Category: Acts

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Acts

A story that doesn’t end

To be continued

We now come to the end of the book of Acts. I can’t believe that with this, we come to the end of Biblical history. All that remains are the letters that were written by the apostles and the Revelation given to John.

But the story ends in an unusual way. It in fact has no ending.

We see Paul arriving at Rome and sharing the gospel with the Jews who were there.

As was the case throughout his ministry, some people believed, and some didn’t. And when some utterly rejected his message, he moved on to preach to the Gentiles.

At the end of the book, Luke tells us,

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:30-31)

You’d expect to read about his appearance before Nero. Or to at least hear about the end of Paul’s life. But you hear neither. Instead, you just see him preaching the gospel to all that would listen.

Why does the story end this way? I don’t know.

But perhaps it’s a way of telling us that the story of Acts goes on to this day.

To this day, the gospel continues to go out. Some people when they hear it close their eyes and ears as the Jews did and continue to do to this day.

But God has made sure throughout history that his gospel, despite persecution and all kinds of attacks on the church, both from within and without, has continued to go out.

And now we are a part of the story.

We have heard the gospel and come to believe it. Now, like Paul, we are called to go out, filled with his Spirit, and preaching the gospel to every nation.

Are you? Are you filled with his Spirit? Without him, we won’t have the power to share the gospel as God has commanded us.

A lot of people call this book the “Acts of the Apostles.”

But from the very beginning, it has truly been the acts of the Holy Spirit working through his people.

So as I finish this book, I go back to the beginning to where Jesus told his apostles,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

May we all go out, filled with the Spirit, continuing the story started 2000 years ago.

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Acts

When the Spirit is working within us

Acts

There was an old action show I remember that was based on the phrase, “One man can make a difference.”

We see that here in this passage.

But perhaps I should probably amend that earlier phrase to, “One man filled with the Spirit of God can make a difference.”

Paul and his shipmates landed on the island of Malta, and cold as they were, they built a fire.

Paul, being the kind of man he was, instantly volunteered to help build the fire. But as he put some wood on the fire, a viper came out and bit him, literally hanging on his hand until Paul shook him off.

When the islanders saw this, they said,

This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live. (Acts 28:4)

And they waited for him to die. When he didn’t, however, they changed their minds and said, “He must be a god.”

I’m sure Paul quickly disabused them of that idea as he introduced them to the one true God.

Then, Publius, the chief official of the island welcomed them onto his estate, and when Paul saw that Publius’ father was sick, he prayed for him, and immediately, he was healed.

When the people on the island heard of this, they came from all over to be healed by Paul. The result of this?

Malta eventually became a Christian nation, and remains so to this day.

The point? When the Spirit is working within us, we can make a difference.

We may not be shaking off poisonous snakes or healing people, but when the Spirit is working in us, people will notice and lives will be changed.

So as Paul once put it, let us continue being filled with God’s Spirit day by day (Ephesians 5:18) that others may see him in us and come to know him themselves.

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Acts

A beacon in the storm

Acts

Jesus once said to let our light shine before men, and you really see Paul’s light shining through in this passage.

At a time when everyone on the ship he was sailing on had lost hope because of the storm, Paul brought hope. He told them,

But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.

Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:22-25)

Later, with things still dark, and the men still discouraged, he told them,

For the last fourteen days…you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food–you haven’t eaten anything.

Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. (Acts 27:33-34)

He then broke bread, gave thanks to God, and ate. By doing so, he gave the men in the boat hope, and they ate too.

That’s part of what it means to be light. To give hope to the hopeless.

So many people in this world are without hope because of their circumstances. But in Jesus, we have the source of hope, and as he shines through us, it gives hope to those around us.

But Paul was light in another way. By his words and his life, he encouraged people to do what was right.

We see this first when some of the sailors were planning to sneak off of the ship without the prisoners and leave them all to die.

But Paul warned them,

Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. (Acts 27:31)

And so they let the lifeboat go.

Then, after the ship had run aground, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners lest they escape.

But because of the light that Paul had been, the centurion in charge refused to give them permission to do so, and in the end, all were saved.

In the same way, being light means showing people what it means to live right, both through our words and through our lives.

And as people see our lives, it should inspire them to do what is right as well.

How about you? Are you light to those around you?

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Acts

Following the majority

Acts

Following the majority is always the easy thing to do, especially when it happens to be what you want to do. But it’s not always right.

That’s what the centurion in charge of taking Paul (and the other prisoners) to Rome learned in this chapter.

Because of weather conditions, they were making much slower headway than they had hoped, but Paul knew that the weather would only get worse. So he warned them,

Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also. (Acts 27:10)

Whether this was direct revelation or insight from God, or merely Paul’s own sailing experience is not clear.

What is clear is that the centurion didn’t want to wait. And after consulting with the pilot and the owner of the ship, the “majority” decided it would be best to sail on and winter at another harbor.

Why didn’t they listen to Paul?

For one thing, they probably figured he wasn’t a sailor, and they trusted their own judgment over his.

For another, they were impatient. They had lost time and probably wanted to make up for it.

But by following the “majority,” it nearly cost them their lives.

How about you? Do you follow what God is telling you, or do you simply follow the majority?

Sometimes, we follow the majority in terms of peer pressure. Everyone is doing something we know is wrong, and it’s hard to go against the grain.

Sometimes we follow the majority in terms of culture. I see this often times in Japan where Christians will compromise their faith at Buddhist ceremonies for the sake of “culture.”

But just because you’re following the majority does not make you right. And there are times when it puts you at odds with what God is telling you to do. Not only can that lead to disastrous consequences, those decisions also pain God.

Paul tells us,

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

When we follow the majority at the expense of turning our backs on what God has said, that’s exactly what we end up doing: grieving God.

Who are you following?

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Acts

Compelled

Acts

In this passage, we see three reactions to the gospel.

One is persecution, like the Jews persecuted Paul.

The second is people thinking we’re crazy, as Festus thought of Paul.

The third is a patronizing attitude toward us and the gospel, as Herod had. An attitude that looks upon us as naive children for believing such a thing.

And yet, Paul continued to speak.

Why? I think we see the reason in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Paul wrote,

If we are out of our mind (as Festus contended), it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind (as Paul asserted), it is for you.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (1 Corinthians 5:13-14)

Why did Paul speak? Because he was convinced in his heart that Christ loved us so much that he died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins.

And the love of Christ that had touched him now compelled him to share that news with others, no matter what they thought of him.

And that’s the attitude that we should have.

If we truly believe that Jesus died for us, if we have been truly touched by his love, that love should drive us to share the gospel with those around us that they too may receive the same gift of life that we have.

Some may persecute us. Some may think we’re crazy. Some may look on us patronizingly.

But does the love of Christ drive you to share the gospel with them anyway?

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Acts

Obedient to the call

Acts

As we look at this passage, we see Paul’s appearance before Festus and Herod Agrippa II.

This last of the Herods that we see in the New Testament was the son of Herod Agrippa I who had killed James and had attempted to kill Peter.

At any rate, the Jews once again tried to get Paul to be brought to Jerusalem so that they could kill him, and when Festus tried to convince Paul to appear in Jerusalem (not knowing the Jews’ plot), Paul appealed to Caesar.

That left Festus in a bit of a quandary because he wasn’t sure how to present the charges that were made against Paul, which were purely religious ones.

So when Herod came by for a visit, Festus consulted with him, and Herod agreed to hear Paul’s defense.

And so for the final time in the book of Acts, we see Paul give his testimony. Each time he spoke, we see a bit more of his story.

One of the most interesting things here was the mission Jesus gave to Paul on the road to Damascus.

I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:17-18)

The same mission that Jesus gave to Paul, he gives to us.

We are to share the gospel with those around us that they might see their own bondage to sin and the darkness that they’re in.

We do this so that they might be set free from the kingdom of Satan and brought into the kingdom of God, forgiven of their sins and adopted as his children through faith in Christ.

Concerning this mission given to him in the vision, Paul told Festus and Herod,

I was not disobedient. (Acts 26:19)

How about you? God has told us to go and spread his gospel to those around us.

Are you? Are you fulfilling the mission he has given you?

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Acts

Integrity

Acts

Although Felix had been freaked out by Paul’s discussion of God’s coming judgment, he nevertheless, continued to call Paul in to chat. Why?

He was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. (Acts 24:26)

One wonders what kind of subtle hints he gave Paul.

“It sure must be tough being restrained as you are. You’re so gung-ho for your religion. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just get out of here so you could spread it more easily? Your God would want that, right?”

Or,

“Your church must be really worried about you huh? Say, how big is this movement? What kind of resources do they have? I’m sure they’d do anything to help you, right?”

Paul wasn’t dumb. He knew what Felix wanted. But he refused to violate his integrity.

For two years this went on until finally, Felix was replaced by another man named Festus.

It would have been so easy for Paul to take the easy way out and give Felix the bribe he wanted. And there were so many “good reasons” he could have given for doing so. But he refused. Why?

One, he loved his Lord. And he put his trust in God that in his timing and his way, God would set him free…or not.

Either way, he refused to do anything that would displease his Lord.

Second, it would have destroyed his witness before Felix.

Think about this. He had just been lecturing Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment for sinners. What would have Felix thought if Paul had suddenly turned around and offered a bribe?

Felix would have thought, “There must be nothing to what Paul said. If there was, he wouldn’t have offered me this bribe. He’d be too worried about this coming ‘judgment.'”

But Paul never compromised and his testimony stood.

How about you? Do you hold on to your integrity even though it may seem more convenient not to?

Hold on to it. Keep putting your trust in God, knowing that he would never ask you to do something that he has said is wrong. Commit yourself to doing things his way.

To do otherwise would not only sadden God, but destroy your witness with those you’ve been sharing Christ with.

Are you holding on to your integrity?

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Acts

The whole counsel of God

Paul and Felix

Paul once told the Ephesians,

I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-27, ESV)

What did he mean by “the whole counsel of God?” I think we catch a glimpse of it here.

Paul was brought before the Roman governor Felix to face his accusers. After the initial hearing was held, Felix called in Paul more than once to chat, and Paul took the opportunity to talk about his faith in Christ.

But Paul didn’t stop at talking about God’s love, the cross, and the salvation that comes by faith. Rather,

Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. (Acts 24:25a)

In short, Paul told Felix, “You know that your life is not right before God. You know that you have sinned, and unless you turn from your sin, you will be judged someday.”

The result?

Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” (Acts 24:25b)

The gospel is not all God’s love and good, warm, fuzzy feelings.

The gospel also is, “There is a serious problem. You have sinned and are facing condemnation. So turn to Christ. Put your faith in him and his work on the cross for you while you can.”

And if we fail to tell people this, we are not giving people the whole counsel of God, and we will be responsible for their blood if they go to hell.

I’m not saying we should literally “scare the hell out of them.”

The Gospel is “good news.”

And the good news is that we don’t have to go to hell. That God loves us so much that he made a way, not only to escape hell, but to live a life that’s full and complete. To have a life filled with his joy and peace.

That’s where our main focus should be when preaching the gospel.

But we do need to warn people, “If you refuse Jesus, you are facing judgment.”

Some people, like Felix, may become fearful as a result.

They may chase us away until a more “convenient time.”

But how they respond is not our responsibility. All we can do is share the message God has given us.

How about you? Are you giving the people the full counsel of God?

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Acts

A God whose purposes cannot be thwarted

Acts

I mentioned yesterday that God will accomplish his will in our lives and no power on this earth can stop him. We see an example of this in this passage.

Some men had taken an oath to kill Paul, and had asked the chief priests to assist them in this.

I wonder what kind of an oath they took? That is, did they swear before God that they would do this? That would be the ultimate irony. “I swear before you, O God, that I will break the sixth commandment and murder a man.”

Now I’m sure they didn’t word it that way, but that’s essentially what they said. Even worse, the priests not only condoned it, but agreed to help them keep their oath.

But God is not one whose purposes can be thwarted. And so he placed Paul’s nephew in such a position that he somehow heard about the plot.

God then put favor in the heart of the Roman commander to not only listen to the warning, but to do everything possible to keep Paul safe until he could have his trial. As a result, the murder plot went for naught.

That should encourage us in our lives. Sometimes the world can seem against us as we do God’s will. Sometimes they actually are plotting against us.

But ultimately, nothing can thwart God and his purposes. So as Moses once told the people at the Red Sea,

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you… (Exodus 14:13)

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Acts

The God who stands near us

Acts

Sometimes, we tend to think of the apostles and other people in the Bible as superheroes. That they always faced death courageously and without fear.

Certainly there were times they were like that. (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego certainly seemed that way, among others).

But I don’t know if that was always the case. They were human just like us, after all.

And as I read this passage in Acts 23, I wonder what was going on in Paul’s heart.

He had just been involved in a situation that had become so violent that the Roman commander got him out of there thinking Paul was going to get torn to pieces by his accusers.

As Paul lay in bed that night, what was he thinking? Was he experiencing doubt? Fear? Was he worrying about if he could accomplish the things he had thought God desired him to do.

Whatever he was thinking, it says in verse 11,

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

A few things strike me here.

First, the Lord stood near Paul. And it’s a reminder to me that even through our darkest times, through our trials, and through our doubts and fears, the Lord is always standing by us.

Second, the Lord told Paul, “Take courage.”

Why would you tell someone to take courage if they already had it?

Perhaps because of all his circumstances, Paul was wavering a bit. But the Lord steadied him and said, “Take courage.”

Sometimes we too waver a bit in our faith. We waver concerning the path God has put us on. But God gives us the same message he gave Paul. “Take courage.”

Why should we take courage?

Because God will accomplish his will in our lives and no power on this earth can stop him. He told Paul,

As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

In other words, “Don’t worry about all those opposing you. You will fulfill the purposes I have called you to. Just stand strong and keep trusting in me.”

How about you? Are you starting to lose faith because of your circumstances? Are you starting to give in to fear because of the opposition you’re facing?

Take courage. Know that the Lord is near. And keep trusting and following him, knowing that he will accomplish his will in your life.

