Not Too Difficult

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NOT TOO DIFFICULT

Acts 15:12-21

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 "'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things'  18 that have been known for ages.   19 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

NIV

Another large hunk of scripture, but it is all one thought, one statement of James that should not be broken up or dissected. It does seem a little strange that James says on one hand they should not make it difficult for the Gentiles to turn to God, that is get circumcised, but on the other hand he lays out what might be a more difficult set of rules they must follow. Which would be easier for them, to undergo, circumcision one time, or to follow all those rules for the rest of their lives? Of course, we know that the truth of the whole aspect of circumcision is that it was to show us what it meant to be circumcised of the heart, not of the flesh, exposing the most sensitive portion of the body to God, our heart. Perhaps James still did not understand that principle yet, as we will see did the other Apostles as they agreed with him, imposing those rules upon the Gentiles, rules that were designed to prove to them that they could not keep them and thus needed Jesus. Yet it is true we have scriptures that outline proper and improper attitudes and behaviors for us to strive to live by today, which is in effect was the intent James had in mind for the Gentiles to strive for. There is absolutely nothing improper in encouraging others to live in a manner that pleases God. The Bible is full of those kinds of teachings, but at the same time, the reason, the purpose of the whole of scripture is not to put a burden of rules and laws upon us, but to point us to Jesus. Although we endeavor to abide by the commandments of God, especially those ten, Jesus taught that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus spends far more time on how we are to interact with God and with each other than any set of rules to live by. This is not to say we should throw out all those commandments, those instructions for holy living, they are intended to keep us from living a life focused on self-pleasure, self-indulgence, self-gratification and denying God’s influence in our life. But still all that is somewhat meaningless unless we know Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Focusing on the rules, without focusing on Jesus might leave us a little empty, lacking and wanting. But we might simply see the truth here in the sense that God does not make it difficult for us to turn to him.

 

Through Grace

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THROUGH GRACE

Acts 15:5-11

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

NIV

There it is, the confession the law could not be kept to perfection. Paul, although he has said that he is a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, from the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisees as for zeal, he was not in favor of Gentiles having to be circumcised. So, the question was presented to the apostles and elders. Peter is the one who makes the case for the Gentiles not having to meet those requirements. It is interesting how he points out that God made no distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles. Anyone can have their heart purified by faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Once again, we see that God does not show favoritism. This should clear up any issue about being chosen, or about being among a special group of people. John made that just as clear when he said that God so loved the world, which was no a specific group of people, such as the Jews, but the whole of his creation, all mankind is loved by God so much that he sent his Son to be the sacrifice for all our sins, to redeem us and thus anyone can have their heart purified through faith in Jesus. It is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. There is no salvation in the law, in traditions of men, or through denominational requirements. Salvation is due only to the gracious act of God, yet while we were still sinners, Christ died to free us from the penalty of that sin. How can we ever be good enough? Peter knew not one Jews was able to perfectly keep the law, so why should that law be placed on other men? We should learn this lesson and not put requirements upon others that we are most likely not able to keep. Oh, some have their lists of do’s and don’ts and make every effort to be a good Christian, which is a strange sort of title. It seems like a double positive. What makes a good Christian? Can one be saved by grace better than another? Can abiding by a certain number of do’s make us good? Can abstaining from certain don’ts make us good? It seems to us the only name we can go by is, Christian, as we are followers of Christ. Of course, we are going to go through a transformation as we walk with the Lord. Yes, we will change certain behaviors and even attitudes as we try to live in accordance with the truth. But the fact is that we are never going to be good enough. We are saved by grace, and we live by faith. That is all any of us can do, so let us not place a burden of rules and regulations on anyone. 

Truth or Tradition

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUTH OR TRADITION

Acts 15:1-4

15:1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

NIV

Why is it that the law was so important? These men who came down from Judea to Antioch were Jew who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, however, were still convinced that Jesus came to the Jews and so their laws were still relevant, they just added Jesus to their law. This covenant of circumcision was not given to Moses, but to Abraham far before any formal law was given. Yet they believed Gentiles had to abide by that covenant in order to get saved. These men from Judea were even in error about calling the covenant of circumcision with Abraham a custom taught by Moses. Although Moses may well have taught that custom, it was not right for these Jews to impose their covenant on Gentiles. Here is where the rubber meets the road in our lives in this post-modern church. There are believers today who hold to certain customs that were taught years ago. There can be a difference between customs and truth even if those customs were once considered truth. We do want to have rules and regulations which allow us to feel that we have something to do with our Christianity. As long as we abide by the current customs of Christianity, we are holy and blameless. The problem is the rules and regulations keep changing as our society changes. Within the years we have been in the church we have seen rules against dancing, movies, roller rinks, taverns, drinking, smoking, and even mixed bathing, that is boys and girls in bathing suits on the same beach at the same time. Many of them have gone by the wayside, except maybe drinking and smoking, although those customs have been set aside by some believers and they have experienced truly being set free. What we know is that it is not a matter of Jesus plus these rules. There is the truth and within that truth, there are transformational occurrences because of that truth which speaks into the core of our being. It is not so much about the law or the rules whether they be out of custom or tradition, or from denominational statements of belief, but it is about the truth causing transformation to occur within. This means a change in our character, not just our personality. We grow in our walk with the Lord through the truth, not because of abiding by rules. We might grow in our walk with the rules, thinking that is the same as growing in the truth, but the rules do not give us life. It comes down to truth over tradition. 

Committed to His Grace

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

COMMITTED TO HIS GRACE

Acts 14:26-28

26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

NIV

This trip was concluded and thus they returned from their starting point. Nothing there that is relevant to our lives. However, it is interesting how this conclusion to their trip was recorded. They returned to where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. Once again,  it would seem the word grace shows up again and it is difficult to see this word defined as unmerited favor. We would have to think this Greek word Charis is better seen in this context as they were committed to the divine influence of God and how their work was how His divine influence was reflected in their lives. It would be the same as when someone is called to serve the Lord in a pastoral capacity and the church recognizes what God has done, by influencing this person's heart, and how it is reflected in that pastor's work. We cannot remember the church ever asking for the unmerited favor to rest on the person called into service, but rather that God would bless them, direct them, or influence their lives. This is all about keeping in step with the Spirit. He leads us and we follow his divine leading or divine influence upon our heart, his grace, and what we do is the reflection of His influence. Paul would be the first to say, that he is but a human, with no special abilities, however, he made himself available to the direction of the Spirit. This is all we can do, make ourselves available to the leading of the Spirit, the divine influence of God, and take it to heart, thus following the call and being the person, He has called. We may not be qualified for the call or the design He has upon our lives, but we can be sure that if he calls us to a particular task, he will qualify us. That is, when he calls us to a task because we follow, he does the work in us, to bring us to the place of service. Oh sure, many have gone the route of the educational path, attaining degrees to qualify themselves to meet the standards of denominationalism, to meet the qualifications set upon certain positions in the body of Christ. That may be still seen as the leading of the Spirit, the divine influence, however, education alone can only be humanistic at best, unless it is accompanied by the divine influence upon the heart. We should all be committed to the grace of God. 

