Acts, Chapter 14

The entire book of Acts is filled with miracle, after miracle, after miracle. It seems like an old message at this point reiterating that God accomplished so much in the face of opposition that He left no doubt about the church in the minds of believers, but we are shown that again here in chapter 14. It is safe to assume that this theme plays out through most of the rest of the book of Acts, but it is no less amazing because chapter 14 marks the midway point through the book, yet the miracles and wonders keep coming.

Personally, I marvel at the conviction of Paul and Barnabas for continuing to preach even when chased away from one city. Keep in mind that this is still the first century. They couldn't hop a flight from city to city. They could only go as fast as their legs could carry them, and if enough people were behind them making them flee their ministry could have faltered. Still, as we see in the beginning here great numbers of people believed. If they can continue to preach under these conditions I can continue to spread the news to anyone who accesses this page by spending a few minutes on a computer each day. Just imagine what someone like Paul could accomplish today with the internet!

11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The 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. – Acts 14:11-13

This is an interesting passage because it is one of the first times we get an insight into what other cultures thought of Barnabas and Paul. Up to this point we have seen them preaching in areas that had Jewish or Roman roots. Now they were in an area that was almost exclusively Gentile, and obviously not rooted in Jewish culture. Why wouldn't they think they were Gods based on what they were doing right before them? Of course they appeared to be miraculous beings because the power of the Holy Spirit working through them would appear to be almost magical and certainly divine to someone who had no idea of what the Holy Spirit was.

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. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet 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." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. – Acts 14:15-18

I find this verse slightly troubling because of the promises of God, and I admit that I must accede to the fact that His ways are not our ways. It is troubling because, if God is willing that none should perish, why would He let some nations go their own way until this point? We had had several thousand years of human history before this point, so what about all those people that lived before the good news, or those that the good news was unable to reach until centuries later? It is wonderful that God began to reach out to all people and that Paul was preaching to all people regardless of their background, but why did God wait until now? Once again Paul and Barnabas faced adversity as some Jews won the crowd over and Paul was stoned, but the message had been passed. As they were forced to leave they still met with success in Derbe, proving once again that the Word of God will always bear fruit wherever it is preached.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Why would God's Word be effective in one city (like Derbe) but not in another (like Lystra)?
   
2. How did this set the stage for the future spreading of the gospel?
   
3. Why would God let all nations go their own way in the past?

Acts, Chapter 13

Has there ever been a time in your life when you have wondered what you're supposed to do next? Have you ever wanted God to simply tap you on the shoulder and say, "Go (here) and do (this)"? In times of confusion many people feel this way. Since I am currently in one of those times I find myself wishing I were Paul and Barnabas who are so clearly told where to go and what to do here at the beginning of chapter 13.

Unfortunately for us, God does not always work in such dramatic ways, but we can still learn from the example that Paul and Barnabas set forth here. Sometimes we are simply called to a place in our lives where we don't know the true reasons why we are doing what we are doing. Right now I am answering phones at a temp job that I hate, but I know this is where God wants me at the moment, perhaps to learn some humility. Paul and Barnabas didn't know for sure what they were getting into when God called them to Cyprus. Still, they preached the word of God, knowing that they must do at least that and they accomplished many great things.

23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25As 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.' – Acts 13:23-25

Once again we must take some historical context when looking at the above verses. Since Paul and Barnabas were preaching primarily to Jews here, they had to break down conventions in order to truly raise Jesus up. The Jews believed King David was the highest ruler the Jews had ever known, so they properly linked Jesus to him as a descendent. They then raised him higher by quoting John the Baptist, who was the epitome of being a servant.

27The 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. 28Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead, 31and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. – Acts 13:27-31

Once again, God uses man's misguided attempts to fulfill His work. Even in the killing of Jesus, they fulfilled prophecy that proved He was exactly who He said He was. They even put Him higher than David by reminding them that David died, yet Christ continues to live. Naturally, the Jews were not happy about this because they were being called out and asked to admit they were wrong. Who wants to readily admit this? Instead of facing this though, they stuck to their stubborn humanity and continued to speak out against Paul and Barnabas. Once again, however, God uses these mistakes for the good of all.

