Message: In Acts 16Paul was carrying
on the task of delivering letters to the churches. He had Timothy with him and
it seems ironic, but he was delivering letters letting the churches know that
they do not have to be circumcised in order to be saved, but since Timothy’s
father was Greek, he went ahead and circumcised Timothy. This was not for
Timothy’s sake, it was for the sake of the people. He wanted them to listen to
Timothy and not get distracted by knowing he as uncircumcised. As they moved on
travelling there were several places where the Holy Spirit did not allow them
to go or to speak. They seemed to be blocked from lots of places until Paul had
a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for help. They travelled there and
found women and a woman named Lydia was saved. From there he delivered a slave
girl from a demonic slave and this upset the town because it upset their
ability to gain from her oppression. They were illegally beaten and thrown into
jail for this. What I really got out of this is that Paul was following the
direction of the Holy Spirit and not his feelings, or even the events
happening. He didn’t try to force things that were not in the right timing, and
when he was punished he didn’t see it as failure.
Command: Listen to the Holy Spirit and not
what feelings or events say.
Promise: God will put us where he wants us if
we listen, and he will care for us through the upheaval it causes.
Warning: Our obedience will often cause a reaction
that feels like punishment because you can’t disrupt the plans of darkness
without upsetting those who are exploiting.
Application: As I read this I realized how
important timing is. There were a lot of places Paul was not able to go. This
was not forever. Just for that time. We don’t know the reasons but it almost
gave me comfort knowing even Paul had times where it seemed things weren’t happening.
He followed the Holy Spirit and not his own ideas or emotions and because of
this, Lydia was saved and a slave girl was delivered. This doesn’t seem like a
big impact until you read on and see how much that deliverance upset the city.
Men were making a lot of money off of that girl’s demonic oppression and when
she was delivered it changed all of that. This was very important and was just
the start.
Message: In Acts 15 some men came from Judea
and started teaching the new gentile believers that they had to be circumcised
and follow the law or they couldn’t really be saved. This caused some sharp
debate so the apostles gathered together in Jerusalem to discuss it. Peter
pointed out that the Holy Spirit had already baptized the gentiles with the
Holy Spirit just like they had been baptized. He asked them, if the Holy Spirit
saw fit to baptize the gentiles, why should they make salvation more difficult
for them by adding these things that they and their ancestors were unable to
keep. It was agreed that they should list a few things that would serve them
well to abstain from, and sent the letter to the churches.
Command: Don’t follow God in a religious
mindset. It is a surrendered heart he is asking for.
Promise: When we surrender our hearts he will
lead us to change.
Warning: If we distance our hearts and live
unsurrendered, we will be tempted to set some basic rules and call it
Christianity.
Application: We don’t fight about circumcision in
the modern church today, but religion and the law is still very much a point of
contention because we fail to understand the heart change associated with salvation.
Without heart change we ask questions like “is it wrong to do___?” or we wonder
how far we can push our sin before we make God angry. Those kinds of attitudes
come from an unsurrendered heart. It would be similar to asking how far we
could flirt with someone before our spouse considers it cheating, or how nasty
and disrespectful could we act towards our spouse before they get mad and leave.
The men from Judea who were teaching this had not surrendered their hearts.
They were stuck in a religious mindset. This is not to say that we don’t still
honor God with our obedience, but our motive is no longer coming from an
unworthy position trying to appease a distant God. We have been given right
standing place with God and salvation allows us to be face to face with him.
Instead of being lead by the law in obligation, we are led by the Holy Spirit
in a surrendered heart. We have to be careful that we don’t slip back into a
religious mindset for ourselves and toward others. That we allow God to change
us constantly as we surrender our hearts. And that we wouldn’t exchange that
for following some basic rules while keeping our hearts at a distance.
Message: In Acts chapter 14 Paul and Barnabas
preached in Lystra and when God healed a man through them the town thought they
were gods and began trying to make sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas tried
to tell them that they were only men and to turn to God who has given them
every need and pleasure but they didn’t stop until some people came from the
surrounding towns and won them against Paul to the point that they stoned him
until they thought he was dead. Reading all of this sounded like a terrible
report until we see that they moved on to the next city and to evangelize and
then came back to all of the cities that persecuted them and strengthened the
believers in the churches they had planted. Somehow through all of that bad
report I missed that they successfully planted several churches!
Command: Push through the opposition.
Promise: There are valuable things to be found
in our oppositions.
Warning: If we give up when things get hard we
miss something of value things that can only be found in the struggle.