Strengthening and Encouraging

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

STRENGTHENING AND ENCOURAGING

Acts 14:21-28

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

NIV

Although there is much here that is but a travel log, Luke records something that is a bit troubling. It seems strange to use the term encouraging and being told we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. Paul and Barnabas had already experienced some of that hardship when they were stoned and left for dead. They certainly had strong opposition to their preaching of the good news. We can understand why Paul said we must endure trouble, or because we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and through that relationship, we have been made citizens of heaven. That is our destination or promised land, and it is through the grace of God that we are saved. However, this trouble of hardship that we must endure can come to us in various forms of persecution. Being rejected by the world is one thing that should not bother us. There has been a general acceptance of people of some horrible ways. Still, there have been and will most likely continue to be those who strongly oppose Jesus and publicly proclaim their anti-Christian agendas. We recall a once professional athlete who became a governor who said that Christianity is nothing more than a crutch for weak-minded people. Perhaps the trouble that Paul refers to is the change that must occur within a believer’s life which incurs some form of difficulty leaving the world behind and walking the path of God. There are things we should not do, that we did as citizens of this world. When we abdicate our citizenship of this world and become a citizen of heaven, we could experience some strain or trouble overcoming various patterns or routines we are used to. Of course, we have the Spirit to help us, guide us, strengthen us, encourage us, urge us to forget that which is behind and press on toward the mark, the finish line, our goal, heaven. However, it is also good for us to encourage one another with words of faith. That may be easier said than done, as we look to the body of Christ. In many cases, we all simply gather to sit silent and listen to the local overseer, the pastor preach something relevant to our lives. Seldom do we hear words of faith spoken to each other, but rather things of interest in this world, such as sports, hobbies, weather, politics, or a politician, and the economy or some other mundane trivial and temporal matter. When we gather, should we not have encouraging words of faith for one another? Should we not be strengthening each other? That seems the right thing to do. 

Sacrificing To Stoning

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SACRIFICING TO STONING

Acts 14:14-20

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

NIV

These people in Lystra may have never seen a miracle. We know there were Jews in Iconium because we are told Paul and Barnabas upon entering the city went to the synagogue. However, we are not told about going into the synagogue when they entered Lystra, but only about the lame man being healed instantly. Are we to assume there were no Jews in Lystra? Could it have been a city of Gentiles only? We are thinking that because they made Paul and Barnabas into gods, no Jews were part of this. The Jews would have the knowledge of the Almighty God and know the history of his mighty works in their forefather's exodus from Egypt. But because of one or two miracles in Lystra, the people saw them as gods. Even after explaining the good news about God and Jesus, they still could not see them as men. Paul made it clear to them that even though they were not the chosen people like Israel is, God did not leave them penniless or without his giving people a testimony in order to know Him. He pours rain on the just and unjust alike. He causes seeds to grow for the just and the unjust alike showing kindness to all. This testimony of his universal kindness to the whole of his creation, all mankind is comminated in sending Jesus to die for their sins. Jesus did this for the whole of mankind, but everyone must come to the truth through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Still, they wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, seeing is believing and they saw them do mighty signs and wonders. Believing in what can be seen does not require faith. However, here comes the Jews from Antioch and Iconium with their brand of whatever religious truths they believe, stirring up trouble. We are not told exactly what they said, but they were able to turn the crowd against Paul and Barnabas so much they wanted to stone them now instead of sacrificing to them. How fickle people can be. However, on the other hand, they simply could be like the seed that fell on rocky soil, having no roots, so when the sun came it wither, or like seed by the path when the birds came, they ate it. The point is they had seen miracles, a man lame from birth jumping up and walking, but when other men came and had just words, they believed them instead. Silver-tongued men use words that can tickle the ears of people and turn them from the truth toward some perversion of truth. This could be an example of being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. This does serve as a great lesson for us to grab hold of. There are plenty of voices in this world today, many of them spewing out their own brand of Christianity, with the prosperity message being one of the forefront doctrines. However, there are also many voices that make their brand of truth sound so right, although it is wrong. Therefore, the Lord sent us the Spirit so that we would have his gift of discernment to know the difference between the truth and non-truth or pseudo truth. Because we live in Christ and the Spirit dwells within, we need to keep in step with the Spirit and test everything we hear, and the Spirit will reveal or separate the truth from fiction. There are many with marvelous sounding words, and we must be careful not to see them as a little god, in some sense. This is why God established the local shepherd who knows his congregation and they know his voice. However, we still need to be careful not to place any shepherd above the Great Shephard, Jesus. No pedestals for men, no praise, and sacrificing to men for God is the only one worthy of both. With men, it is too easy to go from sacrificing to stoning, but with God, there can only be praise and honor. 

Sacrifices

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SACRIFICES

Acts 14:11-13

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

NIV

It is bad enough to lift some preacher up and place them on a pedestal, but these people look at Paul and Barnabas as gods. Just because the power of God was upon them and through the name of Jesus they did mighty acts, miracles, and signs the people could not accept that a man could do such things, only a god could. It must have been a real scene, considering they even gave them god names. That is and will most likely, continue to happen throughout time. Men want to follow other men, seeing them almost like little gods. We see it in the business world and especially in the political arena. There are whole segments of our society that view the government as their source for life. It might be said, they see it as a god, supplying their every need. It was the physical signs and miracles that led the people of Lystra to see Paul and Barnabas as gods. Still, the question remains as to how we apply this to our lives. We think it would be good to see that all things are from God. However, that does not preclude us from seeing certain people as special and looking to them for leadership in spiritual matters. Catholicism looks to their Pope, while some denominations have their famous leaders, almost seen by some as nearly divine. We have a whole host of tele-evangelists that have created a mass following because they promise the people prosperity. We should be careful to see all men for who they are, a creation of God. Yes, we are to love each other, but that love should be equal, without bias. We are all but human beings with faults to bear, unless we are in Christ, then our sins are washed away. Only God can forgive sin. God is the only one who is worthy of an offer of sacrifice, however, he does not want our sacrifices, except to say that we should offer our bodies, that is ourselves, to God as a living sacrifice. This does not mean being perfect, as only a lamb without spot or blemish was acceptable in the Old Testament. Our right standing before God is found in Jesus and in Him alone. However, we offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. 

