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Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

March 13, 2015

10 Minutes with God: Necessary Endings

alarm_clock_leftThis is my last week to write the devotions for my church about the book of Acts. (See this post, this post, and this post for previous devos.) You can listen to it as a podcast here.)

***

When we think about an earthquake, we tend to think about this geological phenomenon from the outside: the amount of shaking it results in, the buildings it tears down, the deaths and damage it causes, the havoc it wreaks. But there’s another side of the story too: what’s happening under the surface of the ground.

Geologically speaking, an earthquake occurs when there is a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. Although we’re unaware of it, the earth is constantly pulsing as the crust is being recycled. Some experts refer to these regular blows—which amount to hundreds a day—as the planet’s heartbeat.

When the pent-up energy within the earth becomes too great, the tectonic plates, which have been storing up elastic energy, release it in a large burst. When this happens, there is a rupture in the fault lines—an earthquake. As destructive as this process can be, the shift is actually necessary to keep supporting human life as we know it on this earth. The earth has to shift in order to remain stable and relieve pressure.

When it comes to human relationships, there are times when seismic shifts are necessary as well. The fallout can be painful at times, but God can use these relational earthquakes to move people to where they need to be.

When Paul and Barnabas had an unresolvable conflict in Acts, it was a relational tremor that pushed them in different directions. But there were upsides to this split. Without this division, John Mark and Silas might not have had an opportunity to rise to the occasion and use their gifts to serve God in the early church.

Silas was already a leader in the early church when Paul chose him to accompany him on his second mission. But when this split occurred, he was given the opportunity to speak to believers in a larger area of the known world. It was during this journey that he and Paul were imprisoned in Philippi, when an earthquake broke their chains and opened the prison door. Without the conflict between Paul and Barnabas, Silas likely would never have experienced such a miracle.

We don’t know why John Mark deserted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. But as a result of the split, Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus with him. He gave him another chance—an opportunity to restore trust and redeem what had been lost on the previous trip.

As painful as endings are in the moment, good can come out of these final chapters. In his book Necessary Endings, Henry Cloud talks about how we need to listen when God is bringing us to an ending in our lives: “In the language of Ecclesiastes, are there situations in business or in life where you are trying to birth things that should be dying? Trying to heal something that should be killed off? Laughing at something that you should be weeping about? Embracing something (or someone) you should shun? Searching for an answer for something when it is time to give up? Continuing to try to love something or someone when it is time to talk about what you hate?”

It’s hard to say good-bye to people or things. But there are some things God intends to give us for a season, and we need the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to show us when that season is over. Henry Cloud goes on to say, “Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.”

2 Comments Filed Under: Scripture Reflections Tagged With: Acts, devotional, Henry Cloud, Necessary Endings, Scripture
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March 3, 2015

10 Minutes with God: The Joy of Inclusion

alarm_clock_leftI’m excited to be writing the devotions for my church again this week! (See this post and this post for previous devos.) My favorite musician (aka Daniel Rische) wrote the musical intro and outro again this week. You can listen to the audio version here.)

This week I’m writing about Acts 15 and how our differences can bring us together.

***

When my husband, Daniel, and I were first dating, one of the characteristics about him that stood out to me immediately was the way he included other people. It’s as if he has a constant radar up for those around him who are on the fringes, who feel left out, who don’t quite fit in. He has a knack not just for acknowledging these individuals or showing kindness to them but also for integrating them with the rest of the group. With these gifts, it’s no wonder he has devoted his life to working with individuals with special needs—and no wonder that in some groups he’s known by the nickname “The Includer.”

Over the years, as I’ve witnessed Daniel interacting with people the rest of the world might shun or ignore, the thing that strikes me most is that while Daniel treats these individuals with compassion, he doesn’t view them with pity or condescension. He includes them not because he feels sorry for them but because he feels sorry for what the rest of us would miss out on if we were deprived of these individuals’ unique contributions.

