Acts 19
Rebecca Lightfoot
N Acts,it is mentioned a lot that the disciples were going to The Scriptures to reason through questions and challenges of all kinds.In doing this,the people realized that some of the other books they were reading were detrimental enough that they burned them-Acts19:19-20 says,”A number who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.And they counted up the value of them,and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.”Magic is defined as,”the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.” Sounds a lot like many of the “self help” books of today,as well as many of the “Christian books” and Christian teachers that teach ways to get what “I WANT” through thinking right;doing right;giving right;the right Bible reading;praying right;etc. A right relationship w The Lord is all about realizing He IS GOD,& that He created me and sustains my life for the perfect plans that only He has & only He can b trusted w for my life....truly trusting Him enough to know that I need to have my “ideas & plans” shaped by HIM. A young friend of mine recently told me,”Prayer is not about gaining control, but it’s about surrendering control.”We surrender because of the realization that HE is GOD and I am not....that I may lead my life far into the weeds without HIS counsel and guidance.To put any effort into trying to “control” Him in any way is me practicing “magic”.Dear Lord,I begin to think of how much of my thinking and conversations with You have been a sort of “magic” on my part,& how many times I have been wrongly influenced by misleading Christian teachers and Christian books...and self help books that tell me the things that “I” can do or become-things that are far from Your ideas&plans for my life.Forgive me!And may Your Holy Spirit give me Your Discernment&Wisdom about these things...and draw me to know & desire Your Heart for my life...to Trust You alone with my life...and not me!Give me a hunger that these disciples had to “go to the Scriptures” for all reasoning through my life....and may my prayers be about seeking what You want...