Application: This story reminded me of some of the
gold mining shows we watch. These crews are out in remote places digging and
processing hundreds of yards of dirt. Their equipment breaks down constantly,
they occasionally get injured, turn on
each other or have opposition from outside people, but then the man in charge
of cleaning up and processing the gold comes out with a jar and they measure
how much gold they caught. It seems ridiculous that they would endure all of
that for a small jar of gold dust but they have already calculated the expense
of running all of that equipment and digging through all of that dirt to
harvest something that is so valuable. We have to see people as so valuable
that we would discount all of the terrible things that happen to us. The people
who turn on us, and those who hurt us or reject us are worth the fight knowing
that the salvation of those who receive is worth all of it. God saw us as so
valuable that he sacrificed himself. Now we need to be so passionate about
those he sent us to harvest that we discount all of the hard things we endure
in the process. Maybe the valuable thing we obtain through the struggle was wisdom.
Maybe the fight appears to have left you beat up beside a heap of worthless
dirt, but you discover that wisdom just might be your reward of gold nuggets
when all is said and done.
Message: In Acts 13 the church is fasting and
praying and the Holy Spirit tells them to send out Paul & Barnabas on
mission. They go exactly where the Holy Spirit leads them and are invited to
speak in a synagogue. The leaders and the people received the message well and
wanted to hear more the following week, but when the entire town gathered to
hear it they are not happy. Once again jealousy rose up, so instead of receiving
the message the Jews stirred up persecution against them. Paul and Barnabas told
them it was necessary for them to bring the gospel to them first, but since
they rejected it, they would turn to the gentiles instead because this is what
the Lord commanded.
Command: Sometimes the Holy Spirit leads us to
do things that appear unsuccessful or unfruitful, but we have to obey without regret
and remember that God has plans that we can’t see.
Promise: God’s plans are not unfruitful.
Everything he tells us to do has purpose even when we can’t see it.
Warning: If we focus too much on what appears
to have been unfruitful or unsuccessful, we will be tempted to hold back our
obedience the next time. Paul shook the dust off and continued forward.
Application: I have questioned my direction so
many times when I have done things that I believed God was asking me to do, and
then found myself in the middle of what appeared to be failure. In this case
there was no question that the Holy Spirit sent Paul and Barnabas. When it went
awry, they could have walked away feeling set-up, but they didn’t. They became
even more bold, shook off the dust and continued forward because they knew God
called them there and that result was exactly what God was expecting. This
challenges me to stop measuring my obedience by perceived success or failure. God
allows certain things to seemingly fail in order to launch other things that
are supposed to succeed. He also allows people to hear truth even if they
reject it initially, knowing that later on they might look back and remember
what they saw and heard. We can’t possibly determine the success or failure
based on the initial response. Our job is to deliver the message, the Holy
Spirit will work on the hearts. We are not responsible for the outcome. We are
responsible for our obedience.
Message: In Acts 12 persecution of the church
continued as King Herod sought the praise and approval of the Jews. He had
James killed and when he saw that this pleased them he had Peter thrown in
prison. He was set for execution as well but since it was Passover week he was
held in prison with special guards set up until the day he was to be executed.
God intervened the night before he was supposed to be executed by sending an
angel to release Peter. It was done in such a powerful and unexpected way that
Peter thought he was seeing a vision, the church that was praying didn’t expect
it and the explanation could only be credited to God. When Herod couldn’t find
Peter he had his own guards interrogated and executed. Herod left from there to
make another public appearance and the people equated him to a god. God killed Herod
shortly after this since he allowed this and took glory for himself that
belongs only to God. There are so many things to be drawn from this story but I
kept refocusing on the fact that Herod was a people pleaser. He craved the approval
of people to the point of destruction and eventually his own death.
Command: Don’t allow a desire for man’s
approval to take the driver’s seat.
Promise: Our approval comes from God and is never
destructive.
Warning: Our craving for approval is
destructive and never satisfied.
Application: We all want to be accepted, but this
story shows how King Herod Agrippa was so driven for approval that he caused
destruction all around him just to get it. Interesting enough, he was the king
and didn’t need the approval of the people in order to have power. He craved
the approval of the people and his appetite for approval caused him to abuse
his position of power by having people killed. His appetite wasn’t satisfied
after he had James killed. He continued his pursuit until God shut him down.
Most of us probably can’t relate to king Herod’s brutality but we can all
relate to a desire for approval. This is something God has really had to work
out of me over the years because I recognized that even though some of the things
I did for approval appeared to be good, the motivation was for approval more
than it was to be helpful. We will never satisfy this craving for approval as
long as we continue chasing after it. We weren’t meant to be fulfilled this way
and as long as we chase after it will we destroy ourselves and those around us
in our manipulations to get it. This doesn’t mean we should stop doing good
things (or bad things if we’re the rebellious type of approval junkies)- it
means we have to pay attention to our motivations. My challenge to myself is to
question my motivations when I do things for others and try doing good things
anonymously in order to starve that craving and still be helpful.
