Tuesday Thought -- June 10, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long -- I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.’” (Acts 26:28-29)

Paul had preached to the Jewish Council, Governor Felix, Governor Festus, and now King Agrippa. To each of them he had made the same appeal, giving them an opportunity to hear the Gospel and respond to it. In one sermon, Paul hoped to see Agrippa converted. And Agrippa was aware of what Paul was trying to do. Agrippa was not ready to make such an important decision -- at least that’s the excuse that he used -- it was too short a time to make such a radical change in his life.

So, here’s a question: How long does it take to become a Christian?

Time isn’t the important thing, and Paul knew that. He appealed to Agrippa to become a Christian now, in a short time, or later, taking longer to examine what Paul had preached. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to take a long time to become a Christian.

Paul himself was converted in a very short time. Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and Paul’s conversion started right then and there.

The Ethiopian heard Phillip teach him about Jesus for just a short time, in a chariot ride, and then was ready to respond to the Gospel.

And there are many other stories that can be told of people who heard the Gospel and were immediately convicted by it and were ready to respond. In fact, the reason many don’t respond the first time they hear is not because they are unsure of its truth, but because they are not ready to submit their will to the Lord. For most, it doesn’t take more study to become a Christian, just a brokenness of will.

Agrippa wasn’t ready for that and he delayed his decision, perhaps delayed it never to again consider it. It’s easy to leave the Gospel aside and get back into the activity of life, never to bring it back to make a decision again. And that indecision may have cost Agrippa eternity!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- June 9, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear this man myself.’ He replied, ‘Tomorrow you will hear him.’ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.” (Acts 25:22-23)

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem on charges brought by the leaders of the Jews. As a result of those charges, Paul stood before the Jewish Council, the most powerful men in Israel and made his defense, which included the presentation of the Gospel.

Then, Paul was taken to Caesarea where his case was put before the governor, Felix, and Paul made his defense there, too. Again, Paul’s defense included the presentation of the Gospel and Paul had several opportunities to speak with Felix about Christ.

Felix was replaced as governor by Festus and he also brought Paul before him to face his accusers. Again, before a new governor, Paul was able to share about Christ. And when King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, visited Caesarea to welcome Festus to office, Paul was given the chance to speak before them and shared the Gospel. In fact, when Agrippa and Bernice heard Paul speak it was not just them, but also with the “high ranking officers and the leading men of the city.”

When Festus tried him, Paul appealed to the Roman Emperor. In the chapters to come we’ll find Paul being transferred to Rome and there he’ll have the opportunity to speak with many Roman officers, including the palace guard about Christ. And, eventually, even Caesar will hear Paul’s defense and be exposed to the Gospel.

The Jews meant Paul’s arrest for his harm, to hinder the growth of the Gospel. Instead, God used it for good, to provide opportunity for governors, kings, powerful men, and even Caesar to hear the message of Jesus.

That is the way God works! Man tries to hinder Him, and God turns their feeble attempts into something that He can use for His kingdom. You can trust God to do that!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- June 6, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.” (Acts 24:24-26)

Felix was the governor of the region of Israel. He was a successful politician and a powerful man. When Paul was brought before him by the Jews, he listened to the charges against him but did not condemn him. Instead, he kept Paul in prison, just to keep the Jews happy, but gave him freedom and comfort while he was there. In Paul’s defense before him an interest was sparked in Felix and he wanted to hear more. But though there was an interest in Felix, he never came to Christ, at least not to our knowledge.

He was being drawn to Christ, you can see that from his interest in hearing more and from his response to Paul’s message. When Paul preached, Felix was afraid. Paul talked about judgment and Felix recognized he was not ready to be judged by God. Paul talked about righteousness and self-control and Felix was honest enough to recognize that he did not have these traits. Judgment was a frightening prospect for the governor, but not frightening enough for him to respond to Paul’s message of faith in Christ.

Fear drew him to God, but convenience kept him away. If a man waits until a convenient time to come to Christ, he’ll be waiting all his life. It’s never convenient to come to Christ. There are always issues to deal with. There are always other things that distract us. The life-change that Christ brings isn’t convenient. So, Felix said no to Christ. It was a choice that God allowed him to make -- and the worst decision he ever made in his whole life!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- June 5, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, ‘My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.’ At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!’ Those who were standing near Paul said, ‘You dare to insult God’s high priest?’ Paul replied, ‘Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.”’” (Acts 23:1-5)

Sometimes those in authority don’t deserve our respect. The high priest didn’t in Paul’s time. This was about 30 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt that the high priest involved in His death was still alive. Most likely it was another high priest, but he was cut from the same cloth as the one who presided over the trial of Jesus. Here was the man more responsible than anyone else for teaching the law of God to his people, yet he himself did not act in accordance with the law.

