His Choice

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HIS CHOICE

Acts 1:20-26

20 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.'   21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." 23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

NIV

Peter is still speaking to the believers, who at that time numbered about one hundred and twenty, and he had shown how the scriptures were both prophesied and fulfilled in the act of Judas and the result. There were now only eleven apostles, for all the one hundred and twenty would be considered disciples, or learners. Peter noted the psalm that referred to another taking the place of leadership. Two names were proposed, but by lot Matthias was added to the number of apostles. However, before casting lots, they prayed, knowing that the Lord knew everyone’s heart. They wanted the Lord to choose the one to be added to their number. Two different truths speak to us in this portion of scripture. First, it is always right to add another to the number. This might be taking a little liberty with the context, but the point remains: it is always right to add another believer to the number. This is the calling upon every believer, to tell the story, to be a witness of what has happened to us, what we have seen, heard, felt, experienced in Jesus. We may not all lead everyone we encounter to Jesus, but our mission is to bring people to Jesus, to add one more to the number. The Second truth is that before they cast lots, which was normally done by placing names on a chip of wood or stone,  before picking without looking, they prayed.  It is always right to pray before doing anything important; in this case, add one more to the number of apostles. However, we make decisions every day, some just the normal, mundane activities of life. Should we do laundry today, vacuum, dust, what to have for lunch or dinner, and go on the list of daily choices. But there are also times when we must make a major life decision, and it is always best to pray first. We are more than aware that the Lord knows our hearts and what our desires are. If we make choices based on our desires, we may be making the wrong ones. Yet, there are times when the Lord puts a desire within us, but we still need to seek his counsel, asking Him to guide us to the right decision. We could get into a spiritual routine, which means we always do the same thing we have always been doing, and expect the Lord to bless the way we have been doing it. Yet, if we prayed, “Lord show us the way” or “Your will be done in earth, in our lives, as it is in heaven”, then we need to be open to changing course, do whatever He leads. Let us not assume prayer means we want the Lord to bless our choice, but let us know we need to follow His choice. 

Guilt or Forgiveness

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GUILT OR FORGIVENESS

Acts 1:12-19

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." 18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

NIV

We will get all that Peter said, but first, let us journey from the Mount of Olives to the room upstairs where they were staying. We remember this room, called the upper room, where Jesus and his disciples had their last meal together before his arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. That was the scene we use; however, we mostly use Paul's account in Corinthians for the words we say before we partake in the elements of communion. The bread and the wine, as Jesus passed them around to his disciples, made a parallel to his body and blood. Now, after Jesus had ascended and the angels appeared, assuring them that he would return in the same manner he left, they left the Mount of Olives and walked down into the Kidron Valley, then back up into Jerusalem. In all, it is about one thousand meters. Having stood on the Mount of Olives, it is easy to see Jerusalem only ¾ of a mile away. It does not take long, even at a slow pace of two miles an hour, it would only take about minutes to make the journey back to the upper room.  As they met, Peter wanted to deal with the loss of Judas, making sure to note it was the work of the Holy Spirit, or it was the divine purpose of God for Judas to betray Jesus so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. However, Judas could not deal with his betrayal, throwing himself to his death. Judas could have sought forgiveness from the LORD. Although Peter will use portions of the psalms to indicate that this was all part of God's plan and that Judas is referred to as evil, it was evil that influenced Judas, as he was one who shared in the ministry. Judas was one of those whom Jesus sent out two by two, who healed people, cast out demons, and had Jesus's authority. Judas was called by Jesus, followed Jesus, and was a believer, yet he was influenced by evil, even though it was for a purpose. This can serve as a lesson for all believers , as we need to always be on guard against the schemes of the evil one. It is not that Judas hated Jesus; we believed he loved the Lord, but was influenced to think his plan was to force Jesus to become the king he was supposed to be, restoring Israel. Nevertheless, the evil one is still at work with his schemes, trying to deceive people, even believers. Do we not face those self-centered temptations? Do we not fail, and give in to pride or boastfulness regarding our religiosity? Do we not fail when we get puffed up about our “good works”?  Are we not tempted to become jealous or envious of others? Are we not tempted to put our trust in wealth, or put too much value on material things? The devil's schemes or lies are so subtle that they can be difficult to detect unless we are walking in the Spirit, who leads us into all truth. However, when we do fail, as unfortunately we may, unlike Judas, we do not have to be overwhelmed with guilt, because of the grace of God, Jesus, we can seek and receive forgiveness for our failures. We do not need to walk in guilt. 

The Return

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE RETURN

Acts 1:6-11

 

6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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."  9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "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."