Message: InChapter 11 of Acts Peter
finds himself having to explain himself to the other believers when they all
found out that he went inside the home of a gentile and also ate the forbidden
foods. It’s interesting to read this while we are at the same time reading
though Leviticus because it helps to understand that these weren’t just snobby
judgmental Jews learning how to be nice. This was a very serious law that they
had lived their entire lives. In Leviticus 10 we also read that Aaron’s two
sons who had just been ordained were killed by God because they burnt up unholy
and unauthorized sacrifices in their firepans. The law was no light matter. It
was what God required of them for generations and after Jesus fulfilled it once
and for all by presenting himself as the sacrifice, it was no longer required.
This was tough for them to navigate through.
Command: Don’t call common or unholy what I
have called clean. God didn’t change his mind about the law. They were called
for a time to obey it and it was serious. Jesus came and ended that time when
he became the sacrifice.
Promise: Jesus fulfills all that he promises
in the right time.
Warning: You can do the right thing in the
wrong time. There are things God has called for us to do at different times and
seasons. (This is not to be confused with sin-which is always wrong in every
season).
Application: This reminds me of a few women I’ve
known that kept their sexual purity all the way up until the day of their
wedding. After their wedding they felt like they were doing something wrong
because even though they knew it was right within marriage, they had lived this
way for so long. Their purity had been protected and kept especially for the
marriage just like the law was protected and kept until Jesus came to be that
final sacrifice. This topic seems to get confusing because Christians don’t
know what to do with the law. It’s important for us to read about it in the
bible because understanding what the Jews were required to do helps us
understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The law was never intended for those
of us who were not born Jews. If we were born in those times, we would have
been the dirty gentiles that the Jews were required to stay away from. God didn’t
change his mind about the law. It was very serious, and he fulfilled it by
providing Jesus as the final sacrifice for all. What a fitting devotional read
for the week of resurrection Sunday!
Message: In Acts 10 there is quite an
orchestration going on by God, but each person sees only his own little part of
it until it all comes together. What really amazed me here is that each of them
had a vision/visitation encounter that would prepare them for something they
would need later, and ultimately direct them to each other. They each had
something different to learn from it and their obedience was critical.
Cornelius already had a heart for God and a good reputation for his charitable acts
toward Jews. He was a gentile who hadn’t heard the gospel yet. He sent for
Peter and gathered his friends and family in preparation for what Peter would
bring. He had no idea what that would be, but he obediently prepared for it.
Peter was a Jew who had the gospel, but God was teaching him that the law had
been fulfilled and he was to no longer abide by the previous commands to call certain
things “unclean”. This included a lot of animals they had never been allowed to
eat, but it also included association and fellowship with gentile people. Peter
had no idea that God was preparing him to preach the gospel to gentiles and
that he was literally going to send him to a gentile home where he would
probably eat gentile food and share the gospel with people. He followed without
question and if he needed anymore confirmation, God spontaneously baptized all
of these gentiles in the Holy Spirit to show Peter that he was with them also.
Command: Listen to the small things that God
is speaking. Even if and especially if I don’t seem to have a full
understanding. Every act of obedience is connected to something or someone else
and it’s always bigger than all of us. We have no idea what God is orchestrating!
Promise: God is constantly moving and working
and he’s doing it all through us. Our obedience not only brings reward to us,
but it blesses other people too.
Warning: If we don’t obey in the little things
we stop up or delay something God is trying to do through us.
Application: As I read how this all fit together I noticed
that even though these directions probably seemed odd and very uncomfortable,
both of them obeyed without question to what they were directed to do They didn’t
sit on it for a while, question whether it was God, or delay anything. They
took the tiny piece God spoke to them and acted on it. All of the pieces began
coming together after the obedience. Not before and not even during. This
really challenges me because I think so many times I hear a thought or an idea
and just sit on it because I’m not sure, or it sounds weird, or it’s inconvenient,
or so many things! What id wither of these men refused to move forward? What if
Peter said, “no way! I’m not going to a gentile’s house!”. The salvation of all
of those men would have been delayed. I don’t say lost because God would have
gotten it done through someone else, but he would have had to orchestrate another
plan If Peter hadn’t obeyed. Today I’m asking God to open my heart and tune my
ears to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to me. Help me to act
even when it doesn’t make sense. Help me to obey God like someone’s life
depends on it!
Message: In Acts 9 Saul is at war against all
those who call on the name of Jesus. He is on a personal mission to arrest and
throw into prison any of them that he can find because he fully believes he is
doing this on God’s behalf. In the middle of it all he has his encounter with
Jesus where he is suddenly blinded by a bright light, thrown off his horse and
hears the voice of Jesus himself asking why he is persecuting him. This story
is so famous that even non-believers use common references to the idioms we
have drawn from it. One of the most popular phrases we hear is “blinded by the
light” or “knocked off his high horse”. As I was reading this again today, I
was thinking about Paul’s sudden blindness and I realized that he had always been
spiritually blind, and God had used the sudden physical blindness to reveal
this to him. The scariest part about being blind and deceived is that you don’t
even know it! Paul fully believed he was doing the work of God when he
persecuted the church. He saw himself in right standing with God as a very
devout and well-educated Jew enforcing God’s law. It must have been a total
shock to him when he heard Jesus speak to him the way that he did.
