A Little Walk With God

Join us as we explore God’s ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

I’m amazed at how the lectionary grabs today’s news even though the scriptures were chosen years ago. The readings yesterday could come from the newscast today without a problem. Listen to these words from the prophet Amos.

“Says the Eternal Lord.

4 Listen to this, you who trample on the needy     and bring the poor to ruin, 5 Who ask, “When will the new moon festival be done     so we can sell our grain? And when will the Sabbath end     so we can sell our wheat? Then we can tamper with our scales     and make the bushel measure smaller And the counterweight heavier to cheat our customers. 6 We can buy the needy for silver     and the poor and their property for the price of a pair of sandals. We can even sell the chaff we sweep up as grain.”

We hear every day about how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We hear about the middle-class disappearing and it’s becoming more difficult to make ends meet for families.

The theme hasn’t changed in centuries. Even Jesus said the poor would always be with us. But we are also admonished as Christians to care for the poor. That’s where we need to be careful as we listen the words from Amos. Yes, we will always have poor among us. Societies that tried to live with redistribution of wealth failed. Marxism, communism, socialism, and other experiments that try to take from those that have and give to those that need consistently crumble over time. Those that have just get tired of those in power taking what they have and giving it away. 

Does that mean we should not take care of the poor? No. We need to help. We need to try to lift those that cannot help themselves. In Jesus’ day, it was principally orphans and widows who needed the most assistance. Orphans, no family to care for them ended up on the streets begging for anything to eat. They worked for nothing in dangerous jobs, they hired themselves out in the most despicable ways, they stole food, they did anything and everything just to survive. And the widows did the same, but often with prostitution as their only means of survival.

Still many of those orphans and widows died. They couldn’t survive the harsh conditions in Israel along with the oppressive nature of the greedy who failed to help even though commanded by the Mosaic Law. God saw what was happening. He didn’t like it. And he commissioned Amos to let the leaders know just how he felt. 

It was over. Israel would no longer hear the voice of God. He would pass by without stopping. God owned the earth, but this spot would be left alone to its own devices. The honeymoon between God and the people he set apart was over. 

It wasn’t long before the nation went into exile and it was another 2500 years before Israel became an independent nation again. God means what he says.

So, what does that mean for us today? Are the commands God gave 2500 years ago still applicable today? Do we need to listen to those ancient rules? Doesn’t live and let live work today? Should we let the government take care of the poor, so we don’t have to deal with the mess it creates when we try to do it ourselves? 

I think in this country we managed to pass off a lot of our responsibility as Christians when we started some of the social programs like Social Security all those years ago. We let others take care of what we used to do in the church, in our families. We assume taking care of the destitute is someone else’s responsibility, not ours. But that isn’t what God says. 

Can we save the world from poverty? No. There will always be poor among us as Jesus says. There will always be those among us who mismanage money, who live without thought of preparing for tomorrow, who have catastrophic events happen that destroy their fortunes, who become physically unable to care for themselves. There will always be a segment of society that prospers beyond belief, that one percent that we all look at and ask why they need that much? 

The question we must ask ourselves is what do we in the middle do with our funds? How do we manage what God has given us, so that we might help care for those that need assistance? As followers of Christ, what is our responsibility for relieving the suffering of those around us? 

I’m not much of a fan of giving money to the crowd that bombards the cars at stoplights, but I do think it’s okay to give them a bottle of water or a sandwich if God lays it on your heart. I’m not a fan of doling out money to the homeless to watch it go into the brown sacks that feed their addictions, but I am in favor of helping families get back on their feet when dad abandon wives and young children with no means of support. 

There are things we can do to be Jesus to those around us. What can you do to the helpless, the hurting, the suffering, the poor, the widows, and orphans you pass by every day? Israel fell into exile partly because they failed to take care of those who could not take care of themselves. I hope we are not falling into that same trap individually or as a nation. 

As David recalled the massacre of the 85 priests at Nob as he fled from Saul, he thought of the plight of those who stood against God. Their reward is coming. David said it this way in Psalms 52:

You won’t be smiling     when the True God brings His justice and destroys you forever.     He will come into your home, snatch you away,     and pull you from the land of the living.

[pause]

6 Those who are just will see what happens to you and be afraid.     And some of them will laugh and say, 7 “Hey, look! Over there is the one who didn’t take     shelter in the True God; Instead, he trusted in his great wealth     and got what he wanted by destroying others!”

8 But my life is abundant—like a lush olive tree     cared for at the house of the one True God. I put my trust in His kind love     forever and ever; it will never fail. 9 Because of all You have done,     I will humble myself and thank You forever. With Your faithful people at my side,     I will put my hope in Your good reputation.

I want to be part of the David crowd, not on the side of Saul and his sidekick Doeg who used their power to destroy others because of their jealous need for more power and wealth. I want to live the abundant life Jesus promised. Filled with his legacy of peace in a world blinded by chaos. But it only comes through knowing and following Jesus, the promised Messiah, the son of the living God.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

I’ve been thinking the last few months about the fact that 160,000 people within a five mile radius of my church have no church affiliation. When asked, they indicate they belong to or affiliate with no church or no denomination or no religious group...at all. None. That’s a tenth of the population of San Antonio, but just in our little corner of the city. It’s a bigger number than the population of most of the towns and cities around the world. 

Let that sink in just a little. That number of people around my church put none as their religion. And that is the most popular answer when asked about religion in the United States today. None. People say they are spiritual, but affiliate with nothing. There is a problem with that. 

Jesus is coming. God made the rules. He said, “Believe in me and have eternal life. Don’t believe in me and be eternally separated from God in a place of eternal punishment  called hell.” 

 Those who follow and obey his teachings are called Christians. We are supposed to share his message of love and peace and inner joy. The institutional church hasn’t done such a good job of doing that if 160,000 people within five miles of my church check “none” as their preferred religion on surveys. 

If you check the people living around your church, you’ll find the same percentages and the same appalling statistics, I’m sure. The institutional church has turned inward and failed to spread the message the way God intended or we would see smaller numbers professing “none” as their faith.

So here’s the other problem with where we are in history with that particular statistic. Jesus said he would return when everyone heard the gospel. Hmmm. Has everyone heard? If you poll high schools in my city, you’ll find that many of those teenagers know little about the Bible and San Antonio is still considered part of the Bible Belt. So has the message been heard? 

I think it has. And here is why.

Yesterday’s lectionary included these verses from Deuteronomy chapter 9:

Then, in whatever you do, the Eternal your God, will give you more than enough of every good thing—children and cattle and crops—because the Eternal will once again delight to do you good as He delighted to do good to your ancestors. All this will happen if you’ll return to the Eternal your God, heart and soul, and you’ll listen to His voice and obey His commands and remember His regulations, which are written in this book of the law.

After all, what I’m commanding you today isn’t too difficult for you; it’s not out of reach. It’s not up in the sky, so you don’t have to say, “Who will go up into heaven and get it for us and tell us what it is, so we can obey it?” It’s not across the sea, so you don’t have to say, “Who will go beyond the watery abyss and get it for us and tell us what it is, so we can obey it?” No, the words you need to be faithful to the Eternal are very close to you. They are in your mouth (always talk about these laws, as I’ve commanded you) and in your heart (treasure them there).

Now what does that have to do with everyone hearing the message?

A little of everything. It’s hard to find a solid reference, but estimates range from 4 to 6 billion copies of the Bible have been sold. That doesn’t include the number given away. According to the world population clock, there are just over 7.7 billion people alive as I write this. And that only counts Bibles, not just New Testaments, or just books of the Bible. So enough Bibles have been printed and distributed to put one in the hands of every person alive. 

Now, everyone doesn’t have one. I probably have 30 or more in my house. That means 29 or more of those 7.7 billion don’t have one. But you get the point. There are more than enough Bibles to get the word around the world. 