NIV

Just as we considered what it is to be the witness, by focusing on the exchange between Jesus and his disciples, we take this same portion to ponder the exchange between the angels and the disciples. Although Jesus was in his physical form as he ate with his disciples, he was also in his glorified form, as he was able to appear and walk through a locked door to speak with them. However, in this form, he ascended into the clouds out of their sight. That alone must have been a wonderful sight. They had spent three plus years with him, watching him heal hundreds, many more, performing miracles, and they heard his teaching, including what would happen to him. They saw him crucified, heard his words from the cross, watched him give up his spirit, and were buried. Then they became witness to the fact that he was raised from the dead, and he walked with them for forty more days. At this time in their lives, they watch Jesus ascend into the air, rising higher and higher until he was above the clouds and they could no longer see him. But that is not the end of the story, for the angels suddenly appeared and assured the disciples, which also assures us that Jesus will come back in the same way he left. Jesus will show up in the sky at some time; that is the word from God. Jesus is coming back. This fact has been a point of debate among theologians for centuries. It is not debated that he will come back, but where and when within the context of prophetic words, especially the revelation that was given to John. Some think Jesus will return to the Mt of Olives. Others think every eye will see him in the sky when he appears. Some believe he will first just appear in the sky and call all believers to himself. This is what is referred to as the rapture, or the taking up, the resurrection of the dead, and all believers in Christ who are still alive. Later, Jesus will return physically to the earth for the thousand-year reign. Many books, sermons, and teaching videos have been put forth with various views of how to interpret the scriptures about his return. The point is that Jesus is coming back, and he is coming for us. He also promised that he would prepare a place for us, and that he would come to get us to that we would be where he was. That one fact is all we really need to know. Jesus will descend from heaven, appear in the sky, and we will see him, and a great and wonderful happening will occur. What happens after that is all about showing God's power to bring more people to their knees before Jesus. But for now, we wait, and while we wait, we occupy ourselves by telling the story of Jesus to whoever will listen. Jesus is returning. 

The Witness

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSLTLES

THE WITNESS

Acts 1:6-11

6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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."  9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "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."

NIV

There are several truths in this exchange between Jesus and his disciples and then between the disciples and two angels. Jesus had told them to wait, that in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, just like John baptized with water. We should have noted in the previous verses, the parallel Jesus used between John baptizing with water and the baptism with the Spirit. When we were baptized in water, we were totally emersed in the water. This is how it is when we are baptized with the Spirit,  we are completely emersed with and by Him. It is also interesting that after spending three years with Jesus, hearing him teach, preach, perform healings and miracles and being told what was  going to happen, and then watch it happen, they still had not gotten the truth deep down within them. They still asked if this was the time he would restore the kingdom to Israel. Is this the time he would overthrow Rome, destroy the Roman army, kick them out of Israel and set up his throne in Jerusalem. One day that is going to happen, but it is not for any of us humans to know when. However, we do have a commission from Jesus, a mission to be about doing. This truth he told to his disciples applies to all of us who learn from Jesus. For the Greek word translated as disciple means to be a learner, therefore, we are his disciples and we receive power when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and we are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Although it is good some are called to be missionaries to some of the ends of the earth and we support a portion of their expenses, that does not relieve us from being witnesses about Jesus because we happen to live at one of the ends of the earth. That brings up the question as to how do we witness. It cannot be by just being a good person, or going to church. If we use our lives as a witness, then we must reflect the glory of God, so others can see His Glory shining out from us. But the idea of being a witness, as witness in a courtroom, is to testify what we have heard, seen, and what has happened to us. That requires us to speak up, use our voice to tell the story about Jesus. There just isn’t any other way around that truth about being a witness. We will leave this exchange with the angels for later, because this truth about being His learner, His disciple means we need to be the witness.  

 

Releasing Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS  OF THE APOSTLES

RELEASING POWER

Acts 1:1-5

1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 

NIV

He is alive, and if any should ever doubt, they only have to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to them. The proof that Jesus was resurrected in bodily form is in the record that Luke puts forth. Jesus appeared to many over a period of forty days. That is just the facts, but the wonder of His resurrection gives us assurance we too will be resurrected in bodily form on that last day. We are also confident that we will not remain with our lifeless bodies, for we know that we are not just a body, but a spirit who lives within this physical form, and when it is laid to rest, we will have left it to join our Lord in some spiritual sense. However, that is not the end, because Jesus left his body behind, yet came back to it through the power of God, to have his body resurrected in a new glorified condition. We will see that record will reflect this truth when he appears or seemingly walks through a locked door to speak with his disciples in that upper room. Jesus is alive and we will also be alive, even though this body  dies. Yet, the story is not just about a resurrection, although that is a wonderful truth to keep deep within our hearts and minds, the story of also about being baptized with the Holy Spirit. We will see how this happened for the disciples in the next chapter of the record Luke wrote, but at this point we must believe there is a baptism we need to undergo other then the one with water. This was an event in time that happened to the disciples, a moment when fire came from heaven and the Spirit descended  upon them, taking up residence within them, gifting them with power. There is no question that if we want to have eternal life we must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Lord makes that clear through the Apostle Paul in the letter to the Romans. If we confess with our mouths ”Jesus is Lord”  and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. But that is not the end of the story in the life of a believer. We are saved, we will have eternal life, but during the days of this life, we need the power of God in our lives. This is when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, another moment in time, just as the moment we were baptized with water. Jesus promised, and he always fulfilled his promise that he would baptize us with the Holy Spirit. We know there is evidence of this baptism because the Spirit witnesses to our spirit and manifests his gifts and fruit in our lives. The question we must all ask ourselves is if we see those evidences within ourselves. There could be two reason we do not see those evidences. One is we have never been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Secondly, we have been baptized, but we have decided to quench the Spirit, not yielding to Him. Having been saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit, let’s release His power. 