Command: Don’t become so academically right
that I am unable to recognize God when he reveals himself to me.
Promise: Nobody is unreachable. Saul was moving
in the opposite direction when God literally knocked him down to have a real
encounter with him.
Warning: We can be so right in what we know
that we miss God himself.
Application: I have always been afraid of the possibility of blindly
living in deception. The truth is, we are all blind and deceived about a lot of
things, but nobody wants to get caught realizing they were moving in the wrong
direction. I have had to accept that we will always have things we are blinded
to, but my prayer is that I would allow my heart to be in a place where God is
able to teach me and reveal truth to me without having to knock the pride out
of me to do it. 1 Peter 5:5 says that God resists the proud but gives grace to
the humble. I don’t want to find myself working against God so I’m asking God
to keep my heart tender and teachable. That I wouldn’t become so attached to my
own ideas of truth that I prevent God’s voice from getting to my heart when he
speaks to me.
Message: So much is going on in Acts 8. After
Stephen was stoned to death it seemed to launch a wave of persecution
throughout the church and Saul was known for leading much of it by going house
to house throwing believers into prison. Chapter 8 says that “all except the apostles
were scattered”. At first, I took this to mean that the apostles kept preaching
and everyone else got scared and hid, but as I read on, I saw that this was not
the case at all. The rest of the church
was scattered to other lands and away from where most of the persecution was
happening, but they carried the gospel with them and continued preaching
everywhere they went. This is where we find that Phillip was called by the holy
Spirit to approach an important Ethiopian official who was reading the
scriptures of Isaiah about the sufferings of Jesus. He interpreted the
scriptures for him, and the man asked to be baptized. I realized that if the
believers had all stayed together in Jerusalem they would have continued building
their own faith together as a church, but since the rest of the Jews in the
area were not receptive to the gospel, not much more could be done there. The
persecution forced Christians out to other areas where people were open and
willing to respond to the gospel. The scattered believers, like Phillip were
listening to the Holy Spirit and the gospel was being spread to other lands.
Command: Don’t pray for restored security,
pray for God to show me the opportunities created during an upheaval of my
security.
Promise: Whenever there is hardship there is
also opportunity.
Warning: Self-focus on problems, and desiring
to stay in my comfort zone of security will keep me from seeing opportunities.
Application: As I read this, I was thinking about
how much we value our comfort zones. In America we have no idea what real
persecution even looks like, but we know what it’s like to have our comfort
zone messed with. Often times when we experience something that threatens our sense
of security, whether it be a job or financial disruption, or an illness, we begin
focusing on praying for restoration of whatever we feel was unfairly taken from
us. What if instead, we accepted that even though security is comfortable, it
is not necessarily in our best interest. We feel safe when we have all of our
ducks in a row and are not in a place of unsure, but we thrive when we are
forced to seek God for what’s next. Don’t get me wrong. I’m writing from a
place right now of having two secure incomes and health during a world pandemic
crisis and nobody is threatening to stone me to death or throw me in jail for
believing in Jesus. I have more security right now than many have, but I’m marveled
by the scattered believers who responded to their threat of security by leaving
their homes and sharing the gospel in other lands. This challenges me so much
to get out of my tiny little bubble of personal hardships and open my eyes for opportunities
around me to share the gospel with someone who is ready to hear it.
Message: In Acts 7, Stephen had been brought
before the Sanhedrin council and was falsely accused of blasphemy. Specifically,
he was accused of saying that Jesus came to change the customs that Moses had
handed down to their ancestors. They brought false witnesses to support their
cause and then asked him “Is this true?” Then entire chapter is a history
lesson and a cliff’s notes condensed version of a large chunk of the old
testament beginning with Abraham. As I read this, I kept wondering what Stephen’s
point was but I also remembered that right before he began speaking they saw
his face shone like an angel. This was not Stephen speaking, this was the holy
Spirit speaking through Stephen. He highlighted through the generations of
respected prophets of old and described the rebellion of the people against
every single one of them. He called out their hypocrisy. They were accusing
Stephen of blaspheming the prophets of old when truly, none of their
generations had honored the prophets of old. They rejected them and often
killed them and now they were about to do the same to Stephen. Stephen boldly
told them that just as their ancestors rejected Moses, they rejected Jesus and
were continuing to do so. Since they were still in rebellion, they did not
receive this correction and instead they stoned Stephen to death.
Command: Let the gospel be observed in my life
by surrendering my heart to it, not just outwardly defending it.
Promise: God willbe made known by my surrendered
heart not my defensive/offensive words.
Warning: Those who are hardened in heart or in
rebellion will not respond in repentance. They will be offended by it.