The Look of Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE LOOK OF FAITH

Acts 14:8-10

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

NIV

What does faith to be healed look like? This lame man, who had never walked, who had no idea how to walk because he had been lame from birth. In normal circumstances we must teach our young infants how to walk, they must learn to balance themselves. This man had never learned how to walk, let alone stand up, holding on to something, like most infants begin. Yet, as Paul was speaking, talking about Jesus, what we do not know, is exactly what Paul was saying. Did Paul simply speak of Jesus, crucified, buried, resurrection, and ascended, or did he speak about all the miracles that Jesus did as well? What was it that Paul said that caused this lame man to look like he had faith to be healed unless Paul was talking about how Jesus healed all who came to him? Nevertheless, we still want to know what that kind of faith looks like. Is there a visible clue in the eyes? Does hope have a special look? Maybe this lame man had a glow about him, a smile had crept onto his face, and his eyes began to sparkle to a point that Paul could see this man had the faith to be healed. Paul was bold, but also filled with the Spirit, and under the influence of the divine, he called out to this man, “Stand up on your feet”, and at once the man did. The fact is that he jumped up, which is quite different than how an infant learns to walk. He leaped up; he sprang up to his feet, is a more wooden translation. Within a matter of seconds, maybe even in a nanosecond, this lame man was healed completely. What we know is that Jesus heals, we have the word of God to prove that Jesus heals. God has said that he is the Lord who heals us. So then, the question is why are so many believers not healed? Because we know God does not change, and that he offers to heal all who ask, somehow something has changed if healing is not happening. Maybe we are just not seeing any visible signs of faith. On a personal note, maybe I do not have that kind of faith, although, in the past, I have been healed on several occasions. Has the look on my face changed, or has the condition of my heart? Do we not have that smile, that sparkle, that revelation that Jesus can heal us? Faith plays an important part in receiving healing from Jesus. He is willing to heal, all we must do is believe he will heal us. Faith and that faith is not something we can conjure up, as faith is a gift from God. However, he gives it liberally and does not hold faith back from anyone as he does not show favoritism. God has poured faith out upon us, however, we first must accept that gift of faith, that then we must use it, or allow faith to influence our hearts and minds. Then we will see that look, that look of faith in our face and within our eyes, and simply believe Jesus heals. If we look in the mirror, will we see that look of faith? 

Boldness and Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BOLDNESS AND POWER

Acts 14:1-7

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

NIV

Once again, not everyone is going to accept the word of the Lord. It seems strange that people would turn down eternal life. It also appears that the Jews who rejected the good news were in league with Gentiles. As Paul and Barnabas spoke so well, many Jews and Gentiles did believe, but those who refused, those who were so convinced that abiding by the law was the way to righteousness, were as far from being righteous as the devil himself is. When men who think themselves righteous want to stone other men, there is no form of righteousness within them. It is interesting how the Jews and Gentiles formed an alliance, first with those who believed, and then with those who refused to believe. Because of this division and with so much opposition to the message of salvation, the Lord confirmed what Paul and Barnabas said by giving them the power to perform signs and wonders. What do we do with this information? Is there any lesson we can learn? It would seem this is simply historic in nature and there is nothing we can apply to our walk with the Lord. Yet, all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training us in righteousness so that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Therefore, we can learn something here. We would think the point here is that as we do that which we are called to do, the Lord will confirm what we do with some display of power. We do know that all of us believers have been called to share the message. However, we are not all evangelists, in the sense that Paul and Barnabas were. We do not travel from town to town trying to win souls for Jesus. In fact, we pretty much stick to our own, that is we only associate with some of the people that attend the same church we do. We have even become so exclusive that we have our little cliques that pal around together. Very seldom are we out and about finding someone who needs to hear the good news. Although we are not traveling missionaries, or evangelists we are out in the world of non-believers all the time. We pass right by them every day of our lives. We may even work with non-believers, even some God-fearing non-believers. That sounds strange using those two terms to describe a person, but people can say they believe in God but have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That would be like the Jews in those cities. They worshipped God and were, in fact, waiting for the Messiah to come, yet they did not believe the message about Jesus being that Messiah. So, we are left with the idea that maybe we need to speak up with more boldness and maybe, just maybe as we do, God will display his power through us. So then we could say that boldness and power work together.

Filled With Joy and the Spirit

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FILLED WITH JOY AND THE SPIRIT

Acts 13:49-52

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

NIV

It really doesn’t matter what the response of people is when you are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. However, the word of the Lord still spread through the whole region, which must have meant that those who accepted the word of the Lord shared it with others. Certainly, Paul and Barnabas were very active in speaking the word of the Lord, and the truth of the gospel message, however, new believers must have shared their experiences because of their newfound life. How can people not be excited to find out they have been saved from the penalty of sin, and death, and been given eternal life? There are always going to be skeptics and haters of the truth as was the case in this region. Jews were not happy about God offering anything to Gentiles, for God is theirs and they are God’s, at least, that seems to be their view. But they were not happy just being against what Paul and Barnabas were teaching, they had to stir up others to be against them as well. Being forced to leave the area was just another day in the life and legend of Paul and Barnabas as they were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Sure, they shook the dust off their feet, in protest, and that must have been done in public with some shock and awe effects. Sort of, well you protest against us, and we protest against you by showing you we are done with you, and we shake your regions dust off our feet. We will not win every time we share the gospel message, but the point is we should be sharing this message. How can we stay silent if we are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? That almost sounds like an oxymoron, filled with joy and the Holy Spirit and staying silent. Paul and Barnabas were not ashamed of the message, or of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They spoke boldly and some accepted, some rejected, however it did not affect Paul and Barnabas from spreading the good news. They were overjoyed because of those who accepted the word of the Lord. This should be our story as well. The fact that we may not see many new believers come to faith in Jesus, although we might if we were to share the good news with others, we still have all the other believers. Because of them, we can be filled with joy because we all are filled with the Holy Spirit. We can be like Paul when he wrote to the Philippians and told them that he thanks God for them. Can we say that we thank God for all the other believers in our life’s circle? Well, we supposed we should thank God for all believers all over the world, but as Paul said, it was whenever he remembers them, which implies he once knew them, as we know because he started that church in Philippi. So then as we are in a local  church with other believers that we are acquainted with whenever we remember them, which should be fairly often, we should be thanking God for them, for we are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. 

