Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Perhaps it is better to share some more scriptures than to speak on a topic of which I have no meaningful experience.
John 15:20-21 [Jesus said,] Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. NIV
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. NIV
2 Thessalonians 1:4-7 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. NIV
1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. NIV
Hebrews 11:35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. NIV
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. NIV
1 Peter 1:5-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. NIV
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Message of Life (Acts 5:20)
Acts 5:20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
The apostles were in jail and an angel of the Lord busted them out and gave them this directive. The officials had told them to stop teaching in His name (v. 28), but the angel told them to do it anyway. You could break down the angel’s message like this:
1) Go
2) Go to a certain place
3) Tell the people
Ring any bells?
Matthew 28:19 [Jesus said,] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. NIV
1) Go
2) Go to the nations
3) Make disciples
Their response to God’s direction in their life was:
1) They went
2) They went where they were told to go
3) They taught the people
Sometimes our response seems less straightforward.
I also thought that the message that they were given was interesting: “tell the people all about this new life.”
This is what we are bringing people, is it not? Life! It’s not just a better life, but it is life the opposite of death. We are bringing the message of life!
The apostles were in jail and an angel of the Lord busted them out and gave them this directive. The officials had told them to stop teaching in His name (v. 28), but the angel told them to do it anyway. You could break down the angel’s message like this:
1) Go
2) Go to a certain place
3) Tell the people
Ring any bells?
Matthew 28:19 [Jesus said,] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. NIV
1) Go
2) Go to the nations
3) Make disciples
Their response to God’s direction in their life was:
1) They went
2) They went where they were told to go
3) They taught the people
Sometimes our response seems less straightforward.
I also thought that the message that they were given was interesting: “tell the people all about this new life.”
This is what we are bringing people, is it not? Life! It’s not just a better life, but it is life the opposite of death. We are bringing the message of life!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Testifying to the Resurrection (Acts 4:33)
Acts 4:33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
The resurrection was the quintessential proof that Jesus (and His message) was from God.
John 2:18-21 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. NIV
(Also: Matthew 26:61; 27:40; 27:63, Mark 14:58; 15:29)
Matthew 12:39-40 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” NIV (Also: Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:16,29-32)
Mark 8:31-32 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this… NIV
Mark 9:31 …He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” NIV
Although we may think of the message of forgiveness as the most important thing to communicate to others, it is only as important as it is true. The resurrection is what gives proof that the message of forgiveness is true. They testified, or gave witness, to what they had seen and experienced, and they did this with great power.
We must also be convinced of the truth of what we share. It is not enough that we like the message, find it comforting, or hope it is true. We must know its truth, and we should be able to communicate why we know it to be true.
The resurrection was the quintessential proof that Jesus (and His message) was from God.
John 2:18-21 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. NIV
(Also: Matthew 26:61; 27:40; 27:63, Mark 14:58; 15:29)
Matthew 12:39-40 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” NIV (Also: Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:16,29-32)
Mark 8:31-32 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this… NIV
Mark 9:31 …He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” NIV
Although we may think of the message of forgiveness as the most important thing to communicate to others, it is only as important as it is true. The resurrection is what gives proof that the message of forgiveness is true. They testified, or gave witness, to what they had seen and experienced, and they did this with great power.
We must also be convinced of the truth of what we share. It is not enough that we like the message, find it comforting, or hope it is true. We must know its truth, and we should be able to communicate why we know it to be true.
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Spirit of Unity (Acts 4:32)
Acts 4:32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
Imagine a home with four children. One was a girl from the wife’s first marriage, and another was a boy from the husband’s first marriage. One boy was from the couple’s marriage, and another girl was adopted from another country.
Now come Christmas time, the mother’s mother piled all kinds of gifts on the little girl from the first marriage. She had twice as much as anyone else. The adopted girl was given a lot of hand-me-down clothes and toys from friends at the adoption group. The boy from the couple’s marriage tended to get a lot of stuff because he was the baby of the family. The dad’s first son was rough and tumble and tended to break a lot of his things. So the kids got a lot of stuff, but it was unequally, or perhaps unfairly, distributed.
However, in this family all the kids shared. They played together all the time, and no one complained about who had more or less. The one boy tended to break lots of toys, but no one complained. The girl with twice as many toys shared with the others because she knew how she would want to be treated if they switched places. The adopted girl shared her used things with the other kids and they shared their new things with her.
Okay, now, back to the real world. It doesn’t work like that does it? We are possessive. We are consumed with fairness. We feel like people should be in dire straits before we should give them anything, and we judge who we feel is worthy of help and who isn’t. We think that we are being generous when our giving isn’t even enough to impact our lifestyle. We think sharing is letting someone use something of ours as long as they return it quickly and in the same condition. We spend more on eating out than we give to the work of God or the needy. And we hardly think twice about any of it.