I can think of other more contemporary situations in which a leader did not live up to what he was sworn to uphold. In fact, you could easily say that about several recent U.S. Presidents. Sworn to uphold the law, but they ignored it in their own lives!

Yet, when Paul understood that the man who ordered him to be slapped was the high priest, he immediately repented for treating him with disrespect. The high priest’s failure to fulfill his responsibilities did not give Paul the right to disregard his own responsibilities toward him.

Paul told the Romans, “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Romans 13:7)

Peter agreed with Paul and wrote, “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17)

Respect those in authority, even when their attitudes and actions don’t deserve it.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- June 4, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Then Ananias said to Paul: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for?  Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’” (Acts 22:14-16)

After being blinded by the light on the road to the city, Paul finished the trip to Damascus. God was faithful and sent Ananias to speak to Paul and share more fully about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul was convinced! The experience on the road was enough to convince him that Jesus was indeed Lord. There was no doubting it, no denying it.

When Ananias had completed sharing with Paul what he needed to share he put a powerful question to him: “And now what are you waiting for?” Paul didn’t need any more information. Paul didn’t need to be taught anything more. There were still questions in Paul, I’m sure, but they didn’t need to be answered. Paul had been given everything he needed to respond to God. Now the question was --- would he follow through, or take no action.

I’ve seen many people come to this same point in their own relationship with God and take no action. There’s always a reason --- or an excuse --- some additional information they want, some question they want answered. But the truth is, they just don’t want to take the next step, they don’t want to respond to what they already know to be true.

In fact, even after coming to Christ we come to points similar to this one. God has made His will clear to us. Not every question is answered, not every doubt calmed, but the next step is clear to us. Then the question comes: so, what are you waiting for? It’s time to decide. It’s time to take the step. No more debating. No more questioning. It’s time for action.

The question is: when God has made His direction clear, will you respond with action? What are you waiting for?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- June 3, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

While in Tyre, Paul met with the Christians he found there. “Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:4)

From Tyre, he moved on to Caesarea and had a similar experience there. “After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, “In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.”' When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.’” (Acts 21:10-12)

By this time, most of us would have been convinced that God didn’t want us to go on to Jerusalem. A prophet had spoken and two groups of Christians had urged Paul not to go. Both messages came through the agency of the Holy Spirit -- God was talking to these Christians and they were passing the message on to Paul.

However, somewhere the message got garbled! I’d say it wasn’t the message the Holy Spirit gave to the people that was wrong, but how they interpreted His message.

“Then Paul answered, ‘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.’ When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’” (Acts 21:13-14)

What Agabus and the Christians of Tyre and Caesarea heard from God was that Paul would suffer in Jerusalem, that it was dangerous for him to go there. That was a true message, as the next few chapters of Acts will reveal. What those Christians didn’t understand was that God still wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem. Paul understood that, the others didn’t. And, as it turned out, God accomplished amazing things to spread the Gospel through Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem and his transfer to Caesarea and then Rome.

It wasn’t that the Christians in Tyre and Caesarea had not heard God, it was that they filtered His message through their own feelings and misread His will. Just an encouragement to us to be sure we not only hear God’s message correctly, but understand how He wants us to respond to it.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- June 2, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

There are many teachings of Jesus what are not recorded for us in the Gospels. In fact, John said at the end of his Gospel, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)

In Acts 20, Paul quotes one of the teachings of Jesus that is not found in the Gospels, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

That’s hard for a child to understand. A child loves to receive. They wait impatiently for Christmas and for their birthdays because they knew they will receive presents on those occasions. They love to receive.

But as you age, you come to understand what Jesus meant. The joy of receiving diminishes and the joy of giving increases. You begin to anticipate Christmas, not for what you will receive, but to see the look on the faces of those you love as they open the gift you’ve selected for them. A look of pleasure and surprise on their faces is worth far more than any gift you could receive.

The change from the joy of receiving to the joy of giving is a part of growing up. It’s a part of coming to understand what is important in life: it’s not the things you accumulate, but the people around you that make life enjoyable and satisfying.

His, by Grace,

Steve