46Then 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. 47For 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. 48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. '" – Acts 13:46-48

Basically Paul and Barnabas finally said, "If you won't listen we'll find someone who will." This is further proof that the gospel cannot be stopped. It will always find a heart to change even when people reject the message. They were expelled from the region and the persecution of the early church continued, but Paul and Barnabas were not dissuaded from the message. There is even a lesson inside the lesson here, and a validation of the message because it could not be stopped even when man tried to stop it.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How important was the life of David in validating the life of Jesus?
   
2. Why did Christ have to be rejected by His own people in order to fulfill prophesy?
   
3. Was it necessary for the jews to reject the message in order to take it to the Gentiles?

Acts, Chapter 12

The book of Acts is such a wonderful book because of the dramatic ways that Christ continued to push the early church. There is little doubt that the early church would not have succeeded if not for the dramatic, divine intervention of Christ and His angels. Already we have seen the Holy Spirit come upon thousands, a prison break, selfish people being struck dead for holding back from God, the first martyr for the cause, a miraculous conversion of one of the church's most virulent haters, and miraculous visions. Through all this the church continued to grow in the face of great persecution. Whatever man threw at the church God overcame. All of this was caused by the relatively simple message that Christ died for the sins of the world, and if we believe in Him and the resurrection, asking for forgiveness, we are forgiven of our sins and will have eternal life.

When you think of it in those terms it is so simple, yet also kind of wacky. It really is a leap of faith, and rationally sounds like a fairy tale. If it were merely a fairy tale would it have lasted through 20 centuries and been the most influential "myth" in history though? Part of the reason it lasted was because of the work of Peter, whom in chapter 12 is once again delivered supernaturally. It seems like this is old hat for him, as early on we see another martyr to the cause with James' execution and we also find Peter back in prison for preaching the gospel.

6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. – Acts 12:6-9

Sixteen soldiers were guarding him and he just walked out of prison like he owned the place. The amazing thing is that this was just a minor use of God's power. Peter himself was unaware it was actually happening until the angel left him outside of the prison. This is the same Peter who once denied Christ three times in one night, yet now has little reason to ever be stopped by the ways of man. When you take this small miracle into account, is there any wonder why the attempts to stomp out the early church failed?

13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When 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." 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter 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. – Acts 12:13-17

This is another small incident, but it illustrates the power of unbelief. The church had been praying for Peter to be delivered, yet when he actually was returned to them they thought it was just his angel. They couldn't believe that it had actually happened even though someone was standing there telling them Peter was at the front door. This is an obvious reference to Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says that he knocks on everyone's door, and anyone who answers the door he will come in and eat with them. Much like Peter knocking on the door of the disciples, Christ knocks on the door to everyone's heart. It is up to us to answer the door and believe in Him, or to simply say that no one is really there. Also much like Peter, He will continue to knock instead of going away.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Is the story of Christ real to you, or merely a fairy tale to believe in?
   
2. Why would God choose to supernaturally deliver Peter from persecution, yet allow James to be martyred?
   
3. How do you/did you feel Christ first knocking on the door to your heart?

Acts, Chapter 11

God is bigger than all of our faults and judgments. I am reminded of that today in the face of tragedy. My wife is a University of Miami alum and is also a big fan of the football team down there. Yesterday one of the former players from her time there, a guy she actually knew, was shot in his home as part of a robbery. This morning, sadly, he passed away because of his wounds. He was only 24 years old and had faced a lot of adversity in recent years for a few on and off the field incidents. Still, according to comments made by his father, he had come to know Christ since the birth of his daughter a little more than a year ago. Even though Sean had been involved in a few incidents of poor judgment, God still loved him, just as God loved the Gentiles with whom Peter met with in chapter 10.

1The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." – Acts 11:1-3

This is where our own human misjudgment can get in the way of the work God wants to do. The apostles could not get past their own biases and tradition when they heard Peter had visited with uncircumcised Gentiles. In their culture it was considered unclean to associate with such individuals, yet Peter knew better because he was asked by God to do what he did. This relates to my earlier point about Mr. Sean Taylor because many people have criticized him for what he did in the past, yet if he truly knew Christ as his father tearfully indicated on the news this morning then he is with Him today in paradise. It is further proof that we are not judged by what we have done in the past, but as these Gentiles experienced with Peter, it is what we do when we are presented with the message and overcome by the Holy Spirit. Once that happens we cannot be judged for anything because God is bigger than all of us.

