Do people know you have been with Jesus?

Yes.  It has been a minute since I last wrote.  Life has been a bit crazy over these last couple of weeks. As shared in the past, I am going through the bible with a group of guys and this week we are in Acts.  I came across a couple verses that I am not sure I had noticed before. 
Acts 4:13,20 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus….“ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
It raised the question in me, “Do others in my life, notice I have been with Jesus? When I see things going on that are wrong do I speak up or take action in some way? 

I then remembered the last few verses in Psalm 30:10-12

Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

When I cry out does my wailing turn into dancing?  When I am lifted up out of discouragement or adversity, Do people hear me sing His praises or do I remain silent?

From these verses came two conversations this week.  
1) How do I practically apply these lessons as it relates to the folks asking for money on the street corners?  Honestly, I am at a loss as to what is the right thing to do but friends challenged me with the passage in Matthew 7-“Judge not, that ye be not judged.² For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.³ And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 

My not doing anything is in fact, me being silent.  One of the guys knew their names.  Another gave money to someone even when the individual shared after getting the money, “you know I am going to buy alcohol with it.”  I realized it wasn’t what the other person was going to do, it was me doing something to show that person I cared.  
2) A young woman I know shared with Dottie and me how she had left a job because kids were being demeaned and bullied by the person heading up the organization. Without words, her leaving communicated that she would not allow herself to be part of what was a destructive environment.  More of us need to have the courage to stand up and speak up for what we believe is right versus allowing things to remain the same because of our unwillingness to intervene in whatever way we can.   
And finally, a women was challenged to read the New Testament in 89 days. She wasn’t sure she had the time. A friend of hers who wasn’t a person of faith spoke up and said, I”I am going to do it, can i count on you to do it too” Needless to day the woman has now accepted the challenge. What if the friend had remained silent?

A regular contributor to my blog, Oswald Chambers 🙂 https://www.thespiritlife.net/facets/nurturing/75-process/process-reflection/1938-october-2-devotional-oswald-chambers reminds us we have get off of the mountain top so that we can take what we learned down into the valley. We are called to serve in the day to day and mundane places of our lives. That is where we can truly make a difference. I hope I have challenged you in some way to speak up and/or do acts of service to those paths God has you cross. I would love to hear how this blog has encouraged you. I hope it will spur you on to love and provide good works. https://www.biblehub.com/hebrews/10-24.htm You can reach by email at [email protected]