Tuesday Thought -- May 20, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Like most of us, I don’t enjoy confrontation. When a situation arises in which it seems like confrontation is necessary, I tend to put it off and hope to avoid it altogether. But that isn’t always possible. And that isn’t always the right path to follow. Sometimes confrontation is the right thing to do. Sometimes confrontation is the godly thing to do. It may still be difficult. It may still be painful. It may still result in some strained, and perhaps even severed relationships, but sometimes confrontation just has to be done.

Paul faced a situation like that on his first missionary journey, at one of their first stops.

“They (Paul and Barnabas) traveled through the whole island (Cyprus) until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 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. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘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? 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. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (Acts 14:6-12)

Paul’s confrontation with Elymas was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It came as the result of Paul being filled with the Holy Spirit. That means the confrontation was God’s will. It was what God wanted Paul to do. Paul couldn’t just sit idly by and allow Elymas to try to keep the proconsul from coming to faith in Jesus.

Too much was at stake for God to be willing to allow Elymas a free reign without confronting his wrong actions. The eternity of the proconsul was at stake. Perhaps the entire church at Paphos was at stake. With the proconsul coming to faith, the Gospel would have great freedom to be preached in that area. With the proconsul against the Gospel, it could have been much more difficult for it to become established.

So Paul did the confronting and God put His stamp of approval on the confrontation by blinding Elymas.

Not every confrontation is God’s will – but some are!

Not every confrontation comes from pure motives – but some do!

The principle is to encourage us to keep our hearts open to what the Lord wants us to do and to examine the motives that drive us. And then be willing to do what the Lord asks – even the tough stuff of confrontation when that is His will.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- May 19, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“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. 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.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:1-3)

In the church at Antioch, Barnabas and Saul were the primary leaders. Barnabas had been sent to Antioch by the apostles to teach the new Christians there more fully. When the work became too much for Barnabas to handle alone, he found Saul and brought him to Antioch to help with the teaching. The church grew and matured and additional men took on the responsibility of helping with the teaching. But even though there were additional men involved in the teaching, Barnabas and Saul had to still be the ones to whom the church looked to for leadership.

Then, the Holy Spirit asked that Barnabas and Saul be sent out to preach the good news to others. That would have been a difficult thing for the church at Antioch to do. They loved Barnabas and Saul and I’m sure they were convinced that they needed them. They had been the vessels God had used to bring many of them to faith in Jesus Christ and the teachers responsible for their spiritual growth. Perhaps they argued with God about who they should send out to preach to others. There were five teachers in the church, wouldn’t two of the other teachers be acceptable to God and allow them to keep Barnabas and Saul?

What God asked from the church at Antioch was for them to give their very best to the work of spreading the gospel around the world -- to the work of missions. That’s how important the work of missions was to God. And it is still that important to Him today! It is God’s will and His plan to send people around the world to share the good news. And God doesn’t just want to send anyone -- He wants to send His very best.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- May 16, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison.” (Acts 12:1-4)

“Suddenly 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. Then 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. Peter followed him out of the prison.”  (Acts 12:7-9)

Acts 12 is a study in God’s sovereignty and, from a human perspective, His unfairness.

James was executed for his faith and God did not intervene to rescue him. James was an apostle, an important leader in the early church. He had been one of the three who were closest to Jesus during His ministry. He had years of life and service left that he could have given to the church. But, God chose to allow James to die. God didn’t kill James -- Herod, inspired by the devil, killed him -- but God had the power to rescue James and chose to do nothing.

Peter faced a similar fate. He was arrested, just like James had been. He was awaiting trial, being guarded by four soldiers to be sure that no one broke into the jail to release him. But no amount of guards can stand in the way of God. In the middle of the night, God released Peter from his jail. Peter’s chains fell off, the guards remained sleeping, and Peter was led by an angel out of the jail to freedom.

Why did God allow James to be killed and Peter to be rescued? We ask that same question as we look around at what happens in the lives of people. Why does one person die of cancer at 32 and another, no more righteous or useful to God, live to be 96? There is only one answer to those questions: God is sovereign.

We can’t understand His choices, but we recognize His right to make them, and trust His wisdom and love.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- May 15, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Peter stirred controversy in the church. He traveled to Caesarea, preached to the Gentile Cornelius, and welcomed him and his household into the church. The church had not decided that Gentiles could become a part of it. There had been no meeting to discuss it, no vote to be sure it was okay. Peter responded unilaterally and that caused him to be called before the leaders of the church at Jerusalem to give an answer.