An Ordination Celebration

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

AN ORDINATION CELEBRATION 

Acts 13:44-48

 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

NIV

It is sad to see this “Us four and no more” mentality in the Jews and in fact, they were even abusive against the gospel message being told to Gentiles. It is unfortunate how people tend to judge others, without looking at their own faults first. This is like looking for a speck in another’s eye while having a log in their own eyes. They needed these words of salvation just as much as the Gentiles did and maybe even more, as they were the religious ones, attempting to find righteousness through the observance of the Law. The Gentiles did not have the law, although some of them, as we have been told, were God-fearing men who did come to the synagogue. It appears the Jews were fine with Gentiles worshipping God in the same manner they did or becoming like the Jews. But this gospel message was meant just for the Jews, at least that seems to be their understanding. So, when so many of the Gentile townspeople gathered to hear what Paul had to say, the Jews were upset, to say the least. However, as we are also aware, God does not show favoritism and although he came to the Jews, it was never God’s plan to remain hidden among the Jews. Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Paul is doing just that, even if he was not one of the twelve that Jesus told to go. Paul had a special visit with Jesus and now he is on a mission to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth preaching the good news. It is interesting when the Gentiles were glad to hear that God made Paul a light for the Gentiles and they honored the word of the Lord. The Greek word translated as honored can mean that very thing, however, it also means to glorify, to praise, extol and magnify. This gives us this idea of the Gentiles celebrating over the word of the Lord. It would seem difficult to remain sedate in celebrating the word of the Lord. Honoring, praising, glorifying, and celebrating must look like, “Happy times are here again” with dancing in the streets, and being glad of heart, smiles all around, and cheerful in appearance. We cannot understand how we can remain, stuffy old adults when we honor the word of the Lord and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and be ordained to eternal life. How can we sit still and celebrate that God ordained us to eternal life because we believe in the one, he sent? We should be more like those Gentiles, being glad, and letting our whole being show it. We understand there are some churches that are more exuberate than others, in fact, some are so expressionless, that we wonder if they even know what glad means and if they are really excited about having eternal life. Being ordained to eternal life is something to celebrate, in fact, it is an ordination celebration. 

Living in the Continue

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIVING IN THE CONTINUE

Acts 13:42-43

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

NIV

Hungry people want more to eat. Even after Paul Barnabas spoke plainly about God’s plan for salvation, the people wanted to hear more about Jesus. These were Jews and devout converts to Judaism.  These were people who had faith in Yahweh, however, they had not heard about how Jesus was God incarnate who came to save his people from their sins. From what Luke records for us here, it appears all those who followed after Paul and Barnabas had accepted their words and entered into the grace of God, for Paul urged them to continue in the grace of God. Once again, it really makes sense to see this Greek word translated as grace as the divine influence upon a heart and how it reflects in that life. It is very good news that through faith in Jesus Christ we have been declared holy and blameless and have been given eternal life. However, there is the continue that we must live. Certainly, the Spirit's influence brings people to see their need to repent and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Once that happens then the Spirit continues to lead people into all truth. This is the 'continue' in the divine influence of God in our lives, and in doing that God’s influence upon us should be reflected in how we live. What does a life that reflects the influence of God looks like? Is it about the do’s and the Don’ts? Doubtful those are how God influences us. Considering God is the definition of love, it would seem right that those two commands that Jesus gave about loving the Lord God who all our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves would be showing or reflecting God’s influence upon us. This type of living far exceeds that of living by the rules and regulations of denominational life, not that living a godly life isn’t a good thing, for there are many things that we are told to rid ourselves of, and many attitudes and behaviors we are urged to adopt, but those changes within us are a result of the Spirit leading us into all truth. So we live in the continue.

 

Justified

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

JUSTIFIED

Acts 13:38-41

38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:  41 "'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.'"

NIV

Through Jesus our sins or forgiven. If that is not good news, then there is no good news. All other news is eclipsed by the forgiveness of our sin. There is no possible way that we could be justified by any other means, then through Jesus. We can try to be as good as we can, but no matter how much we try, we fail miserably. If we think that we are good, and that we do all the right things, avoiding all the bad things, then we simply are deceiving ourselves. If we could be that good, then Jesus did not have to come to earth to die on the cross, paying the price for us. Even after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have the Spirit within, we still fail to be good enough or do enough to be qualified or justified. It is so simple, we are saved by grace, least any of us could boast. Although this boasting is in reference to how  we get into heaven, as in well, we got here because of all the good deeds we did. Well, we got here because we did better good deeds and you did. Well, we got here because we did more better good deeds than you did. On and on the boasting goes, and that is why we cannot boast, for we are only saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Even through we are saved by grace, we have to be careful not to think more highly of ourselves than we should. We can still get caught up in showing off to an extent, enumerating all the things we do for the Lord. It becomes easier today to boast without making it look like we are boasting because all the social media platforms available. We can tell the world ever time we do this or that, because that is the normal thing done. Every little event, or good deed that we are involved in, every ministry, even ever time we sneeze, we feel we must tell the world. Is this type of culture, it is difficult to be humble. If we practice being humble before God, then it comes more and more naturally to be humble before men. That is almost counter-cultural, but we have come out of the world, and into the kingdom of God and Jesus showed us the way to humility, giving himself, even onto death, for us. The plain fact is that we are justified through Jesus, and it is a done deal. Now, having said that, we also must believe is everything else Jesus said. We must take care that we do not scoff at anything regarding the word of God, that is no thinking against the truth. We either believe or we don’t. 

Never To See Decay

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NEVER TO SEE DECAY

Acts 13:32-37

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

NIV

There is no greater proof than the very words of God. Of course, there are those who argue the bible is written by men, like all other books. This argument has no merit, only a refusal to see the truth because they love the darkness and want to live as they please. Although these are the words spoken by Paul in his bringing the good news to these men in the synagogue, both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, they are inspired by the Spirit. Paul quotes other scriptures to show that Jesus was in fact the Son of God who is divine yet was fully man and capable of death. It does seem weird to say that Jesus, being God, was able to die. However, he did come in the form of a man, exactly how he created us. So, because he could die, God, the Father raised him from the dead. We also note that Jesus raised several people from the dead, such as his friend Lazarus. However, Lazarus eventually died at some point in his life, whereas Jesus was resurrected to become divinely eternal, as he was in the beginning. This gives us our story. We were created by God to be eternal beings, like him, fully in his image, however, the man decided to follow another voice and lost his eternal being, becoming mortal, as Paul said about David. Therefore, David saw decay, but Jesus did not for he is God. Someday, we will be raised from the dead to never see decay. Paul uses the term the Holy One to describe Jesus, however, we have been declared holy and blameless in the sight of God because we are living in Christ. It does sound a little strange to think of ourselves as holy ones of God. Sure, we are not the Holy One, but we are holy and we are God’s people, thus we could be seen as holy ones of God and we will not see decay. If the Lord tarries, and we happen to live out our days in this mortal body until death claims it, we will be resurrected into a glorious unperishable, incorruptible, eternal body that will never see decay. Praise God, thank you, Jesus. 

