Simplicity in Obedience

One of my favourite characters in the Bible is a guy called Ananias. We find him in Acts 9, seemingly minding his own business in Damascus, when suddenly, God appeared to Him in a vision. It turns out that God wants him to go to a house on Straight Street (I love the detail!), and ask for a man named Saul who has seen Ananias come to him in a vision and pray to restore his sight.

Sounds simple enough!

Except, Saul is one of the main instigators of the mass persecution that the early church is facing in this time! Quite rightly, Ananias points this out to God. "Do you realise who this is?!?" God, of course, is aware and this time is a bit firmer, "Go! This is the man I've chosen to go to the Gentiles."

Ok, it seems God has thought this one through.

So Ananias goes to the house and indeed finds Saul blind (after his previous experience on the road to Damascus). He lays his hands on him and prays that God would restore Saul's sight and would fill him with the Holy Spirit. At once, his sight is restored and he was baptised (a public sign of repentance) and ate food for the first time in 3 days.

The rest, as they say, is history as Saul/Paul goes throughout the surrounding area carrying the message of Jesus to many tribes and Nations, while suffering for His name. Indeed, the majority of the New Testament is written by this man.

But at the start of all this we see Ananias.

He is only mentioned in 8 verses. We don't know anything about his life, his occupation, family, history, future. All we know is that when God said 'Go', he went. But let's not underestimate where God said for him to go to. He asked him to go to the person that we are told was muttering threats under every breath, who was going from house to house dragging people away in chains. Ananias was potentially putting his own life at risk. What is obvious is that he had a deep understanding of God and trusted him. He knew the Lord's voice when He spoke and trusted enough to obey. I can't imagine what was going through his mind as he approached the house. Did I hear right? What if he's not there? What if he is there!?!? Ultimately, God was right and what He said was fulfilled. Ananias then probably returned home and got on with his life.

The reason I like Ananias so much is that he was so unassuming and is not really talked about much in comparison with a Simon Peter or a Martin Luther, but yet he had one of the most important roles to play in church history.

Did he even know what Saul went on to do?

It makes me think about my own life and the way I respond to the Holy Spirit's prompting. There have been times where I've felt God say to go and talk to someone and I haven't through fear. Fear of being wrong and looking silly.

'It can't be God because that makes no sense!'

Chances are that it is more likely to be God if it doesn't make sense! Who knows what a simple act of obedience can do. A smile, a prayer, a hug, a letter of encouragement, a cheque in the post. These could all be the key that unlocks someones heart and releases them into something new with their Saviour.

We have had a couple of examples recently in our community, where people have felt the Holy Spirit prompt them to do something and it ended up being an answer to someone else's prayer. Below is a story that some of our Transit students Rebekah, Frances, Louise and Chris wrote about after a recent trip to the West of England:

"It was Tuesday morning, and we had left later than intended, which usually happens when embarking on a road trip. We were heading West with our only plan being to see what the Lord wanted us to do when we arrived.

Our first stop was to get petrol and pastries. The second was to look over the valley and pray. We had a couple of thoughts after this, take the white roads and seek out the "old paths."

Frances took the map and the responsibility to find the most obscure route to Tewkesbury. We left the motorway at a little village called Maisemore and began our search. Our first turn off was down "Old Road" which led us to St. Giles Church. We got out to explore a bit. As we were wandering around, Jackie arrived to pray. We shared a bit of what we were doing and asked to join her. After a short Lenten liturgy we were invited back to her house for tea and cake.

As we enjoyed her hospitality Jackie told us a bit of her story and how the Lord had led her and her husband to Maisemore and to the little parish church with ever dwindling numbers. To be honest her dedication, faithfulness, and sacrifice were inspiring.

We asked to pray for her before we left.

She was thrilled at the suggestion and it became a time of mutual blessings as she began to explain a bit more of what has been happening in the local parish and of the hopes and frustrations that she and a few others have been experiencing.

