Being Full

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEING FULL

Acts 13:49-52

49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

NIV

It is sad that some people not only reject the truth but also become vindictive by outwardly opposing the truth and inciting others to their cause against Jesus. Paul and Barnabas were expelled, told to leave the region. The people did not want to hear anymore; they were content to live in the darkness of their minds. There is a good possibility that they were inspired by the evil one, who is always opposed to God. It may be like that song by Bob Dylan, "You gotta serve somebody, you're either gonna serve the Lord or serve the devil, but you gotta serve somebody". However, our lesson is not about persecution or expulsion from the region, though that does play into the truth we should ponder. Luke, in his account of the Acts of the Apostles, records that the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. We cannot wait for everything to become a bed of roses, so to speak, to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Whatever our circumstances in life, we can still be filled with joy. We cannot allow those things, anything that comes against us, to suck the joy out of our lives. If we begin to focus more on our aches and pains, an infirmity, or a difficult situation, or when things just are not going the way we think they should, we are giving in to them, and we could lose the joy. We know the joy of the Lord in our strength, as Nehemiah tells us. Jesus told us that because he loves us, just as the Father loves him, he gives us his joy so that our joy may be complete. What a promise, Jesus gives us his joy so we can be, not only filled with Joy, but have complete joy, which means full to the brim joy. This may not mean we are jumping, leaping, and praising God, but it also could mean that. Yet, joy is deep within, yet if we are full of joy and the Holy Spirit, surely our countenance would reflect it. We would think that a believer whose joy is complete, that is, they are completely full of joy and the Holy Spirit, would not be walking around pained-faced, with a downcast attitude, or appearance, but their joy would be pouring out of them, and the evidence of being full of the Spirit could be visibly seen. How can we be half full of joy or half full of the Holy Spirit? The opposite of being full is not just half full, but being empty. 

Being Glad

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEING GLAD

Acts 13:42-48

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

NIV

It is always good to urge others to continue in the grace of God. That is what we are all called to do when we are told to encourage one another and build each other up. In this case, it was Paul acting in a sense as an evangelist, who is one of the gifts of the Spirit to the church. However, the gospel can bring division among some. Because Paul and Barnabas first went to the synagogue to speak to the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism, everything was fine; in fact, they were invited back the next Sabbath to speak more about Jesus. But when the people of the city, the Gentiles, came to listen to Paul and Barnabas, the Jews became jealous and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Talk about the "Us four and no more" mentality! Although the Jews wanted to hear more, they had not accepted Jesus as their Messiah; in fact, we are told they rejected the word of God. Paul and Barnabas were sent to the Jews in the first place; that was their calling. They were to be a light for the Gentiles. We are also supposed to be a light to the Gentiles, or the world. If we are considered to be followers of Jesus, and we love to tell the story, we should be telling it to those who have yet to decide to follow Jesus, those of the world. Most likely, we have not been called to be evangelists, but we should be witnesses to what has happened in our lives. We should also learn to speak boldly, as we are not ashamed of the gospel. There is this other concept we should take notice of regarding the Jews, whom Paul accused of not thinking they were worthy of eternal life. That was because they were stuck in the law of Moses and could not see the truth of the gospel that salvation was a free gift of God. However, the Gentiles were glad and honored the word of the Lord. All who were put in a certain order to arrange or ordained, appointed, for eternal life believed. Does this mean God chose some to believe and some not to believe? Would that mean God determines who will be saved and who will perish? Of course, not, he desires all to be saved, that no one should perish. The intent of this language was to say that all who believed were appointed to eternal life. God ordains believers to eternal life; He places us in the order of his divine will. Thank you, Lord. We heard the message, were glad, and believed. There is something about being glad. If we're glad, then our faces should show it, as should our lives. Jesus is the reason we are glad. 

Declared Innocent

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DECLARED INNOCENT

Acts 13:38-41

38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41 "'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.'"