Let us remember the words of Paul himself, who said,

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)

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Acts

Shrewd as a serpent

Acts

I think in this passage, we see a perfect example of someone being as shrewd as serpents as Jesus told his disciples to be in Matthew 10:16.

Surrounded by a pack of wolves, Paul shrewdly divided those who would attack them. How? By claiming his heritage as a Pharisee.

He told them,

My brothers, I am a Pharisee the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead. (Acts 23:6)

This was completely true. He was on trial because he believed in the resurrection of the dead, namely Jesus.

Of course he didn’t mention the latter part, but by saying what he did, his accusers became divided between those who believed in the resurrection of the dead (the Pharisees) and those who didn’t (the Sadducees).

Not only that, one wonders what later impact he might have had on some of the Pharisees who had initially opposed him. For some were saying,

We find nothing wrong with this man…What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? (Acts 23:9)

The point is, know the people you are talking to.

There are people that may oppose you and be utterly hardened toward the gospel. But by knowing who they are, and how they think, God can give you insight in how to turn the tide in their hearts.

And with some shrewd words, the seed of the gospel may be planted in their hearts.

So remember the words of Jesus.

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

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Acts

Blinded by our prejudices

Acts

It’s very interesting here to see Paul confronted by two groups that were blinded by their prejudices.

The Jews, were so blinded by their prejudices as God’s people that they couldn’t see that God wanted to reach “Gentile sinners” too.

To them, for any Gentiles to be saved, they had to become just like them, and even then, there were limitations in how much they felt these converts were truly accepted by God.

So when Paul even mentioned the fact that God had sent him to reach the Gentiles, they immediately rejected the idea.

The Romans on the other hand had a very low view of the Jews. And they automatically assumed that no Jew could possibly be a Roman citizen.

As a result, they were ready to flog Paul, even though it was illegal to do so to a Roman citizen without a trial. Even when Paul told the Roman commander he was a citizen, the commander found it hard to believe.

But when the commander finally realized the truth, he was alarmed at what he had done (put Paul in chains) and what he had been about to do (flog Paul).

The point is that we can all get in trouble when we get blinded by our prejudices. We can get in trouble with other people, but more importantly, we can get in trouble with God.

God loves all of us, and he sent Jesus not just for the sins of a certain race, but for the sins of all peoples. He came not just for a certain select among the people of the world, but for all.

And when we become Christians, God makes no distinction at all among his children.

As Paul himself would later say,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

So let us toss aside our prejudices and see people for who they really are. People created in the image of God, all of whom are loved by him and in need of Christ.

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Misunderstood

Acts

It’s interesting to me that while Paul was trying to clear up a misunderstanding between the Jewish Christians and himself, he caused another misunderstanding in the process.

Apparently, the Jews, both Christian and non-Christian, were under the impression that Paul taught that if you were a Jew, you should just abandon the law of Moses completely.

Because of this, James and the other church elders suggested he join in on a purification rite along with four other Jewish Christians.

More, they suggested to Paul that he should pay their expenses so that their heads could be shaved as part of a vow they had taken. (They had perhaps taken a Nazirite vow as described in Numbers 6).

Paul assented. Some commentators claim this was a mistake, that Paul should not have compromised in this way.

It’s hard to make a definitive statement on this, but my guess is that he didn’t. That rather, he was becoming as a Jew to save the Jews. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Mistake or not, while it may have helped his standing among the Jewish Christians, he was still accused by the other Jews of not only teaching against the law of Moses, but of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into it.

(Paul never did, but they made that assumption based on seeing him hang around with an Ephesian in Jerusalem).

The point is that when you follow Christ and do the things he’s called you to, you are always in a position where you could be misunderstood.

You can be misunderstood by people inside the church, or even outside the church. And regardless of what you say or do to clear up the misunderstandings, some people simply will not understand you.

So what can you do?

Keep following Christ. Keep doing the things you feel he’s asked you to do. That’s really all any of us can do. And leave the judgments up to him.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t take a close look at our own actions. Maybe the criticisms made of us are completely without basis.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s something in those criticisms that we need to take a closer look at.

So take a look at your actions and motives. Then act according to what you feel God is telling you.

But in the end, take the attitude of Paul himself who said,

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.

At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

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Acts

No matter the cost

Acts

It’s a little tricky trying to interpret this passage. Were the prophesies concerning Paul going to Jerusalem meant merely to warn him of what was ahead of him? Or were they meant to turn him from the course he was headed?

My guess is the former. From the very day he was converted, he was told that he would have to suffer for the name of Jesus in taking the gospel to both Jew and Gentile. (Acts 9:15-16)

It was perhaps because of this, that when the people pleaded that he not go back to Jerusalem, Paul said,

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 21:13)

In other words, he was determined to follow Christ no matter the cost, and nothing and no one would ever dissuade him from doing so.

How about you? God never promised that life would be smooth if we followed him. He never promised that everyone would love us for doing so. In fact, he promised the exact opposite. (John 16:33 and 2 Timothy 3:12 among others).

It’s one thing to know God has said this, however. It’s another to face it head on. Will you?

May God give us the grace and courage to face such situations when they do come.

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Acts

Finishing the race

Acts

There are several things that strike me about Paul’s final address to the Ephesians.

First his words in verse 24. After talking about all the trials he had been warned by the Holy Spirit were coming, he said,

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.

For Paul, that meant the proclamation of the gospel. And that he did to the point where he could say,

Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. (Acts 20:26-27)

But then he encouraged the elders of the Ephesian church to finish their race, to take care of the church God had placed in their care. And so he told them,

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31)

If there is one thing that Paul makes clear here, it’s that Satan will try to keep us from finishing the race God has given us.

One way he does this is through attacks from outside the church through persecution. But another way he attacks is from inside the church by bringing in false teaching to lead us astray.

And so Paul warned them to watch out for it. Yet we would do well to be prepared as well.

We need to know that some will hate us because of our faith. And we shouldn’t be surprised if persecution comes, even from those closest to us.

But we also need to know God’s Word so well that we are not deceived when we come across false teaching, whether on TV, in books, or even in our own churches.

It might seem a bit intimidating to know that we have an enemy that wants to take us down. And we might wonder how we can possibly handle it.

But Paul said,

Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

In other words, ultimately it is God and his grace that will keep us in the end. It is his grace that saves us, and his grace that keeps us.

As John wrote,

The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

So let us run the race God has given us knowing that we don’t run it alone or in our own strength. And by God’s grace, we will finish it.

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Acts

Serving man-made gods

Acts

Here in this passage, we see a riot that started because of the worship of man-made gods.

It’s interesting to me, though, that it was the god of money that seemed to be the most important to Demetrius, the silversmith who started the whole uproar.

When speaking out against Paul, he mentioned first the loss of income that he and the other tradepeople would incur if the people started to believe in the one true God.

The loss in “dignity” their goddess Artemis would suffer was almost an afterthought to him.

But because of his worship of these two “gods,” it nearly led to violence and could have caused utter disaster for the city had not the city clerk stepped in to quell the uprising.

Even today, however, the worship of man-made gods continues to cause havoc in the lives of people everywhere.

The love of money has destroyed marriages and relationships, caused scandals in churches and governments, destroyed the lives of many through the sale of drugs and other harmful substances, and caused countless other problems in the world around us.

Worse, the love of money, false idols, and other “gods” turn people from the one true God. And unless the people who serve these gods repent, their souls will be lost for all eternity, separated from Him who is the source of life.

How about you? Are you serving man-made gods or the one true God?

The worship of man-made gods ultimately leads to destruction. Only He who alone is God can give you true life.

Who are you serving?

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Acts

Putting away the past

Acts

Happy New Year!

I suppose as we head into a new year, it’s only natural to think of it as a time to start anew. And the good news of Christianity is that God does give us a new start when we come to him.

That’s what he did for the people in Ephesus. As people came to believe in Christ, they turned away from their sins.

Many who had been involved in sorcery went so far as to burn the scrolls they had used when practicing sorcery, which was worth no small amount of money.

Just as importantly, they did all this publicly so that all would know about their decision.

What can we get from all this? A change in heart should lead to a change in our actions.

If we have truly come to believe in Christ, it should cause us to put aside the things in our lives we know are wrong, even though it may be costly to do so.

Maybe up until now, our business practices have been profitable, but shady. God calls us to put those practices aside.

Or perhaps we’ve been sleeping with our boyfriend or girlfriend. God calls us to start living in sexual purity, even though it may cost us that relationship.

And as we do, we need to be clear to those around us just why we are making these changes.

We do them, not simply because we want to turn over a new leaf, but because of the gratitude in our hearts toward God for all he’s done for us. That through the cross of Christ, he has granted us forgiveness for our sins and a new start in life. A life filled with his love, joy, and peace.

Some may become angry with us for it. Some may mock us and reject us. But some may be touched by the love of Christ through us and find him, as happened in Ephesus.

For because of those believers and the change God worked in their lives,

The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:20)

How about you? What is God asking you to put aside in your life this new year?

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Acts

Second-hand relationship?

Acts

Jesus told his disciples before he went to the cross that they would do greater things than he did.

You see some of that in this passage where handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched were taken to the sick and they were healed, while those who were demon-possessed were set free.

Apparently, however, there were some men (who were sons of a priest) who fancied themselves as exorcists and attempted to use the name of Jesus “whom Paul preaches,” to cast out demons.

But the demon replied, “Jesus, I know and Paul too. But who are you?” The demon-possessed man then beat and utterly humiliated them.

What can we get from this? When it comes to God, a second-hand relationship means nothing.

It doesn’t matter if everyone in your family is a Christian. It doesn’t matter if you go to church and hang around Christians. If you don’t have a first-hand relationship with God, you have nothing.

Satan and his demons certainly won’t recognize you as God’s child, but even more importantly, neither will God.

When you appear before him on judgment day, you can say, “Don’t you know me? I went to church every Sunday. My dad and mom knew you. So did all my friends.”

But God will say, “I know your parents, and I know your friends, but who are you?” And you will be separated from him for all eternity.

How about you? Do you have a true relationship with God? Do you truly know him?

Or do you only have a second-hand relationship with him?

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Acts

When to move on

Acts

It’s hard to see people we love and care about reject the gospel message. But eventually there comes a time when we simply have to move on and leave them to God.

When does that point come? I think we find the answer in this passage.

As usual, Paul was preaching about Jesus in the synagogue while in Ephesus.

He did this for about three months, but at the end of that time, the people there were “obstinate,” “refused to believe,” and worse, went out of their way to “publicly malign the Way.” (Acts 19:9)

Paul’s response? He moved on to preach to others who would listen.

Sometimes, when we preach the gospel, we get the sense they are open to hearing more. And as long as they are, we should keep sharing with them.

But if we sense they are instead hardening their hearts, or worse, becoming hostile to the gospel, then it’s time to leave them in the hands of God, and move on.

To keep pushing the gospel on them not only does no good, it can become counterproductive. We cannot make people believe. Only the Holy Spirit can.

As Paul wrote, we can plant the seed of the gospel, we can water it, but only God can make it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

So when people are rejecting what we have to say, let us step aside so that He, who alone can change the human heart, can do his work.

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Acts

Going beyond repentance

Acts

In this passage, we see some people that were similar to Apollos, but different.

Like Apollos, they had been disciples of John, but unlike Apollos, they were unaware of the one John had been pointing to.

So while they had been baptized by John, they had probably left him before Jesus’ baptism and John’s declaration of him as Messiah.

In other words, they had repented of their sins, but were not yet following Jesus.

And so Paul taught them about Jesus, after which they believed and were baptized both in water and in the Holy Spirit.

I suppose that if there’s one thing to get from this passage, it’s that it’s not enough to be sorry for your sins and repent. It’s not enough to say that you want to follow God. You also must put your faith in Jesus.

Jesus isn’t one of many ways to God. He is the only way. And if you don’t have him, you have nothing.

How about you? Have you put your faith in Jesus?

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Acts

A teachable heart

It is so easy sometimes to think we know it all. We come to church on Sunday, and hear the message, and as we do, we say, “I knew that.”

This is especially a problem for those who have been in church for a long time. I admit, I have been guilty of that kind of attitude more than once, and I still struggle with it sometimes.

Maybe the things we know are accurate. But that doesn’t mean that we no longer have things to learn.

Apollos was that way. Apparently, he knew about Jesus, and his knowledge was accurate to a point, but it was incomplete. And so Aquilla and Priscilla “explained to him the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:26)

I think the important thing was that Apollos was teachable. He didn’t shrug off their teaching, saying, “I already know it all.”

Rather, he drank it all in, and as a result, his ministry became more powerful. I’m also sure that his life became more fruitful as well.

How about you? You may be a mature Christian that knows much about scripture. But do you still have a teachable heart? Are you humble enough to admit you don’t know it all yet?

Only with that kind of heart, will we continue to grow as Christians and bear the fruit that God desires from us.

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Acts

Fulfilling our responsibilities

Acts

One thing that Paul did was he preached the gospel. Wherever he went, he preached to the people that Jesus is the Christ.

Why did he do so? One reason, of course, was that Jesus commanded him to. And it was not a one-time command either. Jesus first gave him that charge when Paul was saved (Acts 9:15), and we see it again here where Jesus told him,

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. (Acts 18:9)

But there was another reason. Paul remembered the words of God to Ezekiel. Namely,

When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:18-19)

That’s why after the Jews rejected his message in Corinth, he told them,

Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. (Acts 18:6)

He would later tell the elders in Ephesus something similar (Acts 20:26-27).

The point is, we have a responsibility to share the gospel to those we know.

We are not responsible for how they react, but we are responsible to tell people the truth. And if we don’t, God will hold us responsible for their blood.

Paul understood this. Do you? Are you taking the gospel to the people God has put in your lives.

As Jesus told Paul, he now tells us:

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. (Acts 18:9)

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Acts

A second Christmas

Acts

Well, Christmas has come and gone here in Japan. I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I did mine.

As I read this passage though, it strikes me that there is still a Christmas we are yet waiting for.

The first Christmas marked Jesus’ first coming. His purpose? To bear our sins on the cross. To take the punishment that we deserved that our sins might be forgiven.

