Join me in reading through the Bible in One Year! We will follow a reading plan together and go beyond just reading the Bible, to studying it. We will post about the passage and learn from each other as we grow in our walk with the Lord.
Join me in the pursuit of discernment!
..."But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere."
The first part of this verse stood out to me.
In a lot of ways, this is what society may be saying to us Christians now too. Many have not heard the good news, even in North America where Christianity isn't looked upon as highly and is talked about less than it once was.
We're often scared to talk about Jesus, but maybe the people around us have never heard, and would be interested and curious to know something about Jesus.
Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Acts 16:30-32
This feels like such a simplistic answer to the question asked. "Believe and you will be saved along with everyone in your household."
I pray that everyone in my household will be saved but unfortunately it's not my faith that will save them. They will have to make the decision for themselves.
In the meantime, I will continue to teach them about and show them Jesus' love and pray that this will be the case for all of them.
But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all.
2 Kings 1:10
As I was reading this verse, I was reminded that God never changes, and this same God who let the fire fall is the same God who is with us today. I was also reminded that God answers prayers, and I should have much more faith when it comes to that.
Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.”
2 Kings 2:21
This verse reminded me of the water pollution problems we have in Canada, and it made me question how often I pray for situations like that. Again, this shows me how I should pray more faithfully.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake;And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.1 Kings 19:11-13 (KJV)
In the movie "The Nativity", near the beginning, is a scene of a lady telling this story of Elijah to a group of children. She says the parts I have highlighted in blue and the children answer with the parts in red. I love how these verses just came alive in that scene.
Elijah knew that the gentle whisper was God's voice. He understood that God doesn't only reveal himself in powerful and miraculous ways. And sometimes we miss Him because he is often whispering in the quietness of our hearts. With all the activity and noise in our lives today we have to make a special effort to listen quietly for His voice.
We hear lots about Paul (Saul) in the bible and most of it is in light of all the good things he was teaching and preaching, all the people he brought to Christ and the persecution he faced. But there are a few excerpts of how evil he was prior to becoming a Christian. He stood by while Stephen was stoned here in Acts and it says "Saul was there, giving approval to his (Stephen's) death."
Acts 9: 1 says "Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers." He really was not a nice person.
And yet look at all the great things he did in Christ's name throughout the rest of his life.
We need to try to remember that although people may have done very bad things in their lives there is always hope for redemption and God can use a "bad" person in mighty, mighty ways.
There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death.
Proverbs 16:25
This verse made me think of our society today. We see a lot of views in the media that people have convinced themselves are the “right paths” (abortion, homosexuality, etc.), but we need to remember that these paths do end in death; they are not the paths the Lord has made for us to follow. We need to stay focused on God and His Word in order to stay away from taking these viewpoints on as our own.
Acts 4:29-31
(29) Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. [30] Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” [31] After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly
I found it amazing what faith Peter and John and the rest of the early believers had. They weren't intimidated by the world around them, and were focused on what Jesus had done and taught.
Does my focus on Jesus come close to what Peter and John showed? Not even close. They were so focused on Jesus they almost ignored what was going on around them.
A reminder to focus on Jesus more throughout the day, and make decisions the way he would want.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:37-39
I think too often this message has been complicated by human measurements because we want to know that the person was sincere. I can't think of any conversion story in the bible where they waited around to find out if the convert was sincere or whether he/she would just keep living the same way. It was simple...repent and be baptized. Period. It's not up to us to determine the sincerity or to judge the converted life.
And then maybe we just question our own salvation. Are we doing it right? Are we doing enough? Are we reading our bible enough? Praying enough? And yet, none of those are ever listed as a condition of our salvation.
How often do we ask that? How often do we feel that we’ve been treated unjustly? How often do we feel like we deserve better?
Why?
Why do we feel like we deserve more than the next? Why do we feel that in a fallen world that we can somehow escape hardships, sickness, death? Why do we feel like our lives should be easy & fall into place nicely with our ideals?
Paul lived a life of undeserved hardships. He was walking closely to God & giving his whole life in service to him. If anyone was deserving of God’s blessings (at least as we see it) it would have been Paul. And yet, he was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked...
2 thoughts...
Paul didn’t mope about & feel sorry for himself. As we read today, even while under house arrest he continued to teach, preach, counsel, write letters, doing whatever he could. He turned the bad into good & looked for opportunity in every situation.
Perhaps, our “eyes aren’t on the prize”. Paul was not focused on earthly comforts. He didn’t measure his blessings by his health, his living conditions, or even by how others treated him. He was focused on “finishing the race” knowing that the ultimate blessings were in store for him.
“The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.” - Proverbs 22:2
We need to remember that God made us all equally, and loves us all equally. Whether someone is male, female, gay, straight, black, white, rich, poor, believes in Christ, or is a non-believer in Christ. God loves everyone, even if they don’t love Him. That’s how powerful His love is, that He would love the ones who hate Him. We need to be like this, and love everyone around us, despite their “differences”. God will judge the ones who don’t believe later, but our job is to love like He loves, and spread the Good News everywhere.
“Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these, is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13
Proverbs 19:1 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Proverbs 19:7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives— how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found
These verses stood out to me because they talk about the poor. In our society today the poor are often looked down upon, and the ones with the most money are often respected the most. Better to be poor financially on earth but living the way God wants, then to be rich on earth and not living for the Lord.
I have a growing respect for Paul as I read through the New Testament portions each day. He put everything aside to follow God and spread the word, yet faced many frustrating set backs, jail time, and people out to slow him down. Great example to try to follow.
A few small words with huge implications. Are we even brave enough to say them?
