Friendships For the Journey

Friendships For the Journey


Everybody has been in a life situation were they have found themselves lost or
heading in the wrong direction. What would it take to be convinced that turning around is
wise? More importantly, what would it take to actually be motivated enough to
do it? For An 81 year old Australian man by the name of Eric Steward it was his love of driving that sent him down the wrong path. He was staying with friends when he popped out to buy some milk.Taking a left when he should have gone right on the motorway, he ended up driving for nine hours in the wrong direction. He was finally pointed in the right direction by police authorities after stopping to refuel. In the mean time his wife had already contacted the police back at his home.The article did not make it clear why he did not turn around except that he was so determined, so focused, that he just kept going on the right road in the wrong direction.

Just like Eric Steward, strong willed, goal oriented Paul, in this week’s passage from Acts, was traveling full speed on the Damascus road in the wrong direction until God intervened. Paul had been using the earthly logic of Pharaisaic law concluding that the new followers of Christ posed a threat and needed to be stopped. He was carrying out this plan until Christ showed Paul the divine plan of his Father in heaven. Paul’s decision to go with God’s plan turned what once was Saul into Paul, a friend of God.


It was a divine set up, the Holy Spirit introduced Paul to Ananias in a vision, urging him to go, meet and minister to him. God called, Annaias responded with prayers for healing and then baptism, assisting in the spiritual birth of the brand new disciple. Most of us do not remember when we were baptized, as we were, unlike Paul,infants. During baptism God in Christ promises to be our God forever. Parents, godparents and the church, the communion of saints, promise to support us as we grow in the faith.When we are struggling to do what is right, facing temptation, making hard decisions, remembering who we are and whose we are will help with attitude and the
direction of our steps. “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call
you servants any longer”, Jesus says,” because a servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends”. Isn't it amazing to consider that Christ thinks of all of his disciples as friends? We are his friends!


There are those who have stepped into our lives who have been influential, impactful or learning-oriented, like the people that Paul stayed with while regaining his strength, the very people he had originally intended to harm. Paul learned about his destructive past behavior and the impact it had had on the followers o the Way, the truth about Jesus, and then proclaimed that Christ truly was the son of God in the synagogues. Ananias and the other disciples in Damascus were no longer strangers, but brothers, and friends in the faith to Paul. The beauty of their friendship or any true grace filled relationship is that it brings to light what is hidden from view in a way that transforms. Receiving correction from those we trust, while not enjoyable, is necessary for growth in faithfulness and maturity in Christ. Proverbs reminds us that the wounds of a friend are faithful. The people who care about you the most have your best interest at heart.

Our true friends are ones we have granted the honor of transparency and truthfulness. It is before our friends that we lower the facade that we often present to others. We do not need to appear fully confident, competent and discerning of God's ways in the presence of our friends because they call us to consistency of character.We are able to share good news with a true friend without fear that they will think we are being prideful or arrogant. Our friends can listen to our doubts , fears and sadness without making us feel diminished as a person. Friends know that we are imperfect yet they remain loving loyal and steadfast in their relationship with us. It is a true experience of Christian grace.After Paul left Damascus he meditated alone for some months and then sought out Peter, chief of the disciples, to learn more about how Jesus had lived. Then Barnabas accepted and mentored Paul for nearly a decade. Later in Acts 18 life shaping friendships were recorded that developed between Paul and Priscilla, Aquilla, and Apollos. They were peers, sharing the work of the day, whether making tents or preaching the gospel. Paul also reached out in intentional friendship to those younger than he, such as,Timothy, Silas and Epaphroditus and Titus. Especially with Titus, Paul joins in ministry with, then comes to loves him, to be fed by him, depend on him and enjoy him. What a twenty first
century model for us to follow and grow into our ability to be friends and not merely colleagues or members with those at different stages of life than we.

Are we reaching back across generations to share the riches God has given us if we, like Paul, are in the second half of our lives? How can we all nurture friendships that allow us to see each day as holy and an opportunity to participate in something bigger than ourselves? Paul wound up becoming one of the greatest missionaries of all time and undertook three missionary journeys, gaining converts, and setting up churches.As a result of Paul's work, Christianity became a worldwide religion. It is important to remember that "The lasting mark of Paul’s conversion or ours for that matter is not one date circled in red on the calendar, but the whole story of one’s life."says Heidi A. Peterson, The Christian Century, 2001. Religion Online. The process of becoming Christian is not a one-day event,but rather an ongoing process. Paul had found and maintained true friends along the journey; friends that shaped, molded and supported his ministry. May we also find friends for the journey who call us to accountability and rich full lives in service to God and the great adventure of life in the Kingdom of God.

Burning

I was thinking about the drought we are having in NW Pa with many plants drying up and dying. The Lord spoke to me and said," it only takes a spark to get a fire burning"….I am praying for the spark. I am ready to be set on fire.

In the Book of Exodus, the burning bush miracle performed by God on Mount Horeb informed Moses of his call to ministry.
Moses looked at the bush from the side. Maybe to shield his eyes from the brightness, maybe to see if there was something hidden causing the burning, you know to check to make sure...are you sure this is you God? Until a voice spoke to him from the bush saying, “Remove your sandals. You’re standing on holy ground.” What would you do if you encountered a talking burning bush? Moses took off his shoes and listened. Instead of being consumed by the fire of an angry diety, Moses found that God was with him.

When Mount St. Helen's erupted in the 1980's everything that was consummable was burnt up by the hot gasses and firey lava pouring down the mountain slopes. The mountain remained, the vegetation gone. The burning bush however, was not consumed by the fire. It was of the Father and the Father spoke to Moses through it.

