Distractions

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DISTRACTIONS

Acts 16:16-18

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.

NIV

At first, this slave girl with the spirit by which she predicted the future would be good, although what spirit, other than God, knows the future? However, this spirit was not of God, for it was used to make money for her owners. It could be possible because Satan was once Lucifer and lived within the presence of God Most High, and may have been privy to some of what was to happen on earth. Lucifer would have known Jesus before He came to earth; in fact, he came to tempt him when Jesus was in human form. So then the spirit in the slave girl came from Satan, with some knowledge of things that would happen. Even though, by the spirit, the girl knew Paul and Silas were servants of the Most High God and kept shouting those words for days, it became a distraction from Paul's message about salvation through faith in Jesus. We wonder if there are distractions today from the message of salvation through faith in Jesus. There is no doubt that distractions exist in the world; in fact, there is open opposition to faith in Jesus. Do distractions exist within the church? Certainly, there would be no evil spirits bestowing gifts on believers, but could we be distracted by religious or man-made traditions? Paul turned and cast that spirit out of the slave girl in the name of Jesus, and at that very moment, it left her. Trouble for Paul and the others would follow, but the point is that the name of Jesus has power over all spirits of distraction. Evil will always attempt to persuade believers to look to themselves, to their works, or to their traditions instead of the truth that we are saved by grace and grace alone. Evil will always attempt to distract believers with pride in their spiritual greatness. We must be vigilant against those spirits of distraction that could show up attempting to cause discontent, dissension, division, or pridefulness. Sure, we can get involved in many things, even our occupations,  in general life itself, without becoming distracted in spiritual matters. However, when it comes to our spirit, nothing can overshadow having faith in Jesus. We must be willing to cast out anything that distracts from faith in Jesus alone. 

He Opens Hearts

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HE OPENS HEARTS

Acts 16:11-15

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

NIV

We have a short travel log that takes them to Phillipi, a Roman colony, meaning it was under Roman control. From what we know, it had a significant Greek population and Jewish residents. We are not told that Paul and Silas went to any synagogue; instead, they went outside the city gates, near a river, to pray. This could be our first clue about prayer. It is good to find a place to pray, to get alone. Although there were two, they would still have wanted a quiet, still, solitary place to pray. How can we pray if we are getting distracted by all the things around us? However, it appears they did not find that solitary place, but instead found women who had gathered there. We are now introduced to Lydia, who was a worshipper of God. What we know from the text is that although she worshipped God, she had no knowledge about Jesus, and the free gift of salvation through him. The key to her accepting Paul's message about Jesus was that the Lord opened her heart to respond.  This key is everything, as a person with a closed heart will not listen or hear the truth about Jesus, and they will not willingly open their own unbelieving hearts. This is the work of the Lord, as he can open a person's heart. Indeed, the Lord will not force himself on people, but he can open their hearts, soften their hard hearts, so they might respond to the truth about Jesus, the free gift of God. This may be one of those things that is impossible with men, to open their own hearts, but all things are possible with God. The question is whether we can pray for God to open someone's heart. However, that is not what Paul did; he merely told the women about the message concerning Jesus, and God did the rest regarding Lydia's heart. There is another truth that applies to us: as soon as she believed, she wanted to be baptized. In Essence, that is part of following Jesus. Lydia opened her home to Paul and Silas, which we think meant she wanted to hear more about Jesus. Let us learn these lessons and make sure we find a solitary place for prayer, just tell the message, and let God open hearts. 