Application: As I read this, I thought about
America overall. We describe ourselves as a Christian nation and many of our people
who describe themselves as God-fearing Christians are not even surrendered over
to Jesus and are actually living in a state of rebellion. They are blind to the
rebellion though, because they see their moral code and political stance as a
defense against those whom they see as offensive to God and in opposition to
our Christian roots as a country. Just like the Sanhedrin council, who saw
themselves as men of God defending their roots, this is what many American
Christians look like. They appear moral on the outside, but they are not inwardly
surrendered at all. God needs no defense. The gospel is strengthened when we
surrender our lives like Stephen did and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us
and through us. I challenge myself to pay attention to the moral code I
project, and ask God what areas I am defending traditions and roots in an
outward response, rather than surrendering my heart and allowing the Holy
Spirit to work in and through me.
Message: In Acts 6 as the church was growing,
complaints started coming in that the widows were not being properly cared for.
The apostles listened to these complaints and chose 7 men “of good reputation,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom” to manage this while the preaching and
teaching of the gospel continued. What really stood out to me here was verse 7 “so
the preaching of God flourished, the number of the disciples multiplied, and a
large number of priests became obedient to the faith. There are no further
details mentioned about these priests to shed light on what caused their
obedience to change. The footnotes in my Bible suggest that because of their
temple duty functions this may have put them in a better position to hear the
apostles preach on a regular basis. That may be so but what I thought about as I
read this was that the church was functioning in a healthy way. Practical needs
were being met while the gospel was being preached. People respond to the
gospel when they believe someone also cares about their practical needs. You
can’t witness these things without being impacted. I’ve heard so many people
come back from missions trips where they expected to make an impact by sharing
the gospel, and they themselves were impacted because they got their hands dirty
and met some practical and very critical needs like digging wells and building
shelters.
Command: We need to care about both the
sharing of the gospel and meeting practical needs.
Promise: When our lives are in balance with
these two things, the church will be balanced. When the church is balanced, she
is healthy. When the church is healthy it grows, thrives and functions in
unity.
Warning: If our balance is shifted heavily on
one of these things more than the other, we will not be as effective as we
would if they were in balance.
Application: What this means to me as I apply this
to my own life is that in order for the church to thrive and be healthy, we
ourselves need to be healthy. Not perfect, but healthy. We need to care about
both the practical needs as well as the sharing of the gospel. Sometimes we
believe that we are one or the other. This may be true of our giftings, but we
are all called to do both. Some of us will never stand on a pulpit to preach
but we are all supposed to be teaching someone. We are also supposed to be
aware of those around of who have practical needs. If we are waiting for a
church ministry to handle the practical needs we see, we are missing our call
to action. This COVID-19 season is a huge opportunity to pay attention to the
friends, coworkers, neighbors and acquaintances in our lives that are
struggling and need either practical needs met like some food or toilet paper,
or the spiritual needs of people who need encouragement or reassurance. The
gospel multiplies when the church thrives in both of these areas together. It
reminded me of the famous quote “People don’t care what you know until they
know you care.”
Message: Two things really spoke to me in Acts
5 and they seemed like separate things, but they really aren’t. At the
beginning of the chapter, Ananias and Saphira saw other people selling their
land and donating the entire profit to the church. This was not a requirement.
It was something these men chose to do. Ananias and Saphira sold a piece of
their land but conspired together to hold back an amount but tell the apostles
they were donating the entire profit. Peter called them out because their
motives were not the same as the others. They were looking for the praise and
approval of men, and in doing so they lied in order to get it. Nobody told them
they had to sell their land, and they had every right to donate whatever they
wanted, but they dishonored God by lying about it. Toward the end of chapter 5,
when it was discovered that Peter and John were miraculously let out of jail
during the night, the Sanhedrin council was meeting to discuss what to do with
them. Gamaliel, a well-respected Pharisee dismissed the apostles outside and
advised the council to “be careful what you do”. If this work was truly of man,
it would be overthrown, but if this was the work of God, they could not stop
it, and they may even find themselves fighting against God.
Command: Deal with people honestly and
truthfully because everything we do with people, we are actually doing toward
God himself.
Promise: If we are honest and truthful with people,
we will not find ourselves fighting against the plans and the work of God.
Instead we will find his favor.
Warning: Even if we fool people, or manipulate
plans to fit our own agenda, we are doing ourselves in because we are actually
doing this to God. It might seem like we are getting away with it for a while,
but he will not be mocked, and our plans won’t stand up against his.