NIV

We owe everything to Jesus. Paul makes it clear that through Jesus we have the forgiveness of our sins. That is excellent news, for who could find that kind of grace anywhere but in Jesus. They could not find justification or be declared innocent through abiding by the law of Moses. We cannot find any declaration of being just or righteous, or of being declared innocent, by abiding by any rules or regulations that we think are based on the scriptures. Of course, we want to live a righteous life as we follow Jesus, doing the right things, loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We wonder why we still want rules, those do's and don'ts. It's not that we want to sin or just live in any manner we want, as we do want to live to please the Lord. But trying to live on our own power or strength is just like those who tried to live by the law of Moses. It is not possible for them, nor for us, to attain justification under the law. Because of Jesus, and only Jesus, can we find the forgiveness of our sins, which means that God has declared us righteous and innocent. The warning Paul quotes is from the prophet Habakkuk, about the ruthless Babylonians who overpower all cities, plundering everything , and taking captives. The warning is about scoffers, those who scoff, or despise the grace of God, Jesus. Those whom Paul was speaking to were still living under the law of Moses, and thus they were despisers or scoffers at the only means of justification, Jesus. We certainly do not despise Jesus; he is our Lord and Savior. We have confessed our sins, repented, changed the way we think, and look only to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. He is our only way to attain righteousness, be declared or rendered by God as innocent of all charges against us. Those who scoff will not be declared innocent, but will perish. Let us not take the forgiveness of our sins lightly and think that living by any rules of regulations gives us any righteousness or good standing with God. Our only hope is through Jesus, and Jesus only. We cannot add or subtract anything to or from Jesus. He is the only means of our salvation. We can never scoff or not believe that Jesus is the only way, because through him, we are declared innocent.

 

No Decay

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NO DECAY

Acts 13:32-37

32 "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: "'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'   34 The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'   35 So it is stated elsewhere: "'You will not let your Holy One see decay.'   36 "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

NIV

The news about Jesus is the only good news, and Paul wanted to tell it whenever he could. That is a great lesson we should take to heart. We sing about loving to tell the story of Jesus and his glory, but do we actually tell the story to whoever we can? In a world where there is wickedness and so much bad news is generated about something by so many, hearing good news should be a desirable thing. People look to human leadership to solve their problems; some look to it to meet their needs. Some look to themselves to provide their own needs and secure their future. But the only real problem is life and death, and the only one who provides all that someone needs and has secured their future is the Lord. However, each person is given a choice to accept life instead of death. Once we choose to accept the good news that Jesus has been raised from the dead and lives, we will have life. Because all flesh will decay in this world, that is, all will die, everyone who comes from the dust will return to the dust, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, but Jesus promised to those who accept him as their Lord and Savior that even through we die, we will live, and our flesh will be raised from the dead or we who are still alive will be changed. We will all have a new glorified body that will not see decay. Is there any good news better than having eternal life, never to see decay? Of course, we know that when this body does give out, we will leave it and then be present with the Lord, for we know that we only temporarily reside in this perishable and corruptible body that cannot inherit eternal life. However, to be absent from it is to be present with our Lord. However, someday, that body will be raised imperishable and uncorruptible to live forever, just as Jesus lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose, and so will we, where there is no decay. 

The Witnesses

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE WITNESSES

Acts 13:26-31

26 "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

NIV

Paul is laying out the complete plan of salvation for these people of Pisidian Antioch. He was in the synagogue and asked if he had any encouraging words. What more encouragement can there be than about Jesus taking our sins to the cross, then being raised from the dead? It has also seemed strange to us that the religious men of Israel who read the scriptures every Sabbath,  especially the prophets who spoke of the Anointed One, did not see Jesus for who he was. Their own quest for power over the people and their position in the community overshadowed their ability to see the truth. Their traditional thinking blinded them from seeing Jesus as the Son of David, the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ. Paul is making it clear to both the sons of Abraham, the Jews, and the Gentiles who are God-revering. Times have not changed; we have so many people today who are blinded by their own thinking and by a desire for power or influence over others. There are so many different organizations or movements with their agenda for a better way, their way. Many stand in protest against anything that does not agree with their thinking, wanting to influence others to follow their agenda. We were once blinded by our own desires, but the scales have been removed from our eyes, more importantly, from our hearts. After Jesus was raised from the dead, we have the testimony of many witnesses to his resurrection. Can there be anything better than to be assured that Jesus was raised from the dead? Because he was resurrected, we can be confident that we who live in him and believe in Jesus will also be resurrected to eternal life, to live forever with Jesus. We cannot listen to the voices of decent, or those false prophets, teachers, with their silver-tongued deceit. There is only one truth, and his name is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way to attain salvation and eternal life. As those who physically saw the resurrected Jesus were witnesses to others, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, being a witness to us of the truth about Jesus, we too should be witnesses to others. The question is, what constitutes being a witness? In a court of law, we can only testify to what we have heard, seen, or experienced. We are sworn to tell the truth and only the truth. We do not need to be an evangelist, a preacher, or a great public speaker to tell someone what happened to us. We can tell how Jesus saved us; that would be the truth. We are just the witnesses. 