That is just the printed word. Radio reaches everywhere. Today, there isn’t a population spot on earth that cannot be reached by satellite or some kind of air wave traffic. And all those air waves carry the message. Since the 1940s pastors and churches have used the air waves to carry the message of the gospel. 

So what does that mean?

It means no one has an excuse. It means what Moses said to the Israelites as he departed from them is applicable to us today. “After all, what I’m commanding you today isn’t too difficult for you; it’s not out of reach. It’s not up in the sky, so you don’t have to say, “Who will go up into heaven and get it for us and tell us what it is, so we can obey it?” It’s not across the sea, so you don’t have to say, “Who will go beyond the watery abyss and get it for us and tell us what it is, so we can obey it?” No, the words you need to be faithful to the Eternal are very close to you. They are in your mouth (always talk about these laws, as I’ve commanded you) and in your heart (treasure them there).”

God’s word is available to everyone in every city, every nation, every continent. No one has an excuse for not hearing his word. Our only problem is our failure to listen and follow him. But ignorance is no excuse. 

If you speed through the school zone, the police officer who pulls you over doesn’t listen to the excuse you didn’t see the sign as he writes you that $250 ticket. God will not listen to your excuses as he metes out his judgment that you didn’t know about him when he returns. 

His word is available. His message is clear. His warnings are everywhere. What he commands is not too difficult for us; it’s not out of reach. We don’t have to go anywhere else to find it. It’s in every book store, every library, almost every home. All we have to do is pick it up and read it. All we have to do is tune our radio to listen to his word. All we have to do is put forth a tiny bit of effort and we will know him.

We have no excuse today. Those who proclaim “none” as their faith are in trouble. Those of us who claim “Christian” as our faith may be in trouble, too, if we just check the box and fail to do what he commands. Remember Moses’ words, “What he commands is not too difficult for you; it’s not out of reach.” 

When we accept him as our sovereign Lord, he empowers us to live according to his commands. We just have to be willing to be subject to his Lordship. We must be willing to serve him instead of ourselves. We must understand that he is God. We are not and can never be God. 

Jesus’ return is getting closer. We have no excuse for not knowing him. Have you read his word today? It’s not too late. 

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

If you’ve never been to Niagara Falls, I can tell you from experience, it is an awe inspiring sight. Standing on the bow of the Maiden of the Mist, feeling the spray of that avalanche of water, hearing the thunder of millions of gallons of water rushing past. It is something you never forget. When you feel the mighty power surrounding you, little doubt remains about the existence of a powerful God of creation. Someone did this. It didn’t just happen. 

The same feeling rushes into your head when you stand at the precipice of a volcano and peer down the side of throat, feel the heat of the lava boiling below, and know the immense geothermal energy trapped within that opening, ready to spew its lava out across the countryside. Or stand in the center of what used to be a city ravaged by a category five hurricane and see what the wind and water have done to that place. Not much stands that isn’t damaged. In fact, not much stands. We recognize immediately the power God can unleash on the world. His heart and awesome power most often restrained, but ever present in nature.

We think about his power and the stories of his miracles, the calming of the storm, the feeding of the thousands, the healing of the sick, the raising of the dead. We think, “I want to be part of that. I want to be part of those majestic events. I want to experience what those first disciples experienced by witnessing first hand some of those miracles. Then my faith will really take off. Then I can really be a great witness for God since I can tell of his great miracles and be an instrument in those actions. 

There is a story in the Old Testament, though, that reminds us of what our walk with God will be like most of the time and what he expects from us most of the time. It comes from yesterday’s lectionary reading from 2 Kings 5:

Naaman’s master considered him an extraordinary man. He was the military commander of Aram’s army, and he had won many important battles for Aram by the power of the Eternal. Naturally he was greatly esteemed by his king. Naaman was a fierce warrior, but he also had a skin disease. 

Now one time, the Arameans went out in raiding parties and took a little girl from Israel as their prisoner. The little girl became a servant to Naaman’s wife. 

Girl  (to Naaman’s wife):  If only my master could be near the prophet in Samaria, the prophet there could heal my master’s disease. 

Naaman became hopeful, and he went and told his king what the little girl from Israel said. 

King of Aram:  I am going to write a letter to Israel’s king, and I want you to take it to him immediately. 

Naaman left with the king’s letter in his hand, plus 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 sets of fine clothing. Naaman handed the letter to Israel’s king, and the king read it. 

King of Aram’s Message: The man carrying this letter is my servant, Naaman. He has a skin disease, and I request that you heal him.

King of Israel  (ripping his clothing): Who does he think I am—God? Why does Aram’s king think I have the power to kill and make alive again? What in the world makes him think that I can heal you of your disease? It is obvious that Aram’s king is trying to create trouble between us. 

Elisha, the man of God, received word that Israel’s king had ripped his clothing, so he sent a message to Israel’s king. 

Elisha’s Message: What has caused you to rip your clothing? Tell the man who has come to you for healing to come to me. Then he will be assured that a prophet lives in Israel. 

The king told Naaman to go find Elisha, so Naaman showed up at Elisha’s door with his horses and chariots. Elisha did not show his face to Naaman, but instead sent instructions: “Wash yourself in the Jordan River seven times. The waters will heal you, and your skin will be back to normal. You will be cleansed.” 

Naaman boiled with anger as he left Elisha. He had come to his house expecting something much different. 

Naaman:  What is this! I came here thinking that Elisha would come outside and call upon the name of the Eternal One his God, and that Elisha’s hand would pass over my sores and heal my skin disease, not the waters of the Jordan River . The Abanah and Pharpar Rivers in Damascus are greater rivers than all the rivers of Israel combined, so why couldn’t I just go bathe in those and be healed? 

Naaman then stormed away, boiling with anger. Later his servants approached and spoke to him with respect. 

Naaman’s Servants: Father, if the prophet had told you to do some important thing, wouldn’t you have done what he asked? Why is it difficult for you to follow his instructions when he tells you, “Bathe yourself in the Jordan River, and be cleansed”? 

So Naaman swallowed his pride, walked down to the Jordan River, and washed himself seven times, just as the man of God had instructed him to do. There, the miracle occurred. Naaman’s disease was healed: his skin was as new as an infant’s, and he was clean from the disease. Naaman and all his entourage went back to the man of God. 

Naaman: I am convinced that there is no God who exists in the entire world like the True God in Israel. Please accept this gift from me, your humble servant. 

Elisha:  As certain as the life of the Eternal whom I worship, I refuse to take any gifts. Naaman tried again to give Elisha a gift, but Elisha would not take it. 

Naaman:  OK. If you won’t take my gift, at least allow me to take two mule-loads of earth. I, your servant, will no longer give burnt offerings or sacrifices to other gods. The Eternal One is my only God now. May the Eternal One forgive me when I walk into the house of Rimmon, the storm god of Aram, to worship there beside my master. As his first officer, I must be by his side wherever he goes, even when he worships. May He forgive me for bowing down in that place.

In this story, Naaman learned, as we heard in Elijah’s story a few weeks ago, that God doesn’t necessarily care about the grandiose, the spectacular, the awe-inspiring. He wants us to understand that he is God always. In every circumstance and every situation. Naaman needed help. In his day, there was no cure for leprosy and he had it. Soon he would be banished from civilization because of the disease. 

Aram wanted Naaman around because of his military prowess. Naaman wanted to be around. He certainly didn’t want to know the isolation and stigma leprosy carried in those times. But soon he would not be able to hide the sores, the symptoms, and he would be among those banished from others, forced to hide himself and cry out “unclean” when anyone neared him. 

But a servant girl told him about a miracle making prophet in Israel, Elisha. It was worth a chance. There was nothing to lose. Naaman went. He expected something special. He expected this man of God to come out and perform some kind of special ritual, some incantation, some soothing salve to put on his body, some potion he would drink every day. Instead, Elisha didn’t even come to the door. He sent his servant out to tell him to go wash in the filthy Jordan River seven times.

