God Has A Plan

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GOD HAS A PLAN

Acts 10:17-23

17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." 21 Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" 22 The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

NIV

Here we see the orchestration of God. He had already moved within the heart of Cornelius, as we are told he was a God-fearing man. What we know is that no one can be a God-fearing man within their own being without the moving of the Spirit of God in their lives. Alone man has turned his back on God as descendants of Adam. Yet, somehow and at some time, God moved upon the heart of Cornelius and he became a God-fearing man, who when spoken to by an angel of the Lord obeyed sending his servant and two soldiers to find Peter and invite him to come to Caesarea. Meanwhile, God was also speaking and giving Peter a vision to instruct him that it is God who declares what is clean and unclean. When God declares it, we must accept his word. He declared that those who were gentile, such as Cornelius were clean and should be invited into the family of God, through faith in Jesus, that is they should hear the good news about the kingdom of heaven. God always has a plan, and it is up to us to first, be willing to hear his plan, and second, to act upon his plan for our lives. When the servant of Cornelius and the two soldiers arrived at the home where Peter was staying, the Spirit of the Lord spoke once more to Peter, and he responded by inviting these gentile men into the house to be his guests. We must always be willing to hear from God, and we can be assured the Spirit who dwells within us is not our silent partner in life. What is the purpose of Jesus sending the Spirit if he is only going be with us to simply ride along? No, he is the leading, first, leading us to repentance and then leading us into all truth. However, we must follow the leading of the Spirit, and he does not lead silently. We can be assured that if we are left up to our own choices in life, we might succeed in some of the worldly affairs, but how is our spiritual growth, our walk with the Lord, our keeping in step with the cadence which the Spirit is calling out. The Lord was working in the lives of both Cornelius and Peter at the same time to bring about the plan of God for his creation. God will move in our lives to bring about his plan for his creation if we will only pay attention to God and forfeit so much of the attention we pay to self. We have heard over the years people quoting a man they revere as famous when he said, “I have a dream”, but, how often do we quote God when he said, “I have a plan for you” as he spoke to Jeremiah, and which he also speaks to us. 

Cleansed and Made Pure

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CLEANSED AND MADE PURE

Acts 10:9-16

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."  14 "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."  16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

NIV

We first note that this exchange between the Lord and Peter happened three times. Was the sheet full of animals taken up and then brought back down and the Lord said that same thing to Peter or was the sheet always there and Peter was just having a good ole fashioned argument with the Lord, until after the third time the Lord took the sheet from Peter’s view. Because we are told only once that sheet was taken back to heaven once, it must have been Peter and the Lord conversing three times. It is interesting that Peter denied the Lord three times, and now he is denying his command three times. What is it with Peter, especially after he has had such an experience with the Lord, and his faith is so strong, that he just raised a young girl from the dead? Now he argues with the Lord about clean and unclean food. However, the Lord is not talking about food, but rather about men, gentile men, those who the Jews had not considered as worthy of the good news, after all, they were God’s chosen people. So, how does this all relate to us? We know that Peter will get the truth as the next verses reveal to us, but what about how do we deal with this clean and unclean thing? We know that our faith in Jesus Christ tells us that we have been cleansed by his blood. Over and over again in various ways, we are told that through the blood of Jesus all our sins have been forgiven, that we have been made clean. Of course, because we have not yet received our glorified bodies, and we still live in this corruptible form, we continue to make mistakes, and we continue to commit sin in one form or another. When we are made aware of our failure, it is usually the evil one who comes along and wants to put shame and guilt upon us. “How can you call yourselves a Christian, and say you love the Lord, and then do what you did?” Accusations like that only come from the evil one. God will never accuse us for he has already declared us holy and blameless in his sight, and that is even in our current state or form that is not sinless. We have been cleansed by God, therefore let us not call ourselves unclean. This was the message the Lord was giving to Peter. This is the message the Lord is giving to us. Of course, we should make every effort from sinning. Of course, we should strive to please God. However, we also know that the work of God is that we believe in the one he sent, Jesus. No matter how much we try to do all the right things and avoid all the wrong things, ultimately it comes down to believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the one who has cleansed us by his blood. How then if Jesus has cleansed us, can we, mere man, unclean ourselves? The answer is a resounding, we can’t! Once we have been cleansed, we cannot be uncleansed. Once we have been forgiven all our sins, we cannot be unforgiven, or course unless we completely turn our back on Jesus and return full-time to our wicked way of life. However, that still does not make null and void the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. So let us always look to Jesus, and when sin know that his forgiveness is always there. 

Keeping In Step

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

KEEPING IN STEP

Acts 10:1-8

10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!" 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had  happened and sent them to Joppa.

NIV

Much has been said about Cornelius by our esteemed commentators. We have learned as it is also borne out in the discussion Peter will have with the other Apostles in Jerusalem later, that this man Cornelius was a Roman Centurion in charge of about one hundred Roman soldiers who were garrisoned at Caesarea, by the Sea. Those of us who were on the Israel trip a few years back visited this place and saw the remains of the Roman barracks, the large arena, and a well-preserved amphitheater. Although Luke tells us that Cornelius was a devout God-fearing man, he was still a Gentile, born and bred in Italy alone with this entire regiment. This portion of the Acts of the Apostles makes the first transition from bringing the good news about the kingdom of God to only the chosen people of God, the Jews, to the other nations, that Jesus commanded them to go to, the ends of the earth. This would also be the beginning of fulfilling the promise God gave to Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations, as recorded in Genesis 17. It is interesting that this initiation of this promise to Abraham was God, himself. He sent an angel to Cornelius with the message to send for Peter, a man unknown to Cornelius. Yet, he answered the call with the commanded action, sending two of his servants and one devout soldier to Joppa to fetch Peter. What do we learn from this? We think the point is plain to see. When God instructs us to do something or go somewhere, we have but one response, do it or go there. Luke does not tell us that Cornelius had a long-drawn-out conversation with the angel of the Lord trying to get clarity or ask why he should do this thing, or how is this important, he simply did as the angel told him and he did it right away. As we know and will see next, it is also interesting that God instructed Peter about going to the Gentiles. But here is the kicker for us. God visits with us every moment of our lives as believers, as devout God-fearing people. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell, to indwell, to live in communion within us, leading us, guiding us into all truth as well as giving us instructions as to where and how we should live, work and play. Why who we ever believe that God, who lives within us, would allow us to do whatever we decided was the best, to live where we think is the best, and to work at whatever we want to work at? Why would we believe that God would give us the right to declare our method of providing for ourselves, or want us to look to the sources of this world for our security? This applies to both of us personally and to how we function as the church. We are far too familiar with many of the churches today, which are storing up wealth for themselves rather than following the will of God, giving generously to those in need, as it is recorded that Cornelius, a gentile, did. Have we become too self-sufficient, too self-aware, or too self-orientated that we forge ahead, ignoring the moving of the Spirit? This sounds like an indictment, but it is only an observation and a self-examination. Let us not only listen for the voice of the Spirit, but let us move, or walk in step with him, allowing the Spirit to call out the cadence. 