Three of the nearby parishes will be merging in the near future, due to a decrease in numbers as well as difficulties remaining from the flooding last year. Jackie, her husband and two other couples have been meeting together for the past few years, praying for the area and the church, and Jackie explained that they were all at a place of discouragement. In fact, only recently had she cried out to God asking for something to show that He was hearing their prayers and they weren't just wasting their time and effort.

Having us arrive when we did came as a great gift to her, and so we spent some time praying for her, the other couples, the parish, and were able to give some further words of encouragement for them all.

It was also a wonderful blessing and faith builder to us as we were able to see how God had engineered the entire situation. Many of us had been nervous upon leaving Guildford, not really knowing what to expect or what would be required of us, but seeing how graciously and gently God had directed us and how simple it all became when we were just willing to trust His Spirit was a wonderful encouragement for us as well."

Let's be people who are open to the Spirit's promptings. Who live lives of simple obedience, bringing glimpses of the Kingdom as we do. Who knows what or who will change as a result!

Play spaces

A few summers ago, I had a job with the local council working with children as part of an initiative called 'Play Wales', which was trying to address the problem that seems to be rising in this country of children not having a chance to play anymore. By play, they meant the times when a child has the freedom to explore, create games, with no boundaries, no adults telling them what they can and can't do, which often results in lot's of fun and a building of confidence.

Due to many factors (fear of paedophiles, busier parents, technology), children's leisure time has become more dictated and lacks a level of exercise, which along with poor diets, has led to a rise in child obesity. So the idea that 'Play Wales' had was to create spaces in which children could have the freedom to play.

So that's what we did.

We would go to different places around the city, be it a church hall, community centre or park and just provide a safe space in which the children could play. We provided equipment and resources for them to use, but the children had to decide what they wanted to do. We were told that the children dictated what happened. They created the games, the rules and we were only allowed to play if we were asked too and even then we had to play by their rules. Of course, we were to step in if we could see that it was getting out of hand or dangerous, but even then we were told that as much as possible we would allow risk and the children to resolve conflict themselves. It's not always beneficial for us to step in.

The main thinking was that as we gave the children space to play and explore, they would begin to learn more about themselves and their environment. They were forced to engage their mind and not just follow orders or be corrected all the time.

It was during this time that God really spoke to me about what it means to lead people in the church and gave me a glimpse of what God does for us. This experience made me realise that my role as a leader was more about creating safe spaces for people to explore, ask questions and make decisions for themselves in their faith. To give things a go, in the knowledge that someone is there to help and support them and step in when it is needed. What I am not called to do is order people around, setting rules and obligations, putting pressure on people to follow them and showing my displeasure when they don't or can't carry them out. This sounds a lot like the pharisees in Jesus time to me.

How many of you went to children's groups when you younger, where you were told what game you were playing, the rules and then told that you were having fun when you quite clearly weren't, so when you did try and make it fun you got shouted at for spoiling everyone else's fun when in fact you were only spoiling the leaders fun!

This example, I have found can often be translated into the life of the church. We attend every week and as long as we are going along with the vision of the church, we are ok, but if we question it or ask if we can do something else that we feel God is asking us to do, we find ourselves shot down and made to feel like trouble makers. It doesn't feel like a safe place you can explore or ask questions in. It's more like a club where you play by the rules or you 'go and sit in the corner until you feel like you can join us again'. I'm being a bit extreme here, but can you see the point? If the church isn't somewhere we can explore, play and ask questions, then there is something wrong.

We need to be leaders who are full of discernment, constantly asking the question "Holy Spirit, what are you saying in this situation?" We need to be willing for things to fail, for situations to get a bit messy, but in the midst of this trust that people are growing and maturing in their faith. Let's not limit what God wants to do in those around us with our fear of losing control.

We also need to remember that Jesus is the head of the Church and in many ways he sets the guidlines we need to follow! So let's study Jesus. How did he make disciples? How did he teach? How did he create these play spaces?

Let's not be leaders that hand out paint by number sheets, but give people blank canvases to create on, so that together we will see God's masterpiece.