Naaman was livid. He was an important man. How dare the prophet not even speak to him. Who did Elisha think he was? After all, he just came from the king. And his king sent him. Israel’s king was a vassal to Aram and Naaman was Aram’s right hand man. This prophet didn’t even take the time to come out of his shabby little shack and greet him. Now he wanted him to go wash in the Jordan River? Hrmph! Not on your life!

I grew up in Tennessee. In the Smoky mountains, the headwaters of some of the creeks rivers that flow into the Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio, and others that feed into the Mississippi River are crystal clear. Many of them I still wouldn’t have a problem dipping my hand into those headwaters and drinking their clean, clear water. But drink from the Mississippi River? Not on your life. The Mississippi? Never. They have become so polluted over the years through industrial waste and outgrowth of people dumping whatever they please into the river, you have no idea what might happen if you drank that unfiltered water.

The Jordan River was like that even in Naaman’s day. Dirty brown water where everyone did their laundry, dumped their waste, and every other imaginable disgusting thing. And Elisha wanted him to wash in this filthy river not just once, but seven times. He would be sicker than he was. He just knew it! Why should he stoop so low as to infect himself in this countries filth? There were cleaner rivers in Samaria, he would just go back there and wash himself. After all, water was water, right? 

It wasn’t about the water at all, though. It was about obedience. Just like it is with us. Why would God entrust us with massive, spectacular things, if he can’t trust us with minor, simple things? I used to counsel people that came to work for me in similar terms. Everyone is on a leash. If I’m responsible for the outcome of events, I want to know what people that work for me are doing. I want to shape what happens so I know the outcome will be what I want the outcome to be. So when someone first comes into the team, I don’t know how they work, what they think, how they interpret my instructions. So they are on a short leash. I want frequent reports. The tasks are simple. The projects are inconsequential to the total effort if they fail. 

But the more I get to know the person, their work, their trustworthiness, the longer leash. I don’t need to check as often or as thoroughly. The leash is still there if I’m responsible for the outcome. I never let go of the leash, but instead of a two foot leash, it may become a six foot or ten foot or thirty foot leash. The more I can trust that someone who works for me understands how to interpret my desired outcomes and how to get there, the less I need to overwatch what they do. 

I think it is the same with God. The more he can trust us with the little things in life, the more he can trust us with the big things in life. The more we trust him, the more he trusts us. Why would he take us to the moon if we’ve never climbed a ladder? As you look at the lives of biblical characters, I think you’ll see that pattern of growth in all of them. God gave them small things to do before they could be trusted with greater things. He knew their heart, but tested them first so they knew their own heart, too. 

Do you want to see great, spectacular, monumental things happen around you? Then take care of the little things around you. Pay attention to the everyday, mundane activities that need to be handled diligently. Watch for opportunities to do the things no one will ever see or know about and take care of those with no fanfare. When God can trust you with the little things in life, he will begin to trust you with the bigger things in life. Remember the story of the three servants and the talents. Take care of the small things and God will reward you richly. 

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

As I read the scriptures from yesterday’s lectionary readings, there are some disturbing verses. Words that you probably wouldn’t search out to win someone to the Christian community. But I think we sometimes fail to give the whole picture of what it means to follow God and in so doing lose a lot of people who would follow him if they understood that he doesn’t necessarily remove us from the difficulties of life, but rather he walks through them with us. 

Let me give you a sample of what was in the readings yesterday. 

From 1 Kings 19 as Elijah commissions his replacement, Elisha he utters these words in verse 20. ‘He [Elisha] left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”’

Then in Luke 9 we find these words:

As they [Jesus and his disciples] were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."

Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

These are tough verses to hear if you are a new Christian. The disciples had been following Jesus for three years and heard him talking about his upcoming destiny in Jerusalem. I’m not sure they believed he would be crucified. I think they still hoped he would be the physical, political, and religious leader they wanted him to be. But they had heard his message and heard him proclaim that he would be hung on a tree just as Moses hung the snake on a pole in the wilderness, when the Israelites wandered in the desert those centuries earlier. 

Jesus puts a damper on a lot of folks who made the claim they would follow him anywhere. He didn’t say they couldn’t follow him, but he questioned their ability and their commitment to do so. In effect, he told them, it isn’t just words. To follow him, it’s a life changing event. Everything else in life must become secondary to him. He will be first or he will not be at all. He will not be second place in life. Period. He won’t even be tied for first. Nothing can come close to his sovereignty in your life. Why? Because he is God, that’s why. 

God deserves that position in our lives because he made us. We don’t like to think in terms of slavery and someone owning another person. It rubs against us because of some of the horrid conditions and the abuse that some owners imposed on slaves. And it’s true. Our history shows that some owners were unkind to slaves, treated them poorly, didn’t see them as human. But not all slave owners felt that way throughout history. In fact, as you read documents from ancient times, you find accounts where people indentured themselves as slaves. Did this happen often? I don’t know. But it did ensure survival for many that would not have survived otherwise. 

Slavery has been a part of the world throughout its history and is still happening today. Is it wrong? I don’t think one person should own another, but I know that many of those owners saw their slaves as assets like they we would see many of our assets in business. They took care of them if for no other reason for the economic value the assets brought to their business and their home. Greece would not have become the intellectual and philosophical giant it became without the slave labor it had. Rome would not have created the network of trade and commerce had slavery not been used to make it happen. The United States would not have fed itself in its infancy had slaves not been around to work in the fields. 

The face of our world would be very different had slavery never happened. Am I a proponent of slavery? Absolutely not. I only make this point about history to note that I don’t think we in our particular point in history we fully understand the ramifications of what slavery has done or not done to the history of mankind for good or bad. People of every race have been enslaved at some point in history. And I point out the magnitude of slavery throughout man’s history because of its use as an example the New Testament writers choose for our relationship with God. We are slaves either to him or to Satan. Those are our two choices. But we are slaves nonetheless. 

The penalties for runaways have always been harsh. There has never been real freedom for slaves. But as we think about the two masters, God and Satan, which would you choose to serve? Satan says you are free and in control of your life, but as we mentioned last week, you are not. We can control so little. We have an illusion of freedom, but we are not free. The chains of sin that bring guilt and pain and separation from God bind us in ways we try to push aside with self-help, drugs, short-term pleasure, and all kinds of gratification that never works. 

When we are slaves to God, though, we are freed from the guilt that comes from our disobedience, our sin. We are forgiven and made a part of his family. We are treated as sons and daughters of the King of kings. We begin to experience the right to live abundantly. Not necessarily with material things, but with the assurance that we will see God face to face one day and that he will never leave us while we journey through this life. As his slaves, we know he cares for us. We know he has our best in mind in all that happens around us. We may suffer, but it is not because of him. It is because of the sin scarred world that continues to plunge toward its ultimate destruction and rebirth as the new heaven and new earth Jesus describes.

Life was as hard for Elisha as it was for Elijah. He lived much of his life in the wilderness on the run from those who tried to destroy him because of his messages from God against the wickedness that prevailed among the leaders of the nations. Elisha never enjoyed a fancy place to live, fashionable clothes, or popularity with the in-crowd. But Elisha listened to and followed God’s commands. 

When we follow Jesus, life will not necessarily be easy. In fact, Jesus promised his disciples, and that includes us, that the world would hate us because of him. Satan lured Adam and Eve to disobey God and he has been doing the same to every person ever born ever since that day. He does not want us to follow God. He does not want us to give ourselves to God’s sovereignty. Satan abandoned God and wants us to do the same. But the price is eternal separation from the only one who really cares about us. The one who made us is the one we need to listen to and follow. 

No one, even God, never promised life would be fair or easy or fun or pain free or full of only happy times. In fact, the closer we get to the end of time, the worse the conditions will be for those who give their allegiance to him. The world seems to be getting pretty close to the time of delivery as Jesus describes these birth pangs of earthquakes, famine, floods, wars, and things that seem to tear us apart. Just look around and note the intensity and velocity of things happening around us compared to just a few years ago. I don’t think it’s climate change. I think God is counting down the days until this old earth gives birth to a new one. Read Matthew 24 and 25 and then compare today’s news to Jesus’ description of the end times. 