Walking With Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WALKING WITH FAITH

Acts 9:36-43

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" 39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

NIV

This is faith that can move mountains, and even raise the dead. This is the same Peter who seemed to struggle with believing one moment that then the next climbs out of a boat and walks on water until he looks at his situation and then starts to sink. This is the same Peter who answered correctly in Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked them who they thought he was. This is the same Peter who swore he would follow Jesus even upon to death and then denied knowing him three times. Yes, Peter had experienced a life-changing moment when the Holy Spirit came upon him in that upper room, and he and all the others spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem speaking in other tongues and being so full of the Spirit, He stood up and preached one of the all-time best sermons ever. When he was brought to the lifeless body of Dorcas, instead of mourning alone with the widows and others, he exercised his faith. Luke does not tell us what Peter prayed, just that he did pray. We know that he already had the intention of raising Dorcas from the dead because he sent everyone from the room so that he was alone with her dead body. What other reason would he do that unless that was what was on his mind, and in his spirit? Therefore, he must have prayed for Jesus to do this miracle, for Peter had no doubt that the Lord was alive and in heaven, as he watched his ascend into the heavens until a cloud hide Jesus from his sight. Jesus said that if we believed we would do greater, or at least the same things, that he did. Jesus also said that if we ask him for anything, he would do it. Peter must have asked Jesus to raise Dorcas from the dead and after praying, Peter told her to get up, and she did. Life returned to her body. Wherever her spirit was, it returned, and she became alive again. Maybe Peter asked Jesus to send the Spirit of Dorcas back from his presence and into her body. We simply are not sure, but what we know is that Peter had that kind of faith. Did God give Peter more faith than he has given us? If we believe that God does not show favoritism, therefore he treats all of us believers with the same Spirit and power, and we have the same amount of faith that Peter had. The difference may be in how we use or exercise our faith. We have the same Spirit dwelling within us that Peter had. We have the same Lord that Peter had. We have the same power available to us that Peter had. So why then do we not use that power as Peter did? Sure, we most likely should not go to viewings with the intent of raising the dead person back to life, that might be a little bizarre. However, maybe we should pray every time we are faced with the opportunity to heal someone from an illness or some infirmity. Why do we not see people healed every day? Why do we accept illness within our own bodies? Wouldn’t Jesus heal us if we asked him? Maybe we don’t believe as much as we say we do. Maybe we do more talking than walking. We can be a person full of faith and the power of God, like Stephen and Peter. Let us walk with faith. 

A Spiritual Response

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

A SPIRITUAL RESPONSE

Acts 9:32-35

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34 "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

NIV

Checking on the map of Israel, we find Lydda about twelve miles to the northwest of Jerusalem with Joppa a few more miles in the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Peter will get to Joppa next, but for now Luke tells us that Peter is visiting with the saints in Lydda. It is also interesting that Luke mentions Sharon. This is not a city, but the plains of Sharon as a region, along the coastal area. Jesus is referred to as the Rose of Sharon. While Peter is visiting with the Saints in Lydda he came across a paralytic man named Aeneas. It was a natural response for Peter to heal this man in the name of Jesus. Luke does not tell us there was much conversation, that Peter felt sorry for Aeneas if Peter asked him about his faith in Jesus, or how did this crippling of his body happen. Peter simply said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you, Get up and take care of your mat”. The power of God is at work in Peter, and healing took place. Luke tells us that Aeneas got up immediately. We are not told if Aeneas felt the power of God within his body, that he could feel strength come into his muscles and bones. What we do know is he believed Peter and that he was healed by Jesus Christ, so he got up. This is the key to healing, believing we are healed, maybe without any outward evidence. We might not even feel anything within us, but we know that Jesus has not changed and that he told us that if we ask him anything, which includes healing, he would it. From what is recorded, Peter did not even ask, he just pronounces that Jesus has healed the man. Can we walk in the same manner as Peter, declaring healing in the name of Jesus Christ? It would believe that is correct, that we can declare sick people healed by Jesus Christ and they would be healed, which could include ourselves. Why couldn’t we believe that Jesus heals us just like he healed Aeneas or any of those who were healed in that bible? Is that some special formula needed? Do we have to earn this healing? Maybe we need to be on our knees when we ask. Maybe there are some special words that need to be spoken. Maybe we should repent of all our sins, whatever they might be, first. How can we be worthy enough for healing? We cannot, for Jesus Christ is the only one who is worthy, we are simply humans with flaws, but we say that we believe in Jesus, and therefore we should live as though we believe, and healing should be a natural response to our faith, as it was with Peter, and Aeneas, although it was more of a spiritual response. 

Finding Rest

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FINDING REST

Acts 9:31

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord

NIV

Two truths are within our sight here. The first is about the peace the church enjoyed, being strengthened, and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. It also grew in numbers as the church, or rather the people of the Way lived in the fear of the Lord. It is interesting the first meaning of the Greek word translated as fear is to be alarmed, or in dread or terror. This would contrast with enjoying peace, or rest as in the peace or rest of Christ that believers should feel. The second meaning is to revere or respect for rank or authority. We have investigated the word peace before and have come to conclude that it means the tranquility of one’s soul, assured of its salvation, thus fearing nothing from God, and is content in whatever situation it is in and with its lot in life. Therefore, their rest in the Lord was because they revered and respected his authority in their lives and so they were strengthened and encouraged by the Spirit. This is the only way we can have the same experience. First, we must yield the authority of our lives to the Lord. This would mean we can no longer have authority over our lives. That is we cannot make our own choices, decisions, or make our own plans trying to fulfill our own desires. We cannot serve two masters, the Lord and self, we will either love the one or despise the other, but we cannot serve both. We know Jesus said this about God and money, but that is the same thing, as in the case with money, it represents all that is the focus is the self, the desires that come from the mind of man. We can find no strengthening or encouragement in the things of the world; those things will only weaken us and cause discontent which leads to envy and jealousy of those who have attained more than we have. No, our only strength comes from the Lord, and our only source of encouragement and our only peace or rest for our souls is the Lord and He has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to bring us all his gifts and fruit to bear in our lives. Let us look to the Lord for all we are, all we have, and all we do and we will be at rest. 

