Week of 7/4/21 - Pages 89 - 110

The second half of the book of Acts chronicles the exploits of Paul and his companions as they travel throughout the Mediterranean region bringing the good news of Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles.

One might think that a life so devoted to God would be “smooth sailing”, but Paul’s was far from that.  He endured unjust accusation and public beatings, years of imprisonment, threats to his life, and shipwreck, among other things.

But, doesn’t God owe us His blessing when we do what He wants?

Actually, God does not owe us anything (see Luke 17:7-10 and Romans 11:35-36); and God does bless us – not by averting the difficulties, but rather through them.  Paul writes in the book of Romans (5:3-5), “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

I found most encouraging and challenging Paul’s response to the various trials he faced.  

·       When stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison unjustly, Paul and Silas didn’t complain, but rather, they prayed and sang hymns to God.

·       When God intervened with an earthquake, and the prison doors flew open, and the chains fell off, Paul did not run away, but implored the jailor to not kill himself.  Paul answered his question about being saved and pointed the jailor to Jesus, the one who truly sets us free.

·       When the learned philosophers of Athens thought Paul was speaking nonsense when referring to the resurrection of Jesus, he did not reply abusively or simply write them off.  Instead, Paul used logic and ideas that they could relate to, and explained that God is One that we can know and with whom we can have relationship.

·       When arrested and on trial before governors or a king, Paul didn’t just defend himself, but also explained how the earthly judge could be set free from God’s judgment.

·       When facing a furious storm at sea and threatened with shipwreck, Paul prayed not just for himself, but for the lives of all aboard and encouraged them.  And, God granted them all safety.

Why was Paul so devoted to God and so concerned about both the physical and eternal wellbeing of those he encountered?  Just like us, Paul never met Jesus during Jesus’ earthly ministry but did encounter him on the road to Damascus.  Through that encounter and through the Scriptures, Paul was convinced that Jesus is the Christ.  It is Christ’s love that compelled Paul – and can compel us – to not live for ourselves, but for him who died for us and was raised again.  (See 2Cor5:14-15)  This doesn’t happen on our own strength, but only by the Holy Spirit working in our hearts, letting God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think.

Week of 6/27/21 - Pages 61 - 89

Pages 61-89 cover the first half of the book of Acts (Acts 1-16:9).  The beginning of Acts gives an account of the early Christian church’s development and is the biblical record of Christianity’s early days.  Jesus was resurrected and had ascended into heaven, but Jesus had encouraged His followers with the promise of the Holy Spirit and the power for witnessing to people about Jesus everywhere—in Jerusalem (locally), throughout Judea (regionally), in Samaria (nationally) and to the ends of the earth (globally).   This would have been a daunting and impossible mission without the Holy Spirit!

What stood out to me in these pages were two followers of Christ chosen to carry heavy loads of mission work during that early church time--Peter and Paul—and how different in background and privilege they were and yet how God through the Holy Spirit used these men in unexpected ways.

Both Peter and Paul were of Jewish heritage, but Peter was the fisherman with little formal education who lived off the catch from the sea.  Bold and outspoken, he had denied Jesus three times when Jesus was passing through his final hours before crucifixion.  Peter had the heart to serve Jesus but attempted to do so by his own power.  Paul, on the other hand, was a student of the law, who had risen through the Pharisee ranks to become a respected and feared leader of the Jewish faith that opposed Jesus and his followers with the heart and intent to kill, not to serve.  Yet, Jesus redeemed and enabled both of these men of contrasting backgrounds to take leading positions in the early church. 

It was the uneducated Peter, together with John, both filled with the Holy Spirit, who stood up to the ruling Jewish council in Jerusalem, the authorities of the Jewish law, with the declaration that they had to obey God rather than human authority.

It was the educated Paul, also chosen by the Lord, who was sent out on the seas (Peter’s domain) away from Jerusalem and his former Jewish authority circle on missional trips far from Jerusalem to the Gentiles, and kings, and to the people of Israel.

It was Peter who received the profound vision from the Lord interpreted to no longer view Gentiles as unclean and to associate with them for missional purposes, but it was Paul who carried out that mission on a larger geographic scale to convert Gentiles throughout Asia Minor.

When Paul met up with resistance from believers of a sect of Pharisees, it was the uneducated Peter through the Holy Spirit’s guidance that provided the understanding that all believers are saved in the same way by the undeserved grace of the Lord.