It won’t be long. Get ready.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

If you didn’t grow up in the church, you might not know much about the prophet Elijah. There are some pretty interesting stories about him and his exploits in the Old Testament. He did some things that would make Harry Houdini, David Blaine, and David Copperfield look like kindergarten magician wannabes. But one of his most famous exploits is found in 1 Kings 19. It tells of his confrontation with Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. He faced off against 450 of them and set the conditions for the contest. Both teams would set up a sacrifice and the god who answered by fire would be the God the Israelites served. 

The Baal prophets and priests danced and prayed and cried and screamed and cut themselves, but no fire fell. Then at the time of the evening sacrifice it was Elijah’s turn. He built the altar, killed the bull, placed the wood and the sacrifice on the altar, then did what everyone thought was really stupid. He poured twelve barrels of water over the whole thing until everything was drenched and even the trench around the altar was full of water.

Elijah then prayed a simple prayer. God, show these people who you are, consume this sacrifice with fire. Fire fell from heaven and suddenly the sacrifice was burned to a crisp, the wood was gone, the stones of the altar were burned up, and the water in the trench was boiled away. There was nothing left of the sacrifice but a smoking pile of dirt where everything had been. 

“So who will you serve? Who is God? Don’t let any of those false prophets escape!” Were the next words from Elijah. 

So God did this miraculous thing for Elijah. He showed him time and again how powerful he was and how he would protect him. But right after this a strange thing happens. Elijah hears that Jezebel is unhappy that Elijah bested her priests and prophets and put a price on his head. And what does Elijah do? He shakes in his boots and runs away to hide. 

God just showed his incredible power. God just demonstrated how he would answer Elijah’s prayer in time of need. God just got Elijah out of a spot that would surely have meant his death if his opponents had been successful. But now the queen says she’s out to get him and he is afraid she might. Elijah doesn’t trust God to take care of him. He doesn’t think God is bigger than this wicked queen. A pretty amazing story isn’t it. 

We can look at Elijah and laugh at him. What an idiot! Why can’t you see that God is bigger than your problem? Why can’t you see that God is going to take care of you? Why can’t you see the connection between what he has done for you in the past and what he will likely do for you in the future? Well…

Maybe we should look in the mirror before we start throwing rocks at the poor fugitive. 

I have to admit, God has done some really cool things in my life. He has taken me through some pretty rough times and gotten me out to the other end better than I could ever imagine. I would like to think I would use all that experience and tell you I never worry about anything. I’d like to tell you I always act like God has everything under control and I’m absolutely confident the outcome will be exactly right. I’d like to tell you to watch me and you’ll see a perfect example of perfect faith in the God who specializes in miracles. But I can’t. 

I’m broken and flawed and sometimes forget all those things God has done in the past. I sometimes forget he is in the miracle working business. I know it in my head, but my actions show that my faith isn’t perfect. I still want to trust me more than God sometimes. Every now and then, just like Elijah, I find myself fearing the future I think is around the corner instead of keeping my eyes lifted up and focused on him. I end up running into the wilderness thirsty, hungry, exhausted, looking for an escape from something that really isn’t there, but I’m afraid it might be. 

Have you ever experienced that? It’s the place too many of us find ourselves and don’t know how to get out of it. We, like Elijah, let ourselves get into the mullygrubs over stuff that God has already fixed if we would just stop and listen to him. Take a look at the rest of the story. 

Elijah fell asleep under a broom tree, exhausted. An angel woke him up and told him to eat some food and drink some water from the little brook by him. Then he slept some more. The angel woke him a second time and told him to eat and drink. Then Elijah got smart and went to the mountainside to find God. There Elijah learned a powerful lesson about finding God. He wasn’t in the thunder and lightning. He wasn’t in the tornado like wind. He came as a whisper in the gentle breeze and assured Elijah he had his back. He let Elijah know he wasn’t alone in the world or even in his little piece of the world. Elijah thought he was fighting all the battles by himself against this wicked royal couple. Has wrong. Hundreds were hidden away ready to help Elijah in the cause of ousting this corrupt monarchy. God had plans for Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah would be a part of that plan, but God would be a bigger part. He would exact his vengeance so that all would remember it was God who took care of the wicked team. 

So what do we learn from Elijah? We can trust God when the going gets tough. He didn’t take Elijah out of the situation. Jezebel still had a bounty out for his head. Jezebel still wanted the prophet dead. Elijah still lived in the wilderness instead of a palace, but God took care of his needs. I’m sure he would have enjoyed a more comfortable bed or a warmer place to sleep every once in a while, but God took care of his needs. And that’s the point. 

The second thing we learn from Elijah’s encounter is that too often we look for the grandiose, the loud and boisterous, the spectacular, to figure out where God might be. But more often than not, he is waiting for us to quiet ourselves so we can hear his gentle voice. It’s a technique my father taught me a long time ago and I’ve used it often as a leader in the military, as a pastor, and as a father myself. If you really want someone to pay attention to what you have to say, you don’t scream at them. That only elicits a fight or flight response built into the primal survival instinct in our brain. No, if you want someone to pay attention to you, you get quiet. Make them strain their ears just a little to understand you. It forces the brain to put the sounds together and comprehend what the words mean. 

God does that for us. He doesn’t scream at us. He speaks to us in a gentle whisper. He wants our attention, not our fear. He wants us to tremble in awe when he speaks, not because of the noise, but because we recognize he is God and choose to speak to sinners in such a calm and gentle manner. 

It’s beyond belief. It’s past just mercy. It’s grace. It’s God extending his love to us in such an extraordinary way that it’s hard to even imagine that he would stoop so low as to give us attention in the first place, let alone speak to us and care about us. But that is who he is. He wants so desperately to have an intimate relationship with us that he wrapped himself in human flesh and lived with us for more than thirty years on this filthy, sinful planet. He showed us love. Even when we killed him, he loved us and proved his loved for us through that execution and the forgiveness he offers even through his death and resurrection.

So why do we have such a hard time believing God will take care of us? Why do we have trouble thinking we know better than he does about what we need and how best to figure out the next steps to take in our lives? Why are we so sure we have the answers to life’s questions? Sometimes I think God made us too smart. Sometimes I think we might be better off if we couldn’t think and just went about life the way the dumb animals do, operating on pure survival instinct. But then we would no longer be considered God’s highest creation, would we? Instead, we need to stop and use the grey matter God put between our ears and get our head and heart to work together to understand who God is and who we are in relation to him. He is the creator. It isn’t hard to understand that everything had to come from something in the beginning. There must have been a starting point. But if you go back far enough, it starts with nothing, just as Genesis says. Some will tell you it started with a big bang. Okay, where did the Big Bang come from? If there was nothing there, how did the bang happen? The answer is God. He spoke and bang, the beginning. There was light and dark, the first day.

And from that very first word from his consciousness, his design was to create us to have an intimate relationship with him. He wanted a higher created being to worship him. His God. We are not. We get that confused because we listened to the voice of that deceiver, Satan in the Garden of Eden the first time. And ever since Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be lured by the lies, we have also fallen prey to Satan’s schemes. We believe we can be as wise as God. We believe we can rule the universe. 

We can’t. We can’t rule the universe or our tiny little planet or even ourselves most of the time. We have so little control over most everything around us, but we believe the lie that we are in control. The truth is I have almost no control over anything. I can control me sometimes, but that’s it. And most of me, I can’t control. I can only hold my breath a few seconds before my brain says breath and I can’t help but suck in air. I can’t stop my heart by just wishing it. I can’t make my eyes stop blinking. So much of me, I don’t even control. And try to control someone else? Forget it. Control the world around me? Try to grab a tornado by the tail or stop a volcano from blowing its top. Right!

