Sharon Norris

Elliott

In Acts 10, we read of two men whose worlds were about to intersect. Cornelius was a God-fearing Gentile, a really nice guy, but also a centurion, a leader of the Italian Regiment who was in Caesarea to control it for the Roman empire. Peter was a Jew, a Christ-follower, and the head of the Jerusalem church, the group of new believers just after the resurrection.

Both Cornelius and Peter saw visions. An angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to find a guy named Peter, send for him, and listen to what he has to say. Cornelius obeyed immediately. Peter saw a vision of a sheet filled with “…all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air” (

NKJ). The Lord’s voice said, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat” ( ), but Peter refused saying he’d never eaten anything common or unclean. This vision repeated to Peter three times, each time with the Lord’s response, “What God has cleansed you must not call common” ( ). The passage then takes up the story:

Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are seeking you. "Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."

Acts 10:17-20 Close Acts 10:17-20 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon's house. Standing outside the gate, they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there. Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don't worry, for I have sent them." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

(NKJ)

Thanks to these men acting on these two visions, the mission of the Church was advanced. Cornelius’ faith was made complete when Peter preached Jesus to him. Cornelius was baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, and his whole household was saved. Peter’s vision helped him understand that salvation was for the Gentiles also (who were considered unclean by Jews in those days).

Acting on vision is still important. Maintaining a God-consciousness allows God to communicate clearly what He wants to happen. When reading the Bible or listening to a sermon, keep the heart attitude that asks, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” The vision may start as a prick in your heart, something that causes you to raise an eyebrow and say, “Wow.” Go with that. Move in the light of that vision and don’t allow it to dim.

When God gives you a vision, it is specific and individual. Although it’s expressly for you, it is also intertwined with His bigger picture. Your job is to obey the vision you’ve received just like mine is to obey the one He’s sent to me. Then, as with Cornelius and Peter, when our worlds intersect, the mission of the Church will be advanced, God receiving the ultimate glory. Only by obediently acting upon the individual vision God gives us will we be operating in harmony with His bigger plan. We’ll then be pleasantly surprised and awed as we witness mighty moves of God’s hand, and amazingly humbled to realize He’s used us to accomplish His work.

Copyright © Sharon Elliott, used with permission.

Discussion and debate can be a good thing. However, there does come a time to bring a discussion to an end, a debate to a conclusion. Even in an academic debate competition, one side wins and one side loses.

Debate strategists use various tactics to present compelling arguments designed to win a dispute. From the opening statement to the closing argument, successful debaters mingle logic, humor, and passion as they influence their audience to agree with their point of view.

In Acts chapter 17, we find Paul in Athens and “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (

, NKJ). So while in the marketplace one day, some philosophers encountered him and decided they wanted to hear what he had to say. This was not unusual because “… all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” ( , NKJ).

As if in a formal academic debate, Paul defended the truth of the gospel with intelligence, wit, and flair.

Paul’s opening was logical and compelling:

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you” (

Acts 17:22-23 Close Acts 17:22-23 So Paul, standing before the council,* addressed them as follows: "Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: `To an Unknown God.' This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

NKJ).

He deconstructs their continuous debating habits and searches for new things by making clear the real God. There is no more need to search and debate:

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men… so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him…” (

Acts 17:24-27 Close Acts 17:24-27 "He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man* he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

NKJ).

Then his closing statement ends with a slightly modified reiteration of his primary points and examines the human condition:

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (

Acts 17:30-31 Close Acts 17:30-31 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

NKJ).

When confronting our present society, we must do nothing less than Paul did in Athens. As truth merchants and defenders of the faith, it is our duty to deal head on with our present “times of ignorance,” and put a period on the end of the debate about who the real God is. Yes, engage the culture. Start with what it understands, and then proclaim the One it does not understand: God, in the person of Jesus Christ.

Copyright © 2011 Sharon Norris Elliott, used with permission.

CBN.com

relates a story that is very timely for many of us in the current economic downturn. A single mom finds herself in credit trouble. She articulates her problem to Elisha the prophet who asks her what she has. All she has is some oil in a jar. Elisha tells her, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors – empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones… (When she returned to Elisha with the task completed, he told her) Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest” and 7 (NKJ).