But Paul tells us here that Jesus is coming again. And this time, he will be coming for judgment. Paul said,

For he has set a day when [God] will judge the world with justice by [Jesus whom] he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)

To those who reject him will come condemnation for all eternity. But to those who receive him as Lord, their ultimate salvation from this fallen, broken world will come, and all things will be made new.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

The question is, are you ready? There is only one way to be ready. Paul told the Athenians and us,

Now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent. (Acts 17:30)

To repent means to turn around. To stop going your own way and to start going God’s way. To stop putting your trust in yourself, and start putting it in Jesus Christ.

And if you do, you will be ready when “Christmas” truly rolls around again.

Are you ready?

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Acts

Made known, not far

Acts

Merry Christmas from Japan!

This morning I watched my five year old daughter open her presents, and as I think about the expression on her face as she did, I think about the opening words of an old song.

As little children, we would dream of Christmas morn,
And all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find.

But we never realized a baby born one blessed night gave us the greatest gift of our lives. — David Meece

It was the night when the invisible God became visible, the night the unknown God became known and drew near to us.

And that’s one of the things that Paul wanted to let the Athenians know. They had made an altar for “The unknown God.”

And Paul told them, “He is no longer unknown. He has revealed himself to us. He is not one of many gods. He is the one who created this world and everything in it. He is the Lord of all and the giver of life. And he has done everything just as he has planned it.”

Why did God do all this?

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. (Acts 17:27a)

The good news as we seek him?

He is not far from each one of us. (Acts 17:27b)

One of Jesus’ titles is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”

The good news of Christmas is that God drew near to us, and we can now know him, truly know him, and come into a close relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

As John put it,

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (that is, Jesus), who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1:18)

On that first Christmas day, God drew near to us.

This Christmas, let us draw near to him.

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Acts

Provoked

Acts

It can be easy, sometimes, to get numb to the evil that we see in the world.

Perhaps at first, the things we saw bothered us, but as time passed, we started getting “used to it all.” Now we barely notice it at all.

Paul certainly didn’t have that problem. He walked into Athens and saw a number of idols all over the place. And Luke tells us,

He was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16)

The NASB puts it this way,

His spirit was being provoked within him.

The word provoked is used only twice in the New Testament, once here, and second, in of all places, 1 Corinthians 13:5 where Paul writes that love is not easily provoked or angered.

Yet Paul was provoked here. Why? Because people were going to hell because of these idols. Satan had deceived them and was making a mess of their lives.

And so he did something about it. He boldly took the gospel to these people that they might be saved.

How about you? Are you provoked by the evil around you? By the injustice? By people calling what’s evil good? By Satan’s work that causes people to be destroyed every day?

If not, there is something wrong. People inhabited by God’s Spirit cannot just look at evil and yawn. We cannot be indifferent. We need to go out led by God’s Spirit and be light and salt to the world around us.

Jesus said,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15)

Are you tasteless salt because you’ve become numb to the evil that’s in the world? Are you a hidden light because of your indifference?

Let us be neither. Rather let us be provoked in our spirit to the point that we do something about it.

Let us no longer sit in silence, but go as God’s light in a darkened world.

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Acts

Testing what we hear

Acts

In this day and age, we can get information from just about anywhere. Radio, TV, and especially the internet has made it easy to get news and hear opinions coming from every possible angle.

This is also true concerning our faith. People from pastors to laymen write and speak out their views of God and the Bible, and can attract great followings. But how often do we test what we hear?

Unless we test what we hear, we can easily be swayed by those who really don’t deserve our trust.

We see this with many of the people who lived in Thessalonica and Berea. Many of the enemies of the gospel found it quite easy to stir up the crowds against Paul and his companions.

Why? Because the crowds didn’t test what was said. Instead, they simply believed the lies that were told to them.

But even the people who believed Paul’s message didn’t always test what they heard. Luke compared the believers in Thessalonica and Berea by saying,

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)

Think about this a moment. Paul was one of the greatest of the apostles. And yet Luke, through the Holy Spirit, praised the Bereans for not simply believing what Paul had said, but for checking that what he said matched scripture.

If the Bereans checked out what Paul said, shouldn’t we be doing the same with our pastors? Shouldn’t we be doing the same with the Rick Warrens, Joel Osteens, John Pipers, Joyce Meyers, and Billy and Franklin Grahams of the world?

(I personally have my reservations on two of these names. I’ll leave you to test their teachings with scripture to figure out who. :))

The problem with too many people is that they don’t check out what they hear. They simply believe because someone sounds good or makes them feel good.

The result? They end up by being blown around by every wind of teaching and away from the path God has for us. (Ephesians 4:14)

Let us not be that way. Let us not miss the path God has for us because we fail to test what we hear. Instead, as the apostle Paul says, let us,

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

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Acts

Set free

Acts

If there is one theme in this chapter, it’s being set free.

Lydia and her household were set free from their sin, and perhaps the Jewish requirements of the law as well.

The girl was set free from the demon possessing her.

The jailor was set free from his sins, and perhaps so were many of the other prisoners.

And of course, Paul and Silas were set free from their chains.

All of this, in fact, is summed up in their prison experience. As they were sitting there, probably in great pain because of the beating they had taken, they nevertheless started singing and praising God.

At first, all the other prisoners must have thought they were nuts. But somehow they sensed a reality to what they were hearing. Perhaps they even sensed God’s presence in the prison and started asking Paul and Silas questions.

The jailer, meanwhile, probably just went to bed thinking they were all crazy. But then, an earthquake hit, and when it did,

All the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. (Acts 16:26)

Those words strike me. Because when we let God work in our lives, that’s exactly what happens. Prison doors fly open, and everyone’s chains come loose. Not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those we touch.

God’s love touched the prisoners in the jail cells to the point that none of them tried to escape when Paul asked them to stay. And it touched the jailer to the point that he cried out,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30)

And because of that love and compassion that flowed out of Paul, the jailer and his family were set free from the chains of Satan that had bound them all their lives, and they were all filled with great joy.

God wants to set those around you free. That’s why Jesus came 2000 years ago. So let us spread the love of God to those around us, especially this Christmas. And let us share the message of the gospel that Paul did.

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household. (Acts 16:31)

And people will be set free.

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Acts

When our plans are not God’s plans

Acts

We see a very interesting passage here in which time and again, Paul and his companions try to go to different places, and each time are told no by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, after probably more than a few days and perhaps weeks of frustration, Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia saying,

Come over to Macedonia and help us. (Acts 16:9)

At this, they immediately made plans to leave for Macedonia.

What can we learn from this? It’s so easy for us to go about here and there doing what we think is God’s will, but instead we find obstacle after obstacle and end up in utter frustration.

What’s the problem? Many times we’re not doing God’s will. We’re doing our own will in God’s name.

So what should you do if you’re finding yourself frustrated in ministry? Take a step back. Seek God. Stop saying, “God, please bless what I’m doing.”

Instead, pray, “God show me what you’re doing and how I can join you in your work.”

And as you seek his will, he will make it known to you.

How about you? Are you truly doing God’s will? Or are you simply doing your own will in his name?

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Acts

Becoming all things to all people

Acts

In this passage, we find a very curious thing.

On one hand, Paul was going from city to city to tell the Christians about the council’s decision that the Gentile believers didn’t have to be circumcised.

But then he circumcised one of his traveling companions, a man named Timothy. Why?

I believe that if Timothy had been 100% Greek, that is, a full Gentile, Paul would not have let him be circumcised any more than he allowed another man named Titus to be circumcised. (Galatians 2:3)

As a full Gentile, it’s likely Titus’ main ministry would have been to fellow Gentiles, not Jews.

But Timothy was already a half-Jew who was also trying to reach out to the Jewish community. And unfortunately, there was no way the Jewish community would have accepted him if, being a Jew, he was not circumcised.

And so in order to be an effective witness to them, he allowed himself to be circumcised.

Paul put it this way,

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law…

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:20, 22)

What does this mean for us? Do what you can to identify with the people you’re reaching out to. If people can’t identify with you, they will not listen to anything you have to say.

Here in Japan as a missionary, that means learning the language, the culture, and how people think.

But even if you’re reaching out to people in your own country, you need to learn how they think, what they enjoy, and how they live. And do what you can to meet them where they are.

Maybe you’re a really outgoing person that loves huge crowds.

But if the person you’re reaching out to is the type that’s really uncomfortable with a lot of people, it’s not wise to throw them into a huge church event where they have to interact with a lot of people.

Rather, it’s better to spend one on one time with them.

Maybe you’re not so into sports. But if they invite you to watch or play a game with them, join them in their world for a few hours.

In short, for the sake of the gospel, learn to identify with those around you. That’s what Timothy did, and that’s what Paul did.

How about you? Who has God put in your life? And what can you do to identify with them so that some might be saved?

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Acts

Giving people a second chance

Acts

We see in this passage a break in the partnership between Paul and Barnabas. And it came because of a young man named Mark.

Mark had initially joined them on their first missionary journey, but for some reason had decided to go home early.

Why, we don’t know. Perhaps he had been homesick. Maybe he hadn’t been ready to handle the opposition they faced.

Whatever his reasons, Paul apparently felt they weren’t good ones, and he had felt abandoned by Mark.

So when Barnabas suggested taking Mark again on a second missions trip, Paul vehemently nixed the idea. Barnabas got so upset about this, that he parted company from Paul.

Barnabas then went with Mark to do missions work in Cyprus, while Paul went his own way with Silas.

I can totally understand Paul’s feelings. It’s hard to work with someone you can’t trust. But in this case, he forgot the very thing he preached: grace.

Later, he would come to recognize this. Given a second chance, Mark proved himself faithful, to Barnabas, then to Peter, and ultimately to Paul. Some time later, Paul wrote to Timothy, saying,

Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11)

Ultimately, when you think about it, there had to be grace on both sides. Paul in forgiving Mark’s past failings, and Mark in forgiving any hard feelings he had had on Paul’s rejection of him.

But they both gave each other second chances and were blessed because of it.

How about you? Has someone let you down? Has someone hurt you?

Just as God has given us second chance after second chance, we need to give others second chances too.

Am I saying that we must put our full faith in them right away after they have failed us? No. But we should give them a chance to earn that trust.

And as they prove themselves worthy of that trust, gradually let go of your reservations, and start believing in them again.

Our Father is the God of second chances. As his children, shouldn’t we be the same?

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Acts

Grace alone

Paul and Barnabas

This was probably the biggest theological debate the early church faced, and it was a critical one.

Paul and Barnabas had been taking the gospel to the Gentiles, but not everyone was happy about the gospel they were preaching. Paul and Barnabas were telling the Gentiles (and Jews),

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

But not all the Jewish believers, particularly those who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, could fully accept this.

Yes, they believed in the forgiveness of sins through Christ, but they added an additional requirement, that Gentiles be circumcised as Jews and follow all the requirements of the law.

I like how the ESV puts the situation.

Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them. (Acts 15:2)

I can bet there was no small dissension between these men.

And so a great council was held in Jerusalem to discuss the question.

First, Paul and Barnabas talked about all that God had done among the Gentiles. Then the Pharisees stood up and basically said, “That’s all well and good, but they still have to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish laws.”

That set off a round of heated discussion.

I can only imagine the conflict going on in Peter’s heart.

On one hand, he had been born and raised a Jew, following as best as he could the law of Moses. It was still probably hard for him to accept completely God’s message of grace to the Gentiles, and he probably sympathized with these Pharisees.

But it was he who had opened this can of worms in the first place by taking the gospel to Cornelius.

And through these discussions, he probably went through the same war in his mind that he had when God first told him in a vision to kill and eat from the unclean animals and to not call, “unclean” what God had made clean.

But ultimately, it was those words, and the lesson that God shows no distinction between Jew and Gentile (Acts 10:34-35) that swayed Peter.

Finally, he spoke out.

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. (Acts 15:8-11)

That quieted everyone, and lent more impact to Paul and Barnabas’ words when they reiterated their experiences with Gentiles.

Finally, James confirmed everything they had been talking about by quoting from scripture. With that, all objections died.

What can we get from this? Simply this: it is by the grace of God alone that we are saved.

We’re not saved by Christ’s work and our work. We are not saved, as the Mormons would put it, “by grace after we’ve done all we can do.”

Nor are we saved by grace plus all we can do.

We are accepted by God because of Christ’s work alone.

Like Peter, though, we often struggle with this idea. And because of it, we find ourselves struggling with God’s acceptance of us because we’re not “good enough.”

Or worse, we start looking down on others because they’re not “good enough.”

The truth is that none of us are worthy of salvation.

That is in fact the whole point of grace. That though none of us are worthy, through the blood Christ shed on the cross, we are made right with God.

We don’t have to worry about making ourselves worthy before God. We are already acceptable in his eyes.

Do you believe that? Do you really believe God accepts you?

Never forget the words of Paul who said,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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Acts

Through many hardships

Acts

One thing you could say about Paul and Barnabas’ missionary journey: it certainly wasn’t boring.

As well as having much success, they also went through many trials, even to the point of Paul getting stoned and left for dead. It would have been easy to get discouraged and give up.

But not only did they not get discouraged, they returned to the places where they had been persecuted.

Why return? To strengthen the believers there and to encourage them to remain true to the faith. What did they say to encourage them?

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather hear about the blessings of God.

But Paul knew that these new converts would go through some tough times. If the people in those cities persecuted Paul, they were sure to do so to these new converts. And so Paul didn’t sugarcoat his words. They would go through hardship.

What was the good news then? They wouldn’t have to go through the hardships alone. God himself would be with them, just as he had been with Paul and Barnabas through their hardships.

And so just as Paul and Barnabas had been committed to the grace of God when they had been sent out from Antioch for this journey, they now committed these new converts to the Lord.

They knew that God’s grace would carry these believers through whatever hardships they might go through. (Acts 14:23)

In the same way, no matter what trials or hardships you may go through, God will always be with you, and his grace will ultimately bring you through to the other side.

The same God that was with Paul and Barnabas is with you now. So whatever you’re going through, don’t give up. And don’t get discouraged.