But God can do any or all of those things with a word. He is God. He knows us. He made us. He loves us. Because God is who he is, Elijah learned to trust him. Did he slip up at times? Sure. The story we heard today shows us he did. We can learn to trust him, too. Will we slip us at times? Sure. But we can trust him because he is God. Give yourself to him and watch what he can do.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

The text from the common lectionary yesterday came from Romans 5. Paul wrote these words: Since we have been acquitted and made right through faith, we are able to experience true and lasting peace with God through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King. Jesus leads us into a place of radical grace where we are able to celebrate the hope of experiencing God’s glory. And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance, which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.

We hear a lot about God’s love. Well, maybe in today’s culture we don’t hear as much as we used to, but when we hear people talk about God, we mostly hear about his love. That is as it should be because God is love. He showed us what love is all about when he became one of us and sacrificed himself for us that we might be freed from the guilt of our sin when we accept his sacrifice and declare him as who he is, Lord of lords, and King of kings. But sometimes in our culture, we swing too far in one direction or the other.

In the past, we went too far in the direction of God’s wrath. The revivals of the last century focused on the wrath of God and the judgment day that we all must face. Evangelists preached fire and brimstone from their pulpits and scared people out of hell and into heaven. God was to be feared above all things. In the last century, the world also faced tyrants that fought to enslave masses. Names like Hitler, Stalin, and Mousseline headlined the news through war that tore Europe apart and killed millions in its wake.

We have not had conflict on that scale since. We have not looked to the heavens and cried out to God about the global destruction we see at the hands of men since then. We went through some scary times with the cold war and nations poised with their weapons of mutual destruction aimed at each other, but the probability of human distinction has lessened through the last several decades. My children have never participated in a nuclear bomb drill or even seen a nuclear shelter. We no longer fear mass destruction like we did in the last century.

Maybe that is why we no longer think of the wrath of God. We stopped fearing the superpowers, so we stopped fearing God. We somehow started equating the two. It’s not a very smart way to look at the world or to look at God. There are still nuclear weapons in more countries than there were during the cold war. Then, neither of the superpowers would unleash the destruction because each knew it meant the end of both countries as we knew them. But now, lesser nations own the capability to destroy superpowers and can survive themselves because they do not rely on the same global economy or the same technologies so vulnerable to damage caused by those weapons. We used to talk about bombing nations into the stone age. We could not survive in the stone age any more. Many of our most dangerous adversaries could.

But we don’t want to think about that. We want to assume everyone on the planet will love each other if we just understood each other. We believe (rather wrongly) that our enemies are just misunderstood and that if we just listened better and accommodated more, the world would be a safe place and we could all get along. It’s a nice, pleasant, fanciful thought. People have not gotten along since Cain killed his brother Abel. Every ancient text is filled with stories of violence, not love and understanding. Except one.

The Bible has its moments as God directs his people to take the promised land from the Canaanites and other tribes who inhabited the land. There are many stories in both the Old and New Testaments that could be rated PG or R because of the violence depicted in them. But the God of the Bible is still a God of love. His story from the beginning is one of reconciliation between himself and his disobedient creation. We are the ones who brought sin into the cosmos and disrupted the perfection he wanted for us.

From the moment of that first act of disobedience, God’s purpose shows through the action of the stories in his word, to redeem those who would trust him and follow his commands. He is indeed a God of love, but he also requires that we understand he is God and we are not. He is in charge, not us. He is the one to be worshipped. Not us or some false god we put in place of him, whether made of wood or stone or an intangible thing like a job or the electrons today indicative of the wealth we worship. God set out to help us live with each other and with him and his rules help us do that. Is he demanding? Yes. So were my parents. They made demands to keep me safe and teach me how to live well in society. God’s rules do the same.

God doesn’t give us rules to cause us to step our toes at a cliff and see how close we can get to the edge. He doesn’t give us fences he expects us to push our heads through to see what’s on the other side. Those rules and fences are for our protection. Our problem is that we forget that the edges of cliffs sometimes crumble and cause us to slip and fall. We can get stuck when we push our head through a fence. Our problem is we forget all the land inside the fence he freely gives us for our enjoyment. We forget the beautiful meadow well away from the cliff where we can enjoy life to its fullest without any fear.

Just like Adam and Eve, Satan tempts us with the rules. “It’s just a little thing. It won’t hurt you. No one will know.” And suddenly we find ourselves scrambling for our lives as we fall down the side of the cliff grasping for any handhold but finding none.

God is a god of love. He desires our good. He gives us parameters to work within so we can stay safe and secure within those parameters. But we do not listen to him. We think we know better than he does. Or we think because he is a God of love that he will just forget everything we’ve ever done, and no consequences will ever come for our behavior. How naïve can we be? Consequences are a natural part of this world. Or at least we expect them to be. If I walk out in the rain, I expect to get wet. If I go out in freezing temperatures without a coat, I expect to be cold. If I speed past a policeman on the highway, I expect to get a ticket.

Why should I not expect the same consequences if I disobey the commands the creator of all the universe puts in place? Can he set them aside? Yes. And he offers to set aside the punishment we deserve when we acknowledge him as Lord, believe he came in the form of man and died for our sins, confess our guilt to him and accept his sacrifice. And repent. Repent means more than saying I’m sorry. Too often we are sorry we got caught. Repent means to do an about face. Go the other way. Stop doing what you’ve been doing and do the opposite. If you haven’t followed Christ, start following him. If you haven’t trusted him, trust him. If you haven’t obeyed God, obey him. Repent.

God doesn’t have to display his wrath. He has already put the laws of cause and effect in place. There are consequences for our actions. The consequence of not believing in him for salvation is an eternity without him. Jesus describes it as a place of eternal fire where worms never get their fill and the fires are never quenched. Eternal suffering apart from God who so desperately wants his relationship with us restored. But he is a holy God. He has already done his part. But until we repent and accept his gift, the gift remains untouched, unopened, unused.

Take advantage of his love before you become a victim of his wrath. It only takes a little faith and you can know what Paul and so many others have come to know as he shared with the believers in Rome. You can be acquitted and made right through faith, able to experience true and lasting peace with God through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King. Jesus leads us into a place of radical grace where we are able to celebrate the hope of experiencing God’s glory. No matter where you are, what you’ve done, he is ready. Are you?

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

One of my kids lives in a little town in Texas called Bandera. It has this big sign as you come into town that announces that it is the “Cowboy Capital of the World.” Throughout the week, the population in the little rural town is less than a thousand, but when events happen around their claim to fame of being the cowboy capital, the place can burgeon up to 30,000.

I think of that little town and what happens there and can picture what Jerusalem must have been like on the three pilgrimages the faithful Jews took each year. The Roman soldiers had their hands full when these things happened. Jews from the known world gathered as the Torah required.

It was true at the previous festival, Passover. Extra soldiers were everywhere because of the festival. Visitors were packed into every space and all the surrounding villages. Tension was high then because riots were not uncommon. The Jews didn’t particularly want to be under the rule of a foreign government, but they were. The religious leaders wanted to rule the nation as the Torah demanded. The nation blew it when they put Saul on the throne and the religious leaders thought they could fix it.

They wanted power. They had power since they had the ear of the representatives of the Roman rulers. But the common people didn’t particularly care for the Romans. Now Jesus came along, and tensions got even higher. Another rebel. Another potential bonfire about to ignite. The soldiers would be the ones put in the middle to quell the violence if it happened. They would stop the violence with overwhelming violence of their own.

The Nazarene caused more than just tension that last Passover. The man called Jesus had a following, but the Roman’s crucified him at the bequest of the Jewish leaders. But now there was this group that saying the man wasn’t dead. This bunch of uneducated followers said they saw him rise up into the sky on clouds and saw angels who told them he was coming back. So now, instead of just one to worry about, there were dozens. No doubt the Roman soldiers were worried about this new influx of visitors into the city.

We’re talking about Pentecost, one of the three pilgrimages in ancient Judaism that brought thousands of Jews into the city of Jerusalem. Also called the Festival of Weeks, they celebrated the wheat harvest and the anniversary of God giving the Torah to Moses. The city burst at the seams with people. But in the middle of all the crowds, there was a small group that wanted something special to happen. Jesus told those who watched him ascend into heaven they should go to Jerusalem and wait power.