When the Holy Spirit sets us on fire, everything that is not of the Father burns away, our vices, pride, ego, things of the world and culture that numb us. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to purify us so that as John Wesley said, " I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn."

John 14:23-29 — "Assisted Hearing"

John 14:23-29 — "Assisted Hearing"

When our children were younger my husband and I took them camping  for a weekend in a nice wooded campground just over the Ohio line.   We imagined a time away with them would be special and build a  beautiful family memory.  They were so excited when we set up the  tent and built a fire in the fire pit.  The sleeping bags were laid  carefully in the tent, with all the other gear.  We had a wonderful  dinner cooked, or rather burnt to perfection over the hot coals of  the fire wood we had set ablaze earlier. Night began to descend  with a darkness my children were unfamiliar with, living with  street lights illuminating sidewalks and boro roads.

I told my son to stay with his father while his sister and I went  to the ladies room to get washed up for the night.  Zara and I  grabbed our shampoo soaps, towels, and tooth brushes heading off  into the darkness with our flashlight when we heard a blood  curdling scream.  Realizing it was Peter my son, I began  backtracking in the direction of our campsite with my daughter in  tow.  By now, other flashlights were joining mine as I combed the  darkness looking for my screaming son, my husband calling him from the opposite direction.

Peter had decided not to listen when he was told to stay at  the campsite with his dad. He decided to do what was right in his own eyes and follow me and his sister  instead. He did  not have a flashlight nor did he tell his dad his intent.   In the gathering darkness, he tripped, fell over a truck wheel rim used as a fire pit, and gashed his shin wide open.  We spent our night as a family together in the emergency room of the local hospital getting the front of  his leg sewn up. Rather than counting the stars in the  night sky, we were counting his stitches.

We are reminded in John’s gospel today that if we love the Lord we  will hear his words and actually do what he says.  Luke writes in the books  of Acts of such a person who was the first to be converted to  Christianity in Europe.  Her name was Lydia. She was with a group of women who were listening to Paul when her heart  was opened up to respond by the Holy Spirit. She was a purple cloth  merchant by profession.  Purple was a very expensive dye, it comes from the body of a very small snail. It takes many,many of these  little creatures to make the dye and was only used on items of  great value. The fact that Lydia was a seller of purple implies  that she was financially comfortable. She started a church in her own house as she had enough materially to be able to offer housing to Paul and his companions on many occasions and entertain other saints as well.

Who is this Holy Spirit  that will assist us in hearing? The same  spirit that opened Lydia’s heart. He is referred to as the advocate, Comforter, or Spirit of Truth, the  third Person of the Trinity, the administrator of redemption, if  you will, who teaches or reveals to us what we should know and do.   If we forget anything, as I am prone to do, the scripture tells us  that we will be reminded or prompted  by this same holy Spirit.   John’s gospel tells us that the Advocate will testify on Jesus’  behalf guiding us into all truth, speaking whatever the Father says  to speak and declaring things to come. We don't have to be  concerned about having wisdom in a tricky situation.  The holy  Spirit speaks no other words than what the Father tells him to say  so that we always have a right response when we need it .  The holy  Spirit assists us in our hearing the Word of God, whether it is  written or spoken, so that we are not leaning to our own  understanding, if we acknowledge him and ask for guidance in all we  do.  The question is do we want the guidance and help of the holy  Spirit?  Do we really want to hear what the Spirit is saying in  every single area of our lives?

God created us  from the beginning to have constant companionship with Him and until sin  entered the world, the first man and woman walked in that ever present presence. All of creation was in  harmony. The first man and woman lived with no sickness, hunger or thirst, no need, fighting, fear,or death.  With the commission  of the first act of disobedience, sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were driven out of the sacred garden never more to enjoy hearing the melodic voice of God.  The heavenly  presence no longer walked with them and talked with them daily, they existed apart in an earth that was cursed. By the first man came death.

By the second man, Jesus, came the resurrection from the grave. We are saved, if we accept it, by the precious atoning blood of our Jesus Christ, but we weren’t meant to stop there.  God doesn’t just want to save us, He wants to sanctify us, clean us up. Our salvation is only meant to be the beginning of a long and  marvelous relationship with the God of Creation where we daily grow more full of his divine grace. With open hearts, the Holy Spirit counsels us, because while we are children of God  we still have within us a  ‘carnal mind’ or sinful nature.

The lower nature is enticed by pride,the noises of the world and the lusts of the flesh. It is so easy to forget the things of God. We need to remain disciplined to attend worship on a regular basis and Bible study to feed our faith. A steady diet of secular music and television is going to cause us to have a worldly attitude instead of a heavenly outlook. “Whatsoever is  true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if  there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,  think about these things, Paul writes.(Phil 4-8)

The  Greek poet  Homer describes  in the Odessey, his mythological epic, of boatloads of  sailors upon the ocean who were  enticed by the singing sea monsters, their voices so lovely,  that sailors upon hearing their song, would forget all else and be  tricked into steering the boats into the dangerous rocks and shipwreck.  Homer wrote,  ‘"At sea once more we had to pass the Sirens, whose sweet singing  lures sailors to their doom. I had stopped up the ears of my crew  with wax, and I alone listened while lashed to the mast.’ The ears  of the sailors were stopped up with wax so they could not hear the  Sirens song and navigate safe passage in their vessels.  We need to  choose to ignore the Siren song of the world. It only wants to lure us into entrapment and listen to the voice of the Spirit and true freedom instead.

Lydia listened and she has been  recorded through history as the  first European convert and a friend of the Apostle Paul.  Because of the evidence of the holy Spirit working in her life, matching her words with her deeds, what we call the fruit of the spirit, many people came to know Jesus Christ and Lydia herself and her whole household was blessed. Through  the Holy Spirit we too can have assisted hearing, ears to hear.