Application: Initially when I read through his
chapter, I saw these two stories as separate topics. Both are very familiar
stories. What I really saw in them both was the bigger picture that literally
every interaction we have with people should be considered as if we are interacting
with God himself. When we lie to people we are lying to God. When we manipulate
situations, we are attempting to manipulate God. The difference here is that
even if we get away with lying to people, or manipulating plans, we cannot get
away with doing it to God. He knows and sees literally everything we do, think,
say- even subconsciously. He sees our inner thoughts and motives and even if we
lie to ourselves, we can’t get away with lying to God, even if it seems like
for a while, we are getting away with it. The advice that Gamaliel gave to the
Sanhedrin council was solid. He recognized that God had all authority and
knowledge of all things. It seemed that even though the council recognized the
hand of God moving in situations, for some reason their foolish pride really
believed they could put a stop to God’s work and preserve their positions. This
seems crazy, but when I really think carefully, I have to wonder how many
things I believe I can control by working the system with people. Maybe
creating an inaccurate or slightly embellished image, or maybe influencing
plans for or against other people to give myself an advantage or make myself
look better. None of this happens out of the view of God. He sees everything
and even if it appears to be working, look out! God will not me mocked!
Message: In Acts 4 Peter and John were taken
before the priests for questioning about the paralyzed man that was healed. They
asked them “under what power, or under what name” this man was healed. They
wanted to punish them in the hopes of putting a stop to the spread of the gospel
but they recognized that the people believed and they themselves knew that the
healing was undeniable. The healed man was standing right there with them and
everybody knew him. I find it sad that even though the priests recognized that
something beyond the power of man was happening, but they were not willing to
let go of their earthly position and the privileges that came with their
status. Instead they chose to threaten Peter and John in the hopes of slowing
down the spread of the gospel. Peter warned them that their obedience to God
was higher than their obedience to any priest or governor. What really caught
my attention here is that when they left, Peter prayed and it wasn’t the kind
of prayer you would expect. He wasn’t praying for favor, or for deliverance of
this hardship. He prayed for more boldness to continue on doing the will of God
and the work of the father. He didn’t look at it as an obstacle that needed to
be removed in order for him to obey. He accepted the challenge exactly as it
was and asked God to give him what he needed to continue.
Command: Accept the circumstances and ask God
for empowerment.
Promise: God is faithful to give us exactly
what we need when we walk in obedience.
Warning: When we do the will of God, people
and circumstances will try to disable or discourage us.
Application: This chapter encouraged me so much
when I saw the way Peter prayed. He accepted the circumstances exactly the way
they were, and he didn’t blame anyone or ask God to change them in order to make
his life easier. This reminded me of all of the things in my life that I have
been praying so fervently for God to change, but it challenged my motives for
praying for the change of other people. I should pray for change for their own
benefit, but as for making my own life easier or better, this is something I
absolutely have to ask God to change in me. My obedience to God can’t have any
dependence on what someone else is or isn’t doing, and if there are hinderances
or obstacles, my prayer is that God would give me the boldness, endurance,
wisdom and motivation to push through them in order to obey God. Peter did not
see himself as a victim, and he didn’t feel sorry for himself or blame the men
who were trying to oppress him. Truly they were not after Peter personally,
they had an agenda to stop the spread of the gospel. Peter recognized this and
he knew that God would empower him to do what he needed to do.
Message: In Acts 3 Peter and John were walking
to the temple for prayer when they saw the same paralyzed man they had seen
begging for years. AS I was reading this I was thinking about the sudden
transformation in Peter, from the Peter we saw just a few chapters ago. Peter and
the other disciples had been following Jesus throughout his ministry and really
had not done any of the miracles themselves. They watched Jesus, were
instructed to do certain things and were scolded a lot. Peter had gone though his denial of Jesus
just before he was crucified and now just a short time later, he had seen the
resurrected Jesus, been given some instructions, warned of his sufferings to
come and filled with the holy spirit. Now he was a completely different man
-bold and unapologetic. What was different? Before the crucifixion and for a short
time after, Peter was fearful of man. He had the expectation that Jesus would
overthrow the government to reign as king and when he saw that Jesus was not
doing that, and then what the people did to him he was terrified for his own
life. After Jesus was resurrected and after Peter was filled with the holy
spirit he was no longer afraid of man. In fact he was out there boldly
reminding crowds of people what they did to Jesus and putting it in their faces
that Jesus was untouchable. Peter was no longer afraid because he finally
really knew who Jesus was. His awe of God was bigger than his fear of man.
Command: Transition from the role of a fearful
apprentice to a confident ambassador.
Promise: Jesus promised the power of the holy
spirit to lead us.
Warning: A fear of man will hinder our ability
to communicate who God is.
Application: As I relate this to my own life I
think about things in my life that seem to be controlled by others. I also think
about the people in my life that don’t know God and have rejected him entirely.
I want a boldness like Peter had to go out and face the very ones whom he once
feared and provoke them to salvation. Peter knew Jesus before all of this, much
like I believe I know Jesus now, but something drastic changed in Peter when he
really knew Jesus to the point that he finally understood what Jesus had been
doing and trying to show them. Holy Spirit, please show me the things I can’t
see and don’t understand so that I can really know Jesus. Not just by what a
read or study, but in a way that makes me bold enough to provoke people to salvation.