They had no idea what that meant at the time. Those 120 knew Jesus promised power but had no idea what it looked like or felt like. The disciples watched Jesus perform miracles time after time. They listened to his words in public and private. They sat at his feet for more than three years and watched him every day. But still didn’t know what to expect. Still, they followed Jesus’ command and waited. And in doing so, they followed his example and prayed while they waited.

A hundred twenty of those followers prayed in the upper room of one of the buildings in Jerusalem. Here’s what Luke said happened in Acts chapter 2.

A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them.

Because of the holy festival,there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages. They are shocked and amazed by this.

Pilgrims:Just a minute. Aren’t all of these people Galileans? How in the world do we all hear our native languages being spoken? Look—there are Parthians here, and Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, and Judeans, residents of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygians and Pamphylians, Egyptians and Libyans from Cyrene, Romans including both Jews by birthand converts,Cretans, and Arabs. We’re each, in our own languages, hearing these people talk about God’s powerful deeds.

Their amazement becomes confusion as they wonder,

Pilgrims:What does this mean?

The sound of wind, the appearance of fire, speaking and hearing languages never known before. Power! Incredible deeds about to be done. Jesus told them they would do more than he did after he leaves and God’s spirit comes. These 120 begin to do incredible things. They burst out of the room ready to talk about what happened to them. They spread the word about Jesus. They felt compassion for those around them. They wanted others to know about the love they felt for all of those God created.

So that from the fifteen languages noted from at least as many countries these men and women began to disperse among the crowd and tell these pilgrims they came to the right place to find freedom. Not freedom from Rome, because that kind of freedom doesn’t really matter. They told of freedom from the guilt of sin. The blood sacrifices in the temple did so little, but the perfect sacrifice by the son of God, Jesus, frees us completely.

These men and women began doing things people could not explain. Why would they give what they had to others? Why would they associate with the low-lifes of the city and do things that would pull them up? Why would they promise hope to those who really had no hope in this life? Why would they promise forgiveness to those caught in the act of things everyone knows is wrong? Why would they talk about peace in the middle of this city bursting with soldiers ready to kill anyone who looked at them cross-eyed?

How do you explain Pentecost? You can’t except to say the church was born when the Holy Spirit fell on those 120 faithfully waiting for something to happen. And when it did, they were never the same. They began to execute the mission Jesus gave them on the mountainside the day he ascended into heaven. The power he promised became evident as they moved throughout the city and country and world. The power of God’s spirit moving through the lives of his people has changed the world.

Jesus said something would happen when those 120 waited for it. The same is true today. When we earnestly seek the holy spirit in our lives, he comes and resides not just with us, but in us. When he does, the powerhouse that raised Jesus from the dead on that first Easter, is the same powerhouse available to us to live in a world full of those who need God in the worst way.

We celebrated Pentecost this week. Enjoy the celebration. Stop and remember what it is about. Give thanks for the promise Jesus made to those gathered around him and the fulfillment of that promise 50 days later as God’s spirit rushed through that room touching the senses of those gathered there. The world has changed because of that day. You can be changed, too. Wait and pray.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

In yesterday’s lectionary we see a story that could have come from the headlines today. “Religious fanatics destroy livelihood of poor peasant girl: riot ensues!” Here’s how Luke tells the story to Theophalis in Acts 16 as translated in The Voice.

One day, as we were going to the place set aside for prayer, we encountered a slave girl. She made a lot of money for her owners as a fortune-teller, assisted by some sort of occult spirit. She began following us.

Slave Girl (shouting): These men are slaves like me, but slaves of the Most High God! They will proclaim to you the way of liberation!

The next day as we passed by, she did the same thing—and again on the following days. One day Paul was really annoyed, so he turned and spoke to the spirit that was enslaving her.

Paul: I order you in the name of Jesus, God’s Anointed: Come out of her!

It came right out. But when her owners realized she would be worthless now as a fortune-teller, they grabbed Paul and Silas, dragged them into the open market area, and presented them to the authorities.

Slave Owners: These men are troublemakers, disturbing the peace of our great city. They are from some Jewish sect, and they promote foreign customs that violate our Roman standards of conduct.

The crowd joined in with insults and insinuations, prompting the city officials to strip them naked in the public square so they could be beaten with rods. They were flogged mercilessly and then were thrown into a prison cell. The jailer was ordered to keep them under the strictest supervision. The jailer complied, first restraining them in ankle chains, then locking them in the most secure cell in the center of the jail.

Picture this: It’s midnight. In the darkness of their cell, Paul and Silas—after surviving the severe beating—aren’t moaning and groaning; they’re praying and singing hymns to God. The prisoners in adjoining cells are wide awake, listening to them pray and sing. Suddenly the ground begins to shake, and the prison foundations begin to crack. You can hear the sound of jangling chains and the squeak of cell doors opening. Every prisoner realizes that his chains have come unfastened. The jailer wakes up and runs into the jail. His heart sinks as he sees the doors have all swung open. He is sure hisprisoners have escaped, and he knows this will mean death for him, so he pulls out his sword to commit suicide. At that moment, Paul sees what is happening and shouts out at the top of his lungs,

Paul: Wait, man! Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here! None of us has escaped.

The jailer sends his assistants to get some torches and rushes into the cell of Paul and Silas. He falls on his knees before them, trembling. Then he brings them outside.

Jailer: Gentlemen, please tell me, what must I do to be liberated?

Paul and Silas: Just believe—believe in the ultimate King, Jesus, and not only will you be rescued, but your whole household will as well.

The jailer brings them to his home, and they have a long conversation with the man and his family. Paul and Silas explain the message of Jesus to them all. The man washes their wounds and feeds them, then they baptize the man and his family. The night ends with Paul and Silas in the jailer’s home, sharing a meal together, the whole family rejoicing that they have come to faith in God.

I’ve had a really hard time getting going with this passage today. It’s not that there isn’t a ton of material here. I’ve started and stopped midstream half a dozen times already. But nothing seems to fit. Maybe there’s too much here. Maybe I’m trying to make one sermon out of what should be several. It’s pretty easy to talk about the slave girl who was freed from her life as a fortuneteller.

I could also talk about the businessmen who were more interested in their money than in the freedom Paul and Silas gave to their slave girl. Their story within the story is where I got the headline to start this podcast. It seems that in our culture, we are much more interested in material things that we are spiritual things. So, we could build a sermon or two or three around these two men.

I thought about doing a podcast based on the unwarranted beating that Paul and Silas received for just being who they were -- followers of God.

I thought about a podcast that focused on the joy that Christians can have even in the face of suffering. There Paul and Silas were in jail beaten, bruised, in shackles and chains, no light, no food. They had every reason to complain. But instead, Scripture tells us they sang and prayed and all the other prisoners listened and I expect many joined in. There’s a lot to be said about the joy we can have just because we have God’s spirit in us.

I thought about the jailer and how quick he was to think about suicide as a means have a escaping punishment for something he didn’t even do. It happens so often in our everyday lives. We face suffering because of things that are completely out of our control, and we sometimes make some crazy decisions instead of really examining the problem and potential solutions before we jump in with our rash actions and make a mess of things. A lot could be said about the jailer’s actions before Paul and Silas stopped him from carrying out his decision from which there was no return.

I thought about how Paul and Silas accepted the jailer into their brotherhood even after the beating they received. How many of us would gladly befriend those who imprisoned us or beat us or harmed us for no good reason. But that’s exactly what Paul and Silas did. In fact, it seems that the jailer’s family became the nucleus for another house church within the city. You never know what will happen when we let God take charge of things.

