Set Apart

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SET APART

Acts 14:21-28

21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

NIV

This is almost like a travel log or the travel agenda of Paul and Barnabas, but there is some truth we need to ponder. First, they strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. We might see Paul and Barnabas as doing the work of missionaries and so think that, as long as we support some of our modern-day missionaries, we have fulfilled our responsibility to strengthen and encourage some believers in a far-off land. Although Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit, and men prayed and laid hands on the two of them before sending them on their way, there was no set of rules or denominational requirements they needed to meet to be the men of God they were, and do the work of the Lord among the people. They were set apart and filled, and led by the Holy Spirit, so they could boldly speak of the good news about the kingdom of God, with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Because we are all told to build each other up, to speak words that build others up according to their needs, so that it might benefit them. We are also told to spur one another to love and good deeds. This is not just the work of missionaries but of all believers. Sure, Paul and Barbabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit, but has not the Spirit set all of us apart from the ways of the world? The Holy Spirit will lead us if we listen to his still, small voice within. Secondly, God opened doors for them, even though they experienced opposition, even stoning, and they told believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch that they must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. This could refer to the fact that the Spirit of this world is opposed to the Spirit of Christ; therefore, it is possible that believers will experience the same kind of opposition, to the point of persecution or ridicule. However, that would mean we live openly as believers, boldly expressing our faith, even in the face of ridicule. We know the Spirit will open doors for us, so we are where we need to be, and voice our faith in Jesus Christ so others might turn from their wicked ways and turn to Jesus. Let us recognize our being set apart to do the work of the Lord. [i]

 

 

 

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[i] 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Ephesians 4:29

Hebrews 10:24-25

Romans 14:19 

The Mythical and the Truth

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE MYTHICAL AND THE TRUTH

Acts 14:11-20

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "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, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

NIV

Why would men want to believe in that which is not true, rather than consider the truth of God? Because Paul and Barnabas were filled with the Spirit and empowered to perform miraculous signs and wonders, the townspeople thought they were two of the mythical Greek gods. Because Zeus and Hermes have never been seen by anyone, as they are mythical, not real, people believed that when they saw what Paul and Barnabas did, it was an easy leap to believe their gods were real. Paul and Barnabas would have nothing to do with them, believing them to be gods, so they tore their garments in an effort to prove they were just men, like everyone else. Here is the central truth of this narrative in Lystra. The good news is meant to turn people from worthless things to the living God. How can people deny that the rain comes from the Living God? How can people deny that all the food we have to eat comes from the hand of God, for he spoke all plants into existence and all the livestock. Yet they would rather believe in false gods that have no ears to hear, eyes to see, or a mouth to speak. But now the people of Lystra believed they had two of them when they saw the crippled man walk. We wonder if even believers can be deceived by falsehoods. Yet that is the case when so many listen to those silver-tongued purveyors of deception who tickle the ears and hearts with falsehoods, that God wants them to be wealthy, and to live in material abundance. Not that he wants us to be poor and live without any material things. But life should not be about satisfying ourselves or living a self-oriented life. Life is about loving the Lord with our whole self, our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We should be living a God-centered life because we see the evidence of his majestic power and authority all around us. The whole earth and all that is in it testify to God being the creator and the giver of life. We can see that others who came to Lystra, Jews who were completely opposed to the truth of God, were stuck in their own form of religion, which came to turn the people who first wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas, now wanted to stone them.  Why would men rather believe in men than God? If we are honest with ourselves, we understand that all people can lie, but God never lies; he tells only the truth, for he is the truth. There is the mythical, then there is truth. 

Evidence of Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

EVIDENCE OF FAITH

Acts 14:8-10

8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

NIV

This is going to turn ugly after what happened regarding the man who was crippled in his feet from birth. However, before the results of this healing, we want to focus on that for a moment. We notice this lame man was listening to Paul as he spoke about the good news of Jesus Christ. That good news must have included the fact that Jesus was the Son of God who came to earth in human form, went to the cross for the forgiveness of sins, was resurrected, and, after his ascension, sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers. We don't know everything Paul said, but it had to include all that and more. The point that this lame man listened and believed so much that he felt he could be healed. His faith was evident to Paul. What was the evidence of this man's faith that he could be healed? Was it a look in his eyes? Was there a glow on his face? Did he appear enlightened, light up, filled with excitement of standing up and walking for the first time in his life? Whatever it was in this crippled man's appearance, Paul saw it and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. He didn't just stand up, he jumped up. The Greek word here carries that meaning of jumping, leaping, springing up. We wonder why we do not see that kind of healing in many of the churches today. Maybe we just do not have that kind of faith to be healed. Could one person have enough faith for someone else to be healed? This narrative tells us that the man's faith caused his healing. It was the same with the woman who knew that if she could just touch the hem of his garment, she would be healed. One by one, we could go through all the healings in scripture, and most of them result from the faith of the one being healed. Some, such as the lame man that Peter and John saw on their way to the temple, it was Peter's faith that led him to tell the man to stand up and walk in the name of Jesus. Still, all healings are for the expressed reason to bring glory to God in the highest. It is good to experience a healing in the name of Jesus. A healing can give relief from some sickness, pain, or infirmity. However, is it possible that we have become comfortable in some sense, being a crippled Christian? Is it possible that we have put too much faith in man's medical profession than in Jesus? We wonder why they call it "practicing medicine." When Jesus never needed to practice healing, he just did. Paul didn't need to practice either; he simply saw the evidence of this crippled man's faith and told him to stand up. Is our faith evident? 

Never Stop Preaching

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NEVER STOP PREACHING

Acts 14:1-7

14:1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the good news.

NIV

Why does the truth divide people so much? The truth is the truth, yet some people refuse to listen even when they hear it. Why is it that those who refuse to believe the truth want to poison the minds of others? From this narrative, the Jews who stirred up the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas used an age-old principle of trying to destroy the character of their opponents, to the point of physically harming them. Yet, no matter the situation, Paul and Barnabas continued to speak boldly about the message of grace, and they were enabled to perform miraculous signs and wonders. We wonder if we were to speak the message of grace as boldly as they did, we might be enabled to do miraculous signs and wonders in the presence of those who oppose God's grace. Sure, it is good to spend time with other believers, but we cannot simply hide within the walls of the church, so to speak. Looking out at the sinners with judgmentalism. Sure, Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogues first with the message about Jesus, the grace of God. Some believed, some were stuck in the law of Moses, and opposed their message openly. Of course, we are not going to convince everyone; in fact, we are not supposed to convince them, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. We are only supposed to tell them the truth about the grace of God. The question is, how can we do that? Where can we interact with unbelievers? Maybe the younger employed believers work with unbelievers and have the daily opportunity to share the message, but what about those who are no longer in the work force, retired, old, and maybe even a bit feeble or sickly? How do they fulfill the great commission of going into all the world and preaching the good news to everyone? What if we stood in some store and just started sharing the good news boldly? Would we be asked to leave? Would they call the police on us? Maybe, just maybe, some would listen, some would believe the message of God's grace. Maybe if we were that bold, we might be enabled to do some miraculous signs or wonders. Who knows, if we never speak up, we will never know. Paul and Barnabas never stopped; they continued to preach the good news. Could we do that? Could we never stop preaching the good news? 

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.