Thoughts From Acts 8 - Part 1

 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city Acts 8:1-8

      Jesus had told the disciples that they would be witnesses for Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the Earth. Little did they know that what would send them off was persecution. It was like in the shows I watch; "Honey, kids, pack up your bags; we have 5 minutes to get out of here." "Where are we going?" "I don't know, just far away." A lot of the places where they ended up, they had freedom to share the gospel, and it spread in those regions. Unfortunately, Saul was so zealous that he was not content with just wiping this "heresy" out in Jerusalem, he would travel great lengths to play "whack-a-mole" everywhere a church popped up. It was pack up and run time again when Saul came to town.

        The amazing thing is that everywhere they went, despite the hardships and persecution, they told everyone about Jesus. I wonder if that's our mentality. When is the last time you mentioned Jesus outside of your house not in a church related event? Are we being witnesses in our Jerusalem, Judea, or Samaria? Chances are we've grown cold while the brand-new believers were still on fire. Chances are we've quenched the Spirit while He burned in their hearts. I was blessed the other day by seeing a guy standing in an airplane preaching the gospel to a captive audience. You may have a problem with that, but that guy truly believed in the truth and urgency of the gospel.

      Maybe we think that people will hate us or think we're weird. Maybe. Probably. But in one city in Samaria the gospel came, and the city was filled with joy. Christianity doesn't bring problems, it solves them. In societies where Christianity is illegal there is oppression, lack of freedom, life is treated cheaply, degradation of women and the poor, totalitarianism, loss of human dignity, rights and worth. The gospel comes to bring life, freedom, peace and joy. Don't share it apologetically but boldly proclaim it so joy might come to your city.

Thoughts From Acts 7 - Part 2

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. 

         Stephen was a Christian. In the passages to come, that was a derogatory term invented by opponents to Christianity that meant little Christs or in effect little Jesus'. Stephen not only was full of faith, wise, full of the Holy Spirit, servant to the poor, used the scripture to defeat the devil, radiated God's glory, didn't defend himself, but at the end said the same things Jesus did on the cross - "into thy hands I commend my spirit" and "forgive them they know not what they do". No wonder Jesus left His seated position at the right hand of the Father to stand in eager anticipation of Stephen getting there. He was extremely proud of Stephen for glorifying Him by being just like Him. It's even possible that Jesus was so eager that He took Stephen's spirit a little early, so he didn't feel all the blows.

          Meanwhile, on Earth, what people saw was a tragedy. They saw a good man, possibly a husband and father, in the prime of life, have his life ended prematurely. If only he had just kept his faith private. If only he wouldn't have said that people were wrong, he would still be alive. But if you could see it through Heaven's eyes you would see Jesus standing up watching the whole thing and ready to say well done and give him a hug. You would see the Father being glorified because nothing gives Him more glory than wanting to be like His Son. You would see heavenly saints and beings giving a standing ovation as Stephen went from death to life without fear. And you would see Stephen receiving robes of white, eternal life in Heaven, and crowns and a mansion, and a seat of glory near Jesus.

            Don't you want an ending like that? Yes and no. We want the glorious rewards but we want a safe life here liked by everyone, comfortable, living to a ripe old age. Jesus calls us to lose our lives for Him. What does that mean to you? I think most of us would have to admit that we are holding on a little too tightly.

Thoughts From Acts 7 - Part 1

 “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings

    forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

“‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
    Or where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Acts 7:42-53 (I left out the first 41 verses if you want to read them on your own)

              How well do you know scripture? Stephen, to answer his accusers, ran through the whole Old Testament, even quoting Amos (can you even find Amos in your Bible?) making his defense and then going on the offense. He was accused of teaching people they didn't have to obey the Law, and he makes the point that we as Jews have never been able to obey the Law. Even at our prime when we had God living with us in a tent and the Ark of the Covenant going with us, we built a golden cow and worshipped it.

      Stephen was accused of blasphemy claiming that Jesus was God and to be worshipped. He answered them by taking them through their rejection of Moses who prophesied that another deliverer like him would come in the future, and their rejection of Joseph by all of Jacob's children, yet his rejection brought about their salvation. Then he pointed out that likewise, once again, they have rejected the leader in Jesus that God had sent them.

       Stephen was also accused of saying that the temple would be torn down and Stephen answered by telling them that God doesn't even dwell there nor did He even want David, the one He loved, to build it. They acted like it was the center of worship, but God is the center of worship, and they had chosen a building over Him and His Son.