So you see, there’s so many things in these few verses that point to God’s goodness. There are so many spots as this drama unfolds where we see God’s handiwork. We see him reaching out through Paul and Silas because of their willingness to listen to his spirit and just do what they know they should with his prompting. Because of the commotion around them and the nudging of God’s spirit in them, they were able to free this slave from a horrible life. They were able to help a jailer and his entire household come to know God in new way. They were able to bring such joy and peace to a jail full of criminals that when all their chains were broken and all the cell doors shook off their hinges, no one wanted to leave. Rather, they all wanted to stay to listen to the singing, to be part of the pray meeting, because they knew they were in God’s presence.

Can we still see these kinds of things today? I don’t know. God hasn’t changed. The real question is, are we as committed as Paul and Silas? Do we believe the way they believed? Are we ready to give our all to do whatever God wants us to do as they were? Are we ready to be just an instrument with no recognition, no glory, no fame, nothing except an instrument in the hands of God.

When Christians begin to get rid of self and really believe in God the way Paul and Silas believed in God, when we begin to give ourselves completely to him, I think we will begin to see miraculous things happen all around us. They actually are there already if you have the eyes of faith to look up and see his hand at work. Just believe and let him do his work through you.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

Our pastor has challenged us since the first of the year to live a questionable life. Those of you who hear that for the first time might be taken back a bit. What do you mean live a questionable life? Does that mean skate at the edge of evil? Does that mean throw out everything we’ve learned and live like we want? Does that mean to make the Christians or others around us question our faith?

No. To live a questionable life in the context of our pastor’s messages, he challenges us to live like Jesus. Live a life that causes people to stop and question why we do the things we do. Why do we go out of our way to be kind to those who defame our character? Why do we smile and give warm greetings to those who ridiculous us and only want to do us harm? Why do we not live with the same standards of vengeance and revenge and selfish motivation that the rest of the world lives by?

Live a life that causes people to stop and question the goodness of our life. Live in such a way that others see the love of God extended to the unlovable. Live in a way that brings questions about why we live a life of love. Live a questionable life. Sounds like a good challenge, right?

There are a couple of verses in Psalms 67 that remind us why we should live like that. The Psalmist writes: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.”

That “Selah” in the middle is an important interlude in those verses. Scholars have attached various meanings to the word including instructions to musicians accompanying the playing of the psalms, but most, including those scholars, agree that selah asks us to stop and listen. Pause and contemplate what you just heard. Think about what was just said because it impacts the words you are about to hear. That is so poignant in these two lines of verse from the psalms.

Let God be gracious to us and bless us and make our way a good one for a single purpose. So that those around us sharing this planet we call earth will know your saving power. How we live should reflect the gracious blessings God gives us. We who have experienced his saving power should reflect the light of his face in ours. We should live such outpouring lives of love to others that others know that it can only be by the power of God we are able to live that way.

I heard a great order from the Roman emperor Jullian when he was trying to oust the Christians from his kingdom. He said these atheists were winning over too many people by their kindness. Just as a side note, they were known as atheists because they believed in only one God. These followers of one God didn’t believe in a pantheon of gods as his empire did. In fact, many believed the emperor himself a god. So these Christians, followers of the Way, were certainly far afield in their beliefs. To thwart their progress, he ordered his officials to be kind to the populace. Well, that lasted about as long as it took him to say it. Why? Because the followers of the way didn’t need an order to love people. They did it from the inside out, not the outside in. Their hearts were made pure by the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. Jullian’s officials had no chance of winning against such odds.

Questionable lives? Absolutely. In their day, the early church fed and clothed the poor, the sick, the outcasts. They took care of the widows whose only recourse in life was prostitution if they couldn’t find another husband quickly. Women had no place in that society. The Christians took it upon themselves to take care of those who could not take care of themselves. Love won out. People asked why. Believers told them about the freedom they received in Jesus. Forgiveness from sin. Freedom to live truth instead of lies.

The Romans couldn’t provide it. The Greeks couldn’t mimic it. The only ones with a corner on the market giving hope and peace and genuine love were these uneducated men and women following this guy that had been crucified at the hands of his own people and the Roman government. It didn’t make any sense and yet here were the facts in front of them. Love wins. Forgiveness wins. Truth wins. Peace wins. Hope wins.

That was then. But what should we do now? Well, live a questionable life. People still know genuine love when they see it. People still recognize authentic care and concern when it happens. People still know the difference between an act and the real thing. When confronted by real love for each other, Jesus says the world will know we are different, that we follow him, that there is something strange and unusual, and good about us. Questionable lives.

That’s how Jesus lived everyday. Talking with women of questionable character but bringing them peace, not punishment. Questionable actions on his part. Telling men to pick up their beds and walk away on mended legs on the sabbath, doing work, questionable activity. Telling us politics don’t matter. Give to the pagan dictator his due. Governments, even bad ones, are allowed to stand because there are some things that only governments can do to bring order into the lives of large populations. Without them, even bad ones, chaos would reign. Hard to believe Jesus wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent. He was a man living under the rule of a Roman dictator doing his best to share the good news that there is a greater kingdom for us to concern ourselves. God’s kingdom is here.

So how do we relate that kind of living into today’s culture? For one thing, we need to stop bashing each other on the Internet about everything. Talk about unsocial media! I see some of the most unChristlike behavior coming from people who call themselves Christians when they get behind the barrier of their keyboard and screen. Remember Jesus wasn’t into politics. The only thing he ever said about politics was to give the required support to whatever government is providing the current rule over the country where you live. Well, that’s a lot different than the blasts that come from both sides of the political aisle today, isn’t it.

Jesus helped the beggars, the prostitutes, the widows, the outcasts. Jesus went into the places no one else would go. Mother Theresa would be our modern day example. A nun who poured her life into the lives of others with no regard for her own. I encourage you to read the story of her life, particularly the years before she made all the headlines. Read why she became so widely known in the first place. It was her quiet sacrifice to those who could not fend for themselves. And she did it over and over and over, never expecting anything. She did it because she loved God and loved people.

Jesus didn’t care about the color of skin or the nationality of the receiver. We get so hung up on my rights and my poverty and my lack and my… We can all complain if we really look hard enough. But our complaining about our personal plight doesn’t do much for us. While we’ve been harping about how unfair life is, China has quietly taken over the largest number of billionaires in the world by about 50% according to a recent CEOWorld Report. With 819 billionaires in China, the United States came in a distant second with 579. There are 36 million millionaires in the world today. And that group of the 1% of the wealthiest people in the world hold half of the world’s wealth.

Does that make you angry? The deep question I have is why? It really is only money and money cannot make you happy. I expect if you could truly find a scale of life contentment and happiness, the lower 50% of the world’s population would rank higher than the upper 50%. That might sound crazy to most people in this country and in most societies where money is the driving factor in life. But when Jesus came, he turned the world upside down.

Jesus didn’t strive to be poor. He didn’t purposely strike out to abandon all material possessions. I don’t think he did. I think he provided for his mother and made sure she was taken care of after his earthly father died. In his day, age 30 was when a man was thought to have reached the age of maturity and could share wisdom as a teacher and leader. But I think he started on his journey away from Nazareth at the age of 30 partly because he worked to set aside enough to make sure Mary was taken care of after he was gone. He wanted to make sure she was not part of the troop of widows and orphans that turned to thievery or selling their bodies in order to survive.

No, Jesus didn’t think about money the same way we do. He knew we needed funds to do certain things because we live in this corrupt world, but he also knew that relationships are far more valuable than money. He knew that our intimacy with God is much more precious than any treasure here. Think about how ridiculous we are about some of that treasure. Diamonds are just pretty rocks thrown out of volcanoes from the past. Gold is a pretty metal that we wear around our necks or fingers. We’ve learned in the last half century to use them in different ways because of their physical properties, but that’s only been in the last 50 to 100 years we’ve made those discoveries. For millennia before that, it was just pretty stuff. Sometimes, we’re just crazy! But because of our selfishness, we think, “If I give it to you, then I won’t have it.” And therein lies the problem - our selfishness.