The Spirit Leads We Follow

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE SPIRIT LEADS WE FOLLOW

Acts 16:6-10

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

NIV

This is what it means to be led by the Spirit. No, do not go there, stop, not there either, but I will show you where to go. That is this narrative in a nutshell. Being led by the Spirit is the way of life for any believer, yet we wonder how much we listen and follow His leading. We know His leading is important in spiritual matters, as to where we are supposed to be preaching the gospel message, or at least where we are supposed to gather together with other believers. What church should we be in? What should we be doing to serve the Lord? But that also means where we should not be, or what we should not be doing in an area of service. Paul was restricted from going into the province of Asia. We are not told whether he asked the Spirit why, but we know he was obedient and did not enter either Asia or Bithynia, yet the Spirit gave him a clear sign that he was supposed to go to Macedonia. Could we also know just where we are supposed to be, as to what city we should live in, or where is the home the Spirit directed us to? If we are being led by the Spirit, then every aspect of our lives should come under obedience to Him. How can we decide where to go and what to do? If we were making our own decisions, we would be operating in the flesh, which is both weak and corruptible, so we would make mistakes in our choices. That is not to say we cannot choose the clothes we wear, or what food to buy, or what color to paint, or any of those small things in life we may need. But it is our lives themselves that must come under the leadership of the Spirit. Where doesn't He want us to be, what doesn't He want us to do? Where does He want us? What does He want us to do? This is all about following where the Spirit leads. 

Strengthened Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

STRENGTHENED FAITH

Acts 16:1-5

16:1 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

NIV

We are now introduced to Timothy, who was a disciple before Paul met him. However, because he was not fully Jewish, having a Greek father, he would not have been circumcised as an 8-day-old infant. However, there was a connection between Paul and Timothy, as we are told that Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. But the question is, why did Timothy need to be circumcised? This was not to mean that he would need to follow the ritual Jewish laws, or come under the law of Moses. Because Timothy would be accompanying Paul, and it was usually that Paul first went into the synagogue when coming into a city, wanting to bring the gospel message to the Jews, if his companion was uncircumcised, the Jews would not listen, as Timothy would be unclean. Because Paul associated with him, he would be considered unclean. Timothy's circumcision was rendered necessary by the circumstances in which they would be placed. We know that sometime later, Paul entrusted the affairs of the church at Ephesus to Timothy's leadership. The point of this narrative is not the act of circumcision, but that Paul continued to preach the good news and inform the Gentile believers of the decision of the apostles and elders reached regarding their responsibilities as believers. As we have considered before, most of those do nots are not meaningful in our culture, except for sexual immorality. Nevertheless, it reveals that believers should live differently from unbelievers. There are some things we are not supposed to do or have certain attitudes about. We are to rid ourselves of pride, jealousy, envy, gossip, anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness, just to name a few. However, the list of what we are to do does not get as much attention as it should, such as encouraging one another, speaking to each other in Hymns, Psalms, and making music in our hearts to God. We are also supposed to build each other up. We see Paul does all this in his relationship with Timothy, encouraging him, building him up, and speaking the good things of God with him. Their focus was on Jesus, spreading the good news to both Jews and Gentiles, so that the believers were strengthened in the faith and grew in numbers daily. Was the increase in numbers all due to Paul and Timothy, or was it more about the believers in the church sharing their faith with others, because they had been strengthened in their faith? 

Strengthening

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

STRENGTHENING

Acts 15:36-41

36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

NIV

What do we say about this sharp disagreement? Can we observe a difference of opinions without thinking there was sin within either of their hearts? Both Paul and Barnabas were devoted men of God, but how do we justify Paul's not wanting to trust John Mark because he had deserted them? Was there anger in the sharp disagreement between them? Did Paul harbor ill feelings about John Mark, or unforgiveness because of his deserting them, and not continuing with the work of the ministry? We might try to answer these questions based on our own thoughts about relationships within the community of faith. Can we have a sharp disagreement over a church issue and not get upset, angry, or have hurt feelings, even to the point of either leaving or splitting the church? Are we judging Paul and Barnabas based on our sense of right and wrong? In the Greek text, there is only one word that means excitement in a positive sense, but is used in a negative sense as irritation. Either way it is used in this text, it does not imply a sinful argument that leads to a permanent, never-speak-to-each-other-again anger. Nevertheless, the lesson we can learn is that we can have different thoughts about the ministry of the church without getting all bent out of shape. Paul and Barnabas both concluded it would be best to split up, each with their companion. This could also have been possible; the lord's hand was in this, as there was one team, now there were two teams, which were able to cover more churches in a shorter amount of time. However, is it right to think the Lord would agree with any contention or disagreement that leads to splitting up? Is it right to think that Paul never forgave John Mark, or that he just was not able to trust him again? In Paul's letter to the Colossians, he mentions John Mark, Barnabas's cousin, in a positive light. This also sheds light on why Barnabas chose John Mark to travel with him. From that letter, we also see that Paul asks the  Colossian church to welcome John Mark, as they had received instructions about him. Therefore, we know disagreements are not meant to lead to unforgiveness, with hard feelings, or permanent separation. The basic underlying truth is that the churches were strengthened. That is the key to what should motivate our intentions concerning the church: to strengthen it, build it up, and encourage one another. 