Our world is slowly emerging from the health oppression of Covid-19 and the physical oppression of sheltering in place.  The early church weathered oppression of a political and religious nature and spent time in prayer, teaching, and in sharing abundance blessed by the Holy Spirit.  

As in the early church, we can trust in the work of the Holy Spirit though it may come through people of unusual backgrounds.   The Holy Spirit will use each believer for God’s glory and purpose.  It is for us to pray, teach, and share our abundance, just as the early church, and then trust in the Holy Spirit’s work in our church. 

Acts Chapter 28

All roads lead back to Rome.  Looking back over Paul’s life, it is interesting to me how Rome has such a central role in his story.  That doesn’t just include the fact he visited and preached there, but also that he was a Roman citizen.  Several times he used the fact he was a Roman citizen as leverage to avoid being jailed or killed so that he could continue to preach the gospel.  In fact, in Acts 28 he is under guard, but allowed to reach a large number of people and continue to preach.  

Many Christians often focus on the heavenly kingdom we are called to be a part of and want to withdraw from the world.  Paul’s example suggests the opposite.  We should be engaged in our world, reaching out to all that will listen in order to preach the good news.  I love how the chapter finishes – “He welcomed all who visited him boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.  And no one tried to stop him.”  The author of Acts feels compelled to give this point at the end of the chapter to show the contrasting experience of being allowed to preach without constant threat of danger.  This does not suggest in any way that as Christians we will always be able to safely preach the gospel.  It just reminds us that we are called to preach it – no matter what the situation.

Acts Chapter 27

Wow. What an exciting chapter! I pulled up a map to get a sense of the places Luke writes about: departing from Sidon, sailing north of Cyprus to Crete and being blown all the way to Malta (which looks dinky in the vast blue sea). I’m immersed in the action by all the details—the decision to sail for a better winter harbor, the difficulty of hoisting the lifeboat aboard, the tactics of putting out sea anchors and jettisoning cargo. I can’t imagine the terror of enduring this for two weeks—too frightened (and probably too sick) to even eat. 

How good God is to reassure Paul that not only he would survive, but so would all 276 people on board! I’m not sure I would have found the promise of standing trial before Caesar to be a comfort, exactly—though perhaps it would seem a lot better (and less immediate) than being pitched into a cold, roiling sea. 

I’m struck by how focused on his mission Paul is. Being ordered to stand trial before Caesar sounds terrifying, but Paul is possibly acutely aware of what a platform this will be to share the gospel. Literally come hell or high water, he is focused. He comes across as almost serene. And his faith and special mission means that not only is he protected, but all aboard. How good of God to appear in dreams and provide prophecy to reveal himself to the cross-section of sailors, soldiers, and prisoners aboard. How much more weight would God’s provision and protection have carried because of enduring this horrible situation than if they’d all hunkered down in a harbor somewhere for the winter. Yes, that old chestnut: it is so often in the terrifying, rocking, sideways motion of the difficult things in life where we see God most clearly.

Lord, teach me to see you, to listen to your direction. Help me to be obedient beforethe storms of life knock some sense into me. 

Acts Chapter 26

How will we be seen by non believers when we give a testimony? Will we be labeled “crazy” as Paul was called by Festus, the governor? 

In Acts 26, Paul speaks at a pretrial query in front of King Agrippa II and other dignitaries on the charges that he disobeyed Roman and Jewish laws. Paul was innocent but, because of politics, the Roman governors Felix and Festus did not let him go free.

Paul explains his Jewish credentials as a Pharisee and how he persecuted Christians. He goes on to explain how he was met by Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul’s new mission as instructed by the Lord was to go to the Gentiles and “Open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light” (26:18). In Acts 26:20, Paul explains that all must repent of their sins and turn to God, and prove they have changed by the good things they do. 

Like most of the Jews of Paul’s day, Agrippa did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and His resurrection. He could accept the words of the prophets who spoke of a coming Messiah, but accepting  Jesus required major life changes.  

When talking to non believers about our Savior, do we worry how we will appear to them and are we concerned how being a believer will affect our status? My mind definitely goes there. Do we typically only share our faith with known believers? Does fear silence us?

Paul’s example of speaking out for God’s purposes can illustrate how faith changes people.  Here was Paul chained, having been held in jail for two years, standing in front of pompous skeptics that mocked him and all he needed to be freed was say what they wanted to hear. Yet he spoke the truth about his beliefs. 