15"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" – Acts 11:15-17

Peter's words here in verse 17 are so powerful. "Who was I to think that I could oppose God?" Who are we to think that God cannot forgive a man that is repentant for mistakes he has made, yet others still hold those against him and remember him for those mistakes (as some do in Sean Taylor's case)? Who were the apostles to think that God can overlook what they considered was unclean so that the message of the Gospel could be spread to the Gentiles? God is all powerful to overcome, and I love how He illustrates His mercy here to overcome our own preconceived notions.

19Now 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. 20Some 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. 21The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. – Acts 11:19-21

The final point that I wanted to make with this short chapter is one I have made several times before in this blog. God can use anything, even mistakes, to glorify His name. Here God uses the persecution of the early church to simply spread the message further to places it otherwise would not have reached. Since those that were not circumcised now were beginning to believe Peter's vision also miraculously opened a new door for the gospel to be spread through. The good news of the gospel will always bear fruit wherever it is spread, and it is my prayer this morning that even in the face of tragedy, God's name will be glorified.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. What was the big deal about preaching and associating with those that were uncircumcised?
   
2. How are you opposing God today with something you believe in?
   
3. How can God turn a trouble in your life into something that can glorify His name?

Acts, Chapter 10

It's been a few days since I have written here, but such are the needs of family and friends. It is my prayer that everyone had a great holiday weekend spent in thankfulness to the One that provides everything we need. It is appropriate that we are in chapter 10 of Acts just after Thanksgiving, as we begin with a man that was very thankful for what he was given. Cornelius was a rarity in that he was a Roman Centurion who was also a devout follower of God. Because he was thankful for what God had provided he gave back praying in thankfulness and by giving to the poor. Because of this God chose him for a special type of blessing, and we will see today that he was used in a special way to further the message to the Gentiles.

In today's lesson it is important to know he was a centurion because they weren't exactly liked by the Jews. Many people in Israel viewed the Romans as occupiers and oppressors, so this story of his visit with Peter is an example of God's love and His power to change things. Today we have a lesson in God's mercy and the fact that He sent Christ to die for ALL mankind, and not just the Jews. At the time the Jews couldn't even associate with the Gentiles, but God told Peter dramatically that those old ways had passed away.

"27Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection." – Acts 10:27-29

The beauty here is the breaking down of barriers that we unfortunately still put up today. Here Peter sees Cornelius not as a Gentile, but a fellow human being. Even today, in 2007 there are still some people that categorize others based on their race, religion, or creed and not by the fact they are simply another human being. This leads to exclusivity and divisiveness that is counterproductive to the gospel. When we stop seeing people for these insignificant things, we can begin to truly let the Holy Spirit work, as happens in the next few verses:

"34Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." – Acts 10:34-38

Notice how Peter does not say, "God accepts men from just the Jews who fear Him and do what is right." He plainly states that every nation is accepted under God. It is a breaking down of barriers that were so critical in that day because the Jews did not widely accept that the Gentiles could find God's favor unless they became Jews themselves. The true power lies in the Holy Spirit, and that is a gift that can be given to everyone.

"44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God." – Acts 10:44-46.

The beauty of God's grace is amazing, and here we see that his Spirit is meant for all peoples, not just the Jews. Once again God triumphs over the ideas of man, as Peter's view of the Gentiles is totally changed. Not only that, but the Gentile converts receiving the Holy Spirit meant that the message was further sent to people who otherwise would not receive it. This is a lesson in overcoming divisiveness between people that we can still apply today.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Why was important for Cornelius as a Gentile to have Peter visit him?
   
2. Why would Peter need to have his mind changed to dramatically even though he already knew Christ's message?
   
3. How important was it for the Holy Spirit to come over these Gentile believers?

Acts, Chapter 9

Without the ninth chapter of Acts we probably wouldn't have a New Testament. Why is that you ask? Well, it is because we are fully introduced to the character that is Paul, who is Saul at this point. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus may be second only to the crucifixion in terms of importance to the New Testament. Without it, there would be 14 fewer books in the New Testament, which is more than half of the 27 total. As I have been saying all week, Paul was the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. The effect he has had on the world not only came through in the first century, but it has echoed throughout time since. He has literally influenced billions of people throughout the past 2,000 years, and all of this game from one of the church's most virulent haters.

1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" – Acts 9:1-4

Why would God chose to do this? Couldn't he have found someone who was more willing from the group of people that were already following Christ? Sure, God could have done it that way, but as He often does, He chose someone to make a point. The point in choosing Paul was to show his grace. Much as I used the extreme example of Hitler and how it was possible for even him to gain salvation a few weeks back to make a point, God chose Paul to show that anyone can be used to further His kingdom. At the time there was no one more against the church than Paul, yet Christ accomplished two things with his conversion. First he eliminated the church's greatest enemy of the time, and second he created the greatest champion for the Gentiles.

15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, -- Acts 9:15-18

At the time Christianity was largely a movement among the Jews. Later on we will see a bit of a conflict between Peter and Paul as to whether the Message was meant for the Gentiles or not. We see here though, through Ananias, that the message was indeed for the Gentiles, meaning everyone. Paul was selected as the one that would deliver that message. This show the amazing power to change that God has. Paul literally became a different person because God basically grabbed him by the neck and showed him what He wanted. From my own personal experience, sometimes that is what it takes for God to get our attention.

So naturally, since Paul was one of the leaders of the Sanhedrin, he immediately changed the minds of that august body and brought them over to the side of Christ right? No. In fact he had the opposite effect on them. As we see in the following verses, he returned to Jerusalem and began to preach the gospel passionately. He baffled the disciples there, and managed to enrage the Jews to the point they wanted to kill him. We then see Paul's first daring escape with his life on the line. This is an important lesson to keep in mind when you are feeling like God cannot change you and use you for His gain. If God can completely change someone like Paul, imagine what He can do for someone who is more willing.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How is God's mercy evident in Paul's conversion?
   
2. Why did Paul need to be appointed as the envoy for the Gentiles even though he himself was a Jew?
   
3. Why would the Sanhedrin turn on him so quickly?

Acts, Chapter 8

Acts chapter 8 is a great illustration of how even with Christ in your heart and with the Holy Spirit working miracles there can still be adversity. We ended yesterday's chapter with the stoning of Stephen, and we also had our first mention of Saul, who would later be named Paul and become the greatest evangelist in history. Once again we see Saul at the beginning of chapter 8, and he viciously tried to fight back against the growing church by persecuting anyone and everyone he found worshiping Christ. It is amazing to see how diametrically opposite Paul was before his conversion. We will see more of this later, but at this time the furthest thing from his mind was spreading the word of Christ. Only the true power of God could change a man so drastically, as at this time Saul was ruthless and spared no mercy on anyone in the church.

Out of this persecution came hope, however. We see over the rest of this chapter that, even as things start to look really dark for the first time since Christ's crucifixion, there is still a light. God still accomplishes many great things through the Holy Spirit as the apostles were literally on the run from Saul. This is not attributed to anything the apostles did, as they were merely following orders. It is the Holy Spirit that accomplished these things, as God even used Saul's persecution as a way to scatter the message to where it was needed.

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

Imagine being on the run from someone that was asking you to change your very core beliefs or you would be killed. What would your response be? Surely your first instinct would not be to continue spreading those beliefs and converting more people to your cause because it would draw you further out into the open. Of course, these men were operating under a higher authority and therefore knew what they had to do. Instead of hiding from the persecution they took the message on the road with them. They stayed mobile and converted many more to Christ. This proves that even when Saul was persecuting the church God used it for good.

18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." – Acts 8:18-23

The apostles were doing many wonderful things in this chapter. We see Philip converting the Ethiopian eunuch and the message being spread to the Samaritans. Here, however, we are given an important lesson from Peter concerning the Holy Spirit. For those that are willing to accept it, the Holy Spirit is a blessing. It is one of the very small ways we as humans can have the power of God. We must be willing, however, to submit to its direction and not our own. Simon wanted this gift desperately and thought he could buy it, but as we see it cannot be bought. This is another important lesson in the way that we cannot earn God in our lives. We must submit to Him and welcome Him in His own way. Nothing that we can do for ourselves will earn His favor. The power of the Holy Spirit is also something that we cannot earn or distribute at our will, because the power of God is not for us to decide.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How does Saul's persecution of the church set him up for his dramatic conversion?
   
2. How important were the miracles performed by the apostles to spreading the gospel?
   
3. Why don't we see as many miracles today?