Recognizing Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

RECOGNIZING JESUS

Acts 13:26-31

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

NIV

Paul is still speaking to the Jews and Gentiles of this local synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. Now he gets to the events of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul said they did not recognize Jesus. It is not that they did not know that he was Jesus but they saw him as someone who was stirring up the crowds, threatening their control over the people. The Greek word used here as recognize carries a meaning of being ignorant, without knowledge. They were unaware that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah who they read about when they read the prophets in the synagogue. This is proof enough that people can attend church and still not see Jesus for who he is. There are people who have in some sense put Jesus to death in their lives. They either fail or refuse to see Jesus as Lord and Savior. Of course, Jesus spoke about them when he said that men love the darkness, it hides their sinful behavior. But we have witnesses to the truth about Jesus. They have recorded, through the power of the Spirit, all the events that took place surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In this one case at one moment in time, we must judge for ourselves whether to believe the witnesses or dismiss their words altogether. Once we have determined, again through the power of the Spirit, that the witnesses are true, and this bible is the authentic word of God meant to bring us to repentance and thus salvation, we then must live our lives in the light. We moved from that city of darkness and death to the city of light and life. This is the story Paul is telling, the message that brings that move within a person from death to life. In some sense, coming from being a dead man walking to eternal life, is a form of resurrection, although not the real one that we will experience on the day of our last breath. Still, once we were dead and now, we have eternal life. This is our story, and although we did not physically see Jesus, we do have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit bearing witness to us and through us that Jesus is alive and well, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that Jesus has prepared a place for us, and that he will come and get us to take us there. We are witnesses to that truth. Now we are witnesses to our people because we recognize Jesus. 

He is God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HE IS GOD

Acts 13:23-25

23 "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'

NIV

We have come to the line of David where both Mary and Joseph are found. Jesus came to earth in the form of man to be the Savior of the world. Jesus is God incarnate, God himself in the form of a man whom God created in their own image. It is interesting the triune God was present at the creation of all which is created. Although we have this somewhat mystical view of God, not fully understanding the three distinct persons of the Godhead, and we are told that Jesus is fully divine and yet he is fully man, have we lost the fullness of our reverence? That is, have we become too casual in our relationship with the Lord? We notice that John the Baptist, being what might be said as a special person, gifted by God for a special task, was overwhelmed at the arrival of Jesus, the one he was sent ahead of to announce his arrival in the world. John held the opinion of himself as nothing but a servant, and that he was unworthy to untie the sandals of Jesus. Again, have we lost that kind of insight into the power of God in the person of Jesus? Do we spend too much time thinking in terms of being a friend of God rather than being His people created to have fellowship with Him? Sometimes it seems that we simply add Jesus to our lives, making him a part of our daily routines, instead of making our lives a part of Jesus. If we live in Christ, it would seem right that we live as Christ. That is our whole lives are Christ, everything in our life should be Christ. Yes, we have to work, and do the normal mundane things of living, grocery shopping, putting gas in the car, washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, all that normal daily stuff, but does that mean we leave Jesus stranded at church? Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us forever, and a certain amount of fear also comes upon us. Having the almighty creator of all things dwelling within our being should send chills up our spine, however, maybe we have lost that chill, that awesome reverence, that hyper-spiritual sense of knowing God is with us. Do we honestly believe we are worthy because we are a child of God? John did not think himself worthy enough to untie the sandals of Jesus, yet, all our worthiness is tied to Jesus. Let us see God as God and ourselves as who we are, His children, loved by Him beyond measure, but at the same time understanding God is the Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present divine being, who holds all things together by his word. Let us not get too comfortable, too at ease in our relationship with Jesus because He is God. 

Doing Everything

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DOING EVERYTHING

Acts 13:20-22

"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

NIV

We are still with the speech Paul is giving the men of Israel and Gentiles who are meeting in the synagogue and who invited Paul and Barnabas to talk. Paul now continues with the history of Israel and passing by the judges and now talks about Israel wanting a king. The first thing we notice is the reason they wanted a king. All the other lands around them had kings, but they only had judges. They wanted to be like other nations that had kings. Was Jealousy a factor? We think that is a great lesson for us to learn. We should not be concerned with what others have and be content with what God deems right for us. This can apply to us personally as well to us as a church. Having attended seminars at some big mega-church which was giving their pattern for growth in numbers, we have seen the local church trying to copy those methods in an effort to grow numbers of congregates. Jealously had to be playing a factor, wanting more than God supplies. It was Jesus who said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Again, we need to be content with God’s plan. A wise pastor of our past years once said that the size of the local church will only be as large as the Pastor can effectively minister to. The question is whether God intended the local church to become mega-sized. Paul sent Timothy to start new churches, selecting leaders, based on the qualifications Paul outlined for overseers, who were pastors and elders, and deacons. Yes, it is best the local church is exactly how God wants it. The other truth we are very familiar with is the testimony of God regarding David. We know that David was not a perfect man, in fact his sin is well known, which makes the truth that our sins will surely find us out clearly seen with David. Yet, despite David being a mere mortal, with all the shortcomings, God’s testimony that David was a man after His own heart, and that David would do everything God wanted him to do. Can God say that about us? Was David the only one, and why, if he was? We think this narrative about David is simply a lesson for all of us. If we do everything God wants us to do, then would it not stand to reason that would make us a person after God’s own heart? However, there is the rub. Are we willing to do everything God wants us to do? Then we have to ask, how do we know what he wants us to do? That question should be easy to answer in that we have several ways to know want God wants us to do. First and foremost, we have his word. There is a plethora of instructions within His word that we should comply with, as an examine of all the attitudes and behaviors that we are to rid ourselves of, and then all the attitudes and behaviors that we are to add to our character. Secondly, we have the Holy Spirit who dwells within, who speaks to our hearts and minds, prompting us to do that which is right, and even some special instructions on occasions. Thirdly, God is more then able to give us a vision, a special directive to a particular task or assignment. The challenge is our response to any of these methods which God reveals what he wants us to do. Do we identify more with Paul than with David? Paul reveals his struggle with that which he should do, he does not, and what he should not do, he still does. Of course, that does not mean we will live perfectly without sin, however, being a person after God’s own heart simply means doing everything God wants us to do. 

Enduring Conduct

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENDURING CONDUCT

Acts 13:16-20

16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance.   20 All this took about 450 years.

NIV

Although Paul is recounting the history of Israel which the men of Israel should have known. However, the Gentiles who worshiped God might of had a little knowledge about Israel, still Paul was going to make a point using this history. Still, there is something of interest in this introduction of sorts. God had taken care to save Israel and his family during the famine by working through Joseph, the one son the rest of them despised and sold into slavery. Then after they had multiplied under the hand of God within Egypt, they became slaves and endured hardship for four hundred years. But the mighty hand of God brought them out to take them directly to the promised land. We know this story, they were afraid and God turned them around to wander for forty years in the wilderness, which was for the purpose of waiting until they all died, then he brought their children across the Jordan. God endured their conduct for forty years. He could have wiped them out right there and then, however we do not know how old their children would have been, and God who knows all things, past, present and future, knew their refusal, and their conduct would result in their deaths. We know after forty years the children would be adults and able to enter and possess the promised land. But it is this enduring or suffering their conduct which stirs thought within us. Although God knows all things, he does give people their own choices and although he wanted them to choose to enter the land, he allowed them to refuse, a conduct that is not pleasing to God. Refusal of God’s plan is poor conduct. Their conduct during those forty years was of constant complaining, they were thirsty, they were hungry, they were unsatisfied with just manna, they wanted meat. According to the record, they were never satisfied with what God did for them, they wanted more and when Moses was gone too long, they made their own idol to worship. Conduct completely unbecoming of people of God, who the Israelites were his chosen people. We are among the people of God and we must wonder if God is enduring our conduct. We know that Jesus has prepared a place for us and that if he went to do that, he would come back for us to take us there. But how ready are we willing to leave Egypt behind? How willing are we to go where we don’t know? Sometimes, it seems we get so comfortable with our own little routine we fail to see the leading of the Lord to a place he has for us within this community of faith, or even within the world. He calls us to live under his promise to take us to the Promised Land, the new city and new earth, the new creation of God, a paradise full of everything good. How well is our conduct in this journey we are taking with the Lord? Is our conduct that of trusting and obeying or are we just a bit discontent with our lot in life, and complain from time to time, wanting something more from life, or jealous of what others have or are doing. We know that we have to learn to be content in whatever situation we are in, having much or being in want. Contentment in life is a gift of God, for as we learn to be content, we simply follow wherever God leads us, and do it with rejoicing in our hearts, because we know that we are within the perfect will of God. However, that still does not imply that we live perfectly, and sin continues to be a struggle for us. But through the grace of God, Jesus paid the price and because we live in Christ, we have been declared holy and blameless in his sight, therefore we live making every effort to conduct ourselves accordingly. However, we still feel that in some sense, God still endures our conduct. 

Encouragement

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENCOURAGEMENT

Acts 13:13-15

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."

NIV

We have been given a short travel log so far, with a very detailed visit to Pisidian Antioch. Looking at maps we find this city in the area of Galatia near the cities of Lystra and Iconium. It is interesting that as they sat down in the synagogue, and after the reading from the law and the Prophets the rulers sent word to them. How big was this synagogue that the rulers could not ask Paul and Barnabas themselves, instead of sending word, which would have been via a servant of the synagogue? Nevertheless, the rulers must have known or heard about Paul and Barnabas, for it would seem a little odd to invite a stranger to stand and speak to the whole assembly. However, the invite was not to preach but to have a word of encouragement for the people. That is the key word in that began a very well-constructed message of the good news about Jesus. What can be more encouraging than telling someone they can have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ? Still, this keyword, encouragement has a lesson for us. Whenever we are invited to say something, we should use words that encourage or as the Greek word also carries the meaning of exhortation, which means we should encourage people toward doing that which is right. This is not the encouragement as in applause, “You’re doing a good job”, but rather to encourage to exhort to do the good thing, of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Still, encouragement to do right is always the best type of speaking. All too often we do not encourage each other in the faith. Instead, we fill our conversations with the mundane things of this life, sports, celebrities, politics, weather, or possible just gossip about someone doing bad instead of good, or whatever else can fill silence other than a word of encouragement, Maybe it would be better to talk about our faith or give a testimony of what God has done in our lives, sharing the good news about living as citizens of the kingdom of God. We could encourage, exhort, which is almost to urge someone toward righteousness, toward their walk with the Lord. Let us be encouragers. 

Let Go Let God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LET GO, LET GOD

Acts 13:6-12

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

NIV

It is interesting that blindness to the truth caused blindness. Paul did not pull any punches and called this false prophet out. Spoke as plain as he could, telling Elymas that he was a child of the devil. Paul was also filled with the Holy Spirit, who was the revealer of the truth about Elymas the sorcerer. Through the power of the Spirit, Paul was also able to simply speak physical blindness upon Elymas. How is it that the Spirit did so much in the life of men like Paul, Peter, John, Barnabas, Luke, and so many others and today the Spirit seems a little less active? Why is that, it has to be us, for we know God does not change, and the Holy Spirit is God. What is different between those who believed back then and us today who believe? Would we ever be bold enough to tell someone they are a child of the devil? Although in this case, the Spirit caused blindness in a man, He can also cause healing in people, give visions, and manifest all sorts of gifts and fruit in a believer’s life. Perhaps men like Paul had more faith than us. But then we know that God does not show favoritism and he gives every man a measure of faith, therefore, without showing favoritism he measures the same amount of faith for everyone. Because faith is a gift from God, he gave Paul and us the same measure of faith. The difference is that Paul exercised his portion of faith, and his faith became stronger and stronger and maybe we are letting ours wither away becoming weaker and weaker. On the other hand, Paul simply believed, and maybe we really do not believe as much as Paul did. What we know is that the Holy Spirit has not decided to stop working in the lives of believers, therefore we only need to allow him full access and the power will flow through us, as it did in the life of Paul. The one other difference could be centered around doubt. We know Paul had no doubt about the working of the Spirit in his life, and we must assess whether doubt plays any role in our lives. Maybe we just must let go and let God do what he does best. 

