So Far So Good

"To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." Jude 1:24-25

It’s June already. Can you believe it? By the way, how’s your new year’s resolution going? Or are you like me, and messed up the resolution on January 2nd? All joking aside, six months have gone by and how have they been for you truly?

A Rock and a Hard Place

"After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him. "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." Acts 9:23, 26

Saul (Paul) really did not have it very easy, as evidenced by these two verses separated by just two verses and a couple of days. He was hated and feared, but, not by the same group of people. The Jews hated him, but really didn't fear him; they more felt threatened by him since he had become a follower of The Way. The believers, specifically the disciples; didn't so much hate him as they feared him, because they didn't trust him, because they weren't convinced he was really a follower of The Way. What an awkward position to be in. He was being treated like a traitor and phony at the same time. He must have spent a lot of time in prayer from the overwhelming sense of being misunderstood. Actually, the Jews had it right in their minds according to their own misguided understanding. Here a persecutor of the believers becomes a defender of the believers. It took Paul awhile to convince the believers that he was for real.

A Church Blessing

"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit; it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord." Acts 9:31"

This obscure verse has been nestled in my Bible between the reports about Paul's earliest teaching and escape back to Tarsus, and the account of Aeneas and Dorcas, two totally different early believers that God touched the lives of through Peter. I have never slowed down and taken in the depth of this little blessing in verse 31 that is packed full of meaning. I don't think at all, that this verse means that when Paul is taken to Tarsus that peace, strength and encouragement comes to the church throughout the region. I do think that this is a verse that connects two separate accounts in the Bible by describing what happened at that time, because of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Just Don’t!

"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Acts 10:15

Voice from heaven talking to Peter again. There is a Word of God, mandate, end of discussion principle in these words that is so applicable to today. In general, when God gives explicit instructions, they are to be followed explicitly. Let me give you a little context to consider why Peter takes this so seriously. Basically the story goes like this. The vision Peter sees is of a giant sheet being lowered by the four corners and it is full of all types of animals. He is told in the vision to 'kill and eat'. He responds by saying that there are some animals in there that for him as a Jew, he can't eat.

Encouragers

"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 boldly in the name of Jesus." Acts 9:27

There are not enough encouragers in this world. Barnabas had a reputation of being encouraging to everyone. His words, his tone, his demeanor, his wisdom and kindness and eventually, his very name became synonymous with encouragement. The lack of encouragers becomes painfully more obvious in seasons of discouragement. We currently live in a time of great discouragement, fear, suspicion, disillusionment, negativity, and meanness. Some of that comes from the general moral decline of our culture; some of it comes from the lack of fulfillment due to the religion of materialism. People are often depressed, blue, under the weather, sad, and forlorn. Mostly because of a lack of meaning and purpose. Nothing seems to meet the false sense of need, and the ache of futility in our hearts.

Worrying - What a Big Waste of Time

It's that time again for my contribution for the Friday devotional and I love to share messages that resonate with me. As is generally the case, I am not a loss for what to share because I am constantly inspired by my nightly readings from any one of my devotional books, most of which have been given to me as presents. Tuesday night's subject from Sarah Young's "Dear Jesus" just happened to be on "worrying", and since that "used to be" a real issue for me at a time in my life when some would say I had "control" issues, I felt that maybe someone else out there reading this might have or had been affected by the "worry bug" . Well, I am here to tell you that one of the wonderful things about growing "older" (the term I prefer to use instead of "old") for me is that I simply don't worry about almost anything anymore, and I really can't explain it other than to say that this seems to be more about me having "let go of things" and trusting that they are going to work out according to God's plan, not mine anyway.

Prayers That Work

"The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God." Acts 10:4

I only share this one verse to make you curious about who is talking to who here and what about.The angel is talking to Cornelius, a centurion from Caesarea. If you want to read the biblical account you can find it in Acts 10:1-8. Cornelius had been praying for answers to his questions. The passage says people as he travels about serving the Lord. Cornelius was hungry for the truth. He desired more than anything to know the deeper meaning of the Way and was earnest, sincere and diligent. God hears Cornelius praying (He hears all of us praying) and answered him through an angel.

Humbly His

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.]" 2 Peter 1:16-18

There is a line of thinking – simple logic – that asks why would so many strong men, men’s men, probably mostly brawlers, would willingly give up everything – even their lives – for a stranger named Jesus. Peter himself even spurned his executioners as they prepared to crucify him, saying that he should be crucified upside down since he was not worthy of the same death as Christ.

Up on the Roof

"About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray." Acts 10:9

This is another devotional thought about a passage of Scripture that illustrates an important principle in the daily walk of faith. The Bible does not make it clear where Peter was exactly, but wherever he was he had access to somebody's roof and decided to use it to get away to pray. I cannot express how important this is for our spiritual growth. Back in the 60's there was a song, written by Carole King and sung by The Drifters, called “Up on the Roof”, hence the title of this writing. The words go something like this.....

I am Just a Man

"As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up." he said, "I am only a man myself." Acts 10:25-26

How can you not love Peter? Not only is he passionate and disciplined, he is also sincere and humble. Here he is in the house of a Gentile, just recently having the epiphany of the concept of human equality in a vision from God, and he has the depth of character to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Just think what else he could have said. "Yes my son, you can kiss my ring? No, not even close to anything like that. I guess he could have put his hands on the shoulders of Cornelius and given him a wordy blessing. Instead, he very graciously and humbly has Cornelius stand up, and eye to eye says to him, "I am only a man myself." Wow! This changes everything. You see, Peter has learned humility. Peter wanted most of all to know and do what God's desire was for him. He sure is a different man than the angry zealot who cut off the ear of Malchus. He is definitely a transformed man from the denier who heard the rooster crow. He is even a more mature man than the fisherman who jumped out of the boat and into the water and swam ahead of the others to get to Jesus on the shore. He is not only the "everyman", as he has been called; he is the man that every man can learn from. Why? Because Peter is a man who understands that he is only a man. Like Cornelius, like you, like me. We cannot be reminded too many times of our humanity. For from that understanding blooms true spirituality. God bless you for reading and considering this today.