Speaking Truth

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SPEAKING TRUTH

Acts 9:23-30

23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

NIV

Why are people so resistant to the good news that brings them peace with God, which includes the freedom from the penalty of sin, death, and the blessing of eternal life? their hatred of the truth is so severe they would resort to murder. Is it mob mentality that forges such thinking? These are Jews who are trying to kill Saul. Men who are supposed to believe in God, the creator, the one who choose the Jewish people as his own. These are men who attend synagogue, who hear the word of God read, and know the history of their redemption from slavery and how they were brought into this promised land. These are Jews who are waiting for the long-awaited Messiah, and yet they have closed their ears, eyes, and heart to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. Their hearts have turned from God and now look to their own traditions. We are blessed to live in a country that forbids murder for there are people today who have that same hatred for the truth of God as those Jews did. It does seem, at least on the surface, that we believers are tolerated within most social settings. However, that acceptance is usually dependent on us not speaking too boldly about Jesus and the need to be born again or talking about sin and its consequence. That may be the difference between Saul and us. He spoke the truth bolding and challenged their traditional thinking. We pretty much say very little about the truth. We might talk about how we don’t swear, smoke, drink, or chew and we don’t go with girls that do, but how much do we talk about Jesus and a person's need to accept him in order to gain eternal life. We hear people talk about being a good person and those good people go to heaven when they die. Can we be bold enough to respond to talk like that with, “Well that is not entirely true”? Are we bold enough to correct this ignorance of the truth, this traditional thinking of non-believing people who refer to themselves as religious, even as Christians who believe in God? The Jews believed in God, but they wanted to kill a man who corrected their thinking. Maybe if we were outspoken as much as Saul was, people would reject us thoroughly, even to the point of exhibiting outright hatred toward us. Then again, maybe we would find some who receive the truth and become true followers of truth, the light, and the Way, Jesus. Of course, all that we say must be said in love, with compassion and humility, but it must always be the truth.  

Good Preaching

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GOOD PREACHING

Acts 9:19-22

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.  

NIV

What we are seeing in Saul, is a changed life. Jesus has told us that unless we change and become like a little child, we will not even see the kingdom of God. Saul experienced that change. He was an enemy of God, although he was a zealot religiously speaking. He did not accept what God did for him by sending Jesus to die on the cross for the forgiveness of his sin. He refused to see Jesus as the Christ and wanted to destroy all those who accepted Jesus and put their faith in him. However, after his collision with Jesus on the road, being blinded, now the scales had fallen off his eyes and now he could see. Even though that was physical healing, there is a dual meaning to once being blind and now we can see. Because Saul’s spiritual eyes were also opened, as soon as he regained his strength, he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Surely, he witnessed to them about his experience with Jesus on the road. We are not told, but it would seem right that he also asked those disciples about their experiences, and how they came to faith in Jesus. Saul did not waste much time before he began to witness about Jesus being the Christ, He when to the synagogues, the place where Jews were still without the knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah and he preached that Jesus is the Son of God. This was not just a changed man, but he became more and more powerful in his preaching about Jesus. Saul was being transformed right before their eyes. He was reflecting Jesus with the ever-increasing power of God working in him. People were astonished at the transformation in Saul. This should be our story as well. People should be astonished by the change and the transforming power of God in our lives. However, that can only happen if we reveal ourselves to them. That is if we confess and profess our faith in Jesus as the Son of God. That we make some noise with our voice, maybe not preaching, but at least being a vocal witness of what God has done in our lives including our experience of becoming freed from the penalty of sin, and how we came to this faith in Jesus. We cannot believe that people will just see us as different and ask us why. We cannot think that we live much differently from the world. We work, we save up for our retirement, and we might even invest. We have our homes, our cars, our toys, all the stuff everyone else has, and in some cases more than some, although we might have less than some as well. Saul was not a poor man, although he was poor spiritually. Now he is rich in Christ, as we are now. How can we be silent when we are among those who have yet believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and accepted him as their Lord and Savior? How can we not put a voice to our faith? Some would quote James when he said that faith without works is dead and look at that as working or doing good deeds in the church. However, the good deeds are going out and preaching among the gentiles, sharing the good news about Jesus. The only true way people can know we are different is not by the things we do not do, but by the things we do and say, sharing with them our faith in Jesus, telling them they can be free from the burden of sin, that they can have eternal life and the peace of God in their lives. This is good preaching, and people need to be astonished. 

The Way to Go

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE WAY TO GO

Acts 9:10-19

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."  13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."  17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord-Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

NIV

Why did Ananias argue with the Lord? Moses also argued when he was called to go back to a place that he thought was dangerous for him. This is the argument of Ananias. At first, he was thinking about this man who was persecuting the people in the Way, believers of which Ananias was. Why would he want to face the very man who would have him arrested and dragged to Jerusalem to be imprisoned? However, the Lord has been working in the life of Saul. We saw how the Lord came to Saul and brought him to his knees and blinded him. Now the Lord has given Saul this vision about Ananias coming to him to restore his sight. This was before the Lord appeared to Ananias and told him what he must do. God always has a complete plan, and each man has a part to play. Saul needed to pray in order to have this vision, and Ananias needed to obey. Of course, the Lord laid out his plan to Ananias which gave him the assurance it was not only safe to be in the presence of Saul, but it was going to be a holy experience of not only healing Saul’s vision but baptizing him in the name of Jesus. What we learn here is that we may not always understand what the Lord is doing in our lives, but if we ask him, he will explain it in full so that we can be confident that we are doing the right thing, being in the right place for the accomplishment of the plan of God in our lives. We think that all too often we do not ask the Lord what it is he wants us to do, but rather we just do whatever we think is right, which may not be as right as it should. Sometimes we might just make our own plans and then want the Lord to bless our plans, even without asking him for the blessing, we just assume he will bless us, and our plan. Of course, the Lord interjected himself in both the life of Saul and Ananias, appearing to them in some way. Are there times the Lord as appeared to us and we missed him, or his appearance? I know from personal experience that the Lord has spoken to me several times, and I have not argued, although I have asked for him to repeat himself so that I was sure that is what he told me. Two of the major times, were both physical moves, one from the city to the suburbs, with the Lord giving us our first new home, and the second was the move from the suburbs to another state, again showing and providing another new home and a calling into a fuller service of teaching and preaching the word of God. The Lord will always reveal his will for us, if we but ask and listen, and even at times, be willing to listen even before we ask, for the Lord will direct our paths, he will shine his light unto our feet showing us the way to the place he desires us to be, both in a physical and a spiritual sense. 