Listening in Prayer

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LISTENING IN PRAYER

Acts 13:1-5

13:1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

NIV

These prophets and teachers that were in Antioch were most likely not holding the office of prophet or teacher as those scriptures defining those offices have not yet been written, as was likely very little of any of what we consider the New Testament in writing. Prophets were simply men who could foretell events, as inspired or revealed by the Spirit, and teachers were instructors in the message of the gospel. It is interesting how when people pray, the Lord speaks. We have considered prayer on many occasions throughout the years of devotions, and we always come away with the simple fact that prayer is having a conversation with the Lord, and conversations are two-way. Having deduced the Lord gave us two ears and one mouth, it would make sense, that we should listen twice as much as we talk, especially during our time with the Lord. How are we ever going to hear from God, when we are babbling on with all our words? It seems at times that all we are doing is leaving a voice message in God’s tape recorder, or we should say, to be more up to date, leaving a message on his cell phone. We just voice our wants then hang up. In Antioch, they were fasting and praying, it was a time of commitment to being in the presence of the living God. While they were praying, and this must have been during their listening time, the Spirit spoke. It was a directive to set Saul and Barnabas apart for the work he called them to do. It is interesting the men accepted the word of the Lord, placed their hands on the two of them, and sent them on their way by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit continued to speak in some manner, instructing, or leading Saul and Barnabas on what direction to take. We can be sure that when the Lord speaks and gives direction, he will lead us during our journey. We do not have to flounder around on our own, wandering through life making our own path. When the Lord calls for a task, to be a part of the body of Christ, then he will also lead us, make straight our path, and be the light who shows us the way. We only need to trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, just trust and obey. Saul and Barnabas set out on a most excellent adventure, as they followed the Spirit. We would do well, to heed the voice of the Spirit, and do that which he speaks into our hearts. In doing so, we will be living the best that we can be, and we will be blessed by our Lord. Whenever, and whatever the Spirit speaks into our lives, we must always be listening, way more than we spend talking in prayer. If they were all talking, praying on and on about this need or that want, feeling the need to avoid silence, then they would have never heard the Holy Spirit, for being who he is, he would not interrupt. But because they waited in silence, listening for the Spirit to speak, he did. 

The Humble and the Proud

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE HUMBLE AND THE PROUD

Acts 12:18-25

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

NIV

An evil man gets his just reward. Because no one could explain to Herod how Peter got out of the jail that was under heavy guard, he had the guards executed. Somebody had to be blamed and so because the guards were under the command of Herod, it was their fault and they must die. What is interesting, is the proud man will be made low, and the humble man will be lifted up. Luke records that when Herod gave his public address to the people, and they shouted that his voice was the voice of a god, he accepted their praise, which was a big mistake. Never, ever put oneself on any sort of pedestal whatsoever. Never think more highly of oneself than one should. There are many scriptures that speak to the issue of being humble before God and men, but Herod could not find any humility, but only knew pride, and it cost him his life in a very bizarre manner. If it was humiliating enough to be stuck down, unable to get up, but then have worms show up from nowhere and eat at your body until he died. What a horrible death even for such an evil man. On a lighter note, it is interesting before all this happened that the people of Tyre and Sidon although amid quarreling, came to the realization they needed peace with the king. They depended on Herod’s country for their food supply. Peace is always better than war, humility better than pridefulness and that is true with our relationship with God. Because of our faith in Jesus, we are at peace with God, and speaking from a very personal level, is a good thing, for Herod serves to show us what it means to not be at peace with God. It is all about giving praise to God for that which happens in our lives. How can we take any credit, when it is by the grace of God that we are alive and that we have eternal life? How can we take credit for any achievements when it is God who directs our path and enables us with his power to do that which he has called us to do? How can either a servant or a friend claim any glory for what their master does? Humility is always in style; pride always proceeds the fall. 

Be Quiet and Listen

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BE QUIET AND LISTEN

Acts 12:12-17

 

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.

NIV

When in the natural world, in the physical realm, Peter’s situation in stocks, chained to two Roman soldiers, with more of them at the gate to his cell, was grim. He had nothing to look forward to except death. What is impossible with men, is possible for God. Now Peter is a free man, sort of, as he is still under arrest, however, he is not in chains, in a cell, but out walking in the streets. He heads to the house of Mary, and this somewhat funny little story unfolds. Once again, believers could not see past the physical realm, thinking Peter was in prison, therefore, he could not be at the door. They even told this innocent eyewitness to the fact Peter was at the door, that she was out of her mind. That is faith at work. Had the church already forgotten all the miracles, all the signs, and wonders, and given up on excepting any more miracles? Yet, here was Peter, at the door, and when they did recognize the truth, they were astonished. Once again, faith at work. Why would not the new church be filled with people who had extreme faith, having witnessed Jesus firsthand? No, they were astonished that God would or could do something like getting Peter out of prison. This is our story, as Peter motions for them to just listen, he testified to what God has done. We too need to motion people to just listen and tell them how God rescued us from the miry clay, how he set our feet on solid ground, has forgiven all our sins, and bestowed eternal life on us, all free, without a cost, except to believe. We need to talk more about what God has done in our lives. This should be the main focus of our purpose in life. We cannot think that because God saved us, he can save others without us. Well, he can, the Spirit is about convicting people of their sin and need for repentance, but who will the Spirit tell to go and tell them about Jesus, and the good news regarding the kingdom of heaven? We need to be ready, willing, and able to tell our story whenever we can, we just need to motion them to be quiet and listen. Of course, that also applies to us. We must be quiet and listen to the voice of the Spirit within and we will know what door to knock on. 

