Intro
Storytellers have been a part of this world for a long
time. The great storytellers have a
knack for drawing us as the audience into their tale and transporting us to
places we might only see in our dreams.
As they weave their words or crate their images for us to see, we as the
audience get to make our own conclusions about what they show us. Some cultures used stories to transfer
traditions down the line to the next generation and even in school as students
we hear stories about the past to learn about the history of our world. God’s story is written in his book the bible
and it teaches us that his word is alive and powerful.
12For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper
than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between
joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (Hebrews 4:12,
NLT)
The LORD has put on my heart to share some of the great God
stories that our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have had in their
life. These stories are true, coming
from real people just like you and me…
Protection
Our first story comes from something I heard on a Christian
radio station. The disc jockey had asked
if there ever was a time in your life where you felt God’s protection. The female caller told a great story about
how when she was a little girl, she loved to jump on beds and did it all the
time with her friends and siblings. She
had so much fun bouncing from here to there.
Then one day, while she was jumping on her bed, she accidentally tripped
and fell backwards. She described this
moment as if time was starting to stand still.
I imagine the feeling of fear started to wrap its fingers around her as
she was barreling down toward the ground below.
Then, out of nowhere, she actually felt something begin to slow her
descent. Almost as if God himself had
reached down from heaven to slow her fall.
She landed mere feet from the AC unit of her house and the emergency
crews that found her said it was a miracle she didn’t hit it.
What an incredible example of God making a direct impact on someone’s
life. It shows us that God still
performs miracles in the world even today.
1The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be
afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I
tremble? (Psalms 27:1, NLT)
A Great Example for Others
The next story stars a husband and wife. As so many times in life these days, their
marriage was shattered by adultery. The
husband had cheated on his wife.
Everyone in her life, the world and even the bible told her she was
right in divorcing her husband and severing her ties with him for the wrong
that he had committed. However, after
praying to God about it, she felt compelled to fight on and forgive him. He showed with his own actions repentance in
turning from his sin and recommitting to her to win back her trust. She said the road was hard, but through it
all God has surprisingly given her peace where once there was so much heart
ache. For her husband, forgiveness has
brought him to leadership in their local church and now both of them are
heading up their churches marriage ministry.
Sometimes God uses our trials and hardships as examples for
others to bring us closer to Him. Even
though we may feel lost at sea in the storms that come in life, by taking responsibility
for our sinful actions to the LORD and asking for forgiveness, those raging
storms of the sea that seemed so daunting before will be calmed before us.
11And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they
asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” 12“Throw me into the
sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible
storm is all my fault.” 13Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the
ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they
couldn’t make it. 14Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,”
they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us
responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your
own good reasons.” 15Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the
raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16The sailors were awestruck by the
Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. 17Now
the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside
the fish for three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:11-17, NLT).
Sacrifice & Faith
My own God story starts with my old fav’ past time of videogames. We all have hobbies, things we enjoying doing
in our spare time. Like with all things
in life, balance is important. My wife
Heidi had warned me that my videogame habit had broken through the land of
hobby and into the dark road of addiction.
She nicknamed the computer room “the black hole”, for indeed it did
steal me away from the things most important to me in life-- God & family. I used all kinds of excuses to justify my
time that I would spend in the black hole.
I spent so much time playing at night, that I would wake up tired from
only getting a few hours of sleep to take care of our two small children. In hindsight, I look back on those moments
that were wasted and wish I could get them back. Heidi would say things to me like “Are you going
to look back on your life when you are old and gray and wish you had more time
to play Diablo 3, or are you going to look back and wish you had more time to see
your children grow up?”
I began attending Bible Study on a regular basis and digging
into God’s word. As I grew closer to God
and my walk with Him, the Spirit was tugging at me to do something I would have
never thought possible mere months before--could I give up videogames forever? I tried to ignore it, but God in His mighty wisdom
would not let it go. Four days in a row
He showed me things in my life that were undeniable as signs from Him that I should
listen to what the Holy Spirit had been telling me and trust Him in giving up
my addiction.
I was sitting in my car outside my son’s preschool having
just dropped him off. The Christian
radio station was playing in the background and as I sat there I was floored at
what I heard. To most people listening, those
words would not have meant so much, but to me God was using them to speak
directly to me. It was undeniable that
The LORD was waving a big flag at me saying over here son, listen to me! I remember sitting there smiling to myself, shaking
my head as I finally let go of whatever it was that was having me hold on so
tight to videogames. I looked up to see
this incredible view of God’s glory and immediately snapped this
picture:
In hindsight God couldn’t have been more right about giving
up videogames. My life is so much fuller
and more rewarding now that I have more time to spend with Him and my family. Isn’t it funny to see how your life goes when
you listen to God?
18When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day
I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19I have done the Lord’s work
humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the
plots of the Jews. 20I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to
hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21I have had one message for Jews and
Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of
having faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:18-21, NLT).
God Gives Strength at Just the Time Needed Most
Our final story stars a Christian couple visiting a loved
one in the hospital. They came there to
visit her, to let her know that they love her and pray for her. They both grabbed her hands and they sat
there in her hospital bed and humbly prayed to the LORD. I imagine they prayed for healing, for
strength and for hope. As the couple got
up to leave the room, they heard a voice from behind the curtain, “Wow that was
great” she said. It turns out this was
one of those hospital rooms where two people shared the space. The couple walked over and pulled back the
curtain to reveal another woman in need laying there staring up at them with
hopeless eyes. She was not a believer in
Christ, but asked if they would pray for her too. The couple came over to sit beside her as she
lay there in her hospital bed and prayed.
The couple never knew if that woman was saved but how great
a story this is of sharing the good news of Jesus in the world and seeing how
God uses it to reach those that don’t know Him.
22When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness,
for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with
everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23I do everything to spread the
Good News and share in its blessings. 24Don’t you realize that in a race
everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25All
athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will
fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26So I run with purpose in every
step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27I discipline my body like an athlete,
training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to
others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:22-27, NLT.)
No comments:
Post a Comment