(Image: Katie Hutzel Smith, theater production of Godspell, Gateway Dallas)
“Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Or do you not recognize yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unapproved?” (2 Cor. 13:5, Berean Literal Bible)
Not all of you are musicians, actors or professional speakers, but as a Christian, you are always on stage. You don’t have to step out from behind the curtain to be in front of an audience. Whether you like it or not, you are already there, and people are always judging you and evaluating Jesus Christ as they see him in you. Therefore, examine yourselves to see if your faith which you profess is genuine.
Do you ask yourself if you are careless with the truth?
Do you teach one thing and live another?
Are you prone to breaking promises?
Are you more eager to talk about Christ than to live for Him?
Are you following Christ’s example?
Your performance may not always be warmly accepted or received with applause from your peers, but “if you are living what you profess to believe, if Jesus Christ is filling your life with His presence and power, you will not only honor your blessed Lord but also gain the kind of respect that is eminently worth having.”[1]
A performance worthy of applause requires that day in and day out, Jesus Christ is lived with you and within you.
Copyright 2017 by Bill Hutzel
JOIN INSPIRATION AND HOPE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE
(By: Cheryl Newland) I had a God-incidence that left quite an impression on me. I was making dinner for my husband. At the time we lived in a second-floor apartment of a nice older home with a large front porch. It was a lovely summer evening, and I decided to sit on the porch awhile waiting for him to arrive from work and left my dinner baking in the oven.
A little elderly lady was walking by, and we spoke. I invited her to sit with me on the porch as she looked rather tired. She did and as we talked she commented several times on how wonderful my dinner smelled. Her name was Mary, and I began to think that Mary must be awfully hungry, so I asked her to stay for dinner, all the while wondering what my husband would think about a stranger being in our home.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind!
After dinner, Mary helped me clear the dishes and kept commenting on all my nice left overs. I got the hint so I asked her if she would like to take some home. She said yes so I packed them into a large plastic container and Mary left.
I was curious about Mary since all she had said was she lived nearby. I asked many people in the neighborhood, and no one had ever seen her. I continued to search for Mary but had no luck.
One day several weeks later, I came home to find my container washed and on my front porch. Again, no one had seen Mary.
In Hebrews 13:2 the Lord says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” I believe I was able to entertain an angel that night!
Copyright 2017
JOIN INSPIRATION AND HOPE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE
As I peered out from behind the stage curtain, I saw that the War Memorial Performance Hall in Trenton, New Jersey, with its nearly two-thousand-seat capacity, was completely filled. On stage, numerous keynote speakers were already seated, waiting for the event to begin. I had been asked to speak on behalf of Chi Alpha and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship campus ministries while a student in college.
Over the years, however, I have learned a lot about overcoming nerves as I gained confidence as a player, but in this instance, my stage fright was directly proportional to my lack of speaking skills, and I was just plain old SCARED. I guess I felt as Moses had when he pleaded with the Lord to excuse him from his calling. “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled” (Exodus 4, verse 10).
As I anxiously awaited behind the stage curtain, my knees practically knocking, I was approached by someone backstage.
“Would you pray for me?” he asked. I didn’t need to ask what he needed prayer for, as one of his eyes was severely swollen and shut tight. He explained that he had been stung by a bee. As I prayed for him, I was amazed to see the swelling around his eye completely vanish.
PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU
I was now pumped and couldn’t wait to step onto the stage. You see, I had never witnessed God’s healing power in such a direct and undeniable way before. The awe of witnessing this miracle was overwhelming, and in that instant, the fear of presenting in front of a large audience completely disappeared.
As I stepped out from behind the curtain onto the stage, I felt a surge of energy go through me and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I was jumping within and, at the same time, completely at peace. As I began to speak, I detoured from my planned presentation by telling the audience about God’s miraculous healing that had just taken place backstage.
My excitement was contagious. The audience rose to their feet, arms outstretched, cheering and clapping. In that moment, I almost forgot why I was there to speak in the first place. I was so caught up in sharing the story of how this person had approached me and was healed that I just kept going on and on about it. Finally, one of the keynote speakers caught my eye, tapping his wrist as if to signal, “It’s time to move on with your presentation.”
I don’t believe that this incident was coincidental. Instead, I believe it was orchestrated. Such orchestration you may have heard referred to as a God thing, a God wink, a touch from heaven, or God-incidence.
In hindsight, I realized I never saw the stranger again. Where did he come from? What was he doing backstage? Why was he not in the audience? Could he have been an angel? Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
There are many examples in the Bible where God sent an angel to deliver a message, to protect, or to serve someone in need. In that moment, I was the person in need. I believe that on this occasion; God sent an angel to minister to me in my distress, freeing me from the fear of speaking in front of a large audience.
JOIN INSPIRATION AND HOPE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” (Matthew 8:26)
Excerpts herein are from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest for August 12, The Theology of Rest.
“When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God.” Even though God expects us to come to him in confidence when we pray, “our trust is in God only up to a certain point, and then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him … He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.”
We can relate to Jesus’ disciples also to whom he said “O ye of little faith!”. “What a pang must have shot through the disciples – ‘Missed it again!’”
When there are no storms or crises in my life, I can be on top of the world, but when disappointments or crises come, I must consciously keep my focus on Christ so that I remain steadfast in Him. Otherwise, I succumb to my storms and sink below the waves.
Have you ever ridden a wave? I’ve never surfed, but I’ve watched surfers mount their surfboards and ride the wave. If they are experienced, they will ride the wave all the way into shore; if they are just learning to ride the wave, they will often fall, get back up and try again. Such is the Christian life.
God’s promises are like the crest of the wave. When I trust in God and believe in His promises, God makes it possible for me to stay atop the biggest waves, even though there is a powerhouse of energy under me that can pull me down. In Isaiah 43:2-3 it says “When you go through the sea, I’ll be there with you … for I am the Lord your God.”
Oswald Chambers also stated that “If we have been learning to worship God and to trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.” So as a surfer stays tethered to his surfboard at the ankle by a cord so that he does not lose sight of his surfboard, a Christian’s stays tethered by a combination of things so that he does not lose sight of God.
Well, you ask – how can I do that in an awful situation? Here are some points to apply to your life when you incessantly worry about a bad situation, or you can’t fall asleep at night.
Force yourself to think about God instead of your situation. “Whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
Fellowship with other believers.
Rejoice always in the Lord (Philippians 4:4)
It’s a battle for your will, but if you force yourself to change how you think about things (Philippians 4:9), “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
Copyright 2017 by Bill Hutzel
JOIN INSPIRATION AND HOPE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE
Do you let your words of doom and failure defeat you in life? Your words, then, do not agree with God.
This may be a challenge to your old self, but it is also a choice to not speak them. Speak only the end result of what you desire. Don’t counteract that which you declare in faith. Speak as if every word you say will come to pass.
You can do this by filling your heart and mouth with faith, by daily voicing God’s Word in the Bible. Let your mind be renewed by the Word of God. Forbid thoughts of failure and defeat.
“You were taught to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23)
Copyright 2017 by Bill Hutzel
JOIN INSPIRATION AND HOPE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE
