Acts Devotional Week 9

June 24, 2012

Acts 16:16-24

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.  While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”  She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.  But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.  When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.”  The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.  After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.  Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Who sets people free?  Here we have a slave-girl and a prison.  The girl was a slave who made money for her owners.  She was enslaved to a spirit who controlled what she was able to see and speak.  She was not allowed to be who God created her to be.  In the name of Jesus, Paul and Silas freed her.  She found freedom in Jesus Christ.

Yet that freedom had a cost.  The girl’s owners lost a source of income.  They were upset so they decided to go after Paul and Silas.  All Paul and Silas were trying to do was go to a place to pray.  They were not seeking attention or trying to cause trouble.  Yet they find themselves seized, put on trial, stripped, beaten and put into prison.  In freeing a girl in Jesus’ name they found themselves in prison.

The work of the Lord can be difficult.  As God frees people from their prisons of sin and its consequences there is opposition.  Through Paul and Silas Jesus was changing the way the world worked.  Some just didn't like that.  A safe and tame message of salvation is fine, but when God changes things there is often resistance.  Ultimately, imprisonment could not stop God’s work (Acts 16:25-40).  Salvation spread and the world was changed.  God sets people free.  Will we accept that freedom or stand against it?  Will we be willing to make the sacrifice needed to set people free?

Devotional: A Father's Delight

June 17, 2012

Proverbs 3:11-12

My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.  For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Life comes with prosperity and adversity.  We honor the Lord in prosperity (Proverbs 3:9-10).  We rejoice when the bank account has enough in it, when we have all the food we need, when the house doesn't have some major problem that needs fixed, and when our health is good.  We praise God for those gifts.  How do we treat God when we face adversity?  What will we do when we aren't sure how the bills will be paid, where the next meal will come from, when the house needs major repairs, and when our health isn't what we want or need it to be?  Often this becomes a time of questioning.  We wonder if God really is as good as everyone claims Him to be.  We sometimes view God as the punisher who has brought this trouble to us for some reason we aren't even sure of.  I wonder, is this true?

How many of us have been disciplined?  How many of us have had to discipline a child (our own or others)?  Why do we do this?  Is it out of anger or some other emotion that wants to “get” that child for what they have done?  Probably not.  Is it simple obligation to a set of rules that lead us to think a child must act a certain way just because (seen and not heard)?  Probably not.  Discipline in its truest form comes from love.  It comes from a desire to see a child grow up healthy, wise, and safe.  Discipline is an act of protection.  Discipline is an act of love.

God is not in the business of creating adversity and suffering among His people.  Most often the adversity we face is birthed out of a sinful (separate from God) attitude or action.  No father forces a child to do something harmful and/or dangerous just to teach them a lesson, but a good father will use the wrongdoing of a child to instruct them on what is the right way.  This is discipline.  The wisdom of Proverbs says that the Father (God) delights in us (His children).  Because of this, He disciplines and corrects.  He uses our wrongdoing to show us the right path.  Instead of turning away from Him when adversity strikes, maybe we should turn towards Him and discover the embrace of love our Father offers us.

Acts Devotional Week 8

June 10, 2012

Acts 15:12-19

Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.  When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me.  Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself.  And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:  ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David.     I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the LORD, including the Gentiles—all those I have called to be mine.  The LORD has spoken—he who made these things known so long ago.’  “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Paul and Barnabas had completed their missionary journey.  It was successful wherever it went.  Many Jews and Gentiles had come to believe in Jesus Christ.  But they had faced opposition along the way.  Some tried to discredit them.  Others argued with them publically.  Still others got people agitated enough to attempt physical harm.  Paul is stoned during this journey and survived it.  Yet the message of Christ got through and now Paul is home.  Even at home there are questions about what to do with all these new believers.  Should they follow the old ways as practiced before or should we allow a new way of following Jesus to happen?

This is an age old question that follows believers every time God does a new or highly significant work.  What is the church to do when following God leads to places that don’t fit with what has been done before?  There is always resistance to change…even when it is clearly God at work.  We get comfortable in the pattern of how things are done.  Sometimes it’s hard to see how God can operate outside of that pattern.

This is what Paul and Barnabas are facing.  They are facing a council that is unsure about the changes God brought about through Paul’s work.  In that place, Peter and James stand up and declare that the old ways must change and the new believers not be given a difficult road to Christ.  They were right.  They still are.  If God is calling people we simply cannot let patterns and systems stand in His way.  It’s always been God’s Church and He should always be able to do as He sees fit in it.  May we never allow our natural resistance to change stand in the way of people coming to God.  

Acts Devotional Week 6

May 20, 2012

Acts 10:34-36

Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.  In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.  This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Some were excluded from following God.  It sounds unthinkable to us today.  We recognize that all those who call on the Lord are able to find salvation and follow him.  It wasn't always so in the early church.  For many you had to be Jewish to follow Jesus.  If you weren't Jewish you were a Gentile and unable to follow Jesus (unless you became Jewish first).  Peter thought that way for a while…until God decided to change his mind. 

