It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I'm back in the States and have been working on transitioning back into things here and getting ready to serve on campus at the UW. It's been a relatively smooth transition in most ways but it's been really easy to be lazy in my relationship with the Lord. I'll spare you all the details and reasons why I think that's the case.
Support raising for this coming year has also been very difficult. I still have $18,000 or so to raise by...August 11th. Yikes! It's been very difficult to trust the Lord for that in this season but at the same time, I'm seeing glimpses of how God wants to use this in my life if I'm willing to let Him. Again, I won't go into all the details of that right now, but let's just say that even though things are slow, the Lord has still more than provided for my every need, something that I don't take for granted in this economy.
I just started reading through Acts and came to the passage in 2:42-47 that people love to go to in order to set the building blocks for their church or movement. They "devoted themselves to teaching," ate together, prayed together, "gave to anyone as he had need," and "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Most of the time that I've heard someone speak on this passage or read it myself, it's been in the context of, "If we do this, our ministry will succeed." Well maybe not exactly like that, because we can't put God into a formula, right? But that's usually how it comes across.
But what stood out to me after reading through it this time was the verse immediately preceding it.
"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." -Acts 2:41
While it's true that God continues to add to their number as they meet together, pray together, and do all of those things, it seems as though He was already "adding to their number" (originally a group of about 120 people, Acts 1:15) before this large community of believers ever started doing anything together.
I should point out that I'm not trying to say that they weren't praying or doing these things before Peter's first Gospel message that 3000 people responded to, in fact it even says in Acts 1 that the disciples met together and prayed constantly.
What I AM trying to point out is that long before this large community started doing all of these other things and attracting people to themselves and to the Gospel that they had just committed themselves to, God, in His power, sovereignty and grace was already doing the heavy lifting.
The love that this community had for each other that manifested itself in praying together, learning together, sharing with one another, and that attracted so many people to the Lord was an act of worship that resulted from seeing how big, and powerful, and mighty to save is the God that they had just dedicated their lives to, not a strategic plan that they came up with on their own in an effort to get God to respond to a formula. They could have easily done all of those same things mindlessly, but without a mighty God and a people who believe Him to be so, nothing would have ever happened.
Now flip back to Exodus 32:27-28 because THIS is cool. (Not what happens in these verses...you'll see.)
What's happening here is that the Israelites have just disobeyed God by setting up the golden calf and 3000 people in the camp are put to death because of their sin.
Does that number look familiar? 3000?
The number of people that were lost at Mt. Sinai is the EXACT same number that were saved in Acts 2 after Peter's first recorded message.
Let's remember that the 3000 that were saved in Acts were Jews that Peter himself blames for crucifying Jesus. One might think that these people should have been put to death instead of being saved, but that didn't happen.
Instead, God "saves" them, as if to say, "Yeah, I know you deserve death just like those Israelites deserved death and got it. You are murderers and hypocrites and have been far from me. But to prove that I am just, that I am good, and that my plans will be carried out regardless of your actions, from now on, those who come to me and ask for forgiveness through Christ will be shown mercy, love, and grace and I will welcome you into my family."
Dang.
I think it was C.S. Lewis who said something to the effect of "the only thing that we as humans add to God's plan for redemption is our sin."
That's humbling.
And if I don't have any control over my own salvation, how in the world is my ability to raise support even remotely in my control? Or my ability to find a job next year? Or my ability to teach and lead students toward a closer relationship with the Lord?
Luckily, I serve a God who is GOOD and who is in control and lets nothing disrupt His plans. I need only to remind myself of that.
-CK
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