Man of God

 DEVOTION

2^nd  KINGS

MAN OF GOD

2 Kings 1:1-10

1:1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury." 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!'" So Elijah went. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?" 6 "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" '"  7 The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?" 8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." 9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!'" 10 Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

NIV

Why do men think there is no God in Israel? It must be the same reason people today think there is no God. Why would Ahaziah, the king of Israel send his men to consult a god that is blind, deaf and mute? Of course, it is possible that Baal-Zebub, could been under the power of Satan, for he is referred to in the New Testament as Beelzebub. However, in the context, this Baal-Zebub was supposed to be the fly god, one who would drive away flies. But, that had to be only in the mind of men, for this Baal-Zebub is not a god, but a figment of man’s imagination, or making. We would never worship anything we could make, for that would be totally against our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It might be bad enough that we could become prideful, boastful or puffed up because of what we make or do. This fits into the story about Elijah who spoke the word of the LORD, but then went and sat on a hill. Ahaziah knew it was Elijah because his men described what Elijah was wearing, and he sent a caption and fifty men to ask Elijah to come down and go to the king. When the caption called Elijah, man of God, it was all over for the caption and his man. We see the power of God consume all those men. When the fire of God fell upon them, they were not just killed, but consumed. The Hebrew word means to be totally burned up, to be consumed by fire, as in cremated, except in this case, not any ashes were left. We will see this happen again, but what we want to focus on is the power of the LORD God Almighty. Just as the fire of the LORD consume the sacrifice, the altar of stones, all the water, and mud, leaving nothing but a dry hole in the ground, the LORD’s fire consumed those men. It is good that we have accepted His grace and do not have to fear being consumed by fire. The prophets speak of a consuming fire, and in the revelation given to John an angel speaks of the consuming fire of God. His power is so much more then we can imagine, we wonder why we do not avail ourselves of His power more than we do. All Elijah had to say, “if I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Down came the fire and consumed them. Are we not people of God? Could we not say “if I am a person of God, a man or woman of God, then let God demonstrate His power, pour out his healing power?” What we noticed was that Elijah did not include, “If it is your will,” but simply let them know the power of the Almighty God as the fire fell upon them. Let us know His power, let us speak His truth with confidence, but most of let us be a man of God. 

Good Intentions

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

GOOD INTENTIONS

1 Kings 22:41-53

41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel. 45 As for the other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 46 He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. 47 There was then no king in Edom; a deputy ruled. 48 Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail — they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my men sail with your men," but Jehoshaphat refused. 50 Then Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son succeeded him. 51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 52 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.

NIV

Two kings, two ways of life, one did right in the eyes of the LORD, one did evil in the eyes of the LORD. Interestingly, Jehoshaphat who did right in the eyes of the LORD stopped or rid the land of male shrine prostitutes but did not remove the high places. Was he not completely sold out to the ways of the LORD? Why did he allow those high places to stay? The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. The question is who were they offering sacrifices to? We cannot be sure if these high places were for the worship of Baal or for the LORD.  The same event recorded in Chronicles indicates he did remove them, or at least it was his desire to do so, but he failed. It is not uncommon for anyone who lives to please the Lord to desire to do what is right in His eyes, but also to fail on occasion. However, that is not to say that good intentions are enough. One old English proverb of exact original is unknown, states the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The other king, Ahaziah son of Ahab did not even try to live in a manner to please the LORD, instead he did evil in the sight of the LORD and caused Israel to sin. Ahaziah worshipped Baal, a false god who had no eyes to see his evil, no ears to hear his evil and no mouth to speak against his evil. However, he did provoke the LORD God Almighty who has eyes to see, hears to hear and a mouth to speak. It is always a bad choice to choose the wrong side to live on. Why serve something that is deaf, mute and blind when we have the Lord? We wonder if we believers could get distracted by material things, that are deaf,  mute and blind, and become too invested in them, or place too much value on them, that we are almost close to serving them, or worshipping them. It is not that we forsake our Lord, but is it possible we are trying to serve two masters? Jehoshaphat tried to live doing right in the eyes of the LORD, but he left those high places. If we love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, then we cannot have any high places, or other things that we offer sacrifices to. Because we are supposed to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, then the question is whether we offer ourselves to other things, considering them too important, becoming too invested in something other then our Lord. We wonder if even when we do good things for others, are we looking for their praise or the praise of our Lord? Sometimes the line can get blurred, but let us consider what is doing good in the eyes of the Lord, not just good intentions.