How you doin? I had
one of if not the scariest experiences I've ever had in my life
yesterday. Without going into the gory details, Paulie was lost for
about 3 minute in Trump Plaza in A.C. I've never felt so sick, scared,
helpless, or pain. The thought of Paulie not being with us anymore was
more then I could bare, even for 3 minutes. It's hard to believe that
fear has this much power in my life. I'm having trouble shaking it. I
can feel it gripping my entire body. It feels like an unwanted layer of
skin. I'm dealing with every emotion all at once and fighting of my
desire to react. This situation certainly demands a response, but not a
reaction. Help us Lord. We love that little guy so much. Acts 21 today.
Acts 21 is a
"cliff hanger". At the end of the chapter, Paul is arrested and beaten.
Just a normal day for him. As he's being taken away from the angry mob
that was beating him, the chapter ends with this "When they were all
silent, he said to them in Aramaic". We'll see what he said tomorrow
when we read chapter 22.
The angry
mob is again interesting. They were confused and not making sense. "Some
in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the
commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar" (21:34)
"The commander could not get at the truth" speaks volumes. The demonic
influence wasn't truth. COME ON!!!!!!! I also notice that there is
always a few people stirring up the crowd. The sheep like mentality that
we have as a people is scary. It really emphasizes the importance of
reserving my opinions and comments for private times or one on one so
not to stir up the crowd. In Matthew 18:15-17 it says, “If
your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between
the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But
if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every
matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If
they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse
to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax
collector." The crowd doesn't get stirred until the sin wins over
repentance. Here the crowd goes right to treating Paul like a pagan or
tax collector. This doesn't match up with encouraging and strengthening
each other. Reactions never work, but responses are necessary. That's a
good word. Respond to one another today.
No comments:
Post a Comment