Acts 16:16-18 New International Version (NIV)
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
I heard a pastor talking about this passage today. Many people have asked why Paul cast out the demon if he was telling the truth of God. The pastor said he believed because the woman was a fortune teller, Paul did not want to be associated with her. He also cast out the demon because that's what Jesus would do. He did it for the woman.
God has been talking to me all day. Sometimes I am afraid people will think I am crazy when I say that. I have heard a couple pastors say that people who hear from God all the time have a sensitivity to Him. I also think I hear from Him, because I believe He is talking to me. I believe He wants a relationship with each of us. That may sound a little crazy in itself. In movies and in person, many of us have seen the crazy homeless man on the corner screaming out scriptures and warning of Jesus return. I have always wondered if Jesus was really talking to these people, but now I wonder if it could be a demon, making a mockery of Jesus and causing people to close their ears and eventually their hearts to the warnings of the return of Jesus.
People see what is on the outside. If you put a jewel in a cardboard box, people will not be able to see the valuable piece. Eventually the box will become worn and deteriorate, but the jewel will not lose it's value. We try to fix up the box, maybe wrap it with a bow, but as it ages, it looks raggedy. Many people spend more time working on their outward appearance than on what is inside of them. God wants to work on the inside of us and when we don't allow that, guess who is working on us? Today, God has put a lot of thoughts in my brain about relationship.
Relationships. I have a grandson who recently turned two. This little boy was so meant to be. I have learned so much from my grand kids. This little guy smiles all the time. When he walks down stairs, he throws out his hand for me to hold, without even looking to see if I am going to take it. He knows where the snack drawer is and will help himself. He then throws whatever he has chosen into my lap and I am suppose to know to open it. He plows his face to the bottom of the swimming pool without fear of drowning. He sleeps with arms and feet spread out like he is going to make a snow angel. He is secure. He has faith that the adults in his life are going to meet his needs. The innocence in his giggle can bring tears to my eyes. To know he will not always be like this rips my heart in two.
As I have watched the grand kids pass through the different stages of childhood, I know what comes next. Understanding. The desire for understanding. He will begin to ask why. He will begin to look to make sure I am reaching for him before he takes a dangerous step. The need for understanding will chip away at his faith. The trials and lessons of this world will affect his security. He will stop expecting me to catch the ball just because he threw it. The faster a child is forced to grow up the more difficult it is to trust just because, to love without knowing and to believe without seeing.
There is a movie I have watched a few times, "And Then There Was One". A husband, wife and their baby all contract AIDS. The husband dies. He knows he is dying and leaves his child several videos full of the lessons a father wants to teach his child. He shows him how to shave, talks about a first date, and many other things. What if this is all we got from our father? A book on life's lessons would be awesome. Maybe he would call it "Life's Lessons", or "What You Need to Know", or maybe even "The Bible". What if he left you messages with other people? What if he had one specific person who's job it was to tell you all about him and life? We could call him "The Pastor". What if he did all this for us as he went away to live in some far away land, never to talk to us himself? Doesn't sound like a father to me. I think any father who would go so far as to write or should I say breath life into a book and send messages through other means, would be most happy having a one on one conversation with us. Believe it. Many people think He is silent, but are they listening? As a parent we want our children to come to us. As a parent of a teenager especially, we want them to hear us.
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b]Father.”
I heard a speaker say today that in Aramaic the word Abba means "daddy" or "Papa". He went on to say that he believes God wants us to see Him in two different ways. The child in us who comes to him without understanding, who loves without knowing and believes without seeing, calling out to Him "Abba". There is a growth and understanding in us that at times will call out "Father." This makes sense to me. I call my dad "Dad" and sometimes "Pa". but there have been a couple times as an adult when I was broken and without thinking I have called him "Daddy." I think it struck us both odd, because I don't ever remember calling him daddy as a child.
Not only does God want to have a relationship with us that includes back and forth conversation, but He wants us to cry out to Him. My oldest daughter has called me "Mommy" when she was broken and scared and there has never been such a tug on my heart as seeing her face and hearing the little girl I still see in her cry out to me like that. When I heard her cracking voice, I couldn't help but run to her. Nothing could have stopped me. There is something about a broken child no matter how old they are. I believe He smiles when we sleep like we are going to make a snow angel and when we throw our snacks in His lap and expect He will open the package for us. I also believe he weeps with us when we curl up in a ball in our beds at night and wonder where He is, maybe even mumble out a few words to Him, but don't listen when He answers. If you feel your hair move or as though somebody has lightly touched your skin, listen and believe. He may be leaning over you whispering, "I'm right here."
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