If you find yourself in a similar situation today – in bondage to credit – take the six steps this woman took to become free:

• Step 1: Express your need to God – Now is not the time to stop going to church, to stop praying, and to stop serving God. This woman expressed her need to the man of God. She didn’t turn to ungodly sources or get-rich-quick schemes. She needed help; she turned to God. You need help; turn to God.

• Step 2: Examine your assets – This woman had a little oil – something that everyone needed. What do you have that everyone needs? Maybe it’s not something physical like oil; perhaps you have strengths, talents, and skills. For example, I can write, teach the Bible, and multi-task.

• Step 3: Employ the family – This woman had two sons who she rallied to her aid. They helped to collect the empty pots from the neighbors. Get others involved with you gathering all you’ll need to position yourself to exit your credit problem. Put their strengths and skills to work for you.

• Step 4: Evaluate the emptiness of others – How can your assets fulfill the needs around you? This woman and her sons found people who had empty vessels, people who needed oil. Look around: who needs what you have, even if you have just a little of it? I could, for example, appraise who might need to learn to write, understand the Bible, or be better at organizational skills?

• Step 5: Exercise the entrepreneurial spirit – Go into business using your assets to fill others’ needs. This woman poured her oil into the empty pots until there were no more empty vessels. Her oil didn’t run out until the empty pots ran out. And her oil was worth money. Your assets, gifts, and talents are not to be cheaply prostituted. Set a fair price and don’t apologize. People will pay for what they want and need. As long as the need exists, you’ll be in business.

• Step 6: Exist on the increase – This woman sold her oil and she and her sons lived on the rest. She had not only enough to get out of debt, but she also had enough to sustain her family going forward. Her assets profited enough for investment for the future. Wisely handle the increase from now on to keep the creditor from coming back again.

What a wonderful plan to undertake when the creditor is coming. Try it.

©2011 Sharon Norris Elliott, used with permission.

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Live a life that matters! That's Sharon's encouragement to all her readers. Find her blog, books, and contact information through her website at www.LifeThatMatters.net.

CBN.com In my senior year of high school, I worked on yearbook staff and was editor of one of the sections of the volume. Our student photographers on staff not only took the pictures, but developed them right there at the school in our darkroom. Using only the illumination of a special red light, the film would be transferred somehow to the paper and then the paper would be dipped in several different trays holding chemical solutions. As the photos were moved from tray to tray, the image began to emerge. The process took a considerable amount of time and care and seemed almost magical.

Understandably, our teacher and those photographers would get quite upset if someone opened the dark room door while they worked. Too much light would flood in and mess up every piece of film on which they had been painstakingly laboring. More than those pictures would be ruined. All the money for the film and the time those photographers had logged on their assignments had been a waste. Deadlines for getting the yearbook pages designed were pushed back without those photos. And supposed those pictures had been of the miraculous catch that won the homecoming game, the photo-finish at the swim meet, or the principal’s surprise 50th birthday party thrown by the whole school? The photographic memories of those events could never again be recaptured. The darkness of that dark room made the proper development of those pictures possible so that everything else necessary to produce a memorable yearbook could happen.

God allows dark rooms to develop us. When we are experiencing the darknesses of financial reversals, failures, job losses, strenuous challenges, sicknesses, disappointments, loneliness, separations, and deaths; we need to look at things through the “red” of the blood of Jesus. Like the photographers, wait patiently inside the dark room and watch as God takes time and care to develop the picture of your life that He’s taken. Don’t rush through any of the stages; endure every “chemical.” Only when the process is complete will you be fully developed. You’ll only be ready for use on just the right “pages” of life when His image emerges through you.

Be encouraged by the following verses of Scripture as you face your dark rooms:

Romans 5:3-5 Close Romans 5:3-5 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

– Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (NIV)

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 Close 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

– For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

Hebrews 12:6 Close Hebrews 12:6 For the LORD disciplines those he loves,  and he punishes each one he accepts as his child."* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

and 11 – For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (NKJ)

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When my sons were small, we lived for a time in the same house with Poppa and Grandma, my parents. Poppa’s Alzheimer’s didn’t bother the boys at all, and it certainly didn’t hinder their grandfather from loving these little boys. Matthew, however, had a special relationship with Poppa. They shared a quiet intensity of spirit and could often be seen just sitting on the sofa, not saying anything, just enjoying being close.

When Matthew was 5-years-old, Poppa died. After tearfully breaking the news to the boys, that quiet intensity caused Matthew to simply cock his head to the side and ask, “So Poppa’s in heaven, right?”