As the old hymn goes,

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

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Acts

Only men

Pedestal

As I read this passage, I think of the number of high profile pastors that have fallen over the years. People that were put on a pedestal only to be knocked down. And with their fall, everyone was reminded that they were only men.

Yet it is so easy to put people on that pedestal. Perhaps because God is intangible, we like to put people up that we can see as our examples, as the ones we admire and follow. But they are only men (or women).

That’s something we all need to remember, both leaders and those who follow.

It was something that Paul certainly kept in mind.

When he and Barnabas went to Lystra, they healed a man in Jesus’ name. And when the crowd saw this, they immediately wanted to worship them as gods.

The reason was that in their mythology, Zeus and Hermes had come to earth posing as humans once before. Most of the people had ill-treated them and were punished, while the one couple that had welcomed them was rewarded.

Determined not to repeat that mistake, the people tried to offer sacrifices to them. But Paul and Barnabas cried out,

Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.

We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God… (Acts 14:15)

Yet despite their words of protestation, they still had trouble stopping the people from sacrificing to them.

Paul faced a similar problem in Corinth, where people in the church this time were arguing about which leader was the greatest. But Paul asked them,

Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:13)

And again,

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

It is always dangerous to put even the godliest of men or women on a pedestal.

They are only human.

And humans fail.

Humans let us down.

And if our faith is in them, rather than God, they will ultimately let us down. And then where will we be?

Paul warns us,

Each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

What foundation are you laying your faith on? On your pastor? On your favorite author or speaker? Or on Jesus Christ?

Always remember that it is only Jesus who is a sure foundation. And the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame or be dismayed. (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6)

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Acts

Opposition

Acts

If there is one word that comes to mind as I read this passage, it’s “opposition.”

As Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel, they faced opposition from Elymas and the Jews.

One was spiritual opposition. The other was opposition that sprang up from human jealousy and sin. (Although you could argue that all opposition to the gospel is ultimately spiritual.)

How did Paul and Barnabas respond? When the direct hand of Satan was involved, they confronted it by the power of the Holy Spirit, as they did when dealing with Elymas.

One thing we cannot do is face spiritual powers on our own. They are more powerful than us. But as John wrote,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

And by the power of the Spirit, Paul and Barnabas vanquished Elymas, and Sergius Paulus and his family were saved.

When confronted by humans in their jealousy and pride, Paul and Barnabas continued to stand boldly and preach the gospel.

And when the people hardened their hearts, Paul and Barnabas moved on. First to the Gentiles in the city, and then, ultimately leaving the city to minister to others.

In the same way, we will face people who will oppose us for their own selfish reasons. And we will face others that simply will not believe no matter what we say.

Eventually, the time will come when all we can do is to leave them over to God and his judgment. We cannot make them believe. All we can do is to preach the gospel. The rest is up to them and God.

So when people reject the message, don’t get discouraged. Simply move on, and continue speaking boldly.

All of us will eventually face opposition. But when you do, remember the words of Paul himself, who said,

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

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Acts

Set apart for God’s work

Acts

I remember the first time I ever considered being a missionary. I was talking with a friend, and somehow we got on the topic of missions. And I remember telling him, “I don’t think I’m called to be a missionary.”

My friend, responded, “How do you know? Did you ask him?”

“Well….no.”

That night (or the next, I can’t remember), I was talking with God and recalled my conversation with my friend.

“Tony was saying I should ask you about being a missionary.”

At that point, a thought popped into my mind. I know it wasn’t from me because there is no way I would have ever thought it.

God told me, “Yeah, ask me.”

I immediately replied, “I don’t want to ask you. What if you say yes?”

I then got into this long argument with God, the kind where he lets you talk and just kind of sits there in silence until you talk yourself out.

When I finally saw how fruitless it was to argue, I said, “Okay, Lord. Do you want me to go?”

I didn’t get an answer that night, but it was the starting point of my journey to Japan.

Two or three years later, I was seeking God’s direction for my life, and another friend encouraged me to make sure I had given everything up to God. That I had not taken anything back from him.

As I was driving home that night, God spoke again. “Bruce, you’ve taken Japan back from me.”

It was something I had not realized. I had gone to Japan on a short term mission, but when it was over, I didn’t think it was for me. And though it was not a conscious choice, I had taken it back from God.

So once again, I surrendered my will to his. I have now been in Japan for about 20 years.

Why do I mention all this?

It seems all so similar to what happened in this passage. Christians seeking God, and God saying, “Go. I’m setting you apart for my purposes. Go.”

It’s in this passage, by the way, that you see the clear personality of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit himself who tells them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

And after more prayer and fasting, they went.

I’m still wondering about all the reasons God sent me here. I don’t think I’ve nearly accomplished all that God brought me here for. And so as I write this, I’m thinking I need to be seeking God on this once again. Why am I here?

But God has not just called me, or pastors, or missionaries. He has called you as well. He has set you apart for his purposes.

Do you know what those purposes are? And are you doing the things he is asking you to do?

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Acts

A pride that leads to destruction

Acts

Solomon wrote,

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

We see this in the life of Herod Agrippa I.

To be clear, this is a different person from Herod Antipas who had been involved with John the Baptist and Jesus in the gospels.

Herod Agrippa was the grandson of King Herod, who had attempted to kill Jesus as a baby. And he was just as bloodthirsty as his grandfather was.

He was responsible for the death of James, and would have killed Peter had God not delivered him. And for Peter’s escape, Herod killed the men who had been guarding him.

Herod was a powerful man…and very proud. He had exerted his power to the point that the cities of Tyre and Sidon, two cities that had been in dispute with him, had humbled themselves and sought to make peace with him.

And as he sat before them, they shouted out,

This is the voice of a god, not of a man. (Acts 12:22)

Herod accepted this praise, and because of it, an angel struck him, and shortly thereafter, he died.

If there is one thing that God hates, it’s pride, because pride places a wall between us and him. We start to think we can live without God and that we don’t need him.

Our pride also puts a barrier between us and others. How often, because of our pride, do we destroy our relationships, our friendships, our marriages, and our families?

And as with Herod, pride will ultimately lead to our destruction if we refuse to repent.

If we in our pride say, “I don’t need you God,” God will eventually give us what we want: life for all eternity without him.

But when we get it, we’ll find out that we’re cut off from life, love, joy, and peace. Because all of these things find their source in God. That’s what Herod found out.

How about you? Is your pride standing between you and your friends, your spouse, the people at work, or the people at church? Even worse, is it standing between you and God?

As Peter wrote,

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:5-6)

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Acts

God’s response to prayer, our response to him

Acts

This is a very interesting story on many levels. The most amusing part of it is Peter showing up at the door after being released from prison, and Rhoda the servant girl being so excited that she left him at the door to tell the others.

But as I look at this story, I can’t help but ask one question.

Why did God save Peter, but not James?

Answer: we don’t know.

You have to believe that the believers prayed for James at least as much as they did for Peter.

And you can’t say that it was a matter of having enough or not having enough faith when they prayed, because they clearly didn’t believe Peter would be set free despite their prayers.

Had they really believed Peter would have been set free, they would have immediately run to the door to let Peter in. Instead, they wasted time debating Rhoda’s sanity.

You can’t really blame them for their lack of faith. After all, their prayers for James seemed to have been in vain. And they had probably had more faith praying for James than they had praying for Peter because of God’s deliverance of the apostles in Acts 5.

Yet God delivered Peter and not James.

What can we get from this?

First, God will not always grant us our prayers no matter how much faith we have. Sometimes, what we desire is simply not his will. For his own purposes, he tells us no.

The question then becomes, “How do we respond to his nos?”

Will we keep trusting him though we are disappointed? Will we keep believing that his way is best? And will we keep praying despite our disappointment?

That’s what the believers did in this passage. Despite their disappointment, they didn’t give up on God. They didn’t get bitter.

Instead, when another problem came, they immediately went to God again. And despite their lack of faith, God in his grace answered and delivered Peter.

That brings up the second point. God is not limited by our faith or lack of faith for a certain request.

Certainly, he prefers the former to the latter. But he is not limited by it. Because he is a God of grace, giving to us what we don’t deserve.

The key though, is that we continue coming to him, believing that he is good, and that he will do what is best.

And though God will not always give us what we want, he will always bless that kind of faith. Because it is that kind of faith that pleases him.

As the writer of Hebrews said,

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

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Acts

Filled with the Spirit and full of faith

Acts

Barnabas was a remarkable man. We saw him first in Acts 4 where he sold his land and gave the proceeds to the church so that they could help the needy.

We saw him again in Acts 9, when he brought Saul before the skeptical and fearful apostles, and vouched for Saul before them.

Now we see him again, reaching out to the Gentiles. When the Christians finally started reaching out to the Gentiles and saw fruit, the apostles sent Barnabas to them, and it says,

When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. (Acts 11:23)

He then reached out to Saul, and asked him to join him in ministering to the believers in Antioch (where we first hear the name “Christian” being used).

And when a prophesy was made that a famine would hit Jerusalem, Barnabas and Saul took the gifts that were collected in Antioch and brought them back to Jerusalem.

The verse that strikes me, however, is verse 24.

[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. (Acts 11:24a)

That’s the kind of man I want to be. A good man.

Barnabas was actually this man’s nickname. His real name was Joseph, but he was so beloved, he was called, “The Son of Encouragement,” by those who knew him.

Why was he this way? He was full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

He was a man so filled with the Spirit, that fruit burst out from his life.

Love poured out from him, causing him to see the best in people, to believe in people that others wouldn’t, to give generously of his time and money, and to speak words that encouraged all who heard.

His faith went far beyond just simple belief. It permeated every aspect of his life. And people noticed. Because of this,

A great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:24b)

That’s what I want. To be so filled with the Spirit and faith, that people can’t help but notice and be attracted to our Lord.

For some people, faith is simply a personal thing, something to be kept private. And for others, the filling of the Spirit is again, mostly for their own personal benefit. A way to feel blessed.

But when we are filled with the Spirit and with faith, it changes us. It changes the way we think. It changes the way we live. It flows out of our lives and it touches other people, causing them to become interested in God.

How about you? Are you filled with the Spirit and with faith?

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Acts

Opposing God

Acts

When Peter came back from Cornelius’ house, he returned to an uproar in Jerusalem.

Rumors had spread about how Peter, a leader of the church, had actually welcomed Gentiles into his house and then went to visit one of them. Not only a Gentile, but a Roman centurion.

And so as soon as Peter entered, they converged on him and accused him, saying,

You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. (Acts 11:3)

To these men, what Peter had done was utterly scandalous. He had, with full knowledge, made himself “unclean” by associating with these men.

And so Peter related to them all that had happened: his vision, Cornelius’ encounter with the angel, and finally the Spirit falling on Cornelius and all who had been with him.

Peter concluded,

So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? (Acts 11:17)

Who was I to think that I could oppose God?

I like the ESV translation here.

Who was I that I could stand in God’s way?

How often do we stand in the way of what God is doing?

Because of our prejudices?

Because it’s something new that we’ve never seen before?

Because it goes against everything we were taught to believe?

Because of our own hardness of heart?

Because of our pride?

One of the hardest things for people to admit is, “I could be wrong.”

Another hard thing for people to admit is, “God could be using them too.”

And if we refuse to humble ourselves, we could find ourselves fighting against God.

Ultimately, we need to do what the apostle Paul commanded us to do.

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

Of course we should test new things to see if they are from God. But we should also test our hearts. Test our beliefs. Test our pride.

That’s what the Jews in Jerusalem had to do. Their conclusion?

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18)

And they no longer stood in God’s way, but joined in with his work. (Acts 11:19-26)

How about you? Are you standing in his way? Or are you rejoicing in what he’s doing and joining in with his work?

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Acts

Breaking through the barriers

Acts

God had to break through some pretty great barriers to get the gospel to the Gentiles. Ironically, one primary barrier that he had to break through was one he had pounded into the Jews’ minds, the idea of clean and unclean.

If you look at the book of Leviticus, this is an idea that is repeated time and again. “Don’t do this. It’ll make you unclean. But if you do this, you’ll become clean again.”

Or, “Don’t eat this. It’s unclean. But this other food is okay. It is clean to you.”

What was the whole purpose of these laws? It was to imprint in the minds of the Jews the need to be holy as God is holy.

The problem was, the Christians failed to recognize that these (and other such Mosaic laws) were mere pictures of their relationship with God, and that with the coming of Jesus, these pictures were fulfilled.

And so throughout the early church, you see this battle between those who contended that these ritualistic laws (as opposed to moral laws) were no longer relevant, and those who contended that they were.

At this point, Peter and the rest of the Jews were squarely in the realm of the latter.

But with one fell swoop, God knocked it all down. He gave Peter a vision in which he presented a number of “unclean” animals, and told Peter to kill and eat them.

Peter was appalled. Perhaps he thought God was simply testing his faithfulness. So he said,

Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. (Acts 10:14)

But God’s rebuke was sharp.

Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. (Acts 10:15)

And to make the point crystal clear, he repeated the vision two more times.

At that point, Cornelius’ men came, and God told him,

Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them. (Acts 10:19-20)

Prior to the vision, there is no way Peter would have gone to them. To enter the house of a Gentile and fellowship with him would have made Peter, “unclean.” But with the vision still fresh in his mind, he went.

And when Peter heard the story of Cornelius, and saw the Spirit fall upon Cornelius, his family, and his friends, the church was changed forever.

So what do we get from this? I think the main thing is what Peter told Cornelius.

God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. (Acts 10:28)

Nowadays, we don’t have the problem of whether to follow Jewish laws and rituals or not. But how do we look upon the people around us?

Do we see certain people as beneath us? As unworthy of salvation? Do we loathe to even hang around them because of their race or social status?

Or perhaps we think they’re beyond salvation because of how badly they’ve treated us or how badly they’ve hurt us.

Jesus died for us all, including them. And we have no right to call them “impure” or “unclean.”

Yes, like Cornelius, they are stained with sin. But Jesus can take anyone and make them clean. And like Peter, we may just be surprised that the same Spirit that fills us can fill them if we will only take the gospel to them.

