Stepping Out

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)

Good morning, dear friends!

Source:  freewallpaper

I love fall.  It is probably one of my favorite seasons (along with spring, summer and winter).

I think one of the reasons that I love fall is the beauty of the changing colors.  I know that doesn't sound very original, but I love that fact that even though the seasons change because of man's disobedience to God, He could have left every horribly ugly as the leaves fall from the trees.  Instead, He left us great beauty to enjoy.

That is just like my God.

And yes, I am enough of a child to LOVE, and I mean LOVE, walking through crunchy piles of leaves. Only a cold, hard-hearted person could walk through a patch of dries leaves and not desire to stir up a few.

I recently put on the wallpaper of the desktop where I work on lessons, the wallpaper on the top of this blog.  I just thought it was a pretty scene, and reminds me of all that I enjoy about this time of year.  I can very easily put myself in this scene and imagine the crisp air, the smell of the earth and the sounds of the crunch under my feet.  This is definitely a scene where I wish I could be.

As I was having my quiet time this morning, I was moved by yet another devotion on prayer.  This morning's theme is on taking a step of faith, and moving from the prayer time, to the living out time.  I had been reading about George Muller and the thousands of prayers that he had offered, and seen His God answer, during His lifetime.  I am also reading in the book of Acts, and reliving again that exciting time in the early church when God's Word was proclaimed and Christ was revealed to thousands of people.

When I was done praying, I looked up, and saw this picture on my desktop.  My eyes were drawn to the other end of the tunnel of trees, to the clearing on the other side.  I had been so caught up in the beauty of the fall colors and the beauty of the scene, that I failed to realize, that this was a path.  There is a starting point, and there is a destination in this picture.

For the first time, I wished that I could travel through that tunnel, to the clearing on the other side.  To do that, however, would mean that I would have to take the first step.

I heard the nudge from the Lord this morning.  That is the step of faith.  If all I do in my life is stand around as a spectator in this world, I will never know the joys of journeying through it.  If all I do is pray about my needs, and then leave my prayer time unchanged by my moment with the Lord, I am like the person standing in this picture, taking the photograph, but never really entering into the scene.

How that needs to change in my life.

A verse stood out in Acts this week as I was reading through chapter four.  It was talking about the religious leaders confronting Peter and John for their teachings.  This is was what their detractors had to say about them:

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)

The time these men had spent with Jesus impacted every aspect of their lives.  Their boldness and stand for the Lord came from their time with Jesus, and the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

They had the faith, to take the steps, to be faithful to the Lord and His calling in their lives.  Even the naysayers were forced to admit there was a difference in their lives.

That is what I want my life to reflect:  my time with the Lord.

May I be faithful as well, today, to live out my time with the Lord, and walk boldly for Him.  The path is unknown, and many dangers may lie ahead, but I want to take that first step.

Here goes everything...