When I said yes, he queried, “Then why are you crying? Heaven is a good place. I want to go too.”

Somehow I was able to convince Matthew that it wasn’t time for him to go yet and the matter was settled for the moment.

Several days later, though, we arrived at the mortuary. When Matthew saw Poppa in the casket, his logical mind remembered our former conversation. “I thought you said Poppa was in heaven.” Matthew looked at me as if to say, Lady, you’d better straighten this one out, and quick! Okay, so how was I going to explain the separation of body and spirit to a five-year-old?

After a quick prayer for help, the answer formed in my mind. I have since written about this whole incident in a poem, so here’s what I said, only fixed up now in verse:

“Since our bodies weren’t created
To just fly away through space,
He had to leave his body here,
To see God face to face.”

“The part of him that loved us
Will live on in memory.
He now no longer lives in pain;
He’s happy as can be.”

“Please try to understand that
Almost from his time of birth,
Poppa loved others right up close,
And loved God from the earth.”

“Now Poppa loves God right up close;
I think he’s having fun.
He’s hanging out around the Throne,
Just talking with the Son.”
– From Mommy Cried This Morning, Sharon Norris Elliott ©1996

Poppa has been away from us for 18 years now, and I’m still able to look back with wonderful memories of growing up with a father who sincerely lived his whole life for the moment of his death. The Bible tells of the necessity of death if we really plan to get to heaven:

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body … Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.” (

1 Corinthians 15:42-50 Close 1 Corinthians 15:42-50 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person."* But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like* the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

NKJV)

People I have dearly loved have died. As hard as it is for us to let go, facing the death of loved ones is not nearly as crippling when we realize believers who have died are much better off in heaven than they would ever have been in this life here on earth. Their death is our loss, not theirs. They have received the ultimate inheritance, only possible through death because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

One day, that fabulous inheritance – the kingdom of God – awaits us as well. It’s so great, it’s to die for!

Copyright © Sharon Elliott, used with permission.

We have heard the old adage: A word to the wise is sufficient. That means it shouldn’t take being hit in the head by a brick for us to understand a lesson. We ought to be able to hear of other folks’ foibles and avoid them by not going down those same roads. The iron is hot; don’t touch it or you’ll get burned.

The story of King Uzziah is an iron-is-hot-word-to-the-wise story. Second Chronicles, chapter 26 lays out his meteoric rise and pathetic plunge. He gained the throne when he was only 16 years old. Since he “did what was right in the sight of the LORD” and “sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God,” we are told that “as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper”

(NKJ). In the 52 years that he reigned, the list of his accomplishments grew impressively:

• He made war successfully against the Philistines.
• He broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod (Philistine cites) and built cities for his own people.
• He had the Ammonites bringing him tribute.
• He built towers.
• He dug many wells for the amazing amount of livestock he had.
• He hired farmers and vinedressers because he loved the soil. (He was able to indulge his own passion and pastime.)
• He had an army of fighting men loyal to his cause for whom he supplied abundantly so they could carry out their task productively.

In all of this, “God helped him,” (verse 7) and “his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.” (verse 15)

Uzziah’s story should have ended there on an up note, but alas, verse 16 reads,

“But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

After all those accomplishments, after all the praise and fame, after all that help directly from God, Uzziah felt the need to overstep his boundaries. When the priests tried to warn him about his trespass, he became furious with them (verse 19). Immediately, God protected the office of the priesthood and the honor of His name, and punished Uzziah.

“King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD…” (verse 21).

No matter who we are or how much fame we have, God won’t allow us to dishonor His ways.

We have battles to fight, walls to break down, tribute to receive, towers to build, wells to dig, pastimes to enjoy, and loyal people who will fight for us for whom we can supply need. As long as we seek the Lord, God will help us, prosper us, and cause our fame to spread. It is His good pleasure to marvelously help us until we become strong. Consider these verses:

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:32 Close Luke 12:32 "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

(NKJ)

Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 Close 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

(The Message Bible)

So a word to the wise and the blessed. God doesn’t mind blessing and helping us. However, let us not allow success and fame brought to us by God go to our heads. Just one moment of thinking more of himself than he ought – of stepping out of his lane – cast Uzziah into a shameful plunge from which he was never able to recover. We are to continue to move forward in God’s amazing blessings, but keep His will in view and keep His honor foremost.

Copyright © Sharon Elliott. Used by permission.