04-30-21

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
April 30, 2021
Scripture: Acts 21:33-36
Then the tribune came, arrested Paul, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.When Paul came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”

Thought for the Day: Have you ever had a day that did not turn out the way you had planned? Have you ever been hit with the unexpected that required a dramatic change in course? Both of those questions are rhetorical as I can only imagine each of you having multiple examples. Paul always seemed to have a plan that rarely went as planned. One moment he was preaching in a town, and the next moment he’s being chased from the town. Or, as we find in this part of Acts, he is being arrested. I like to pretend that I am one of those people who can go with the flow, and that interruptions do not bother me. In fact, the absolute opposite is true. But as Paul learned, following Jesus almost always requires adjustments to the well made plans. Cypress Creek Christian Church knows this well. And guess what? We are going to be making another slight change this Sunday and in the weeks to follow. Hopefully you already read how worship is being moved to the Forum. It is not ideal, but without notice, the company installing the flood gates placed a fence around the Centrum and started digging. I had requested a 30 day notice before they started, but it was already in place before we learned what had happened. I was upset for about three minutes, and then realized that being upset wasn’t going to change anything. And we sure didn’t want to tell them to take it down as that would only add cost to the project. So in the last few days, I have been praying every morning for God to do something unique in our move back to the Forum for a few weeks. And like Paul, we shouldn’t be surprised when God uses our changed plans for something we never would have imagined.

Prayer: Teach me to keep on keeping on even when the unexpected happens. Holy God, I do not want a change of plans to hinder my ability to see what you are doing. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

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