We hear about the disparities, the violence, the unfair things that happen in the world around us and it stirs our emotions. We sometimes become victims to those unfair practices and bite our tongues and recite WWJD, WWJD, WWJD. What would Jesus do? A nice mantra a few years ago reminding us that Jesus said, “Do unto others what you would have them do to you.”

But I think we get that wrong. Jesus didn’t think vengeance. He didn’t think about the cruelty of the world against him. Jesus loved. What would Jesus do? He would reach out his hand and help the one who beat him, pick up the club and put it back in the back of the pick up. What would Jesus do? He would encourage the billionaire to continue to be the very best entrepreneur he possibly could because it might mean he would build another building where one of those people begging bread could find a job sweeping the floor or taking out the trash at minimum wage instead of going to bed hungry. And he would talk to the beggar with the same loving spirit as he talked to the billionaire. In fact, if the billionaire met him at Starbucks, he’d probably have a couple of those down-and-outers at the table to introduce them to his friend.

“Do unto others, what you would want them to do to you,” he said. That doesn’t mean refrain from punching them in the nose when someone has hurt you. Although, it does include that. I think Jesus is saying to us, “Would you like someone to sit down and listen to you over a cup of coffee? Then don’t ask, go find someone that looks like they need someone to just listen and take them for a cup of coffee and listen. No advice. No, “I told you so.” No, demeaning or shocking looks. Just listen. It’s surprising how many people actually know the answer to their problems, they just need to tell themselves out loud and then follow their own advice. And once you’ve listened, then let the Holy Spirit guide you. Let him give you the words you need to say or the actions you need to take. Do what you want someone else to do for you. It’s the Nike commercial. They only took the second half, though. Just do it, but for someone else.

You want people to know you follow Jesus? What is a questionable life? Living out loud the love of God into the lives of the people around you. So go and be Jesus to those who need to see him in the world today.  

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.

I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.

I just finished reading a captivating novel entitled “Dark Star: Confessions of a Rock Idol” by Creston Mapes. Some will think one of the two characters unrealistic as she spends over ten years praying for the salvation of this extreme figure trying to move people away from the reality of heaven and hell. But if you think praying for someone’s salvation for that long isn’t real, how long do you think you were on someone’s heart before you yielded to Christ? Or how long have you been praying for a friend or loved one to finally realize the answer they are seeking is in Jesus?

Today’s scripture reminds me of the book. It comes from some of the last words spoken by Jesus to his disciples. John records some of those last words at that last meal. In the gospel by his name, in chapter 13 we read these words:

13:33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come. 'I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Just love each other.  More than tolerate. More than be nice. More than do to others what you would want them to do to you. Jesus says to love each other. So what does that mean for us today?

We live in a world that has taken the word and hijacked it like it has so many other words in our vocabulary. Here are a few notable examples from a Huffpost article.

1) “Hook up,” said Gena Lovins Fausel. “Hook up” used to mean getting some kind of device or service or appliance up and running, i.e. “hook up cable television.” Today, it also means “hooking up” with someone to have sex or just “hooking up” with someone as in meeting up.

2) “Fantastic” meant “existing only in one’s imagination” centuries ago. Today, it means something is really incredible.

3) “Bad,” said Nancye Hernsmith. “Bad” used to describe someone who’d done something wrong or something that was poor in quality. Today, it also means “good” or “great” when used as slang. (And “breaking bad” means to challenge conventions and defy authority.)

4) “Gay,” said Anna Cornwall. “Gay” used to mean merry or happy, i.e. “don we now our gay apparel.” Today, it is usually associated with being homosexual as in “gay marriage.”

5) “Sick... now is a good thing,” said Angel Matuszak Novie. “Sick” used to mean ill. Today, it also means something is really amazing.

6) “Backlog” meant the biggest log in the fire during colonial times. Today, it means a reserve or a pile of work you still need to plow through.

7) “Rubbers used to be slip-on boots that covered shoes,” said Alexa Robbin. “Rubbers” also used to be erasers (and still mean erasers in Britain). Today, it’s most often slang for condoms.

8) “Years ago, ‘thongs’ were another word for flip-flops. Nowadays, thongs are underwear!,” wrote Linda Hervas.

9) “Tool” used to mean something you dug up the garden with. Today, it also means someone who’s not intelligent enough to realize they are being used or taken advantage of.

10) “‘Message me!’ wouldn’t have made sense a few years ago... like ‘Letter me’?” wrote Amy Richards.

11) “Cell used to mean jail! Or a tiny part of your body...” said Amy Richards. Today, of course, it’s also what you call your phone.

12) “Awful” used to mean something that inspired awe. Today, it means something is bad or that someone looks terrible. It also means exceedingly great as in “an awful lot of money.”  

So today, when we think of love, we think of the actions behind closed doors that make movies R-rated and cause so much pain to individuals and families when we exercise the physical acts beyond the boundaries of marriage as described by God’s design. The Greeks, with their deep philosophical discussions, divided love, the single word we use for such a broad band of emotions, into four different categories. Jesus uses the deepest form, here. “Agape,” God’s love. Love that gives and gives with only the best in mind for the recipient of that love expecting nothing in return for that outpouring.

We don’t see much of that in our society. We are much too selfish to give expecting nothing. We want something back in return. We give with the attitude, “What’s in it for me?” We often say we don’t want anything back, but often we will give for the pleasure it brings, or the reward we think we will get in heaven in return for the acts we perform. We have to get beyond even that to express agape, God’s love.

Give without even hoping for that good feeling that comes with giving. Give expecting only heartache in return. Give knowing that it comes from a heart that wants the very best for the recipient. God’s love. The kind of love that allow us to nail him to a cross and watch him die the most agonizing death imaginable.

How do we do that? I’m not sure I’m totally there if I’m honest with you. I try to love with God’s love, but to be honest, there are people I don’t like. It has nothing to do with race or color or nationality or even religion or ideology most of the time. I realize we grow up believing what surrounds us. We learn from parents and friends and neighbors. We believe what made those near us successful or what made them failures.

God performs an incredible miracle changing our hearts in the middle of this evil cesspool of life we experience every day. And the influence it has keeps trying to suck us back under its currents. The currents get stronger every day. As I watch what has happened through the years with entertainment, schools, government, even churches, I find tolerance for pure evil grows exponentially, not arithmetically.  The Christian walk is hard, even after almost 60 years. And it is getting harder.

The world would have you believe God is not real or there are many ways to make it to heaven, paradise, naravana, whatever place you want to call the afterlife, if there is one, they say. But God hasn’t changed. He is the creator of all things including time and including the word that tells us there is only one way to reach him. What does that mean for the millions who have not heard about Jesus? I don’t know. I’m not God. I don’t know how his grace and mercy covers the uninformed.

I do believe those who know about Jesus, but have rejected him will face the consequences of their choice. It’s like the doctor telling me I can live if I take the medicine that’s in the bottle he gives me. It’s there sitting on the table. It’s the one thing that will let me live. I know what it can do. I know it is available. I can see those little white pills. But unless I open the lid, tap one of those pills into my hand each day and swallow it down. I will die.

Salvation is like that to those who have been told. The message is there. It’s on the table. It’s waiting for you to take off the lid and swallow it down. But until you do, that gift just sits on the table and does nothing for you. You can stare at it all day long. You can wish it would heal you. You can hope you don’t face the consequences of not taking the medicine. You still gain nothing until you accept the gift and follow those simple instructions.  Believe it. Accept it. Follow him.

When he lives inside us. We can see others differently. We can begin to see them through the lens of God’s eyes and recognize what they can become with his help. We can see they can be a child of God. Accepted into his family just as we were accepted into his family. We can find a way to love them when they seemed so unloveable before. We can share our testimony of the change God made in us by the resurrection power of his spirit living in us. Are we perfect? By no means. The Christian life is hard. Satan tries his best to defeat us in any way possible. But God in us is greater than he is. When we rely on his strength and not ours, we can stand. We can love. We can share. We can be Jesus to those around us.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.