Encourage and Strengthen

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENCOURAGE AND STRENGTHEN

Acts 15:30-35

30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.   35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

NIV

We are dealing with a message contained in this letter, sent by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, as well as the personal messages of Silas and Judas, called Barsabas. What we need to focus on is, first, the response to the message, and second, the work of Silas and Barsabas. Of course, the written letter was encouraging in the sense that these new Gentile believers did not have to undergo the painful experience of circumcision. It is one thing, according to Jewish law, to circumcise an eight-day-old boy, but for an adult male, it is a very painful thing that debilitates a man for several days. So, not having to experience that would be very encouraging. However, we also note that Silas and Judas were prophets and said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. Encouraging and strengthening others should be one of the main traits of all believers. We are told many times in various Epistles to encourage and build one another up. Judas and Silas were encouragers, seeking to build up those brothers according to their needs. Those times were different from what we have available to us now. These brothers in Antioch did not have all four gospels, nor any of the epistles of Paul, Peter, or John. Most likely, they did not even have copies of the torah, or any of the Psalms, and the words of the prophets. All they had were messages from men who came to Antioch, some with words that would burden the new believers; but when the apostles and elders sent this letter and Silas and Judas, they brought words of truth that encouraged and strengthened the new believers. That is the kind of words that should come out of our mouths, even if other believers have the whole Bible available to them, and should be encouraged and strengthened by reading and exploring the truths within it. Although we have the fullness of the scriptures, it seems we can still go through times when our hearts are heavy, because we are going through some difficult experience. We might even become a bit discouraged or disappointed because it seems our prayers are not being answered, or we are not seeing an improvement in our situation. That is why we all should be ready, willing, and able to encourage and strengthen each other. 

Seems Good to Him

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SEEMS GOOD TO HIM

Acts 15:22-29

22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Greetings.

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

NIV

It is good to maintain the format of this letter as it is in the scriptures, and some truths certainly apply for that period of time, which we may not need to apply, except for sexual immorality. However, we want to focus on one statement in this letter. The authors of this letter made it known that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to them not to burden the believers there with the law of Moses and the oral traditions of Judaism, mainly, circumcision. We could also note that some disturbed the new believers' minds with false teaching. That has not changed over time, because there are still false teachers among us today, not troubling but deceiving people's minds. But it is this truth about what seemed right with the Holy Spirit that bears truth into our lives. There was discussion among the apostles and elders regarding this situation and how to resolve it, but it was the leading of the Spirit that brought about the agreement with all the brothers. We would do well to do what seems right with the Holy Spirit, so that whatever we do is in the will of the Father. The Spirit does lead us into all truth; however, we have to be listening to be led. It can be easy to do so many things in our own desire to be religious, or do what we think are good works, or good works we think are right to do. But what seems right to the Holy Spirit would be the best thing for us to do. He has given us many gifts throughout the scriptures, and the Spirit also leads us in the direction of our lives, in our decisions, plans, and all our life choices. Before we do anything, especially concerning the church, but also our personal lives, we should consult with the Holy Spirit, so we know what seems good to Him.