Should we risk our reputations by sharing our faith with others? “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel , by the power of God.” (2 Timothy 7-8)

Acts Chapter 25

Paul has been diligently proclaiming the Gospel throughout his many travels.  I saw somewhere that Paul logged land and sea travel to something  equivalent to 13,000 air miles.  In another time, he would have qualified for free checked baggage and priority boarding.

Amazing to me that the chief priests and Jewish leaders were so upset with their status quo and their ruthless administration of their many laws being challenged  that they would go to any extent to get rid of Paul.  They drum up bogus charges against him and even plot to get him sent to Jerusalem so they can ambush and kill him on the way.

It was fortunate for Paul that the Roman governor (Festus) realized Paul’s rights as a Roman citizen and did not go along with the Jewish leaders’ requests.

Paul was convicted in the work he was doing in spreading the Gospel and was not intimidated by the Jewish leaders, the Roman governor , King Agrippa or his wife.  Paul was not afraid to die (verse 11) but insisted that he had done nothing wrong and demanded that he be treated fairly by the Roman officials. Paul challenged the charges against him and left Festus in a quandary about how to send Paul to Rome without a specific set of charges to write up about him.

Paul knew he was doing God’s work and charged ahead fearlessly in spite of the forces at work against him and the threats against his continued existence.   It would be incredible to be able to stand your ground in such a definitive fashion regardless of the opposition you are facing.  There are times when I hesitate to get into a Bible discussion with people who I know are “professional arguers”  and are looking for an opportunity to get into a verbal debate. So, I dodge that debate.  Coward’s way out, I guess.  All the more reason to go forward well-armed and prepared to defend my faith.  Reading about Paul’s ministry convinces me that I have more reading, studying and understanding to do.

Acts Chapter 24

Acts 24 finds Paul detained, listening to the charges brought against him by Tertullus, a lawyer. I find it laughable yet smart as Tertullus begins his rant with praise for the judge by giving compliments referring to his reign.  Guess you could call it priming the pump among other things. The charges were, stirring up trouble and starting riots among the Jews.  When Paul was allowed to address the court, he spent the time proving that he was not guilty of what was said about him.  He gave specific accounts that could be verified where the charges against him could not. And so it goes today when we try to give testimony to others about the love of Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.  It so scares others at times, so they start to share their beliefs which are contrary to the truth of who Jesus was and still is.  Felix must have been curious about Paul's testimony because he brought his wife in to listen to Paul as well.  Felix also kept bringing Paul to him to hear his words again and again.  Sounds as if Paul plead  his case well enough to plant a seed possibly in Felix???  Can we be as faithful to Christ when we are asked to explain our joy and belief in our faith?  I pray that we all show our love and loyalty for Jesus as we become spiritual seed planters as well.

Acts Chapter 23

I imagine the scene of Paul at the Sanhedrin surrounded by a large group of Sadducees and Pharisees must have been a bit overwhelming for him because at first, he seems friendly calling them "My Brothers",  but then he went to a place of trying to justify himself in their sight by saying "I have fulfilled my duty to GOD in all good conscience to this day". He was brought by the commander to face those accusing him and it didn't go the way he expected.  He was assaulted in a place that he thought he would be treated better.  This was his nation of people and he expected to be treated with fair and equal justice like we have today.......Innocent until proven Guilty.

A riot was created when he said "I stand on trial because of my hopes in the resurrection of the dead" which riled up the two parties who had differing views about the existence of the afterlife.

So the Commander had him taken safely away for his own protection, but can you imagine how Paul must have felt that night?  He was probably sitting in his protective room thinking "What just happened?" He had this opportunity to preach to a large crowd who generally were in agreement in their united opposition against Jesus and with all that went down, he pretty much blew the chances to preach to them the Gospel that he was so committed to spreading by creating a diversion,  angering the two parties and thereby essentially saving himself that night from being "torn to pieces" because the Commander ordered him to be removed before things escalated.

I wonder what Paul must have been thinking about that night after he was whisked away to safety to those barracks?  I know when I miss opportunity after opportunity to spread the Good News of Jesus by standing firm in my faith and belief that GOD will be by my side no matter the circumstances, I feel as if I've let him down.  And then one begins to have self doubt about not being worthy of GOD's love because of being weak in the moment.  It's an awful feeling of shame when that weakness takes over, but in Paul's case, even if he was feeling that way in his darkest hour, Jesus appeared before him and said "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome".  What an encouraging thing to happen after he thought he had let Jesus down!

