Anyways... in other news... my legs hurt. Because of dance. Of course. Stairs are difficult to do... but I can do it with a little moaning and groaning.
School was good. I don't remember (off the top of my head) what we learned in Spanish...
I got a lot done in study hall. Which can always be iffy. But I got stuff done. YAY! Then it was lunch time... then I got to sit in on Mom's class and do my Lit homework... Cleaned up Mom's room (tables back into the closet, chairs in their places for Sunday) and went to the library and bank... then home. Listened to Dave Ramsey for a long time :) He's awesome!
Not a whole lot has happened today... I talked to Katie for like, 5 minutes. I think she's calling right now. Yup! Mom's talking to her now.
Alpha was tonight... I love it there. I really like the guy who is on the video. He's funny. And has a great British accent. (Kind of like Philip's... but Philip's is fake. And he talks like that because he wants to. And it's funny because his mom is normal... but he is sooo strange. haha)
And our group is super eclectic. The student, an engineer, a couple of home makers, a retired engineer, a musician who originally is from Denmark, a social worker, a security guy who wants to be a police officer who is the group's theologian, a stone worker, a gal who works at a gun shop, a stay at home mom (I think), a cancer researcher, and a gal who works for First Energy.
I love it. I love it SO MUCH. They're awesome.
I talked to Anna Jam for a while tonight. She sent me the best message ever. I think it's going to be permanently "unread" so I can make it read and then make in "unread" again. So I read it every day. It's that good. God sends the thing you need to hear right when you need to hear it. And tonight was that night. I love that girl so much&am so thankful that we clicked at LT :) I hope I get to see her IRL soon!
And on a completely different note, I just walked down the stairs and thought there was another stair. Guess who almost slid into the front door? You guessed right! ME! =P
And I guess I'll finish Acts now?
Acts 28:17-30
17Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: "My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain."
This is interesting. Paul gets all the Jewish leaders together and talks to them. He tells them how he was arrested and tried and how they wanted to release him and then how the Jews protested and how Paul appealed to Caesar, not that he needed to. But he wanted to talk to the leaders about the hope that he had. The hope that lead him to be bound in chains.
I pray that I'm fervent enough with my faith that I feel compelled to tell everyone I meet. Every person I come into contact with about the hope that I have.
Hope-v. archaic To place trust in; rely
Expectancy and longing are the suggested synonyms.
The thing I place my trust in. The thing I long for.
I feel like God is speaking volumes to me tonight. It's amazing. (and this is only the first 4 verses! Whew!)
21They replied, "We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."
They hadn't really heard anything about him... none of the brothers in Judea had heard anything bad about him. But they still wanted to hear what he had to say because people everywhere were talking about "this sect."
Little did they know that that sect would be one of the biggest things in the world...
23They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
They set a date for Paul to tell them what this was all about. And a ton of people came. And from morning till evening he told them and declared to them the Kingdom of God. He told them about Jesus. He told them about how Jesus is the person that Moses&the Prophets talked about.
Some of them were convinced and believed, others were not convinced.
25They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:
26" 'Go to this people and say,
"You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."
27For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'
26" 'Go to this people and say,
"You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."
27For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'
28"Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"
They disagreed about what Paul said. WOW. That's uh... not surprising. But Paul quoted one of the Prophets (Isaiah) who was extremely well known to the Jews. They would've known their old testament. And to apply something to them was totally new.
The idea that they would see constantly but never actually perceiving. Hearing but never understanding. It makes you wonder how many times we've seen things that are from God and that are ordained by God that we never actually see or understand...
Isaiah said that the people had become calloused. They had been rubbed so much that it became hard. They barely listened with their ears and saw with their eyes. If they had seen and heard and had turned their hearts to God he would heal them.
We're hurting. But we've become so calloused and hardened that we don't want to turn to God for help. But if we would just soften our hearts for a second we would see and hear all that God has for us and he will heal us.
God's salvation was sent to the Gentiles because they will listen.
30For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul stayed in his rented house for two years and welcomed everyone who came to him. He told everyone, boldly and without hinderance, the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus.
Amazing.
I just learned a lot. I think a lot of what I just typed was speaking to myself... if it helps someone else, that's fantastic.
I'm going to go to bed... and I'm going to be praying like crazy. Prayer is something that is too often overlooked in my life.
This is what I'm singing as I go to bed tonight...
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