Asking

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ASKING

Acts 12:1-5

12:1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

NIV

Why do people oppose the truth? What would have been so terrible for Herod to accept Jesus as the Messiah? Jesus had not intended to take Herod’s throne. However, someone who wheels as much power as Herod did, in general, tend to look to self for whatever they wanted. Herod must have perceived the movement of Jesus followers was gaining too much of the attention of the people, taking away from his control over the people. So Herod started having believers arrested. Why would a man have another killed unless he considered that man a threat? Yet, there is also those who are eager to watch persecution as long as it is not happening to them. As we get into this narrative further, we are going to see the Lord save Peter, but why did he not save James from being run through with a sword? What is troubling, people were pleased that James was killed. Peter is snatched up and put in prison with the express intent of making a public display of killing Peter. The mind of man can commit such acts of evil. Therefore, we are admonished to have the mind of Christ. We do not have to wonder what was going through Peter’s mind as, although heavily guarded, in chains, Peter does not submit to despair. We find Peter praying, and we find the church praying earnestly to God for Peter’s situation. Do we think this was all the plan of God to demonstrate, once more, His divine power over all things? Maybe God did not have a plan for Peter, although we know Peter is in the plan of God, Jesus spoke that truth right to Peter. What we can learn from this is that God always has a plan and he has one for each one of us, as we follow Jesus. All throughout the scriptures, we see God unfolding or revealing His plan for certain people at specific times. This gives us an assurance that God is revealing his plan in and through our lives. Sometimes, we might have to walk under some amount of persecution, other times we might walk in prosperity and peace, secure and content within the plan of God. As Paul said and we should believe as well, that being content no matter the circumstances is based in truth and knowing that God has a plan. We will see Peter rescued, but we can say that God has already rescued us, he saved of from the miry pit, or as the psalmist puts, miry clay. We have been rescued by the mighty righteous right hand of God. Being a prisoner of sin, held in chains, God brought about an earthquake in our lives, and set us free, just as we will see in this situation with Peter. God will always show up if we ask. The church was asking God to show up, and we will see how powerfully He does. 

Sharing

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SHARING

Acts 11:27-30

27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 

NIV

It is interesting that we have a New Testament prophet which does give us an insight into the office of the prophet as Paul outlines for us in his letter to the Ephesians. Some would say that all the gifts, especially tongues, interpretation, and prophecy, which are considered verbal gifts, stopped with the disciples. However, the four offices, Apostle, Evangelist, prophet, pastor, and teacher should still be happening as every church has one of the offices, pastor, and many denominations have evangelists, only they call them missionaries. God established the gifts and no matter what men may say, the gifts have never been taken back. What has the center stage in this passage is the action or response of the believers to the prophecy about a coming famine. It would seem normal for people to store up before the famine struck, such as Joseph did as second in command of Egypt. Although this was the way God directed so there would be food in Egypt so that Israel would be saved and even thrive because of the famine and the storing up of grain. Here, we see another response from those who lived in Antioch. They felt it was needed to send a gift to the believers in Judea because they would experience future famine. This is Christian charity at one of its finest hours. Would we not expect that because each gave according to his ability, God blessed them abundantly during the famine? It has been said, “You cannot outgive God”, although in the context it might have been a silver-tongued flock fleecer, who said it.   However, the statement is correct. We cannot outgive God, as first, He sent his Son to redeem us, to save of from the penalty of sin, and give us eternal life. Who can outgive that? Secondly, God blesses us with spiritual wisdom, to see the truth, and the power to live the truth.  In addition, he blesses those who give to others, who help those who are or will be, as in the case in this passage, in need. Still, it gives us the idea that this is not about a tithe, but about simply giving to others in need that is motivated by Christian love. This type of giving has never stopped. This is Christian sharing. 

Living in Christ

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIVING IN CHRIST

Acts 11:25-26

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

NIV

Luke makes such a little statement that covers a whole year of activity within the church at Antioch. It would be nice to have some of the details of all that went on this year. We do know that Saul and Barnabas spent their time teaching about the kingdom of God. Considering they did not have the Bible, to teach from, they would not be teaching them Old Testament theology, although the creation account would be something every new believer such be instructed in.  It is also good to know all about the exodus of the Israelites which shows the incomparable grace and provision of the Lord. Then there are all the prophetic words that spoke directly about Jesus being the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Then all the personal testimony of Saul, as well as the completeness of the gospel. This does show us the need for teaching as well as preaching. The most natural look at this is to see the two people, the teacher and those who are taught, or the student, which we would call the disciple. First, the teacher can only teach that which they know or have learned. The student must learn that which the teacher shares, which requires attention and study. It does seem that would not be the exact way it happened in Antioch, but we have evolved over the years and now almost everyone has more than one translation of the entire scripture. We all have the capacity to be the teacher, and most certainly to be the student or disciples. Today, we can be students of the word, that is we take time to not just read it, but study it, search out the truth and make every effort to adjust our lives in be in harmony with the truth. Antioch was the first-time believers were called Christians. If we examine that word, we will conclude that Christians are people who are in Christ. Just as a person who lives in Rome would call themselves Romans, or as we live in Ohio, we are called Ohioans. So, a Christian is one who lives in Christ. We have forfeited our citizenship in this world, and with our passport, the good news, accepting Christ, we have been given citizenship in the kingdom of God and we live in Christ now, and thus we are Christians. As such we must either teach more or learn more, it is a lifelong practice for one living in Christ.  

Encouragers

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENCOURAGERS

Acts 11:19-24

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

NIV

The good news is starting to get around the countryside and into other regions. These that Luke tells us about still only brought the good news to other Jews. However, many did believe in Jesus as the Christ and put their faith in him. What is interesting is that when the news reached Jerusalem of what was happening in Antioch, they sent Barnabas when he arrived, he saw the evidence of the grace of God. Here is where we can see two ways to interpret the idea of seeing evidence of God’s grace. First, we could say that because many of those new believers were Greek, the grace of God was seen in Gentiles being brought into faith in Jesus as the Christ. That is when a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord, which was the hand of God, which was evidence of God’s grace, that unmerited favor, that no one can qualify for. The second way we could see those same words that Barnabas saw evidence of the grace of God, would see this word grace as not the one for unmerited favor, but it is the grace which is defined as the divine influence on a heart and how that is reflected in a person’s life. Barnabas could have seen the church in fellowship, in communion with one another, the love of Christ is open and full. Whichever see this, Barnabas was glad, happy to see the hand of God at work in their lives. He stayed and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. We are told that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. The question is; encouraging others should that only be done by those who are good men, full of the Spirit and faith? Sometimes it seems we all just go to church and expect the pastor to preach something that encourages us, for that is his purpose, for he is the one full of the Spirit and faith. However, that would be a wrong conclusion as we think we all should be full of the Spirit and faith and thus would be in the position to encourage one another. Paul writes about encouraging each other often in his letters to churches. This would be a church worth being in, yet all should be a church with the people being full of the Spirit and faith and encouraging each other, spurring one another on in their faith. Unfortunately, it seems we simply smile, with a customary greeting, or share a little gossip, or some other meaningless dribble, and then get into our rightful pews and wait for the pastor to encourage us. That sounds harsh, but we wonder how many churches are like that. However, we can encourage each other. By staying in step with the Spirit, we will become encouragers.