What I was left with after reading this chapter is that even though Paul may have thought he was alone in the barracks that night feeling so isolated and ashamed and by himself...... he wasn't alone.  Jesus came to him where he was.....in the middle of what was basically a jail cell. Isn't it interesting how we so many times pray to our loving GOD to release us from our circumstances (like being in a jail cell) when all he wants, is to meet us IN the circumstance. We often times think we are surrendering to GOD when really, we are only looking for an escape....for him to help us escape the circumstance, but more than anything, what GOD wants, is to meet us in middle of what we are facing.  Our surrender to him is far more pleasing to him than to escape the circumstance which we think will solve everything because ultimately, GOD knows that if we believe in his promise that all will be well for those who love GOD because he will always protect us, no matter what.  He knows what is best for us and we can find comfort in knowing that his promise will sustain us.

Acts Chapter 22

In Acts 22, Paul speaks to the crowd in Jerusalem after his return from his third missionary journey where he had been sent by God to preach to Gentiles throughout Greece and Macedonia.  Paul had been warned by the prophet Agabas that at his return to Jerusalem, Paul would be bound and turned over by Jewish leaders to Gentiles.  Yet Paul continued to speak out boldly.  

Indeed, in Acts 22, as prophesied, Paul was held by the commander of the Roman regiment in Jerusalem but allowed to speak to a mob that had tried to kill him.  Paul addressed the crowd in their native language Aramaic so they could clearly understand. 

What struck me was even though forewarned and attacked, Paul remained faithful and bold in his witness for Christ to the angry crowd that just tried to kill him.  He was clear and transparent in explaining how by grace, God had chosen him even though he was a sinner and had committed deeds resulting in the death of followers of the Way (Christians).  Paul explained that God let him see the Righteous One (Jesus) and hear Jesus speak (verse 14).  This had all occurred in spite of Paul’s earlier persecution of Christians.  The crowd was willing to listen to a point until Paul explained God’s mission for him to preach to the Gentiles and then the mob turned on Paul again.  

Just as Paul was ready to give the reason for his ministry to the Gentiles and for the hope he had in Jesus Christ, so I and all of us need to be ready to give a reason for our hope and joy in Christ to an increasingly hostile, uninterested and distracted world that desperately needs Christ’s love.    As in Paul’s example of ministry, we too will need to speak boldly, plainly and be transparent about our need for Christ and his forgiveness in order to be heard by others.   According to verse 16, “What are we waiting for?” We may find ourselves on the internet or face-to-face with angry or disinterested listeners.  But we have been forgiven and transformed by God’s grace.  With our faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, the message of hope will be communicated without distortion.

Acts Chapter 21

“The Lord’s will be done.”

When we face a difficult decision, how do we discern the difference between God’s will for us and just a thoughtful suggestion by a loved one?  Bad advice can come from our best friends.  This is the decision Paul faced in Acts, Chapter 21. Paul knew he would most likely die if he traveled to Jerusalem.  He knew his well-meaning friends did not want him to suffer.  In verse 13 he says, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?  I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”  

 In this chapter Paul gives us a great example of how to discern God’s will versus suggestions from caring friends.  It wasn’t easy for Paul to say good-bye to these people he loved.  It was a tearful goodbye and Luke describes it at “tearing themselves away”.  Paul informs them that he would not see their faces again because imprisonment and persecutions awaited him in Jerusalem. Their love for each other was deep and genuine. 

When Paul told his friends, “I am ready to die,” he didn’t have a death wish.  It simply revealed his level of commitment to God’s will.  He had a purpose and his conscience was clear.  He knew without a doubt that this was what he was called to do.

What is clear to me is that when someone (Paul) has decided to follow God’s will, (to die for Jesus to fulfill his mission) there will be resistance, sometimes even from those close to us.  However, in the final analysis we must obey God, even when our hearts are breaking. When Paul insisted on going to Jerusalem, all of those who had sought to dissuade him from going ceased their resistance with the words, “The Lord’s will be done” (Acts 21:14). He knew his path.

Wow! It is an amazing lesson to see how amidst all the pushback --Paul kept his eye on the Lord and His will.  My hope is that we all be in prayer daily to obey God’s leading and path for us and our lives.  This requires a personal decision each one of us must make.  This is a call for all of us to follow the example of Paul, keeping our eyes on Jesus and devoting our lives to Him.