Jesus in it all

People are really fickle! As I was reading this morningthrough Acts, I was once again struck by the courage of Paul and Barnabas, who were originally sent out by the Lord Himself to this mission journey that they were undertaking. They were in Antioch and were asked to say something in the synagogue, “if they had a word of encouragement.” Boy, did Paul ever! He spoke to them about their ancestors, and how God led them out of Egypt by His mighty arm. He talked about the 40 years they spent in the wilderness, and how the Lord destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and had given the land to the Israelites. He gave them judges until they asked for a king, then God gave them Saul for about 40 years. After removing him, the Lord raised up David, whom He chose to carry out His will. Then Paul goes from David’s descendants, who brought the Savior to Israel. He talked about John paving the way for Jesus. Then he said this, which is so worthy this morning for all of us to hear: “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us. For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words by condemning Him. Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have Him killed. When they had fulfilled all that had been written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and He appeared for many days to those who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people. And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my son; today I have become Your Father.” Since He raised Him from the dead, never to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, I will grant you the faithful covenant blessings made to David.” Acts 13:26-34 This is actually taking the message from the point that the Jews clearly understood what was happening, and gave the narrative of truth that belongs in their history. Many believed and wanted to hear from them the next Sabbath, but when the whole town assembled to hear the truth, some of the Jews present became very jealous and began to oppose Paul and Barnabas. This also was prophesied as Paul was sent to the Gentiles, and the Jews rejection opened the door for him to do that. It’s easy to see how things unfold when you have the opportunity and the ability to look in retrospect. Just as I can look back on these 40 years of following Christ, and I see clearly the Christ-led life that He planned for me. Who would have ever thought? Where and what circumstances did you come out of? Can you look back and see Jesus through it all. It may be hard sometimes to see His hand working on the daily basis, but when you put life in perspective, and look a little to your history, it’s not hard to see He was there all along. He is still there, and now we can turn our focus forward and see His activity today. Maybe if we look through the eyes of faith, we will see Him move through our lives molding, guiding, and making us into the people He wants us to be. And if we will understand it, He is in every breath we breathe, right here, right now. Pastor Andy