What barriers of prejudice or bitterness have you set in your minds against the people around you?

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Acts

Those who have not heard

Acts

One of the big conundrums Christians come up against when saying Jesus is the only way to heaven is the question, “What about those who have never even heard about Jesus? Will they go to hell too?”

And because of this question, many people start to wonder if perhaps there is another way. Everything we read in scripture, however, clearly states there is no other way. And we see it in this story as well.

Here was another man who, like the Ethiopian eunuch in chapter 8, was a God-fearer. He gave alms to the poor, and prayed continually to the one true God.

The problem was that while he had no doubt heard about Jesus, he nevertheless didn’t know the way of salvation that comes through Jesus.

So God sent an angel to him. Cornelius, understandably, was terrified. “Why has this being come to me? Has he come to kill me for my sins?”

But the angel said,

Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Therefore, I have come to tell you that salvation is yours. Peace to you. Rest in your salvation.

Is that what he said? If you believe the people who say that there is another way to salvation for those who have never heard the gospel, it sounds right.

But that’s not what the angel said. Instead, after talking about how God accepted Cornelius’ prayers and gifts, he said,

Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. (Acts 10:5-6)

Why did the angel tell Cornelius to do this? So that he could hear the gospel and be saved. Hearing the angel’s command, Cornelius obeyed, and sent men to bring Peter to his house.

Peter, when he came and heard Cornelius’ story, exclaimed,

I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34-35)

In other words, “God is fair. God accepts anyone who fears him, no matter what nation he is from.”

Peter then said, “God bless you,” and went on his way.

No?

No!

He preached the gospel to them. They believed and were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

What can we get from this?

First, there is only one way to heaven. By hearing the gospel and believing it. Everything in this story makes that crystal clear.

What about those who have never heard? I believe that if they respond to what God has given them, God will respond to them.

Cornelius responded to what he had heard from the Jews about God. So did the Ethiopian.

And I believe if there is someone out there in an unreached country, that sees creation, realizes that there’s a creator, and cries out, “God reveal yourself to me,” he will. Because God is fair. And he is faithful.

How will he reveal himself? Either by direct revelation, by sending someone, or both. In this chapter, we see both.

I was reading in a missions newsletter of just such a man. He had known there was a “Most High God,” but didn’t know who he was. Every day for 20 years, he prayed, “God, send somebody to me to explain who You are.”

And when the missionary came, the man immediately believed.

God is just. No one who truly seeks him will die without hearing the gospel. But let us not fool ourselves into thinking there is another way. There isn’t.

So let us obey our Lord’s command, taking his gospel to the utter ends of the earth that all may hear and believe.

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Acts

The God who heals and raises the dead

Acts

In Acts 9:32-43, we see two powerful stories. The thing that struck me the most were Peter’s words to Aeneas and Dorcas (Tabitha).

To Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, and who had probably lost all hope of ever getting up again, Peter said,

Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat. (Acts 9:34)

Instantly, the man was healed, and got up.

To Dorcas, who had died, he said,

Tabitha, get up. (Acts 9:40)

Her eyes opened, her life fully restored.

Simple words. But they are words people need to hear even today.

Jesus Christ heals you.

Certainly there is physical healing that can happen even today. But so many people are in need of healing in so many other ways as well. Hurts from their past. Hurts from their present. Emotional hurts. Spiritual hurts.

And people around us need to hear us say, “Jesus Christ heals you.”

Because the same Jesus that healed Aeneas on that day, can heal people now.

Get up. Rise from the dead.

People today look at their lives and they see dead hopes. Dead marriages. A dead future.

And they need to hear from us that Jesus can restore what is dead. That there is hope for their marriages, hope for their futures, hope for their lives.

We need to tell them, “Get up. God can give you life again if you’ll just turn to him.”

These are the messages people need to hear. Let’s take them out to a world in desperate need of Him.

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Acts

Believing in people

Acts

Again, as I look at this passage, I try to imagine the reaction the believers had toward Saul when he first came to Jerusalem.

What was their first interaction with him? The last time they had seen him publicly, he had been giving his approval to the death of Stephen.

Did he try to see them privately first? Or did he see the apostles worshiping at the temple one day and say “Shalom. Hey, I’m one of you now.”

I think of Raul Ries who’s the pastor of a large church in California. He had been a very violent man before he found Christ, and had abused his wife to the point where she was about to leave him.

When he came home one day and found his wife’s bags packed (she had gone to church), he was ready to kill her and his kids.

But God intervened through, of all things, a TV program in which he saw Pastor Chuck Smith talking about the love of Christ. And upon hearing it, he fell to his knees and received Christ. He then went looking for his wife to tell her the news.

He couldn’t find her, but when he returned home, he found the door locked and heard his wife weeping. (He had trashed the house while he had been waiting for her).

He knocked on the door, and after latching it, she opened it and asked, “What do you want?”

He told her, “I’m born again.”

Her response?

She slammed the door on him.

Eventually she let him in, and after a year or two of watching him, and the change she saw God doing in his life, she came to fully believe in him.

That was the response of the apostles to Saul. When Saul told them, “I’m born again,” they slammed the door on him.

I can totally understand their reaction.

But just as Ries’ wife chose to open the door to him, so Barnabas did to Saul.

He had probably had the benefit of either actually seeing Saul in Damascus or talking to the brothers who had been there. And because of that, he stood with Saul, and told the apostles, “I believe in him. He really has changed.”

It probably took time for the apostles to fully accept him. But as they watched him, and saw the work God was doing in his life, they came to totally believe in him too.

What’s my point? Even the worst people can change when they come to Christ. And we need to give them that chance.

There may be people who have hurt you. But then they come to Christ, and say they have changed. Yet despite this, we keep them at a distance, refusing to believe that they have really changed. I can understand that reaction.

But like Barnabas, we need to give people a chance. I’m not saying that we need to fully open the door of our hearts to them right away.

If they have a track record of hurting us in the past, then I think it’s only prudent to keep your guard up, at least to an extent. But give them a chance. And watch them.

If you see God working in their lives, then gradually start opening the door of your heart to them.

After all, God has given you grace and many second chances. As his children, it’s only right that we extend that to others as well.

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Acts

When Christ changes your life

Acts

As I read this passage, I tried to imagine what was going on in the minds of those in Damascus.

After Saul’s conversion, he marched into the synagogue, and was probably asked to speak by those in charge. They probably expected that he would say something to denounce the Christians. After all, the whole reason he had come to Damascus was to arrest them.

Imagine the shock the synagogue leaders received when Saul started preaching that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

What things rolled through their minds?

At first, they probably were just stunned, unable to take in what Saul was saying.

Then maybe they thought to themselves, “Could it be that Saul is just trying to set a trap for the Christians here by pretending to be one? He surely can’t believe all that he is saying?”

Maybe with that in mind, they debated with him and questioned him, expecting him to give a weak defense for Christianity. But instead, they found themselves being utterly defeated in their arguments.

And as day after day passed, they realized, “Saul really believes what he is saying!”

The result? They tried to kill him.

What can we learn from this? Not everyone we know and love will be pleased when we start to follow Christ.

Maybe at first, they’ll be too shocked at the transformation to say anything. Then maybe they’ll think it’s just a phase that will pass. But as they realize we are serious about our relationship with Christ, some may become hostile.

I’m not saying all will become this way. Hopefully, none will. But some may, including those among your family and friends. And it can be painful.

But Jesus did warn us,

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18-21)

Jesus never promised that all would love us for following him. What he did promise was that he would love us and would always be with us. (John 14:21, 23)

Not only that, through Christ, we receive new brothers and sisters that will love us and support us when others turn away from us.

So don’t get discouraged. Rather,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

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Acts

Chosen…to go

Acts

I said yesterday there were two stories in Acts that shows both the election of God, man’s choice, and our need to go and spread the gospel.

Looking at today’s story, I think I should make that three stories. (The third is that of Cornelius in chapter 10).

Here is Saul, a Pharisee, totally hardened to Christ, and determined to wipe all Christians off the face of the earth. And had God simply let him be, he would have gone straight to hell.

But then God intervened. Why? Because he chose to save him. We see this in God’s conversation with Ananias.

When God told Ananias to go and help Saul, Ananias basically said, “God, are you serious? Don’t you know this guy is trying to kill us?”

God’s answer?

Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

I alluded to this yesterday, but God’s answer here again blows up the argument of, “If God has determined that certain people be saved, then we don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to go and evangelize others. God’s already chosen those who will be saved.”

Can you imagine Ananias using that type of reasoning with God?

“Well God, if you’ve already chosen him, there’s no reason for me to go.”

How would that line of reasoning flown with God? Not very well I suspect.

Why? Because God commanded Ananias to go. And he has commanded us to go as well.

Certainly, God could save people without our help. But for the most part, he has chosen to effect his salvation through us. He has put the keys of the kingdom in our hands. And if we don’t go, those gates will remain locked to those who don’t know him.

Note that particularly in this story and in the story of Cornelius, while Jesus appeared directly to Saul, and an angel appeared directly to Cornelius, still God required that his people go and talk to them.

He requires the same of us.

Ananias was chosen by God and told to go.

Phillip in chapter 8 was also chosen and told to go.

And we see here in this chapter that God called Saul also that he might go and preach the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.

You were chosen to go as well.

I heard someone say something once that I’ve already remembered. He asked, “What are the first two letters of the word ‘God?'”

Then he asked, “What are the first three letters of the word ‘Satan?'”

What will you do?

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Acts

Unless we go

Acts

This is one of two stories in the book of Acts where we see the election of God, the choice of man, and our need to go as God’s witnesses all interacting with each other.

Many people wonder about the first two in particular. How can God choose people to be his own, and yet be held accountable for accepting or rejecting him?

And for some, they wonder why we even need to go to the lost and share the gospel if God has already elected them?

I don’t have all the answers, but that all are true is made clear in this passage.

Here we see an Ethiopian eunuch who had a high position in his queen’s court. Yet, somehow, he had heard about the God of Israel, and had gone to Jerusalem to worship.

Note here that though he was a God-fearer, God did not simply say, “Well, he doesn’t know about Jesus, but that’s okay. That he fears me and is trying to serve me is enough.”

Instead, he sent an angel to Phillip and told him to go out to where this man would be. And when Phillip saw him, the Spirit whispered to him, “Go up to him.”

Phillip did and heard this man reading from Isaiah 53, a chapter that specifically prophesies about Jesus. And Phillip asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The man’s answer is very striking.

How can I…unless someone explains it to me? (Acts 8:31)

Reading that brings to mind Paul’s question to the Romans.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)

The answer: They can’t. The eunuch certainly couldn’t. And so he invited Phillip to join him on his chariot.

Phillip explained the gospel, and upon hearing it, the eunuch believed and was baptized. He then took the gospel back to his own country, and Christians in Ethiopia today trace their roots back to this man.

Several points to be made.

First, before a person can be saved, they must hear the gospel and believe. If it was possible for a person to simply be a God-fearer and go to heaven without the gospel, God would not have gone out of his way to send Phillip to this Ethiopian.

Paul, in the same passage in Romans I mentioned above, asks,

And how can they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:15)

The answer again is that they can’t. But God does send us out to go and preach the gospel that people might believe, just as he sent Phillip to go to the eunuch.

Second, God clearly chose this man to be saved. This man was on the way to hell with no way of hearing the gospel. God intervened so that he could hear the gospel. Without that intervention, this eunuch would never have been saved.

Third, this man still had to make the choice to believe in order to be saved. He did, and was saved.

How do these all intertwine philosophically? I don’t know. But somehow in the mind of God it all makes sense. And that’s good enough for me.

The main point: Go.

There are so many people like this Ethiopian who are headed for hell. There are so many people like this Ethiopian who need to hear about Christ. And just like God called Phillip to go, he calls you to go as well.

Let us remember the words of our Lord, who commanded us,

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

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Acts

A gift

Acts

One of the things that people have a hard time understanding about Christianity is that all that we have is a gift from God. All that we have, and our very lives are gifts from God.

And of course, salvation is the greatest gift of all, as God saves us from our sin and comes to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit.

When we truly understand the grace that we have received from God, it changes our whole view of life as we start to understand his love for us and how much we truly are blessed no matter our circumstances.

In this story, Simon the Sorcerer never grasped this. Before Phillip came, he had everything he could have wanted, power and fame.

His powers, if real, were most certainly not from God, but because of them, he boasted that he was someone great and people believed him.

Then came Phillip, an ordinary man except for one thing. He was filled with the Spirit of God.

And apparently the signs and wonders he performed far outstripped anything that Simon could do. As a result, the people turned from Simon, listened to Phillip, and eventually turned to the Lord.

It’s hard to say whether Simon’s conversion was genuine or not. It’s possible that it was, but his later actions seem to indicate otherwise.

Whether it was genuine or not, it’s clear that he did not truly understand the concept of grace. That it is a gift received and cannot be paid for or earned.

And so when Simon saw the people receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit when Peter and John laid hands on them, he wanted the ability to bestow the Spirit on others and offered to pay Peter and John for it.

But Peter said,

May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. (Acts 8:20-23)

What happens when we fail to understand the grace of God?

We think of ourselves too highly.

We think that somehow we deserve the things that God has given us. And when we don’t have the same things that others have, we become jealous and bitter.

Simon was certainly that way. Before Phillip came, he was a somebody. But now with Phillip, Peter, and John there, he was a nobody. And he wanted to be a somebody again.

He was bitter at his loss of stature and jealous of what Phillip, Peter, and John had. And that’s why he tried to buy the gift of God. Not for God’s glory, but for his own.

But while some of us may think of ourselves too highly, others of us have the reverse problem.

We think of ourselves too lowly.

We think that we are so bad, even God cannot save us. Or we think we are so unworthy, that God would never think to give us any good gifts.

If Simon was an actual believer, it’s possible that he swung from one end of the pendulum to the other. That after Peter’s harsh rebuke, he felt his unworthiness to the point where he felt he couldn’t even approach God to ask for forgiveness. Instead, he asked Peter to pray for him.