Message: In Acts 2 the apostles were all
gathered together in one place just as Jesus told them to do. The Holy Spirit
filled the room and then filled them all. They began speaking in other
languages as the Spirit gave them the ability. Even though they were in a room,
this caused such a commotion that all of the visitors walking around in the
busy city heard them all speaking in their own native languages. The responses
were of both wonder and of cynicism. There are many biblical scholar arguments
on whether they were actually speaking all of those human languages or whether
they were speaking in a supernatural language that that caused the people to
hear in their own native languages. I think it’s an interesting thing to read
about, but to me the point was that all of these different nations were hearing
the praises of God in their own languages for the first time ever, and this was
a sign that God was no longer exclusive to just the Jews. The Gentiles were now
included and invited to the table. The very last thing Jesus had said to his
disciples before he ascended to heaven was “you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” This
massive event had everyone talking and it opened the door for them to begin
preaching the gospel. Because of this 3000 people were saved and baptized that
day.
Command: We are to be witnesses to people of
all nations.
Promise: People will be saved and the church
will grow in unity and in influence.
Warning: When God moves there will be always
be both wonder and cynicism.
Application: I have always read this chapter and
focused on the power of the Holy Spirit that baptized them and gave them power.
What I really saw in this today is that God used the Holy Spirit to unite the
apostles and that unity spread to everyone who heard them. The power of the
Holy Spirit launched unity in communication and opened the opportunity for the
preaching of the gospel because it was a bold invitation to all of the nations
that they were invited in. What used to be exclusive only to the Jews was now
open for everyone. Everyone walking through town felt included because they
heard their own languages. They were away from home and anyone who has
travelled around the world understands the comfort of hearing your own language
in another land. You feel a sense of common ground and trust when someone
speaks your language. What this speaks to me is that we need to allow the Holy
Spirit to work through us to relate to people like only he can. He speaks the
languages of the heart that we don’t understand and when people feel that
communication is relatable they feel invited. This is true whether we are
talking to people about salvation, or working through a problem. Holy Spirit,
please communicate through me in a language that is welcoming and inclusive so
that those who hear it will know they are loved, they belong and that they will
respond to the invitation.
Message: Proverbs 1 introduces us to a
monologue style script of wisdom personified. Back in the days that I used to
bounce around parts of the bible to read I didn’t quite understand that it was
wisdom speaking here and some of these passages sounded so harsh and
judgmental. Things like “I will laugh at you and mock you in your calamity”.
This is not the heart of God, it is the consequence of our rebellion. I can
think of all of the times that I had this tiny little though “I should…” and
for whatever reason I didn’t act on that small voice and as soon as the
consequence came I felt like the situation itself was mocking me for not
listening. This is what I believe this is about.
Command: Listen to wisdom. Don’t ignore her
voice!!
Promise: Listening to wisdom will increase
learning. It also brings peace even in hardship because you aren’t anticipating
a consequence.
Warning: This chapter is FULL of warnings! The
main warning is that once wisdom is ignored, it’s too late to avoid the
consequence and you won’t be rescued from it. The situation itself will make
you look like a fool.
Application: My challenge to myself here is to pay
attention to those small little warning thoughts. The “I should and I shouldn’ts”.
Don’t brush them off no matter how small they seem.
Message: In John 21 the disciples have another
surprise encounter with Jesus. After three years of following Jesus they
returned to what they knew. Fishing. They didn’t catch anything and on the way
in Jesus tells them to put the net on the other side and they will catch fish.
They had no reason to believe this was Jesus telling them to do this so I’m not
sure why they followed the stranger’s instructions other than What did they
have to lose? When they caught an overloaded supply of fish they recognized
that this stranger on the shore was in fact Jesus. Peter was so overcome with
joy that he jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus. Once again, I wonder how
Jesus looked and sounded that they were unable to recognize him after three
years of following him. They recognized his ways. Even when they came to shore
and he cooked them breakfast this passage says they did not question whether or
not it was him because they recognized his ways and not his physical
appearance. This is interesting because in the rest of the passage he presses Peter
and his love for him and then tells him that he will suffer and die for it. He
really had to know this was the Lord speaking to hear that. Also important to note
is that Peter asked him “what about John”? Jesus basically told him that it
didn’t matter what the plan was for John (or anyone else)- he could choose to
let him live a carefree life, but he was not to be concerned with that.
Command: We were called to suffer with Jesus,
and though we recognize him most in the blessing, we need to stay close when
the trouble comes too.
Promise: Whatever is ahead, if we spend time
with Jesus we will recognize his hand at work.
Warning: He is the God of miracles but we are
also called to suffer with him.
Application: What I really got out of this whole
chapter is that I have to really know God intimately in order to recognize his
ways when they look different and when they seem to have a scary outcome. Peter
didn’t hesitate but to jump in the lake and swim to Jesus when He recognized his
ways in a stranger. That same encounter brought some pretty hard news to Peter
and he really had to trust that this was still Jesus telling him these things.