This change of mind came with an encounter with a Gentile named Cornelius.  Cornelius was a Roman army officer.  He was also a devoted follower of Jesus who was well known for his generosity to the poor and being a man of prayer.  In Peter’s world these things didn't fit together.  Cornelius would have always stayed an outsider whose voice could not be heard.  So God stepped in.  He sent an angel (messenger) to Cornelius telling him to invite Peter to his home.  Cornelius did as God directed.  At the same time, God gave Peter a vision.  In the vision, God presents Peter with food that Jewish laws forbid him to eat.  When Peter refuses to eat a voice says “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” (Acts 10:15)  This happens three times.  Just after this, the men with Cornelius’s invitation arrive.  Peter would normally refuse an invitation from a Gentile like Cornelius.  It wasn't something God-fearing Jews did.  But this vision caused him to accept. 

The lesson is in the acceptance.  Peter went where he would not go and discovered God at work.  He learned that God does not show favoritism.  He accepts those who follow him.  Christians everywhere are to do the same.  Different races, denominations, ideas, cultures, and practices are not separate us from each other.  The Holy Spirit is greater than our differences and God will bring all his people together in unity. 

Accepting the outsider is an easy concept to grasp mentally, but a far harder concept to live out practically.  The outsider brings difference which we often resist.  It is time to stop resisting and seek the Lord’s will.  New ideas and new people from new places are benefits to faith not hindrances.  Is there anyone or anything that we are blindly excluding today?  Let’s change that!

Acts Devotional Week 5

May 13, 2012

Acts 9:36-42

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.  At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

In a wealthy city a beautiful and respected woman decided to follow the Lord.  Tabitha (her name meant gazelle which was considered beautiful) sought out the widows and the poor.  A widow herself, she took care of them by making clothing and other things they might need.  Her life was devoted to doing the Lord’s work.  She may not have been a preacher or a prophet, but she is called a disciple.  She was a saint and a leader as she served the Lord.  Her death was more than the congregation could handle.  So vital was she to the ministry of that congregation that they went to extraordinary efforts to reach Peter and Peter responded.  Let’s not be confused.  Tabitha was not just a nice lady who did nice things.  She was a vital and important minister to the city of Joppa. 

It’s a powerful image.  Seeing those who have been so blessed by a life gathered together to mourn, honor, and bless that life.  That upper must have been filled with emotion…with love.  So many lives changed.  So many people drawn to Christ through the love and care of Tabitha.  So many more that still needed her touch and ministry.  Imagine the heartbreak of losing one so vital.  Imagine the joy and seeing her come back to life.  From heartbreak came joy.  From and end came a new beginning.  From death comes life.  We are called to be disciples.  We are called to be like Tabitha.  Good works matter.  Caring for other matter.  God’s work done in a life matters.  The world needs to hear the message God gives us.  Throughout this event, Tabitha says not one word.  Yet many are brought to the Lord through her.  How can you be like Tabitha in your life?  Who needs your attention, your touch, or your prayers today?  What does your ministry look like?  Become a disciple like Tabitha and serve the Lord.

Acts Devotional Week 4

May 6, 2012

Acts 7:53-60

 “You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.” The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.  As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

It took a lie to get him there.  They tried to publicly win an argument against him and failed.  So they resorted to deception, persuading others to make up stories so that he appeared to be a blasphemer and a man who spoke against God.  What they could not do honestly and openly the accomplished deceitfully and Stephen was brought to trial before the high council. 

False accusations were made and Stephen was asked if they were true.  He could have answered a number of different ways.  He could have defended himself and exposed the lies that put him in this difficult position.  He could have backed down from the message God gave him and disappeared.  He could have saved himself.  Instead he spoke the truth.  Stephen makes a powerful speech reminding the religious leaders of how God worked in their history.  Of how God changed things, protected them, and guided them.  He reminds them of the disobedience that caused these same people to persecute God’s messengers and prophets.  He makes the case that they are doing exactly that now.  Instead of answering the false accusation brought against him, Stephen brings an accusation against the council…and for this he died.

Stephen made a choice.  He chose to set aside his own wants, needs, and life to do the work of the Lord.  He was unmoved by the rage, the shouting, and the unwillingness to listen.  Stephen prayed for himself and asked forgiveness for those stoning him.  The religious leaders chose to pick up stones and kill rather than listen to the message God gave Stephen.  What choices do we make daily?  Do we cover our ears, get angry, and pick up stones when things don’t go as we like?  Or are we willing to do God’s will and trust Him with the rest?  Stephen’s was a catalyst in the early church.  Will we be the same here?

Acts Devotional Week 3

April 29, 2012

Acts 3:1-10

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon.  And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

There was a lame man begging at a gate.  Most would ignore him.  Some would give him a little bit of money or maybe a bite to eat.  He did this everyday.  It was routine.  It was life as he knew it…until he encountered Peter and John.  When he asked them for help, they stopped and paid attention.  They got the lame man’s attention.  Something was about to happen.  In the middle of this man’s routine God was at work.  In the middle of our routine God is at work…often in unexpected ways.

What happened next was not expected.  Peter doesn't give the lame man money or food.  Instead he gives him health and new life.  “In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk” and that is exactly what happened.  The lame man didn't need gold or silver.  He didn't need to spend his life crippled and begging at a gate.  Our God heals.  Every one of us needs the healing touch of God.  Most of our hurts aren't seen physically, but we can be crippled relationally, emotionally, and spiritually.  God’s desire is to heal his people.  To heal us.

When the lame man encountered the disciples of Jesus he found healing.  The same should be true when people encounter us, the church.  God works in our lives.  He heals.  As a church we must recognize and celebrate God’s healing touch.  When people saw this formerly lame man they were amazed and worshiped God.  We are the lame man.  As believers, let us show others God’s healing work as we worship him in all aspects of our lives.