Never The Same

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NEVER THE SAME

Acts 9:7-9

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

NIV

It is interesting how these men traveling with Saul hear the sound, which the Greek word has the meaning of voice, speech, or language. So, they heard the voice of Jesus but they could not see him. Of course, we are not told that Saul saw Jesus, but that he was surrounded by a flash of light from heaven when Jesus spoke to him. It is fascinating that Jesus said that while he was in the world, he is the light of the world, of course, we are also told that we have become the light of the world now because we have the Spirit within us. Still, Saul was engulfed in this light, although his companions saw nothing. This was a personal encounter with Jesus for one man and for him alone. Saul was the only one who had the experience of a lifetime. He heard from Jesus and the call upon his life. Although he became blind and had to be led into Damascus, he felt something happened that impacted him enough that he could not eat or drink anything for three days. There is, or should be, some sort of positive, beneficial jolt in life when it has an experience with Jesus. Becoming a Christian must be more than evolving into one. There must be a moment when we are surrounded by his light when we are experiencing the presence of the Lord for the first time in our lives. This is a time when our spirit is lifted up and felt free from the grip of death, and there is rejoicing resounding within our being. Saul had that feeling, that collision with Jesus that changed his life forever. We believe that unless we are impacted in our spirits by Jesus, we do not change the true course of our lives. That is to say, we simply cannot add Jesus to our lives, adding some type of Christian behavior, however, living with the same goals, ambitions, or plans that we always had. The very course or purpose of Saul’s life was changed completely forever, even his name was made different. Nothing of the old remained, he was made a new person in Jesus. Should that not always happen, when we meet Jesus? We have changed, we are being transformed into His likeness, with ever-increasing glory. One day we will be changed in a twinkling of an eye, but for now, because we have encountered Jesus, we will never be the same. 

The Way

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE WAY

Acts 9:1-6

9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 

NIV

It is not as easy to interpret this Greek word which is translated here as meanwhile. The raw meaning is “but” or “and”. However, it can be used as a transition to something new. In this case Luke was going from a narrative regarding Philip to one about Saul. It could indicate that what was happening in the life of Saul was going on at the same time or around the same time as what was going on in the life of Philip. Therefore, the meanwhile might be the best way to explain that. Now, we have Saul and he was the one giving approval of the stoning of Stephen. Now he was wanting to go after all those that were in the Way. Luke tells us that Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He was wanting more believers to be stoned, to be put to death, perhaps even convince the Romans to crucify some of them. Either way Saul got approval from the high priest to travel to Damascus in search of more people in the Way. It is interesting the Greek word translated as “way” simply means the road. However, it carries the implication of progress, or the journey, a way to travel. Jesus used this word to describe himself being the truth, the life, and the way. We are people of the Way. We are traveling the path laid out for us by the Lord, as he is the light unto our path, the way we should go. That is the choice we made, to travel the way the Lord has shown us, and continues to lead us. It is easy to find other roads, some of them of our own design, others built by Satan. Both those roads come with either bitterness, guilt, shame, hatred, jealously, envy, pride, and all sorts of discontent. But we must stay on the course the Lord has lite the way for us, as it brings us peace and love, freedom from guilt and shame and it brings us life. It may be a bit narrow, but it is easy, for his yoke is easy and his burden his light, and by staying on this road we are assured of rest for our souls. That rest is not the one we will have when we are in heaven, but it is a rest we have while we are yoked with Jesus on the path of life. Saul is going to find that out as he travels his own road. Jesus interrupts Saul’s plan with a mighty show of power. We may not all have gotten that kind of display of power when Jesus interrupted our lives, as we traveled our own paths. Nevertheless, Jesus did come and interject His power in our lives. Somehow, however it happened, Jesus made himself known to us, and brought change to the course of our travels forever. He showed us the light and shown it upon the path he wanted us to go. A journey Saul is about to take and will forever be so different then his present path. This is the same that has happened to us. We can never go back to that first path, it is lost forever, in fact, Jesus demolished it. We have but one path, one Way to go. 

Transported

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRANSPORTED

Acts 8:36-40

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"   38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

NIV

There are some later manuscripts that include Philip's response to the eunuch’s question about his being baptized. These later manuscripts have Philip saying, “If you by believe with all your heart, you may”, and the eunuch answers by saying, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. However, we do not have those words in this transaction, just a footnote about those extra words. Nevertheless, the fact is that the Ethiopian eunuch had the natural response to the good news about Jesus by wanting to be baptized. We are not told that Philip told him about baptism as he was telling him the good news about Jesus, however, it seems right the eunuch would not know about baptism unless he was told. Still, the point is that he was baptized which does give us this doctrine of sorts, that baptism is the natural follow-through of acknowledging, or accepting Jesus as the Son of God, and as Lord and Savior. However, that is not the completion of one’s salvation, as some churches would teach. A person is saved by grace and grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is the response to salvation but is not required for salvation. All throughout this record of the Acts of the Apostles by Luke we see people accepting Jesus and being baptized both in water and in the Holy Spirit. This is simply the natural spiritual response after accepting Jesus, which is to be baptized and go about rejoicing. It is funny, in some sense, that we have witnessed many people being baptized and we have also seen them leaving the baptismal as mute as they entered it, with no sign of rejoicing, however, to be fair, there were some who did come up from the water rejoicing. Why shouldn’t everyone rejoice because they have followed Jesus? The other interesting event that happened at this time was that Philip was transported. We have seen science fiction shows where they have a transportation station on board their starship, and poof they get dematerialized and rematerialized down on a planet. But Philip just was taken away by the Spirit, moved without moving, somehow, and appeared somewhere else. That is the power only God can process and make happen. It didn’t happen again that we are aware of, but it happened once, and that means it is possible it happened again or can happen again. Maybe that is the way we are going to be taken up to meet Jesus in the sky. We may not be seen floating upwards as the disciples watched Jesus when he ascended. We might just disappear, not ever seen again, as the eunuch did not see Philip anymore. He just disappeared from right in front of him and appeared elsewhere to preach more about Jesus. All we know for sure is that one day we will not be seen again, but we will be transported into the presence of Jesus. 

Good News

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GOOD NEWS

Acts 8:26-35

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road — the desert road — that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."  