Whose Heart

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WHOSE HEART

Acts 13:13-25

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." 16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance.   20 All this took about 450 years. "After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' 23 "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'

NIV

Paul has more to say to the men in the synagogue, bringing them to the point that Jesus is the Messiah, but there are some truths in this portion, or his introduction, that we should take note of. First, the message about the forgiveness of sins through Jesus is extremely encouraging, which is what Paul was invited to speak. This portion is a history lesson on Israel and its relationship with God, leading to the knowledge of David, the one man whom God testified about. This is the truth that we want to consider how our lives compare to David's. God testified that he found a man after his own heart. What does it mean to be after God's own heart? Certainly, this did not apply to the private life of David, for he acted sinfully concerning Bathsheba. We must then conclude that this testimony of God about David concerned his public life. Saul was rebellious and did not follow God's command. However, David did not allow idolatry, and he ruled according to the law of Moses. He followed the commands of God. However, even when he sinned, when Nathan brought it to his attention, he repented and sought God. David did not rule against God, but for God. We are not sinless either; however, have we become comfortable with a level of sin in our lives? What we know about David is that he was not comfortable with his sin. Of course, we would never murder, steal, or commit any of those big sins of the Ten Commandments. Yet have we allowed ourselves the liberty to gossip, or harbor ill feelings, unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, self-centeredness, anger, pride, judgmental, critical, or any of those other emotional or spiritual faults? Those feelings or actions are nothing like the heart of God or the life of someone who lives after God's own heart. Sure, we are not sinless, but at the same time, do we seek the heart of God in the area in which he has called us to serve him? Can we say that God has not called us into his service? We are not called to be a king as David was, but we have been called to be a part of the body of Christ, to build each other up, to encourage each other, and to love each other. We may not rule a nation, but if we seek God's heart, we should rule over ourselves and be rid of those unfruitful feelings. Jesus said that if we come after him, we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow him. If we can do that, then maybe God would testify concerning us that he found someone after his own heart who would do everything he wants. This is the greatest question: do we do what we want, following our own heart, or do we want what God wants, following His heart?  

Evil Never Wins

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

EVIL NEVER WINS

Acts 13:6-12

6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

NIV

Here we see the difference between a magician and the power of God. It may be true that Elymas the sorcerer was able to perform some parlor tricks, but whatever he did was from the pit of hell or the devil's trickery. However, there is no real power or authority from the evil one, only tricks, illusions, and falsehood. Paul and Barnabas saw right through Elymas and called him a child of the devil and an enemy of all that is right. When a person, who is a child of the devil, opposes the word of God, Jesus, and all that is right,Their main agenda is to attempt to destroy anyone who lives according to what is right because they are following Jesus. We can see this truth throughout our world as those who oppose what is right protest against the truth of God. However, Saul and Barnabas, knowing the power of God and being filled with the Spirit, told Elymas that the hand of the Lord was against him. Evil never wins when the hand of God is at work, which is always in those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, as they are also filled with the Spirit. Believers do not need deceit and trickery as the children of the devil do. That is all evil can do, deceive and trickery, but the believer has the power of God. Paul called down blindness on Elymas, and someone had to lead him by the hand. Yet,  by performing magic or trickery, he was already blind to the truth of God. He lived with a blind heart, and now he had blind eyes. Evil never wins. The power of God worked through Paul and Barnabas, and now the proconsul's eyes were opened to the truth, and he believed. He was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. This is where believers live, in the teaching about the Lord, and in the power of God, being filled with the Spirit, seeing the truth overcome evil, for evil never wins.