         In the last blog I mentioned how much we could see Jesus in Stephen. This message reminds me of how Jesus addressed the Pharisees in Matthew 23;

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Matthew 23:29-39

     Jesus quoted 2Chronicles and Psalms here and when He was tempted by Satan, answered him with 3 verses from Deuteronomy. Stephen answered with the Bible and Jesus answered with the Bible and we have teachers telling us the Old Testament isn't that important anymore. We need to know our Bible so we can fight the devil. We need to teach our children and grandchildren the Bible. We tend to teach more how to live out Christianity than the building blocks. It's like building a house on the sand - it looks good, but when Satan's storms come, it has no foundation. It doesn't know why it believes what it believes.

     Stephen knew the word and it flowed from him. Do you?

Thoughts From Acts 6 - Part 2

 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.  Acts 6:8-15

           Not enough is taught about Stephen other than he was the first recorded Christian martyr and (P)Saul was present at his stoning. (spoiler alert). When you look at Stephen you see Jesus in so many ways. Just the last few verses and how he radiated the glory of Heaven and purity as the world hated on him. He performed miracles which I think came from the laying on of hands by the apostles. They transferred apostolic gifts to these seven men. Later we see Phillip and his family with miraculous abilities. They drummed up witnesses to make the same accusations that they made about Jesus - he commits blasphemy, he said he would destroy this temple, he speaks against the law. When he spoke, he spoke with authority and such wisdom that people's only response was not to refute but to curse and try to silence. And lastly the fact that he is about to be a martyr just like Jesus.

        Jesus said in Luke 6:33, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, that's what they did to the false prophets. We have this mistaken belief that when we are wise, humble, care for the poor, and radiate goodness, everyone will love us. No, the problem is that people - I like the irony of the name Freedmen - will be convicted of their lack of goodness and try to silence your freedom in Christ especially when you start talking. If you just are good and don't speak Christ, I think you won't be persecuted. It's the name of "Christ" that incites demonic oppression.

       I know Charlie Kirk was a polarizing figure but in his last days he was arguing a lot for belief in Christ and the devil riled up someone to stop him because people couldn't refute his wisdom. I fear for people like Cliff and Stuart Kenechtle on college campuses arguing the case for Christ with such conviction and wisdom that people can't rebut. Their videos are being seen by the millions and the devil will want to silence them. Pray for their safety. The devil hasn't come up with new schemes in his hatred against Christ. Be on the lookout and be ready. That is, if you aren't on the sideline eating popcorn.

Thoughts From Acts 6 - Part 1

  In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:1-7

                The one problem with the church is people. If there were no people, there would be no problems... and no church. So, since there is this "Catch-22", the church, made up of people will always have problems. It's like a doctor who says, "if it weren't for patients, I'd enjoy my job." I guess they become pathologists. The new church experienced the friction of Jewish believers and gentile believers bringing years of dislike into a body that's supposed to immediately forget all differences. The gentile believers felt like their widows were being unequally treated and this discord was slowing the advancement of the gospel and the church. Whether the gentiles were truly being snubbed, we don't know or was it a perceived slighting, we can't tell. Nevertheless, it was a big enough concern that the first deacons were formed. Luke doesn't call them this, but they functioned in a diaconal role.

          The criteria for picking deacons were that they would be men full of wisdom, the Holy Spirit, full of faith, and responsible, and then the apostles laid hands on them and commissioned them. These men oversaw a feeding program for widows that was so successful that this issue never came up again and became a living example of how Christ changes people who were once at odds into people eating the same food at the same table. I've often wondered why the "godly" qualifications for deacons when all they are doing here is organizing meals. Shouldn't the qualifications have been organizational skills and able to cook? Then I started thinking, with 7 deacons how many opinions of how to do things were there? Probably seven. How many wanted to take charge? Certainly, more than one. The cure to the widow problem without Godly men or women leading it, had the potential to become more divisive than the feeding problem.

         Once this issue was handled it freed the "preachers" to study the word and preach, right? Nope, forgetting one more thing - visitation. Nope. Prayer - yes. We forget how essential prayer is to successful Christian ministry and life in general. We forget because it's sitting down or kneeling and not "doing anything". I had a friend at a previous church who was a successful businessman who got things done and he once said to me, "All this church wants to do is pray about things. They can pray and I'll go get it done." In his defense, that can be a cop out for inactivity and lack of decisiveness and direction, but his statement says how we feel about prayer. A growing church with good leaders values prayer and the Word and delegation of church issues. Every church wants to hire a church growth business for $20,000 to come in and redirect. Save the money and follow this example of the early church.