34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

NIV

As we considered doing that which God directs us to do, however, we hear from him, whether through his written word or through that still small voice, or a visiting angel, we now move to another interesting truth. We know this Ethiopian was different than an Israelite. First, in his appearance or ethnicity, second in his nationality, thirdly he was a eunuch, and fourthly he was an important official, which meant he would have been wealthy.  Of course, none of these matter to God, for he has created all mankind and thus he sees all as equally as his creation. However, many people do see our differences and there is a certain bias toward people who are like us in certain aspects. Yet, Philip heard the voice of the Spirit telling him to run up next to the chariot and stay alongside it. Then this exchange happened because Philip took advantage of the situation, hearing the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Here, again is another truth that we should remember. It is all about telling people the good news about Jesus. There is no need to get into any theological discussions or go over any of the ways in which a people need to change, or any certain system of becoming a believer. It is simply the good news about Jesus, that he died for our sins and we have been set free from the penalty of that sin. Freedom from the penalty of sin also brings us eternal life. that is the best good news anyone could ever hear. Of course, doing those days, everything about Jesus was new to so many. Today, it would seem most people have an idea or heard something about Jesus and may even be somewhat religious in nature. However, as we have learned in our conversations with some people, their idea of being religious is trying to be a good person but have no real idea about the need for repentance and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, in essence, being born again. Even if we explain that truth, we start getting into theology and can go past anything they need to know to be saved. Still, that is the good news and that is what Philip told the Ethiopian, and that is what we need to tell people, all people, no matter their differences from us. If we see people as a creation of God, then we would see them for who they are, someone in need of good news. 

Yes, Lord

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

YES LORD

Acts 8:26-31

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road — the desert road — that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip  to come up and sit with him.

NIV

When Philip heard from this angel, whoever this angel was, that told him to go south to the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, Philip went. We are not told that Philip asked any questions as to why you wanted to me go that way, he just started out. We are not told that Philip questioned whether that was really an angel that told him, he just started out. We are not told that Philip responded that he would, if he could, but he had something to do first, he just started out. When Philip heard from the Lord, he did exactly what he was told. This should give us clarity as to how we must respond when we hear from the Lord. That is always the question, how do we know we have heard from the Lord, and it isn’t our own voice prompting us to do what we want. One thing is for sure, the Lord would never prompt us toward sin, or anything that would disagree with his word. We also know that if we take his word as though it speaks directly to us, then we have already been told what to do in many areas of our lives. The question is how have we responded? Are we anything like Philip? Do we just do it, no questions asked? The truth is that we would have to copy much of the gospels along with many of the Epistles to list all the attitudes and behaviors that we are first to rid ourselves of, and second, to take on and make them our way of life. We know that Lord has already told all that, to go in that direction, that course of life, and have we just gone, or are we stalling, wanting him to tell us something else, or something different that we can agree with, or wanting to hear his voice, or have a visit from an angel before we act? We can identify with Paul regarding the war that wages within. There are things we should not do, and we do them and there are things we should be doing, and we are not. We wrestle with the self within who wants what it wants when we know in our hearts that the Lord wants something else in our lives. No, we need to see how Philip responded and follow suit, and if we do, as Philip did, we will see the mighty hand of God moving in our lives in ways we could never imagine. We must respond when the Lord says go, or when he says stay. All we need to say is, yes Lord. 

A Genuine Heart

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

A GENUINE HEART

Acts 8:18-25

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." 24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." 25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

NIV

We have already been here and looked at this, but there was one more truth which we needed to spend some time with. Simon wanted to buy the power of God so that it could benefit him, however, Peter makes this charge against Simon, telling him he needs to repent. Although we are told that Simon also believed and was baptized, offering money to get that kind of power indicated to Peter that Simon’s heart was not right. This gives us the idea that although someone says they are a believer, they still could have a heart that is not right. Peter could discern that Simon’s heart held bitterness within and thus was captive to sin. How careful we must be when it comes to our hearts. We might look all so good on the outside, even putting up our façade, however, within we could be struggling with bitterness, unforgiveness, envy, jealousy, or some other kind of attitude that would indicate that we need to repent, change the way we think, change the attitude of our heart, otherwise we might just be considered as a captive to sin. We are told many times throughout the scriptures to rid ourselves of those attitudes of the heart, along with many other thoughts. It appears that Simon responded correctly, asking Peter to pray for him. He became aware of his captivity to sin, that his attitude was wrong, and wanted help to change. Whether that happened, we do not know, for we can only see the outward appearance of a man. This again brings us back to ensuring that is not all we are doing, showing our outward appearance just to look good. God sees our hearts and knows what is within. Let us make sure we keep allowing God to not only examine our hearts but help us bring about the needed changes in our hearts, and our attitudes, so they are genuine. 

Gift From God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GIFT FROM GOD

Acts 8:18-24

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." 24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

NIV

How interesting that a man who performs magic, who is an illusionist, a sorcerer, when he saw real power, he wanted to buy it, as if it were something to be obtained through human effort. We do not know if what magic Simon did was powered by Satan, or whether it was a learned skill, as illusionists today employ. The point is that Simon believed the power that Peter, and John had was similar to his, just only greater and more powerful. Although, we do not know if Simon’s magic could have an effect on other people like he saw happen when Peter and John laid hands on people. Peter made sure that Simon knew whatever power they displayed by laying hands on people with the result of those people receiving the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit is a gift from God. Although it is not stated by Luke, because Simon saw evidence within those people who received the Holy Spirit which prompted him to want that kind of power. We find this proves there is something that happens within a person when they receive the Holy Spirit which produces evidence. Because we have received the Holy Spirit, and again, that is a key, we must receive Him, we ought to have evidence within us, evidence that is visible to others, just like Simon saw in those people who received the Holy Spirit. It is true, just like any gift, we must reach out and receive it, take hold of it, thank the giver, and then we must open it, use it if it is a useable item, or wear it if it is clothes. This applies to the Holy Spirit. We must reach out and take hold of Him. He does not just come automatically when we accept Jesus, who we also must accept as a gift of God. So, then we must accept, and receive the Spirit as He is offered to us as a gift from God. Then when the Spirit comes, he brings all His gifts and fruit with him to manifest the evidence of His being within us. We cannot manufacture any of this evidence, or power, as Simon believed he could. We cannot fake it, for that is the same kind of wickedness Peter accused Simon of doing or thinking he could buy the power of the Spirit, using God for his own purposes, to make himself more powerful. This gives us the truth about everything we receive from God must be testified that God is the giver, and we are the receiver. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. If we think we can, we deceive ourselves, as Simon was, and the truth is not in us. Let us always look to the Spirit who dwells within for all guidance into the truth. Let us always look to the Spirit for His manifesting whatever evidence He desires in and through us so that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit receive all the praise and glory in and for our lives. Let us always be thankful for this gift from God. 

