torn

 

Do you ever feel pulled in different directions?  I feel like my heart is being torn between three places!  I loved being in Clarkston and ministry and community came very naturally.  I’m missing the people we poured into and who poured into us!  While missing them, I’m also really enjoying being in Bainbridge and love this community.  I’ve found myself at the coffee shop a number of Saturdays (I’m sitting at the Bean drafting this in fact) and at times it feels as though we never left.  If those weren’t enough of a pull, my heart is also ready for Lebanon.  I’m excited to go and to share and see how God uses us there!  

 

I wonder if the disciples felt the same way.  

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(Act 1:8 NIV)

The disciples were from Judea.  It was home to them.  They knew the people and were familiar with the local customs.  You didn’t have to explain yourself because everyone knew your whole family.  It was the type of place where the people around you had seen you grow up.  The disciples could witness to the people who had seen the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  It can be a blessing and a curse.  People may easily see the change, but they may have a harder time believing or trusting it.  Memories in Judea go back, way back.  

 

Jerusalem wasn’t a foreign city to them, but it was an international city.  It was a place of influence where people came and went.  The gospel could spread as people came and heard the good news and returned home telling family and friends about the events that took place in this Holy City.  Being near the Temple must have brought a mix of awe and reverence, but also complacency.  

 

Samaria was across the tracks.  It was close enough to reach out and minister and then go home to life as normal.  The people living there may have been similar, but the similarities made the differences stand out all the more.  

 

And then there was the ends of the earth.  To the people that were truly foreign in every sense of the way.  Customs, culture, language, food, religion.  Those were the places that you packed up for and your goodbyes were possibly final (though we do see from Paul’s letters that he was able to return to some locations).  

 

They were expected to witness in each of those places.  

 

We’ve had a lot of people tell us they’re glad we’re the ones going, because they want the gospel shared and preached to the ends of the earth, but for one reason or another they can’t leave Judea.  I understand.  I wasn’t expecting to leave Judea either.  But sometimes Judea needs just as many witnesses too.  

 

I’ve seen a lot of brokenness here.  

 

I’ve also seen the power of the Holy Spirit here.  

 

We can’t be witnesses without it!  

 

God doesn’t call everyone to go globally, but He does call us to be witnesses everywhere He calls us.  You can be sure that wherever He has called you, He’s also empowered you!  That may be staying where you are or it may be completely changing the direction your life is heading and go.  

 

I have loved seeing God at work in Bainbridge, in Clarkston and am looking forward to seeing God at work in Lebanon!  Each brings it’s own challenges, but it is also so rewarding walking in obedience!  The biggest comfort though is knowing we will witness with the power of the Holy Spirit!  

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