Paul said them, he didn’t hesitate or stop to question, but immediately followed. His whole life was turned around, but he followed faithfully. He was sent to the ends of the earth, but he followed faithfully. He was shipwrecked, imprisoned & beaten, but he followed faithfully.
It seems that we either feel that we’ve got everything under control & don’t need directions from God or we are too afraid to ask for fear of what will be asked of us.
Paul gave up everything he knew when he asked that question & he was definitely not led down a path of luxury & ease & yet he never looked back. Even through his difficulties he found a joy & fullness in Christ that was worth everything to him.
Oh, to have that kind of faith & relationship with God.
If only we could get past the idea that we know what’s best for ourselves & trust God. Whether the path is easy or hard the end is in sight & will be worth it all.
“What shall I do, Lord?” Help me, Lord, to ask this with a boldness & confidence in your love & the conviction to follow you even if the direction is different than my choosing.
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” - Proverbs 4:20-22
God’s Word gives us life and healing. It’s so simple, yet when we’re going through tough times, the bible is not usually one of the first places we go for wisdom. We need to make sure we go to God when we are in trouble (or any time for that matter), and seek His Word above all else. Let’s try to make Him our first resort today, instead of our last.
Acts 17: 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.[a]
5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.[b]
Quite the difference in responses to Paul's presentation of the gospel! Some were persuaded and became believers. And others rejected then gospel to the point of rioting and attacking Paul & Silas!
This is a huge reminder to me that people's response to the gospel is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to share the gospel. We are not responsible for their reaction to it.
Paul was one of the most influential believers of all time, and even he couldn't convince everyone of the truth of the gospel. That's because it wasn't up to him. It wasn't because he said the right thing or the wrong thing.
He shared the gospel. Some accepted it. Some rejected it. It didn't mean he was a success or a failure. The results are up to the Holy Spirit, not us. Ours is to obey.
It's also a reminder to me that the gospel message is polarizing. It's a big deal, and people somehow know it's a big deal even if they don't understand it.
We need to continue to pray that God would soften the hearts of those that are dear to us who are unsaved now, and pray that one day they too, would be persuaded.
And we need to be willing to be the ones to open up our mouths and share the gospel, no matter what the response.
In today’s passage we read of Paul & Silas faithfully serving God. But, even in following God, they find themselves severely flogged & thrown in prison (& left fastened in stocks designed for the most dangerous prisoners).
In reading this, my first thought was that the average person would respond with anger directed both at the jailers & at God. Instead, though, we find them praying & singing hymns. They didn’t skip a beat, they continued in loving God by worshipping him despite their circumstances & in the mean time living a testimony to the other prisoners.
What a challenge to us...
1. Even in following the will of God, we may face challenges & injustices
2. We need to find the peace of God regardless of our circumstances & always continue to worship
3. Others are watching us to see how we respond in different situations; are we going to be a living testimony in every circumstance
Scripture: 1 Kings 3: 5, 9-14 5 That night theLordappeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
....9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
Observation: When we humble ourselves, God gives us more than what we ask for.
Application: It is so hard to be humble. We struggle to recognize that we don't have it all together and to admit this to ourselves and to God is often so difficult. God asked Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon could have asked for anything but instead he asked for wisdom to rule well. God gave him wisdom AND riches AND fame. It was way more than Solomon asked for and way more than he deserved but that's how God works. When my oldest daughter considered Bible college thousands of miles away, I was so nervous to let her go. She was not the most studious person and I didn't feel like her faith went too deep. As she prepared to leave, I prayed specifically for this experience to deepen her faith, for this experience to cause her to make her faith her own instead of just something she grew up with, and for her to really listen to God's calling. God is so good. During her time there, she grew in her faith, chose to get baptized, and really felt God calling her back for a second semester. God is faithful to answer our prayers when we are humble and realize that we cannot do life on our own. Letting my daughter go is still a difficult struggle but when I am drawn to my knees realizing that my kids are not my own I am learning that God loves them even more than I do and that I can trust that He had a bigger and better plan than I could have ever imagined for them. This song has been resonating with me over these months of letting go, especially this part:
Oh, how You love me Somehow that frees me To take my hands off of my life And the way it should go
Prayer: God, you are so good. Help us to submit to Your plan and trust Your ways with our lives and the lives of our kids. When we trust You and lean on You we are rewarded in such magnificent ways beyond our wildest dreams. Be with each of us during this learning process of taking our hands off of our lives and what we have planned to make room for what You have in store for us. Amen
“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’” - Acts of the Apostles 13:22
I often have a hard time believing in God’s mercy for me. As if He has mercy for everyone except me, which of course isn’t true.
But I need to remember that God called David (a man who had many wives, killed innocent men, and committed many more sins that we might call “worse” than other sins) a “man after His own heart”. Even though David had committed all of these terrible sins, God still had mercy on Him because he saw that he was sinful, and realized he needed God.
So the next time I think that God could never forgive me for all the sins I’ve done, I need to remember David, and I need to repent and trust that God loves and forgives me even though I’ve sinned.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.[b]”
15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”
Peter thought he knew the heart of God, he was committed to him & served him with his life & yet in this passage we see that he had it wrong. He had not accepted that God had come for the Gentiles too & the time came for him to be corrected. Peter humbly accepted his error & went on to serve God, bringing many Gentiles to Christ.
Like Peter, we may feel confident in our understanding of God & his word. However, we too are human & can fall short in our understanding. Or, maybe, we are choosing to just accept the bits & pieces that make us the most comfortable & we can work the best with.
When God knocks on our hearts (or maybe throws it right in our face) & shows us the error of our ways, will we be like Peter, humbly recognizing our mistakes & moving forward in honour to God? Or will we tightly hold onto our own ideas & miss the calling/direction that God wants for us?