Receive

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

RECEIVE

Acts 8:14-17

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

NIV

With the new Church based on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, the stigma of Samaria disappeared. Although those stuck in the old ways still held contempt and even hatred toward the Samarians, Christ's followers exhibited love toward them. Philip had been there and preached the good news about Jesus. Perhaps some of them were witnessed to before by the woman who met Jesus at the well of Jacob, but the miracle of faith in Jesus was a result of the testimony of Philip, along with the miraculous signs God did through him, and many were freed from evil spirits and the crippled and paralytics were healed. Baptism was a natural result of their new birth, they're being born again, waiting to follow Jesus. It was a thrilling time in the new church, with so many new believers and when the Apostles heard the news of what was happening, they sent Peter and John to them. Here we see another natural experience that follows the new life in Christ. Both the baptism of water in the name of Jesus and the baptism in the Holy Spirit should follow when a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It is interesting that Luke makes this point that Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the people received the Holy Spirit. This may give us some clue as to whether this baptism or this receiving the Holy Spirit is an event altogether separate from accepting Jesus and being baptized in water. Receiving the Holy Spirit can only be done if one is offered the Holy Spirit. The very meaning of the word “receives”, which in Greek means to take hold of, to claim, along with a varied application of taking hold or claiming. However, in the truest sense of the word, we cannot take hold of something, or claim something as our own, if we are not offered it, for otherwise it might be seen as theft. We cannot steal the Holy Spirit, nor claim Him without being offered to receive Him. Peter and John offered those new believers the Holy Spirit, laying hands on them and at once the Spirit came upon or within them. They experienced something new, something more than faith in Jesus, but an actual inner firsthand knowledge of the presence of God within them. The power of God was now coursing through them and their new life was complete, although they still had much to learn and grow, now they had the power of God to work in and help them in their new life. Here we see receiving or being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not automatically done, just because we believe in Jesus. We must reach out and receive Him as He is offered to us. We sing that song, “Come Holy Spirit, fall on me now”, which certainly indicates we are seeking His presence in us after we accepted Jesus. He has come upon and within us and we are so thankful for his work in our lives, and how he manifests himself through us, yet have we availed ourselves of all His power? Have we given him permission to do mighty acts, signs, and wonders through us? Are we holding Him at bay, or holding Him back in any way? If so, it is time to let go and receive all He has to offer. 

Boasting

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BOASTING

Acts 8:9-13

9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

NIV

We are introduced to Simon here and there is more to this narrative, but for now, let us contend with this magic act of Simon. In Greek it is beforehand there was a man Simon who practiced magic in the city. He bewitched people, amazed,  and put them out of their wits. This word magic comes from the idea of an oriental scientist, a magician. From what we can gather, it was black magic, which was not from God, but rather came from either the evil one or simply the sleight of hand, an illusion. Whatever the source, his power did not come from God. However, when Philip arrived with the power of God, and the truth about Jesus, the people lost interest in Simon and turned their attention to Philip and believed and were baptized, even Simon believed. It is interesting that the truth will always trump an illusion. There are illusionists today, peddling their brand of religion, but for the most part simply used God to promote their own self-worth, as Simon did, boasting that he was someone great. Simon thought more highly of himself than he ought to, as many do today. It is interesting how boasting has become the favorite pastime of so many, especially with the advantage of social media. “look what I did”, “See how much I do” and “Aren’t I special?” “I have done great things”. Maybe not in those words, but that idea is expressed, so as to draw attention to themselves, rather than God. We are supposed to humble ourselves before God and be humble and gentle, being patient and bearing with one another in love. Simon was not humble, although he did evidentially believe, but we will see, he still wanted to be great. Let us be mindful and not boast of our deeds, or our position, or title, or abilities, but remain aware that it is God who works in all of us, and it is God who calls us to be a member of the body of Christ, each with our own task, but also supporting the tasks of all the other members, who each are as important as all the others. We are all the children of God, who does not show partiality but loves us all with equity. If we are to boast, we should boast in the Lord. Then, just maybe great signs and wonders will be seen, but if we continue, or are content to boast in ourselves, then we can be sure nothing truly great will happen in our lives. 

Life of Believing

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIFE OF BELIEVING

Acts 8:1-8

8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

NIV

Luke is showing in advance, that Paul, who at the time went by the name Saul, how evil he was. Although Saul was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, he was a religious zealot and entirely against the Christian movement. Most likely Saul was among those who heard Gamaliel speak about what had happened because of Peter and John. He had said there were other movements that sprang up and when their leader died, the movement died. So it will happen again with this Jesus movement if it is from men, but if it is from God no one can stop it. It looks like Saul disagreed with that assessment and went about persecuting as many Christ-followers as possible. He was a one-man wrecking machine. The believers had already scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. It would seem right that Saul being a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Jew of Jews, would not follow those who scattered into Samaria, even if his hatred was that intense against the Christian church. However, even under the potential of Saul finding them out, they continued to proclaim Christ. Now we are reminded of Philip when he asked Jesus to show him the Father and that would be enough for them to truly believe. Jesus responded that if Philip saw Jesus, then he saw the Father. Now after that day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, Philip is one of them who is full of the Holy Spirit and must also be full of the power of God and so he did many miraculous signs. It is interesting how we have this comparison between Saul and Philip, one man filled with evil, and the other filled with the Spirit. The result was fear because of Saul, and great joy because of Philip. Evil always brings some kind of fear, but the Spirit will always bring joy. Because we have the Spirit, we are also filled with joy. In addition, sometime later, Saul, after his encounter with Jesus, usually starts his letters to churches with the grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus. The point is that when we are at peace with God, we are in a tranquil state, assured of our salvation and fearing nothing from God and we are content with our earthly lot, whatsoever sort that is. The Spirit always bring about this peace, this tranquility within us, and he also brings his gifts, which we see some of them displayed in the life of Philip, casting out evil spirits, healing cripples, and paralytics in the name of Jesus. God was using Philip in a powerful way through the working of the Spirit. Should not our lives reflect the moving or working of the Spirit in us? Again, did all this stop with the Apostles? Did God change somehow over the years since then? We know that is not true, God does not change, so then we must be the ones who have changed, who have restricted the working of the Spirit so that we live without His power within and so we are not seeing any signs and wonders. We are not being persecuted, at least in our country, like the early church was, so we need not scatter. However, we can perform many miraculous signs right within our midst, if we unleash the power of the Spirit and allow Him to manifest his gifts within and through us. It is that simple, and yet we struggle with this. Why? We believe in Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit, so maybe it is time to have the life we believe in. 

