticed that the widows weren’t getting their fair share of the daily distributions. A legitimate complaint. So they went to the 12 apostles.
I am not sure what the Hellenists were expecting the apostles to do. I don’t think how this plays out, many of us would have expected the situation to unfold as it did. The complaint was that the widows weren’t getting their fair share of the daily distributions. It was a legitimate complaint. No one was denying it and it was good that others were looking out for the widows and they spoke up. I’m not sure if the Hellenists were expecting the apostles to fix the problem themselves. There was a need that just wasn’t being met and they went to people who could take care of the situation.
However, the apostles had work to do. God’s work, to spread His Gospel. Verse 2, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” They knew exactly what God had called them to do and they were focused and committed. Much like Nehemiah, they were focused on what they need to do. (I touched on Nehemiah back in March) Their job was to serve others God’s Word, not tables. They were committed to prayer and the ministry of the Word. So the apostles told the Hellenists to choose seven men of good reputation from the multitude to serve the daily distributions. I like verse 5; “And the saying pleased the whole multitude…” Saaaaay whaaat?! How often does that happen??? “… And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,.”
Here’s an incredible thing that happened, verse 7, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” God blessed the widows, the disciples, the ministry and the multitude all because the apostles were focused and committed to obeying God. I think some credit needs to be given to the Hellenists for having an opened mind as to who should serve tables. They could have expected the apostles to do it, or if they were asked they could have said no we don’t serve tables, we’re too good for that, or when they specifically weren’t asked to serve they could have had their egos bent out of shape for not being chosen for the task. But they knew who to look to for an answer. I’m not sure, I’m guessing the apostles were in charge and if that’s is true, as leaders they knew how to delegate and knew what was important. The apostles could have taken this task upon themselves but there would have been a different outcome.
The apostles were were obedient to God and His Word, they were aligned with God’s Word, they knew what to do. Sometimes we go to the wrong people to do something we can do ourselves. It’s ok to reach out and ask others for help but don’t expect the one(s) you are reaching out to to be the one(s) to handle the problem. Oftentimes, like the apostles, others will delegate, provide resources or assistance in some way. God will always give us an answer to our problems. We need to be in alignment with Him and focused on Him so that will know His voice and what He wants us to do.
The Kedge Anchor 
You must be logged in to post a comment.