I think it’s tempting to hear news like this and immediately say it’s either
not of God or even blame the devil. Peter recognized that Jesus was in the
miracle and he was also in the warning of hard times to come. His love and trust
did not change by these circumstances. He just wanted to be with Jesus. This is
real life and we can recognize the goodness of God when it happens in our lives
but we also need to trust and recognize him when he appears to us with words of
warning and suffering. They are both Jesus and the most important thing is to
be with him. He will be with us through it all. Our relationship with Jesus has
always been compared to a marriage. This is a great example of “For better or
for worse”.
Message: In John 20 Mary arrives to the tomb
early enough to find it empty but she was fresh on the scene because as soon as
she saw it empty cried believing someone stole his body. Two angels asked her
why she was crying and immediately after that Jesus himself asked her why she was
crying also. Although Mary spent a great deal of time with Jesus, she didn’t
recognize him until he spoke her name. Later on when he appeared to his disciples who
were hiding in a locked room they didn’t recognize him either. Not until he
showed them his wounds. I find this interesting as well because why would these
men whom he had spent the last 3 years with not recognize him unless he didn’t
look the way he had always looked? Also interesting is that the very next thing
he did was breathe on them and say “receive the Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit
is the one who reveals the unseen. Before Jesus was crucified he talked about
it quite a bit. There were fulfilled prophecies and he told them exactly what
would happen but they didn’t understand any of it until Jesus baptized them
with the Holy Spirit.
Command: Don’t get stuck in the pattern of
seeing everything the way it has always been. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the
things we can’t see on our own.
Promise: He is with us even when we can’t see
him or don’t recognize him because promised to never leave us or forsake us.
Warning: If we expect to see him as we have always seen
him, we will miss him when he changes approach or appearance.
Application: What I got from this is that
sometimes we don’t recognize Jesus at work in our lives because he has always
looked a certain way to us. We expect that he’ll appear the way he always has
but when he changes his approach we need the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what
we can’t see. In Mary’s case he called her name and that was all it took. There
is something very personal and very soothing about hearing your name spoken by
a loved one and I believe we have encounters that feel so personal in nature
that we suddenly recognize that the Lord is calling our name through them. When
he appeared to the disciples he showed them his wounds and scars. They recognized
him immediately when he did that. Could it be that we also recognize Jesus through
pain?
Message: In John 19 Pilate has Jesus flogged to
try to appease the Jewish leaders. He questioned Jesus but he brought him back
outside where the Jewish leaders were waiting and told them he found no legal
grounds or charging him. The Jews were not happy about it and they argued that
they had their own law that said he needed to die because “he made himself the
son of God”. Something I never noticed before was that Pilate was more afraid
than ever by this statement. His wife had previously warned him that she had a
dream and to have nothing to do with charging Jesus and now the Jews were
trying to get him to give the execution sentence. He told them to do it
themselves, but they pulled a political move on him. They made it about Jesus
being a king and threatened his allegiance to Caesar if he didn’t do something
about it. This is the move that pushed him over the edge and made him give in
to their manipulative plan.
Command: Don’t let anything have so much
priority that it threatens our faithfulness to God.
Promise: Everything that happened there was
prophesied and confirmed. We have the advantage of seeing it all in scripture.
Warning: Anything that we hold high in value
becomes a potential stumbling block to our faith.
Application: As I read this I saw that Pilate was
really uncomfortable with the whole situation. He wanted none of it and after
his wife had a dream and then he heard the words that Jesus spoke he was
actually afraid. But his fear of political consequences was bigger. He compromised
his better judgment to preserve his political position. We all have the danger
of doing that. Pilate didn’t have a relationship with Jesus like we do, but if
there are things in our lives that pull on us we will find ourselves tempted to
give in no matter how much we say Jesus is our priority. We have to check
ourselves that we don’t allow relationships, jobs, status or anything else to
have a stronger pull on us than Jesus, or we will cave under pressure and
compromise our faith.
Message: In John 18 Jesus is arrested and being tried by the priests and the Roman officials. While the priests were fabricating charges the Roman officials were telling them they found no fault in him. While all of this is going on, Jesus is being brought into the homes of the Roman officials, but the priests are waiting outside because they were afraid of defiling themselves. This struck me as so ridiculous because they were there falsely accusing Jesus of treason and trying to get him executed, but they were concerned about getting gentile cooties on them. IF they didn’t they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate Passover.
Command: Follow after his heart and the rules will fall into place!
Promise: God has a deliverance plan that is way beyond our petty motives!
Warning: Our obsession over rules blinds us to the truth.
Application: As I read this I thought about all of the Christian religious things we obsess over following, while we simultaneously accuse others and hoping for their downfall. This is as sick as it gets!