Covered Ears

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

COVERED EARS

Acts 7:57-60

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

NIV

We are seeing the natural response of men who dare not hear or receive the truth. They covered their ears, they could not even listen to one more word from this Stephen. They overpowered anything else he could or would say with their shouting and yelling at the top of their voices. Isn’t this story the same today? There is a whole culture of people who do nothing but yell and scream at the top of their voices because they do want to hear or accept anything from biblical truth. They refuse to believe, even shouting profanities, rejecting the bible as the authentic word of God. They even reject the idea of God and look to their own religion invented and passed down by man. The members of the Sanhedrin rushed Stephen, and dragged him outside of the city, much as Jesus was forced to carry his cross out of the city. They could not even bear to stone him within the city for their traditional values were too strong. Nevertheless, they did not remember the words of Jesus, perhaps even to some of them, as they were about to stone a woman they caught in adultery, even though, she was most likely set up, otherwise, how did they, a group of religious men, find her in the act of committing adultery, which would have been done in secret. Jesus told those elders, that whoever was without sin, could cast the first stone. None cast any stones, however, in the case of Stephen, their anger and hatred were so full, that they started to stone him. Here again, we see that Saul was there, a witness to this madness. What is interesting is that Stephen, although he had no choice about being stoned, prayed and used some of the same words Jesus used when he was on the cross. The difference, however, is that Jesus prayed to the Father and committed His spirit to the Father, while Stephen prayed to Jesus he committed his spirit to Jesus. Stephen also asked the Lord to forgive those who were killing him. Our lesson here is simple. No matter what life brings to or upon us or how death comes to our bodies, we look to Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith. Yes, it is God who created us, but we also know that God said, “Let us create man in our image”. There was nothing created that was not created by Jesus. The beauty of all creation is that Jesus did not speak us into existence, but came down and with his own hands formed us from the earth, and then even came closer and breathed his very breath into us. Therefore, it is right to lift our spirit onto him at the moment of our last breath. Someday we will fall dead, but our spirit will be committed to him, and as with Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, a man full of wisdom and grace, we will commit our spirit to Jesus, and at the same time living, asking Jesus for forgiveness for all those who oppose the truth. Yet, they will continue to cover their ears and yell and scream their own brand of reality, even if it is built on lies, but we will live in the reality of the truth, the way, and the light. 

Open Eyes and Circumcised Hearts

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

OPEN EYES AND CIRCUMCISED HEARTS

Acts 7:51-56

51 "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

NIV

Here is the charge Stephen made against the whole of the Sanhedrin. He told them they were stiff-necked people. It is interesting that Moses called the children of Israel sniffed-necked people when he was talking to God. We cannot be sure as the narrative does not clearly indicate the members of the Sanhedrin already making a fuss in the midst of Stephen’s response to the question. Were they already trying to interrupt him, sensing where he was going, that he was comparing them to what Moses said about the people of Israel, and this is why Stephen then called them stiff-necked? Or was it just part of his response, what he had been building up to, because of their actions in the past, having determined that Jesus was worthy of death and convinced the Romans to kill him? Either way the concept of this phrase, “Stiffed-necked” comes from an ox that refuses to be yoked, not willing to bow his head for the yoke. Considering that Jesus told us to take his yoke upon us,

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

They were not going to yield, they were not going to bow to Jesus, they killed him instead, having stiff necks, and uncircumcised hearts and ears. It is interesting that later Paul, who according to the first verse in chapter eight was there at the stoning of Stephen, made that statement about a Jew is not one who only is circumcised outwardly, but true Israel, a true Jew is one who is circumcised of the heart. Stephen accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit, and finally, he accused them of killing Jesus. They knew full well, that what Stephen said was the truth, but like all people who resist the Holy Spirit, the truth is also rejected. We know that God desires to bring about change in us. We are in a constant flow of changing as we reflect his likeness in ever-increasing glory. We know that all scripture is profitable for teaching, rebuking, and correcting us, along with training us in righteousness. They refused all of that, even though they were formally schooled in the scriptures. Again, we take our lead from Stephen in this case, we should be filled with the Spirit and because we are, we should be able to look up to heaven and see, perhaps not with physical eyes, but with spiritual eyes, heaven opened to us, and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. When we have the fullest of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, our eyes are opened and we can see the truth, the way, and the life, which is Jesus, and it is Jesus who circumcises our heart. 

A Testimony

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

A TESTIMONY

Acts 7:44-50

44 "Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.   47 But it was Solomon who built the house for him. 48 "However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

49 "'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? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?'  

NIV

It was by the direction of God that Moses built the tabernacle of the Testimony. We are told the reason it is called a Testimony is that it served as a witness or a testimony of the presence of God. Did the Israelites need proof that God was with them? Did they not see all the mighty wonders He did through Moses in Egypt? Did they not see the Red Sea become a wall of water so they could pass through on dry land and then watch as the mighty hand of God caused the waters to crash in upon Pharoah’s chariots? Yet their hearts were turned to Egypt, looking back instead of forward. God knew they were going to need a physical place to signify He was with them, to prove He was their guide and protector. Even after their children took the land and they still wanted to be like others, wanting a king, an earthy ruler, God gave them Saul, then David, and Solomon who was the one who built the finest temple where God was to dwell among them. Places were built with the hands of man. Stephen is making that very point. What can man build that will be enough for God, who spoke all that is and will ever be, into existence? Throughout the ages, man has continued to build places to signify the place for God. Some of them have been edifices of great grandeur that still stand today. It is said these places are the house of the Lord by some, or that it is a place to meet with the living God, which is both true in some sense, yet untrue in the sense that God cannot be contained in anything we build. It is not that he will not meet with us in those places, for he is always willing to meet with us. In fact, He desires to dwell with and within us. He does not need the temples we build. It appears that we build them for ourselves. They do not prove that God exists. They do not serve as a witness to God, but more of a witness to us or our faith. Then, for the most part, they serve only for us who own them, for if we are not there, we lock them up tight, or in the greater cathedrals, we have guides and guards to safely keep that which we have amassed within, as a testimony to our faith in God. However, the fact is that we are the only witness, the only true testimony of God, for we are His creation, and we are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory if we are willing to allow Him the freedom within us. This was Stephen’s story, a man full of faith and the power of God and full of wisdom and the influence of God within him. Because Stephen gave God all the freedom to work in his life, he did great wonders and miraculous signs, and it is noted that his face was like that of an angel. God was being reflected in ever-increasing glory in the life of Stephen and as God does not change, it would make sense that he is still willing to work in our lives in the same way. Although, we still have the edifices that we have built, and we gather together to worship God in them, let us remember He is not held within them, he lives within us and we are a testimony, a witness of His mighty power and grace. Let us be the testimony. 

Making gods

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

MAKING GODS

Acts 7:39-43

39 "But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt — we don't know what has happened to him!'   41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

"'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? 43 You have lifted up the shrine of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile' beyond Babylon.