Peter’s answer was that it was not his idea to preach to Cornelius. It was not something that Peter considered and decided it was time to do. From Peter’s perspective, it was clearly God’s idea.

Three times Peter received a vision and a voice from God telling him God was declaring all of His creation clean. (Acts 11:5-10) In a divinely orchestrated coincidence, the representatives of Cornelius arrived at the house Peter was staying at precisely when Peter was receiving the vision and listening to the voice. (Acts 11:11-14) The connection was clear, God was saying these unclean Gentiles were clean, so Peter went with them and preached to them.

And God confirmed that He was calling the Gentiles, too, into His church. During Peter’s sermon to Cornelius and his house, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He had upon those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 11:15-17)

Peter did not usher the Gentiles into the church --- God did. Here is Peter’s response to what God was doing:  “So 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 11:17)

Who was Peter to think that he could oppose God? Indeed, who would dare to oppose God? God does not have to ask our permission. God does not have to wait for our agreement!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- May 14, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

In Acts 10 there are two primary characters in the story: a seeker and a messenger.

Cornelius is the seeker. “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.” (Acts 10:1-2) Cornelius wanted to know God and was doing all he knew to do in order to know Him. Of course, a man doesn’t find God on his own. However, God did act to bring the seeker to Himself. In fact, God worked to be sure the seeker was prepared when the messenger came.

“One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, ‘Cornelius!’ Cornelius stared at him in fear. ‘What is it, Lord?’ he asked. The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.’” (Acts 10:3-6)

But God’s work in the life of the seeker is only part of the story! There was a messenger, too.

“About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’ The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.” (Acts 10:9-16)

God worked in the life of the messenger, too. God prepared the messenger to be ready to share the message with the seeker.

The rest of the story of Acts 10 is how God brought the seeker and the messenger together and the miraculous story of salvation that occurred when He did.

Most of the time we can only see one side of the equation. When we were the seekers, we could see how God worked in our lives to prepare us for His message, to bring us in contact with the messenger, and to draw us to Himself. What we didn’t see was God’s work in the messenger to get him ready, bring him to the place of contact, and work through him to bring the message.

Salvation is always a miracle of God, God working in both the seeker and the messenger!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- May 13, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Do you have trouble believing that people can be changed by God? So did the early church.

Saul spent many days in Damascus after God’s miraculous intervention in his life on the road into that city. He proved a powerful preacher and many people came to faith because of his defense of the gospel. He was so powerful as a preacher that the enemies of the gospel wanted to do away with him and plotted to kill him.

Saul escaped from Damascus and traveled to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the reaction of the Christians there demonstrated their skepticism about God’s ability to change someone like Saul.

“When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 9:26-29)

Barnabas was respected by the rest of the church in Jerusalem and he took a chance on Saul. Barnabas staked his reputation on Saul and brought him into the church.

The rest, of course, is history. The church embraced Saul because of Barnabas’s recommendation and Barnabas and Saul became a team who would preach the gospel over great portions of the Roman Empire. Thousands of lives would be changed because of God’s work through their ministry.  And it all started with Barnabas being willing to take a chance and believe that God could change even a man like Saul!

God still changes people’s lives. The church is still often skeptical. We need people like Barnabas who put their own reputation on the line to stand with those whose lives God is changing.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- May 12, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and 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. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’” (Acts 9:1-6)

Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10) That’s why He left heaven and dwelt on earth as a man. That’s why He went about preaching and doing miracles. That’s why He gave Himself to be crucified by those who hated Him. All that He did while on earth was to seek and save the lost. But that work did not stop when Jesus ascended back into heaven. Even from heaven, Jesus continues to seek and save the lost.

That’s what He did on the road to Damascus when He met Saul there. Saul was lost, although he didn’t know it. He thought he was doing what God wanted him to do. He thought he was following God. Yet, he was actually opposing God and God’s will. That’s how confused Saul was.

He’d been around Christians before. He’d even been there when the Jews stoned Stephen to death. He had seen first hand the sincerity and commitment of the Christians. But no man was going to convince him he was wrong! Saul was smart enough to out argue any man. He was courageous enough to keep doing what he was doing no matter how many people tried to convince him he was wrong. It would take a miracle to turn Saul around!

And that’s how much God loved Saul. God did what was necessary to turn Saul around -- He stopped him cold on the road to Damascus! It took that kind of radical action to get Saul’s attention.

Jesus still is seeking and saving the lost. Few stories are as amazing as Saul’s story, but every story of a person coming to Christ is a story of how God worked to draw them to Himself. He seeks and saves the lost – that’s how much He loves them – that’s how much He wants them to be His!

His, by Grace,

Steve