But the writer of Hebrews tells us,

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

None of us deserves God’s grace. So let us not take pride in what we have received nor be jealous of what God has graciously given others.

On the other hand, let us also remember that God delights in giving good gifts to those who are his children, though none of us are worthy to receive anything from him.

That’s what grace is all about.

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Acts

Spreading the joy

Acts

Well, Christmas season is upon us. It is officially December 1st here in Japan, and my 5 year old daughter and I put up our Christmas tree and all the Christmas decorations yesterday.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but this is truly my favorite time of the year.

In this passage, we see the church going out and spreading the joy of Christ to the areas beyond Jerusalem. But it wasn’t without a push.

With the death of Stephen, persecution swept the Christian community in Jerusalem under a Pharisee named Saul.

The ironic thing is that he hoped to squash Christianity, but not only did he unintentionally cause its initial spread by persecuting the church, he would eventually be responsible for its spread throughout the known world as a minister of the gospel.

I wonder, though, if such persecution would have come to such an extent if the apostles had done what they were supposed to do.

Jesus told them,

Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

Then just before his ascension, he told them,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

And yet though the Spirit had come upon them, they all stayed in Jerusalem.

Had they all left Jerusalem to do what Jesus had commanded, would the church still have been persecuted with all the main leaders out of sight of Jerusalem?

Perhaps, but it’s possible that a lot of the trouble they suffered would have been avoided.

Even after persecution struck the church, the apostles still refused to leave. Why? I don’t know.

Maybe they felt they needed to show their courage to the rest of the church. But in doing so, they continued in disobedience to the Lord’s command.

But others did go out.

One of the deacons, Phillip, went to Samaria, a place where Jesus had visited before, but which was despised by the Jews. But Phillip followed in the footsteps of his Lord, not only by preaching the gospel there, but by performing miracles as well.

The result?

There was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:8)

It can be so easy to become self-centered at Christmas. To focus on ourselves and the things we want.

But let us remember that Jesus doesn’t want us to focus simply on our own joy. He wants us to take the joy we have received and to spread it to the people around us.

So many people are hurting and are in need of Christ.

So let us seek to be filled with his Spirit. And then let us go out, praying that he will use us to touch and change every person we meet.

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Acts

A pattern of rejection

Acts

In this passage, we see the church’s first martyr, Stephen. Stephen was one of the seven deacons that had been chosen by the apostles in the first part of chapter 6.

But in preaching the Word of Christ, he came into conflict with the Jewish leaders, and he was hauled before the Sanhedrin, with false witnesses testifying against him.

When asked to give his defense, Stephen went into a detailed account of Israel’s history. His main point? That the Jews, time and again, rejected those God had sent to save them.

They did it with Joseph, sending him to Egypt as a slave, only to have Joseph save their lives later from the famine that had struck their land.

They did it with Moses, not only rejecting him before his encounter with God at the bush, but after he had led them out of Egypt.

This pattern continued even after they entered the land God had promised them as they rejected the words of the prophets and worshiped false idols.

And now, they had rejected the Christ himself. And still they claimed they were God’s people because they worshiped in his temple. But as Stephen said,

The Most High does not live in houses made by men.

As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.’

What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? (Acts 7:48-50)

In other words, “The temple means nothing if you have rejected and murdered the one God sent to save you!”

The Sanhedrin’s response? They continued in the pattern of their fathers. They murdered a man sent to warn them to repent.

How about you? What kind of pattern do you have in your life?

You may be religious. You may go to church every week and do a lot of good things. But if you reject Jesus as Lord and Savior and reject those who share the gospel with you, all your religious acts mean nothing to God.

Instead, you will find yourself condemned along with all the others throughout history who have rejected Jesus and those whom Jesus has sent to warn them.

There is only one way of salvation, and that’s through Christ. Won’t you receive him today?

Father, I have sinned. All my life, I have lived my own way and rejected the One you sent to save me. Jesus thank you for dying on the cross to take the punishment for all the wrong things I have done.

Now I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with your Spirit, and teach me how to follow you each day. In your name I pray. Amen.

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Acts

What pastors and leaders cannot do

Acts

The early church was not without its growing pains. And we see an example of it here.

Among the things the church did was provide for the needs of the poor among them. But as the church grew, the responsibilities for this ministry grew exponentially.

At first, the apostles took care of the collecting and dispersing of the money. We see this when Barnabas and Ananias came before Peter and the apostles to present the money they had received from selling their land.

But now, with the great number of believers within the church, balls were starting to get dropped.

Not only that, a racial divide started to develop between the Hebraic Jews and Grecian Jews, with the needs of the Grecian widows being neglected in favor of the Hebraic widows.

How could this happen? I don’t know. I don’t believe the apostles were purposefully racist. But with too many other things to attend to, they definitely dropped the ball on this.

Their solution? They said,

It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:2-4)

Upon doing so, the Word of God spread, and the church continued its rapid growth.

What can we get from this? One major thing.

There is one thing that our pastors and leaders cannot do: everything.

Yet so often, we leave ministry to the “professionals.”

The truth is, all of us are part of the body of Christ. We all need to do our part. But to do our part, we all need to be filled with God’s Spirit.

Too many people in the church complain when balls get dropped in the church and they criticize the leaders for it.

But are we daily being filled with God’s Spirit, and doing our part to take the burden off of them so that they can do the things that God has specifically called them to do?

Are we helping them to avoid getting distracted by the things that would detract from their calling?

I suppose the question from the pastors’ side is what do they feel their main calling is as a pastor? What is God calling them to do within the church? And what things do they need to let go of so that they can focus on that calling?

Just as importantly, are they raising up Spirit-filled people who can take on the other responsibilities of the church?

Pastors and leaders can’t do everything. And if we can learn that, from the pastor down to the newest member in the church, God’s church can grow.

But if we don’t, we will face definite limits going forward in trying to extend God’s kingdom.

How about you? Are you doing your part?

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Acts

Unstoppable

Acts

If there is one word that comes to my mind when I read this passage, it’s “unstoppable.”

But I’m not talking about the apostles. I’m talking about the work of the Spirit.

First, we see the apostles going out and performing miracles, and preaching the gospel, and because of this, more and more people were entering the Kingdom.

When the priests saw this, as was the case when Jesus was around, jealousy arose in their hearts.

I wonder if in their hearts, they wondered, “We’re the priests. We’re the representatives of God. Why is God doing these things through them, and not us?”

Yet deep in their hearts, I think they knew the answer. Because in their rebuke of the apostles, they said,

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood. (Acts 5:28)

Already, you can see a desire on their part to disassociate themselves from the death of Jesus. Why? Probably because after the resurrection, they had to be thinking, “What if we’re wrong? What if Jesus really was the Messiah?”

Not that this caused the chief priests and the members of the Pharisees to change their minds. But we do find in Acts 6:7 that others among the priests actually started to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and put their faith in him.

At any rate, the Sanhedrin had the apostles arrested again, and then berated them for continuing to preach despite the warnings the Sanhedrin had given them earlier.

Peter’s response was incredible.

We must obey God rather than men!

The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:29-32)

Looking at these words from a 21st century Christian’s perspective, Peter’s words were not something particularly startling.

But from their perspective, it must have blown the priests and Sanhedrin’s minds.

For one thing, they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. But not only did Peter preach this, he said that Jesus was resurrected and that it is through him that God gives repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

More, they pointed to the work of the Spirit as proof to the truth of all they said. This in a day and age when the work of the Spirit had not really been seen in hundreds of years until John the Baptist showed up.

And now the apostles were proclaiming that the Spirit was being poured out not just on a select few, but on all followers of Jesus.

Think for a moment about to whom the apostles were saying all this to.

They were telling this to the priests, who should have had God’s Spirit in them!

Well, the priests and the members of the Sanhedrin couldn’t accept this, and they were ready to murder the apostles right then and there.

But Gamaliel stepped in, and said,

Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.

But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. (Acts 5:38-39)

I said earlier that the chief priests themselves must have started having doubts about if they had been wrong about Jesus, and their reaction to Gamaliel’s words are why I think so.

If they had had no doubts at all concerning Jesus, if they had had no doubts that Jesus was an impostor, there is no way they could have seriously considered the possibility that the apostles’ work was from God.

But because of their nagging doubts, they let the apostles go. And the apostles went out and continued preaching that Jesus was the Messiah.

What can we get from all this? When God’s people are filled with his Spirit, his work cannot be stopped.

We can get discouraged by looking at the direction society is going. We can get discouraged by the persecution we’re starting to see.

But if we are filled with God’s Spirit, no matter what people may do to us, God will use us and his kingdom will increase.

So let us not get discouraged. Instead, let us be bold, going in the power of the Spirit, and do the things he’s called us to do.

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Acts

The seriousness of sin

Acts

This is perhaps the most shocking story in the book of Acts. It also shows us the seriousness of sin.

Two people in the church, Ananias and Sapphira, had seen Barnabas generously sell some of his land to help the poor.

Perhaps after seeing the praise Barnabas had received from the others, they too wanted to show off their generosity. The problem? Their generosity was purely superficial.

Oh, they sold their land. But instead of giving all of the proceeds from the sale, they kept some of it for themselves.

That in itself wasn’t so bad. As Peter later told them, it was up to them how much they wanted to give. If they had only wanted to give 50%, that would have been fine. If they had only wanted to give 10%, that too would have been fine.

The apostle Paul would later write,

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

In short, God is not so interested in how much of our money he has. (Actually, as I pointed out yesterday, all of it really belongs to him).

God is much more interested in how much of our heart he has.

I don’t know how much of Ananias’ and Sapphira’s heart he had, but it obviously wasn’t 100%. They were more interested in money, and the pride of life. Of being admired by others.

And because of this, they lied. Not just to Peter. Not just to the church. But to God himself.

It’s also possible that it wasn’t any mere lie. It’s possible that they had even sworn to dedicate the proceeds of the land to the Lord, according to the law of Moses. (Leviticus 27:28).

And by keeping back some of the money they had promised to the Lord, they broke their oath.

This was so serious in the eyes of God, that Ananias and Sapphira paid for it with their lives.

That may seem harsh. And it was. But I think we learn one very important thing from this: Sin is a serious thing to God, no matter how little it may seem to us.

Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira thought, “It’s only a little lie. Who could it hurt?”

But though the actual sins we commit may seem small, they show the state of our hearts. Ananias’ and Sapphira’s sin showed the jealousy, greed, pride, and hypocrisy that was in theirs.

And while telling a little lie may seem trivial to us, the issues that lie behind them are very serious. So serious, that Jesus had to die on a cross to pay the price for it.

Are there sins in your life that you brush off as trivial? They are not trivial in the eyes of God. So search your heart.

What do the sins you commit show about the state of your heart?

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Acts

Unity, power, and grace

Acts

What is the church supposed to look like? I think we get a picture of it here.

Unity.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

How many churches can say this of themselves? One in heart and mind. One to the point that they didn’t even see their possessions as their own.

All they had belonged to the Lord, and whenever they saw need among their brothers and sisters, they shared what they had to the point that there were no needy persons among them.

But nowadays, many people in the church don’t think that way. When they hear about tithing, they get offended, and say, “It’s my money. All this about tithing is Old Testament law. It has no relevance to me.”

I’d agree that tithing is Old Testament law, and that we are not bound to it.

But to say that it’s your money is not true. God ultimately is the one who made you able to earn your money, giving you your gifts and your talents. So anything you earn off of those gifts and talents ultimately belong to him.

The early church recognized this, and because of it, they were generous with what God had given them, and as a result, there was much…

Grace.

As it says in verse 33,

Much grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33b)

God, of course, shows much grace to us directly, forgiving our sins, and showering his blessings on us every day.

What we need to remember, however, is that God desires us to be agents of his grace. He wants us to share the grace we have received with others.

But when we are self-centered, holding on to the things God has freely given us, the pipeline of grace gets clogged.

On the other hand, if we get our eyes off ourselves and on to others, grace flows freely within the church.

Power.

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 4:33a)

Power included miracles as well as the Spirit-infused power of their witness turning them from ordinary, uneducated fishermen into people that turned the world upside-down.

The same Spirit that did that back then can do it today. We need to be praying for that. Not only for the miracles of healings, but for the miracles of changed lives as the Spirit speaks through those who bring us the Word.

A pastor’s words are nothing if they are not infused by the Spirit of God. So let’s pray for our pastors that they would be filled with God’s Spirit, and that he would speak his words through them.

But let’s also pray that God would speak through us as well as we touch the lives of those around us. After all, we are God’s priests to the world too.

Unity, grace, and power. May Christ’s church be filled with these things like it was 2000 years ago.

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Acts

Filled and refilled with the Spirit: What does it mean?

Leaky vessel

As I look at this passage, there are two things I notice.

First, the filling of the Spirit was not a one time thing. Instead, time and again, the Spirit filled God’s people.

We see it in this chapter, and we see it in the subsequent chapters throughout the book of Acts.

Second, for what purpose did the Spirit fill his people?

In this chapter, I see two main purposes: power and boldness.

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard Peter speak, it says,

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

Think about this for a moment. In arresting Peter and John, throwing them in prison for the night, and then dragging them out for questioning in front of them, the religious elite, they probably expected Peter and John to be intimidated.

Yet, the two apostles stood there boldly proclaiming Jesus to them, quoting scripture, and making the stunning statement that,

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

Here were these ordinary fishermen, uneducated, and yet speaking with great boldness and power that could not be quelled or denied.

The Sanhedrin couldn’t explain away the resurrection of Jesus. (Even they didn’t believe their own story that they had tried to spread through the soldiers.)

Nor could they explain away the healing of the man they had passed by for roughly 30 years at the temple gate.

And because of all this, they were rendered speechless.

Finally, after withdrawing and discussing the matter, they tried once again to intimidate Peter and John, warning them never to teach in the name of Jesus.

But once again, Peter and John refused to be intimidated, saying,

Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19-20)

After further warnings from the Sanhedrin, they returned to their fellow Christians, and together they prayed that God would continue to fill them with boldness and with power that the people might know that Jesus was the Messiah.