      

Thoughts From 1Corinthians 10 - Part 4

 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

      Not all activities are spelled out in the Bible. For example, sports, movies, video games, smoking, abortion, vaccines, websites, democracy, Halloween - none of that is mentioned in the Bible so when it comes to participating in any of these, we have to use spiritual principles. Andy Stanley had a series about such things called "The Best Question Ever" where he encouraged people not to ask is it a sin but to ask is it the wise thing to do? Paul gives us even more insight on how to determine if it is the wise thing to do in this passage.

     First he says to ask if it's beneficial. For example, does the Bible say buying lottery tickets is a sin? No. Does buying scratch off cards benefit you? No.  Gambling is always designed mathematically to benefit the house not your house. It's a form of entertainment and God isn't opposed to entertainment, but He wants us to manage His money well and this is not wise management. The loss of His money He has given us to meet our needs benefits no one in our family.

      

      Second, Paul asks if it's constructive. For example, will binging a Romcom on Netflix or Prime build up your character or might it soften your views on premarital sex, homosexuality, external versus internal beauty and distort your views on love emphasizing eros over agape? Our goal as Christians should be to become more like Christ which is a building or constructive process. Things working against that should be avoided.

     Third, Paul asks does it affect onlookers negatively either in their growth or their conversion? In the past we might have been able to privatize our activities better, but now with video cameras in everyone's hands and social media a click away from broadcasting our activities to the world, we have to be careful who is watching. Having a Harry Potter birthday party or posting trick or treating videos might stumble someone coming out of witchcraft or the occult. Posting dinner photos drinking wine might stumble an alcoholic. Would posting videos of a Morgan Wallen concert or a Forrest Frank concert bring people closer to belief? Are we thinking about others or ourselves as we exercise our freedom?

 

    Lastly Paul asks does it glorify God? How can we know? One hint is can we do it and thank God for it. Imagine praying, "Thank you God for this joint I'm about to smoke." Can you really in good conscience do that? Maybe, but it seems weird to me. "Thank you, God, for giving someone the mental genius to invent Tik Tok which I'm about to spend 30 minutes on." Can we really say that? Thank you, God, that you supplied me with $200 so I can go hear Taylor Swift sing songs about non-Christian stuff". Ouch. My sister might fight me on that one. She would probably come back at me with "Thank you God that I can waste 2.5 hours a night watching baseball."

       The point is, how badly do you want to become more like Christ? How badly do you want to be His spotless bride when He returns. How badly do you want to bring others along with you? The answer should be "More Than Anything!"

Thoughts From 1Corinthians 10 - Part 3

  I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1Cor. 10:15-22

   There is a lot about eating meat offered to idols in the epistles but this passage seems to be different. This passage is talking about participating in the sacrifices. I don't understand the cultural pressure they were under to do this, but it seems to me that the new believers for some reason were going to church, worshipping Christ, yet still going to the temples and offering sacrifices to idols. They figured, since an idol isn't real and is just a piece of wood or metal, what's the harm in throwing down a slab of meat in front of it? What Paul is saying is that even though that idol isn't real, it represents and in fact is a place of demonic presence that is in opposition to the truth so you can't play both sides.

    I once went to a Hindu birthday party/coming of age celebration. I delivered the child and many more relatives and because of that I had become important to the family so they invited me. They sat around and burned incense and had their Holy man there and I had an eerie feeling that there were spiritual forces there that weren't on my side. It's tough, I honored them by going and kept bridges open to share the gospel in the future, yet I felt like I was in the presence of evil. I have friends whose relative is practicing a homosexual lifestyle and the friends were invited to the same sex wedding. Should they go and express their love for this relative and not burn bridges or should they say that this is participating with evil? They chose not to go.

     Should teens and college students go to drunken revelries and orgies that they are invited to and bring a Godly presence or should they run away? These are all questions and situations that we deal with today. They are not the exact same thing that Paul was dealing with though. I think the best application for us is to say, "Pick a side." If you are a Christ follower, the old has gone and the new has come. You can't hang out with sin and with holiness. What fellowship do angels and demons have or God and Satan? Now we need to flee from all appearance of evil.

     Quit sitting on the fence. Pick a side!