He knows that every person has a role to play in creating a healthy community, and we can only be the unified body God created us to be when members of all backgrounds, abilities, and gifts are represented.

When the early church found themselves at a crossroads in terms of the Gentile question—could non-Jews be accepted as followers of Christ just as they were?—they faced a dilemma about what the membership dues would be to enter the church. To be part of the “in” group, would people have to show a proper pedigree, have the right external markings, and have the right background, the right kind of family, the right nationality?

After some discussion among the church leaders, and after they sought wisdom from the Holy Spirit, here was the decision they came to: that the Gentile believers should not be burdened with additional requirements (Acts 15:28).

The early church came to the same conclusion Daniel has come to, both in his job with special-needs students and in life: that much joy can be found in inclusion. When we bring together people who are different from one another, we experience a deeper, richer unity than we could experience from a group of people who are exactly alike.

What types of people might not feel welcome in our church (or in the church as a whole) if they walked in on a Sunday morning? What’s one way you could include someone who’s different from you and make that person feel welcome?

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Scripture Reflections Tagged With: Acts, book of Acts, church, community, devotions, inclusion, special needs
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February 24, 2015

10 Minutes with God

alarm_clock_left

I’m excited to be writing the devotions for my church again this week! (See this post for last week’s devos.) My favorite musician (aka Daniel Rische) wrote a new musical interlude for this week, and if you want to check it out, you can listen to the audio version here.)

This week I’m writing about Acts 14 and how success can bring opposition.

***

We had just finished eating lunch with a pastor from a country in Southeast Asia. He had come to the States for a few weeks to give an update on the small but vibrant church that met in the basement of his home. In his country, it was illegal to convert from another religion to Christianity, and he and his fellow church members had faced the kind of persecution that seems unimaginable to most of us in the West. One member of their congregation had lost his job due to religious discrimination. One woman had been disowned by her family. Another man had been thrown into jail without cause.

When he had finished giving us the update about his church, one of my friends asked, “Pastor, how can we pray for you?”

The room was filled with palpable silence as we awaited his answer. Would he ask us to pray for religious freedom in his country or an overthrow of the current government? Would he request safety and physical protection for his family? Would he ask for financial provision for his church? Would he ask for the means to move to a safer place?

“Actually,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “my church prays for you.”

“For us?” We were incredulous.

“Yes, for the church in America.”

No one could formulate a response. We just stared at him.

“We are worried for you in America,” he said. “You are so comfortable here. If you do not face trials because of Jesus, how will your faith be proven true? How will you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?”

Here I’d been wondering how his faith could stand up under so many trials, and he was wondering how my faith could stand up without them. Clearly I had a lot to learn about suffering for Jesus.

Reading the accounts of the early church in the book of Acts can feel like a cross-cultural experience for us—it turns our preconceived notions about faith upside down. As Western Christians, it’s easy to think that if we’re facing opposition, we must be doing something wrong. If we are criticized, we wonder if it’s time to throw in the towel. If we run into conflict, we decide maybe this wasn’t God’s will. If we feel the pangs of doubt and discouragement, we figure this must not have been our calling after all.

But the book of Acts lets us in on a secret American culture will never tell us: success doesn’t automatically lead to smooth sailing. In fact, sometimes success leads to opposition.

When Paul and Barnabas embarked on their missionary journey, the very fact that people were listening and responding to the message of the gospel was what got them in trouble. If they’d just been coasting along, not making waves, the Jewish leaders no doubt would have left them alone. It was only because God was at work through them that they found their lives in danger: “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” (Acts 14:1-2).

As difficult as this opposition was, there were some unexpected upsides to this time of hardship: it deepened their reliance on God and solidified their relationship with other, giving them an even more unified bond in Christ.

The same is true for us. For all that opposition is uncomfortable and frightening, it unites with the God who can protect us in the midst of trials and with our brothers and sisters, who walk through it with us.

5 Comments Filed Under: Scripture Reflections Tagged With: 10 minutes with God, Acts, Bible, book of Acts, devotions, FBCG, trials
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