When they had done so,

…the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

What can we get from this?

If we are ever to make a difference in this world for Christ, we need his Spirit within us. Through him, and the power and boldness he gives us, though we may be ordinary people, God can do great things through us.

How often, though, do we lack that power and boldness in our lives?

I know I do. Too often, I lack confidence because of who I am, with all my weaknesses and limitations.

And that’s why I, and all of us for that matter, need to be constantly filled and refilled with the Spirit.

As one person put it, we are vessels of the Spirit, but we are leaky vessels. We can get tired. We can get distracted. We can get discouraged. So moment to moment, day to day, we need his filling in our lives to do his work.

Holy Spirit, I need you. So fill me this day and every day. Fill me with the power and boldness to do the work you’ve called me to that I may touch this world which needs you so desperately. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Acts

Before we can receive blessing

Acts

Lots of people desire to receive blessing from God. And God is a Father that gives his children good gifts. We can expect blessings from him as his children.

But before we can receive blessing, there is something we must do first. Peter told the Jews,

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus…

For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.

Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.’…

When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. (Acts 3:19-20, 22-23, 26)

Now Peter, as I mentioned, was talking specifically to the Jews.

And he told them, “Moses himself told you that someone like him would come and that you must listen to him. If you don’t, you will be cut off from God’s people. That prophet has now come in Jesus.

“So listen to him and repent. God sent him to bless you, but first you must repent from your wicked ways. And if you do, he will wipe out your sins and times of refreshing and blessing will come.”

What Peter said to the Jews is true for us in many ways as well.

God sent Jesus to the Jews first, but now he has come to us non-Jews. And just as he came to bless the Jews, he has come to bless us.

But before that blessing can happen, we must repent from our wicked ways. We can’t keep living our own way. We must listen to Jesus and follow him.

If we don’t, we’ll never receive God’s blessing in our lives. Worse, we’ll be cut off from his kingdom forever.

Too many people want God’s blessing in their lives, but continue to live their own way. They expect God’s blessing on their terms. But if you want God’s blessing in your lives, you must come to him on his terms, not your own.

That starts with salvation. You can’t earn the blessing of salvation on your own terms. You can’t earn it by doing a lot of good things.

Rather, you must put your faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. Only through faith in Him can you ever be made righteous in God’s eyes.

But this truth continues after we have received his salvation as well. We can’t consistently expect God’s blessing in our lives if we continue to live our own way. We need to live his.

Am I saying that we have to earn God’s blessings in our lives? No. None of us could ever do that.

But the thing that God is looking for from us is our faith. Do we trust him enough to do what he says? And if we do, he will bless us.

Noah found that out when he built the ark. Abraham found that out when he left for Canaan. Daniel found that out when he refused to eat the king’s food. And so have many others down through history.

Are you seeking God’s blessing? Then the question you need to ask is “How much do I trust him? Do I trust him enough to stop living my way, and start living his?”

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Acts

Not about us

Acts

As the man Peter and John had healed was making a ruckus in the temple courts, all the people gathered around.

They were amazed that this man who had been crippled for 40 years was walking. But then, they started looking at Peter and John in wonder as well.

But Peter told the people,

Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk…

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.

It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12, 16)

And here we see something that I think is really important to remember. This life is not about us. It’s not about who we are. It’s not about what we can do.

Rather it’s all about who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he is doing around us now.

It would have been so easy for Peter and John to strut in front of the crowd, and say, “Look at what we did. See how God’s favor and power rests on us?”

But instead, they pointed everyone to Jesus. They noted that it was Jesus who performed the healing, not them. And it was Jesus who they should direct their attention and faith to, not them.

After all, it was Jesus who suffered on the cross for them. It was Jesus that Moses and all the prophets had pointed to saying, “Listen to him!”

Too often, however, Christians are not focused on Jesus.

They are focused on themselves. They are focused on their gifts. They are focused on what they can do. They are focused on the attention they get.

And in doing so, they miss the whole point of life.

The whole point of life is to know Jesus and point others to a relationship with him. But as long as we’re focused on ourselves, we’ll never know the life or the joy that God intends us to have.

How about you? Who are you focused on? Who and what are you living for?

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Acts

Joining in with God’s work

Acts

I have to admit, too many times in my life I have missed opportunities God has given me to touch a life. Why? Because I’m too focused on my own agendas.

I can’t count how many times I have had opportunities to touch a life and I’ve missed it because I had to do some shopping. Or because I had to go to this place or that.

And sometimes, they were legitimate reasons. But even if I truly couldn’t afford to stop and talk for long, how difficult would it have been to say, “Hey, let’s hook up later,” and make plans to do so?

But too often, I simply made excuses and just went on my way.

Peter and John, in this passage, could have made similar excuses as they passed the man begging for alms.

After all, they were going to the temple. They were going to worship. Surely, they couldn’t stop simply to engage with this man. Especially since they didn’t have any money to give him.

It would have been so easy to simply ignore him. Or to say, “Sorry, I don’t have anything on me” and pass on by.

But instead, they stopped and actually made eye contact with this man.

And instead of focusing on what they couldn’t do (give him money), they focused on what the Spirit could do.

Peter said,

Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. (Acts 3:6)

Then he picked him up, and immediately, this man could walk. Not only could he walk, he started jumping around and praising God to the amazement of all the people.

How about you? Do you get so focused on your agenda that you can’t see what the Spirit is doing around you? And are you so focused on what you can’t do, that you can’t see what the Spirit can do?

Let us walk each day, led by the Spirit. Let us become aware of what he is doing around us, and as he leads us, join in his work.

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Acts

Together and in one accord

Acts

As I wrap up this section, the words that strike me are in verses 44 and 46: They were “together” and in “one accord” (KJV).

It comes back to what was said in verse 42, really.

They devoted themselves to the…fellowship. (Acts 2:42)

They considered time with each other to be important, and so they made it a point to be together with each other.

This does not just mean once a week at the temple. They were meeting daily, not only at the temple, but at each other’s homes.

More, they truly cared for each other. If they saw other brothers and sisters in need, they were quick to help them.

And they were in one accord. I really like that translation in the King James. It gives the idea that the Christians lived in harmony with one another. Or as the NASB puts it, they were of “one mind.”

Does this mean they always agreed? No. Does this mean they never fought or argued? No.

But in the end, they were able to look past their differences and see each other as brothers and sisters. They were able to see that they actually needed each other. And they devoted themselves to each other.

So often Christians say that married couples need to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through their disagreements. Even through the hurts they sometimes cause each other. And this is true.

But how often do these same Christians walk away from relationships from each other, and it never crosses their minds that God calls us to be committed to each other too.

We are to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through our disagreements. And even through the hurts we sometimes cause each other.

Like a marriage, this requires commitment. It requires hard work. But like a marriage, if we are committed to each other and put in the hard work, the rewards are vast.

Ultimately, we will be blessed by staying committed to each other. But even more than that, the world will see the love we have for each other and be attracted to Christ because of it.

That’s what happened in the early church. Because of the love and unity among God’s people, and all that God was doing among them,

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

The church has many problems; that is true. As long as the church has people in it, there will always be problems.

Why?

Because Jesus didn’t come for perfect people. He came for the sick. He came for the broken.

Pastors and leaders will make mistakes. People in the church will hurt each other.

But will you commit yourself to them anyway? Will you lay aside your pride, and put in the hard work needed to work through the problems you have with others in the church? If not for your sake, for Jesus’ sake?

Let us always remember the words of our Lord.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

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Acts

Devoted to praying…together

Acts

Before I get into today’s topic, a note.

I’ve been thinking about the last few blogs I’ve written, and praying about whether I’ve been perhaps too harsh on those who are “Dones.”

I’m honestly not sure.

Here’s what I can say: I know that there are many people who leave the church because they have been hurt by others in the church. On that level, I have sympathy for them.

But to me, the answer is not to abandon the fellowship of believers. Learning to forgive is difficult and painful. But if we truly love and desire to follow Christ, it is a lesson we need to learn.

Why? Number one, to live in bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness grieves the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

And you know that if you’re grieving the Holy Spirit, you’re grieving the Father and Jesus too.

Second, if we don’t learn to do this, what message are we sending to the world when Christ’s own people can’t love and forgive each other?

I suppose the people who I have the most problems with are the “Dones” who have hardened their hearts to the Word of God, and the “Dones” who simply feel they don’t need the body of Christ.

People who in the words of Paul, say to the “hands”, “feet”, and other parts of the body, “I don’t need you.” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

If there was one person who might have been able to say that, it was Paul.

He was out in the world doing ministry. He was spreading the gospel, going here and there to do God’s work. In that sense, I don’t think he had a “home church” that he went to every week.

Nevertheless, he had a passion for fellowship. He always longed to be with his fellow believers. (Romans 1:10-12, 2 Corinthians 1:15-16; Philippians 1:8)

His main reason? He wanted to give to them what he could. (Romans 1:11; 2 Corinthians 1:15)

In other words, he recognized they needed him.

More, he affirmed his need for them, especially in their prayers, but also in their encouragement. (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Romans 1:12)

For a person to say, “I don’t need the church,” is both arrogant and selfish.

Arrogant in the sense that we all need each other. Selfish in the sense that even if they feel they don’t need us, we need them. We all have a part to play in the body.

Anyway, back to the passage from Acts. It says that the people were devoted to prayer. It occurs to me that this does not mean just in their prayer closet. In the context, the idea is of people praying together.

Why is it important to pray together, not just by yourself?

I think the main reason is that in doing so, not only are we aligning ourselves with God, but we are aligning ourselves with each other.

We are fulfilling the words of Christ when he prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. (John 17:20-21)

This was the practice of the church from the very beginning. (Acts 1:14)

And when the church is united, we can do great things for the kingdom of God.

But when we are divided, saying we don’t need each other, and biting and devouring each other, we are rendered weak and powerless to Satan’s great delight.

Let us not be that way. Let us be united as Christ’s church.

We don’t always have to agree on everything. We don’t always have to do ministry the same way. But let us declare our love and need for each other.

And as we do, Satan’s kingdom will be brought to its knees, and Jesus Christ will be exalted in our lives and in this world to the glory of God the Father.

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Acts

Despising the body of the Lord

Acts

As I continue thinking about the “Dones” (see the previous two blogs), there is another issue I think that’s easy to forget: communion. And we forget it because we don’t really think about all that communion means and symbolizes.

It says in Acts 2:42,

They devoted themselves to…the breaking of bread.

You could make the argument, I suppose, that the breaking of bread just meant eating meals together as seen in verse 46. But if you look at 1 Corinthians 11, a lot of that dining together was an extension of sharing communion together.

What is communion? It is remembering the night before Jesus was crucified, where upon taking the bread and breaking it, he said,

This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24)

And again, when taking the wine, he said,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Here’s the thing to note about this: communion was meant to be taken with other believers. The bread was meant to be broken and shared.

Why? I think one reason is it’s a sign that we all have a part in the body of Christ. He died for each one of us who believe in him, not just the Christians you happen to like, or enjoy being with.

One wonders. At the first communion table, how much did each of the disciples actually like each other right at that moment?

They had just finished arguing with each other about who was the greatest. They had refused to wash each other’s feet, leaving Jesus to do it.

Also think of the personalities. A person like Simon the Zealot trying to deal with a guy like Matthew. One person who had sought the overthrow of the Roman government, while the other had actually worked for the Roman government before they both dropped all to follow Jesus.

Such was the relationship between the disciples that he actually commanded them to love each other. Had all of them had the closest of relationships, would he have actually had to say that to them?

Yet by taking communion together, it was a reminder, “We all have a part in Jesus. We are all one in Christ.”

That’s why Paul got so upset with the Corinthians. There were divisions among them with people arguing about which leader they followed.

In addition, the well off among them despised those who were poor, and in so doing, despised the church of God. (1 Corinthians 11:22)

They were despising people who were part of the same body that they were in.

And so Paul said,

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 11:27)

What does it mean that they were guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Jesus? Basically, it means they were sinning against Christ, by despising the body and blood that he sacrificed for us.

They were saying, “I know that you died for this person. But what you did for them doesn’t matter to me. I personally have no part with them.”

And with that attitude, we sin against the body of Christ that is the church. Because other Christians, whether you like them or not, are part of his body.

When you are in a church with people that you are upset with, with people you don’t like, with people you violently disagree with, communion, taken correctly, forces you to reevaluate your attitudes toward your brothers and sisters.

For Paul wrote,

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (1 Corinthians 11:28)

And primarily, in the context of 1 Corinthians 11, that means examining your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The “Dones” don’t do this. If they take communion at all, they take it with those they like. With those they agree with. And they never examine their relationships with those they don’t.

They never make their peace with them. Instead, they simply avoid them. And in doing so, they despise the body and blood of Christ.

If you’re a “Done” that claims to follow Christ, here’s the test for you: Would you take communion one on one with each person you used to be in church with?

And as you take it, can you say to that person, “We are one as Jesus and the Father are one. We are in complete unity that the world may know that Jesus was sent by the Father.” (John 17:21-23)

Even if you’re not a “Done”, how do you take communion?

Are your relationships with those you take it with right? Are your relationships with your brothers and sisters at your local church right?

Or in your heart, are you despising the body and blood of the One who loved you so much that he gave his life, not only for you, but for those you despise as well?

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Acts

Devoted to the fellowship

Acts

This is a continuation of the blog I started yesterday on “The Dones,” people who still follow Christ but have dropped out of the church.

I addressed the point of “being lectured to in sermons” and “having heard it all” yesterday. Today, I’d like to look at an issue that is probably even bigger.

I think for most people that are true believers, the sermons are not the reason they drop out. It’s the people in the church, whether it’s their fellow members or the leaders.

The article I mentioned (you can google it, I’m not sure if I’d be allowed a direct link — it’s actually a blog, now that I look at it carefully) is a little confusing to me as I read it.

The very first “Done” they mention says he didn’t leave because of a blowup with a church staff or member. Rather, it was long-considered, thoughtful decision. Based on what, we never find out.

