Residue-What Do You Leave Behind?
BY JODY PETERSON
EVENT COORDINATOR / OFFICE ASSISTANT
EVENT COORDINATOR / OFFICE ASSISTANT
Residue…..it is simply defined as the part that is left behind after the main part has gone or been taken away….. what do You leave behind?
Recently my husband and I went for lunch on a Sunday after church, nothing fancy, just a bit of KFC before heading home for our peaceful Sunday afternoon nap. We were quietly eating our meal while this table of grown men came along, they sat with their food and chatted away, they were very loud and vulgar with their language….you couldn’t help but hear them talk about their work and who did what. When they left there was garbage on the floor and a mess on the table and I heard in the spirit “what residue do you leave behind?” You see the garbage and junk that we can leave behind is not always visible, but it can be felt and we all know it is there.
The opposite is also true, now this mess that was left behind needed to be cleaned up and as we sat there finishing up our meal an employee came and cleaned up the mess left behind, leaving it looking brand new shiny clean… what she left behind was excellence.
As we look into the Bible and the testimonies in there we can see that this is what happened everywhere Jesus and the disciples go. During Jesus’s journey through the various places in the years of His ministry He left “residue” where ever He went, whether turning tables over in Matthew 21 :12-13 or healing, blessing and forgiving as seen in John 4 with the Samaritan woman and the possessed man in Mark 5. The disciples carried this on after Jesus transfiguration and in their ministries Peter’s shadow heals, in Acts 19:11-12 even pieces of cloth that touched Paul and had a residue of Him would be placed on people and they would be healed.
I love the chapter in the Bible: Acts 16:16-33 Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly [a]annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Philippian Jailer Saved
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
So we see Paul and Silas freeing the girl from possession, which was good for her, but not good for her employers. The employers were angry as now they had lost their source of income as they had used the girl for her fortune telling ability and that went away with the possession. Paul and Silas were then beaten and jailed, but they were on a mission and full of faith that God would free them, so even in their pain and suffering they praised Him. Imagine having been whipped and feet put in stocks they still worshipped, and so loud that the other prisoners could hear them. The “residue” or influence when God joins in is incredibly powerful! Powerful enough to open the doors and remove chains! The jailer who was so frightened of what would happen to him was ready to kill himself rather than face it found salvation as did hid family, all because Paul and Silas moved in faith, even in the circumstances. Their jailer ended up finding hope and salvation in their faith and even fed and hid them.
I believe that today that is still the case, even in suffering, when we praise and glorify our God, welcome Him in to our lives He will move in incredible ways that we cannot even imagine. The “residue” or what we leave behind, when we are doing what God would have us do is a beautiful thing. When we pray for someone, take a gift to them, say a kind word, leave an extra tip or thank a server, buy a meal for someone in need, make a phone call or text them when they come to our heart…this is God working through us and it is an incredible blessing to be His hands and feet in this crazy world.
Every interaction is an opportunity for us to show God’s goodness and be the light, to leave a residue of His glory and love. May you be blessed as you bless others.
Recently my husband and I went for lunch on a Sunday after church, nothing fancy, just a bit of KFC before heading home for our peaceful Sunday afternoon nap. We were quietly eating our meal while this table of grown men came along, they sat with their food and chatted away, they were very loud and vulgar with their language….you couldn’t help but hear them talk about their work and who did what. When they left there was garbage on the floor and a mess on the table and I heard in the spirit “what residue do you leave behind?” You see the garbage and junk that we can leave behind is not always visible, but it can be felt and we all know it is there.
The opposite is also true, now this mess that was left behind needed to be cleaned up and as we sat there finishing up our meal an employee came and cleaned up the mess left behind, leaving it looking brand new shiny clean… what she left behind was excellence.
As we look into the Bible and the testimonies in there we can see that this is what happened everywhere Jesus and the disciples go. During Jesus’s journey through the various places in the years of His ministry He left “residue” where ever He went, whether turning tables over in Matthew 21 :12-13 or healing, blessing and forgiving as seen in John 4 with the Samaritan woman and the possessed man in Mark 5. The disciples carried this on after Jesus transfiguration and in their ministries Peter’s shadow heals, in Acts 19:11-12 even pieces of cloth that touched Paul and had a residue of Him would be placed on people and they would be healed.
I love the chapter in the Bible: Acts 16:16-33 Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly [a]annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Philippian Jailer Saved
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
So we see Paul and Silas freeing the girl from possession, which was good for her, but not good for her employers. The employers were angry as now they had lost their source of income as they had used the girl for her fortune telling ability and that went away with the possession. Paul and Silas were then beaten and jailed, but they were on a mission and full of faith that God would free them, so even in their pain and suffering they praised Him. Imagine having been whipped and feet put in stocks they still worshipped, and so loud that the other prisoners could hear them. The “residue” or influence when God joins in is incredibly powerful! Powerful enough to open the doors and remove chains! The jailer who was so frightened of what would happen to him was ready to kill himself rather than face it found salvation as did hid family, all because Paul and Silas moved in faith, even in the circumstances. Their jailer ended up finding hope and salvation in their faith and even fed and hid them.
I believe that today that is still the case, even in suffering, when we praise and glorify our God, welcome Him in to our lives He will move in incredible ways that we cannot even imagine. The “residue” or what we leave behind, when we are doing what God would have us do is a beautiful thing. When we pray for someone, take a gift to them, say a kind word, leave an extra tip or thank a server, buy a meal for someone in need, make a phone call or text them when they come to our heart…this is God working through us and it is an incredible blessing to be His hands and feet in this crazy world.
Every interaction is an opportunity for us to show God’s goodness and be the light, to leave a residue of His glory and love. May you be blessed as you bless others.
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