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  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

In need of a Friend

10/24/2015

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Picture
Acts 9:26 

Barely escaping Damascus, Saul returns to Jerusalem. 

In Jerusalem, the disciples remember his heartbreaking persecutions; they mistrust and shun him. 
The Jewish religious establishment now see him as a traitor and no longer accept him. No one trusts him. 

This is not the way to start a world changing ministry, yet, this is God’s plan.  Everything was changing. 

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  Acts 9:15 

His encounter with Jesus turned his world upside down; his theology is in shambles, his social standing is in the pit and most of all his relationships are gone. He no longer belongs in the world he knows 
Everything is radically changed.

Until recently life was so different: 

“I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”  Galatians 1:14 

Now, as God’s chosen instrument, he is alone, confused, mistrusted and shunned in a deeply hostile environment. He is no longer the golden boy of his religious community. 

But God never abandons him. He can’t; it is not His nature. 
God sends him a gift, a friend, Barnabas--the son of encouragement. 

In those moments when our life seems to fall apart, when we suddenly become strangers in a familiar world, we need someone to find us, to walk beside us without judgment, someone to comfort, encourage, console, and trust us. 

Barnabas bridges the gap between the believers and Saul, and becomes his friend. 
At any moment God may call us to be a Barnabas in someone’s life, or receive a Barnabas into our life, to restore or be restored.
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    Thinking Out Loud

    These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
    They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.


    Author

    In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.  Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

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