NIV

Stephen is coming to the close of answering the question about the charges against him. However, in his answer, he is going to make a charge against them. What he says here about the Israelites refusing to obey Moses, the prophet, the man who God made their ruler and deliverer, is exactly what he is going to charge them with. The Israelites turned their hearts back to Egypt. By making an idol with their own hands they were wanting the same type of religion the Egyptians had, false gods. These are the gods that have eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear, and a mouth, but cannot speak. Men have been making idols throughout the ages, crafted by their own hands and it still happens today and appears will continue until the last day. Why do men want idols rather than God? What is it that is so appealing about idols? What can we trust an idol to do for us? How does an idol make our lives better? Maybe if we explored what some of the current idols of today are, we might get a better picture of why men desire idols over God. It makes sense that it must be one or the other, we cannot serve two masters. We will either love the one or despise the other. Well, that speaks directly about the idol of money. It surely is more straightforward to trust in money than in God. For many, money does make life better. This could also lead us to think that success is anything idol that would make life better, for success usually brings us more money. Our advertising world is almost obsessed with promoting our investment in some form of money, gold, silver, retirement accounts, and the like. But is that the only idol of our culture? It might be possible that we make our “self” an idol, being wholly focused on our own thoughts, desires, and ambitions. Stephen has already made the point that traditions were their idol, and that could apply to our culture as well. What appears to be at the center of all idolatry is the “self”. Everything that comes from the mind of man, instead of from the mind of Christ, seems to become an idol. This is not to say we cannot enjoy the things of this world, but we need to understand God must be at the center of our lives. All that we are, all that we do, and all that we focus on, are centered around God. He is the one who blesses us and holds us within the palm of his righteous right hand. Those of the Sanhedrin left God in their hearts and turned to a belief of this own design, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness. We cannot afford to make that mistake, for we cannot bear the thought of being exiled by God. Our love for God must be out of our whole heart, mind, spirit, and strength. We cannot love God from a divided being. Stephen will make the charge against them, that they have left God. Let no man make that charge against us, for they can only see us outwardly, but God looks at our heart. Let us serve God and God alone. Because we serve the one true God, let us not make gods. 

Living Words

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIVING WORDS

Acts 7:37-38

37 "This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.'   38 He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.

NIV

Stephen now comes to the point of the living words of God. We know from our other studies that those religious men, those who are of the Sanhedrin, had already turned away from the living word of God and turned toward their own traditions of men. Had they been open to the living word of God they would have seen that Jesus was the long-awaited Christ, but they were blinded by their dead traditions which led them to a place of perishing. Following their own traditions would leave them stranded in the tomb until the time they were judged and found wanting, being sent to eternal damnation. Stephen knows that God’s word lives, as he gave to Moses, and as he speaks through the Spirit into Stephen’s life. This same Spirit is now alive in us and we also have the living words of God within our hearts. This is due to the fact, as Stephen is pointing out, Moses told the people that God would send a prophet like him from the people of Israel. He was speaking of Jesus, which Stephen will get to, and it is because of Jesus we have the Spirit. What is interesting is that it would seem throughout the ages, religious men have always had a slant toward traditions rather than the living word of God. Even today it appears many churches are steeped in their own brand of traditions and have in some sense set aside the living word of God. We must be careful not to get caught up in that kind of thinking and allow tradition to take precedence over God’s living word. Some traditions are fine, they are comforting to us. We follow certain traditions we base on the living word of God, but have we added certain things that are not from the word, but rather passed down to us from men. We should be careful to pay attention to the fact the word of God is living, and it is like a double-edged sword. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews makes that very clear:

Heb 4:12-13

12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

NIV

 

The traditions of men cannot and will not do that, but only stunts the minds and hearts of men, captivating them with dead untruths that tickle their fancy. As the Apostle John would put it, men love the darkness and hide there, for the light exposes their sin. The light is the living words of God, this double-edged sword that shows the way to life everlasting. Who, in their right mind, would not want the living words of God that have been passed on to us, through the power of God the Father, Jesus, the Son, and through the Spirit, who dwells within our very being? 

Engulfed in the Light

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENGULFED BY THE LIGHT

Acts 7:35-36

35 "This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert.

NIV

Stephen reminds them, which they surely have not forgotten, but perhaps are ignoring their history because of their wicked hearts. Although Moses was rejected when he first was among his own people, now after forty years God sent him to be their ruler and deliverer. Stephen is getting to the point where he tells them they have done the same thing to the one who God sent to be their ruler and deliverer. Moses was a foreshadowing of Christ in many ways, although he made one act of disobedience where Jesus was obedient even onto to death. It is interesting that out of all the wonders and miraculous signs Moses did in Egypt, Stephen makes sure to mention the Red sea and the forty years in the desert. We wonder if the members of the Sanhedrin understood the significance, or even remembered the miraculous sign at the Red Sea. Once again, the very sign and wonder at the Red Sea were parallel to what just happened in their lifetime. Moses was leading the people out of bondage to a promised land. The parting of the Red Sea formed the pathway which enabled the people to escape the evil that was pursuing them. Although Moses had to lift his arms, it was the righteous right hand of God who separated the waters and caused the dry land to appear, and it was also God who destroyed the evil that came after them. Stephen, in his wisdom, was going to show them that Jesus also came to lead them to a promised land, and who also destroyed the evil that races after them. It was also Jesus who had to lift his arms up, however, they were nailed to the cross, however, it was the mighty right hand of God who ordained their salvation through Christ. Jesus made a dry path for us to walk across which leads to the same promised land. Jesus promised us that he would go and prepare a place for us and that he would return to take us there, himself. It is always God who will lead us to safety and destroy the evil that so eagerly wants to engulf us. It is also interesting that all those Israelites, once they reached the Jordan and simply needed to cross over and they would have possessed the promised land, refused because they feared the evil that awaited them. They did not trust God but looked the physical, so they wandered for forty years until they all perished, and it was their children that took hold of the promise of God. It is still the same in the day of Christ, as Stephen will show the Sanhedrin. Jesus showed them the way, as he still does today, and they, like so many others today, refused to trust God and looked only at the physical they could smell, touch and taste and feast their eyes upon. Their hearts are darkened by the evil which resides within them, and they cannot see the path God has made for them to escape and so they too will perish wandering in the wilderness of this world. But we have put our trust in God, and we have walked across on dry land, and we already have been given citizenship in the promised land through our faith in Jesus, our Lord, ruler, and Savior, deliverer. We have crossed the Red Sea and the wilderness and now we live in the promised land, for we see with spiritual eyes and our hearts have been enlightened, being engulfed by the light.