That seems to minimize the relationship aspect of leaving the church. But ultimately as you read the rest of the article (and the comments below it by others), relationship problems are at the very root of many people leaving the church.

Sometimes it’s philosophical differences on the direction of the church. Other times it was how the leadership treated the members. And yet other times, it was a simple lack of love and brotherly kindness in the church.

And because of that, people leave the church and never come back.

But look at what the early Christians did.

They devoted themselves to…the fellowship. (Acts 2:42)

In short, they made fellowship with other believers a high priority. They were passionate about it.

Some of my friends say, “Well, you know, I have my group of Christian friends, and we are committed to each other for spiritual and personal growth.”

I hope that’s true. But what does that mean? You call each other once a week? Once a month? Once a year?

Are you making it a high priority to spend time with them, talk with them, encourage them, and if necessary, admonish them. Do you devote yourselves to prayer with each other? Do you share communion with them?

Or are these things down on the list after “real life,” work, family, school, etc?

The Christians of that day did make it a priority.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:44-46)

The Christians were so passionate about the fellowship, they met every day in the temple courts. They spent time together in their homes. And when they saw each other’s needs, they helped each other.

The result?

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

Why did the church grow? It was a fulfillment of what Jesus told his disciples.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)

Note that Jesus said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples if you love everybody.”

He said, “By this men will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”

Certainly it is important to love people outside the church. As Christ’s church, we can’t solely be focused inward and loving each other. We must reach out beyond our walls to a dying world.

But if the world looks at us and sees us fighting amongst ourselves, with unresolved differences, anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness, what will they think?

If a person you’re sharing Christ with says, “Hey, can I visit your church?” and you say, “Well I don’t go,” and they ask why, what are you going to say?

“Well, I had some relationship problems with people.”

Or, “I got into a fight with leadership over the direction of the church.”

What are they going to think? If we are disparaging the very church Christ loved and died for, will they still want to become a Christian?

Let me rephrase a verse from 1 John, and maybe it will hit home.

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet refuses to associate with his brother, he is a liar.

For anyone who cuts off his relationship with his brother, whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)

Can you really claim to love God if you refuse to associate with your brothers and sisters at your local church? Can you really claim to love God if you cut yourself off from a relationship with them?

It’s easy to love your friends. Do you love your family, warts and all?

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Acts

Devoted to the Word

Acts

A friend of mine posted an article on Facebook talking about the “The Rise of the Dones” in the church.

It was talking about the “life-long believer, well-studied in the Bible, [who] gives generously, and leads others passionately,” yet who dropped out of the church.

They didn’t drop their faith, they just dropped church. This, though they were “among the most dedicated and active people in their congregations.”

There were a few reasons given for becoming a “Done,” and over the next few blogs, I’d like to address some of these things. Because to be quite honest, it’s troubling to me to hear people I care for say they’re feeling the same way.

And since the timing of my Bible reading just so happens to match the topic, I might as well work out my own feelings on the matter.

Among the reasons given for leaving the church was thinking they had heard it all after hearing countless messages, and a tiring of being “lectured to.”

But in this passage in Acts, we see a model of how Christians should live and what the church should look like. I want to focus on the first thing today.

They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.

In other words, they had a passion for God’s Word. They desired to know it, and they desired to live it.

I suppose my first question for those that tire of being “lectured to” is how devoted are you to the Word?

Do you really believe it is God’s Word? Do you believe it contains the very words of God? And do you have the same passion for the Word that the early Christians had?

Or are His words to you just an outdated way of thinking that has little if any relevance to our lives here and now?

Now I can agree that there are pastors that can seem condescending to those they preach to. That act as if they’ve already “made it.”

And if that’s so, then I can understand people’s feelings. But is that really the problem?

So the question that you need to ask yourself is, “When I read the Bible, do I feel lectured to when I read the things that I don’t like to hear?”

The problem with many Christians is they have their favorite passages, and only read those in their quiet times, while avoiding those that make them feel “lectured to.”

And perhaps that’s why they feel that way at church. The pastor brings out passages they don’t want to hear.

But if we are truly Christians, we need to be devoted to the Word, whether it’s encouraging and comforting words we hear, or whether it’s words of challenge or rebuke.

As for the hearing of countless messages and thinking that you have heard it all, I suppose the same kind of question needs to be asked.

“When I read the Bible, do I feel like I’m getting nothing from it? Have I heard it all? Or is God still speaking to me?”

I have to admit, there are (many) times I do feel like I’ve read and heard it all. That being said, I would say two things.

First, after 35 years of being a Christian, I’m still learning. And every once in a while, God will bring something to light, either in my reading or in a message that I’d never seen or heard before. And that’s exciting to me.

Second, for all the times that you’ve heard something, are you practicing it? Has it gone from your head to your heart?

You’ve heard it’s important to forgive. Have you forgiven those who have hurt you the most? You’ve heard that you need to let go of anger and bitterness. Have you?

In short, is the Word of God living and active in your life, penetrating your heart, dividing between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitude of your heart?

Or is it just going through one ear and out the other?

Like I said, I can’t speak to your experience or the experience of the “Dones.”

If your pastor is speaking from his high horse, maybe you need to find another church.

But my question to you is this: is the problem really the sermons? Or is it your heart’s response to the Word of God?

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Acts

The message of the gospel

Acts

This was the first ever gospel message preached in all its fullness. All the preaching that had gone on before was prior to the death and resurrection of Christ.

Now, all things had been fulfilled, and Peter preached to the people that this Jesus whom they crucified was both Lord and Christ.

The people, cut to the heart cried out, “What shall we do?”

Peter replied,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)

That, in a few sentences is the gospel message.

That first, we need to repent of our sins. In other words, we need to stop living our way. By living our way, we hurt God, we hurt each other, and we hurt ourselves.

And so we need to get to the point where we say, “Lord Jesus, I’m tired of living my way. It’s only brought me pain. But you loved me so much that you went to the cross to take the punishment I deserve. And so now, I want to follow you. I’m putting my trust in you and following you.”

Baptism is a sign of that decision you make. It’s saying, “I’m dying to this old way of life. I’m dying to ‘My way.’ And I’m coming up a new person. Washed by the blood of Christ from my sins and empowered by the power of his Holy Spirit to live a new life.”

And it is this promise of the Holy Spirit that is the best gift of all. Because the Holy Spirit is God himself dwelling in you.

We no longer have to be separated from God. We can walk in close relationship with him.

And as we do, he heals us of our hurts and he transforms us into new people. More, we find life as God intended when he first created us.

Eternal life doesn’t start in heaven. It starts right here, right now.

That’s the gospel message. Have you truly accepted it in your life? It’s as easy as the prayer I wrote above. If you pray it, please tell me about your decision. I’d love to hear from you.

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Acts

This same Spirit

Pentecost

It’s hard for me to imagine the day that the Spirit came upon the church in power. To hear that sound of a rushing wind (was it just as sound, or was there an actual wind?) come upon that house, and to see tongues of fire rest on each person there as each was filled with the Spirit of God.

Then to see them go out into the streets declaring the praises of God in languages they had never learned to the shock of the Jewish proselytes that had gathered from all over the world. I would have been wondering too, “What’s going on?”

But Peter proclaimed,

This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:16-18)

Peter then went on to proclaim the gospel, and 3000 people got saved in a single day.

It’s easy for us to look back on that and marvel and say, “Why isn’t this happening now? Why doesn’t the Spirit act in the same way?”

I would argue that he does. Peter told the people,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)

Peter said the promise of the Spirit was not just for his generation. It was for the next generation. For peoples of every land. In fact, it was for ALL whom the Lord would call unto salvation. All would receive and be led by his Spirit.

The church I attend here in Japan was started because of a literal dream God gave my pastor at a time when his life was falling apart.

I can look back on my life and see God speaking to me through others.

I remember at a time when I was seeking the Lord for direction for my life, a friend of mine, who had no idea what I was praying, said out of the blue, “You know Bruce, I can’t see you working behind a computer at some office somewhere. I see you doing ministry.”

And I can look back, not only at people’s words to me at that time, but things God did in my life that caused me to leave my comfortable life in Hawaii to come to Japan.

I can say with confidence that it is because of the Spirit that I am here today. And I’m realizing more and more that I need his leading in my life so much more.

Too often, I have been going on my own wisdom and strength. A lot of what I said a couple of blogs ago, I can say about me. But I don’t want that anymore. I want to be filled with his Spirit as the church was 2000 years ago. Do you?

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Acts

The One who knows our hearts

Acts

In this passage, we see the choosing of Matthias to take Judas’ place as one of the 12. A couple of minor points before I get to my main point.

Some people think that Peter and the other apostles made a mistake in appointing Matthias as the one to replace Judas.

They say that Paul should have been the one who took Judas’ place, and that Jesus in appearing to Paul and appointing him as an apostle had, in effect, appointed him as the one to take Judas’ place.

I used to think that, but now I’m not so sure. In particular, because Paul himself recognized Matthias’ position as one of the 12 in 1 Corinthians 15:5.

He hardly could have meant the resurrected Jesus appeared to Judas when Judas was already dead. So he must have meant Matthias.

Paul also said of himself that he was the least of the apostles and was not even fit to be called an apostle (although he clearly was one). (1 Corinthians 15:9)

The second point is on Judas’ death.

Matthew 27 says that the chief priests took the money that Judas had scattered before them and bought a field while Judas went and hung himself.

However, here in Acts, it says that Judas bought the field, and that he plunged headlong and his body burst open. How do we reconcile the two?

Apparently, Judas had hung himself on a cliff over the valley of Hinnom, and perhaps some time later, after his body had started to decompose, the rope snapped or was cut and his body fell headlong into a field in that valley.

Perhaps having heard what had happened, the priests then bought the field in Judas’ name, as it really wasn’t “temple money.” (Matthew 27:6)

Now on to the main point. It’s very interesting that the other apostles talked about how Judas had shared in their ministry.

There can be little doubt that he had preached the good news of the kingdom, cast out demons, and healed the sick as Jesus had commanded them on their two mission trips throughout Israel (Luke 9-10).

Yet even then, Jesus knew his heart. That though Judas did all these things, his heart was not truly with Jesus. And the time came when Judas was exposed and ultimately cast out from his position.

He was then replaced by another whose heart was right before God.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that for those of us in ministry, we really need to search our hearts every day. To search our motives. To see if our hearts are truly His.

We can do many things in Jesus’ name. People can even get saved in our ministry. But God knows our hearts. And if our hearts are not right before him, the time will come when we will be cast out from our position and be replaced.

Even worse would be if the day came when we stand before Jesus and say,

Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? (Matthew 7:22)

But Jesus looks at us, and says,

I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! (Matthew 7:23)

Where is your heart? Have you truly given your heart to Jesus? Or are you just playing a role?

If you are simply playing a role, whether you’re a Christian or not, eventually your position will be taken from you as it was taken from Judas. And it will be given to someone whose heart belongs to Christ.

Who does your heart belong to?

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Acts

Waiting for his return

Acts

It must have been awesome to see Jesus suddenly start ascending into heaven. And I think it’s perfectly understandable that the disciples were standing slack-jawed looking into the heavens where Jesus disappeared. I probably would have done the same.

But then two angels appeared. And they said,

Men of Galilee…why do you stand here looking into the sky?

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)

I think we see two things here.

First, the hope that we have. That though this world is a mess and will only get worse, Jesus will return. The day will come when he comes back and makes all things right.

But second, we have work to do until he does come back.

I think the angel was implying to the disciples, “Don’t just stand there slack-jawed. Do what Jesus told you to do.”

For the disciples, the first thing they had to do was go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come. And before we can do any kind of ministry, so do we.

Like I said in my last blog, while we can “accomplish” much on our own, it is nothing compared to what we can do when we are filled with his Spirit. It is people filled with God’s Spirit who can turn this world upside down (Acts 17:6 — ESV).

So let us not just look at this world and complain. Let us not just look at the heavens longing for Christ’s return. Instead, let us be filled with his Spirit, doing the things God has called us to do.

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Acts Luke Luke 24

The power to change the world

Jerusalem

And so with today’s blog, we exit the gospels and enter the book of Acts.

I’m not sure if it ever occurred to me that what Luke referenced in Acts 1:4 was probably the same event that he talked about in Luke 24:49. Specifically, that the apostles were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came.

At any rate, about 40 days later, Jesus led them into the vicinity of Bethany, namely the Mount of Olives.

I wonder if as they were standing there, they thought of the prophesy of Zechariah, who said that after the conquering of Israel by the nations, the Lord would arrive on the Mount of Olives, fight those nations, and become king over the whole earth (Zechariah 14).

Perhaps that is why they asked,

Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)

But Jesus replied,

It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8)

Too often people worry about when Jesus is coming back. And we should be aware of the signs of his coming.

But more than worrying about when Jesus is coming back, we need to be concerned about what he’s called us to do until he comes.

What has he called us to do? To preach the gospel. To be his witnesses.

What does it mean to be a witness? Essentially, it’s to tell all that you’ve seen, heard, and know.

All that you’ve seen Jesus do in your life, all that you’ve heard from the Sunday messages and know from the Word, you are to share these things with the people around you.

And as we do, we will change this world.

But the power to change the world is not found in us. It is not our words in themselves that will change people’s hearts.

Rather, it is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that will change the world.

By ourselves we can do nothing. And so Jesus didn’t tell his disciples, “Okay, you know everything you need to know to change the world. Now go!”

Rather, he said, “Wait for the Holy Spirit. He will baptize you with the power you need. Once he has done so, then go.”

So often, we do things in our own strength. Our own wisdom. And we can “accomplish” a lot in doing so.

But if we truly want to change the world, we need to be baptized with his Spirit. To be filled with his power.

Human power and human wisdom has its limits. But with God, there are no limitations.

Holy Spirit, fill me now. So often I do things in my own wisdom. In my own strength. In my own power. But without you I can do nothing.

I’m tired of living life on my own. Of trying to serve you in my own wisdom and strength.

So Holy Spirit, fill me. Fill me with power so I can make a difference in this world as you have called me to. In Jesus’ name, amen.