Here’s a good verse on this, with a couple of minor modernizations added.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who [live in the United States and have a standard of living well above 90% of all the people who have ever lived] not to be arrogant nor to [put a bunch of hope into how nice their cars and houses are, how full their savings accounts are, and just how comfortable they will be in their old age], which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. NIV
If we lived out 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Acts 4:32 would not seem so shockingly strange to us. We don’t act like siblings united in one family under the headship of our Father. We act more like competitors on the Successful Life Reality Show. How sad that must make our Father.
Imagine a home with four children. One was a girl from the wife’s first marriage, and another was a boy from the husband’s first marriage. One boy was from the couple’s marriage, and another girl was adopted from another country.
Now come Christmas time, the mother’s mother piled all kinds of gifts on the little girl from the first marriage. She had twice as much as anyone else. The adopted girl was given a lot of hand-me-down clothes and toys from friends at the adoption group. The boy from the couple’s marriage tended to get a lot of stuff because he was the baby of the family. The dad’s first son was rough and tumble and tended to break a lot of his things. So the kids got a lot of stuff, but it was unequally, or perhaps unfairly, distributed.
However, in this family all the kids shared. They played together all the time, and no one complained about who had more or less. The one boy tended to break lots of toys, but no one complained. The girl with twice as many toys shared with the others because she knew how she would want to be treated if they switched places. The adopted girl shared her used things with the other kids and they shared their new things with her.
Okay, now, back to the real world. It doesn’t work like that does it? We are possessive. We are consumed with fairness. We feel like people should be in dire straits before we should give them anything, and we judge who we feel is worthy of help and who isn’t. We think that we are being generous when our giving isn’t even enough to impact our lifestyle. We think sharing is letting someone use something of ours as long as they return it quickly and in the same condition. We spend more on eating out than we give to the work of God or the needy. And we hardly think twice about any of it.
Here’s a good verse on this, with a couple of minor modernizations added.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who [live in the United States and have a standard of living well above 90% of all the people who have ever lived] not to be arrogant nor to [put a bunch of hope into how nice their cars and houses are, how full their savings accounts are, and just how comfortable they will be in their old age], which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. NIV
If we lived out 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Acts 4:32 would not seem so shockingly strange to us. We don’t act like siblings united in one family under the headship of our Father. We act more like competitors on the Successful Life Reality Show. How sad that must make our Father.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Believers’ Prayer (Acts 4:30)
Acts 4:30 “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
God did amazing things through the early church. Some people were healed when Peter’s shadow fell on them (Acts 5:15), paralytics and cripples were cured (Acts 8:7), Ananias and Sapphria were struck dead (Acts 5:10), and Tabitha and Eutychus were raised from the dead (Acts 9:40; 20:10)! It doesn’t get much more exciting than that.
In Acts 4:30 the believers prayed for these things. They prayed that God would set aside the laws of nature and do the supernatural in their midst. And God answered them.
“God, bless this food, help me have a good day, be with us, and yada yada yada…” Many of our prayers are this way. If we want to see God do big things, we need to be praying big things.
God did amazing things through the early church. Some people were healed when Peter’s shadow fell on them (Acts 5:15), paralytics and cripples were cured (Acts 8:7), Ananias and Sapphria were struck dead (Acts 5:10), and Tabitha and Eutychus were raised from the dead (Acts 9:40; 20:10)! It doesn’t get much more exciting than that.
In Acts 4:30 the believers prayed for these things. They prayed that God would set aside the laws of nature and do the supernatural in their midst. And God answered them.
“God, bless this food, help me have a good day, be with us, and yada yada yada…” Many of our prayers are this way. If we want to see God do big things, we need to be praying big things.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Being with Jesus (Acts 4:13)
Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Unschooled and ordinary. A couple of fishermen. These are the type of people God often choses to be His go-to guys. You should never feel like you don’t have the stuff necessary to be used by God.
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. NIV
What was it that stood out about Peter and John? They had been with Jesus. Like teacher like student; like father like son; like Jesus like disciple.
I want to be a man whose life is marked by being with Jesus!
Unschooled and ordinary. A couple of fishermen. These are the type of people God often choses to be His go-to guys. You should never feel like you don’t have the stuff necessary to be used by God.
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. NIV
What was it that stood out about Peter and John? They had been with Jesus. Like teacher like student; like father like son; like Jesus like disciple.
I want to be a man whose life is marked by being with Jesus!
Monday, August 15, 2011
One Way (Acts 4:12)
Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” NIV
Along with John 14:6, Acts 4:12 should be memorized by every believer, since it makes it crystal clear that Jesus is the only ticket to heaven.
When I was a kid growing up in the Bible belt I remember being exposed to some eastern thinking in grade school. The ideas of many roads leading to heaven and reincarnation were as intuitively off as the idea that you could carve your own idol and then bow down and worship it. Yet in the last 40 years many things have changed. Through news and entertainment alike, media has exposed us to a whole new world which is largely made up and controlled by the nonreligious and certainly non-Christian. This new world has some positive elements, but it also has an incredible ability to sell and persuade. Now, 40 years later, it is common for people to hold to the ideas of many roads leading to heaven. Even many Christians believe, and quite strongly so, that Jesus cannot possibly be the only way.
But Jesus makes it quite clear. He is the only way. There is no other.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” NIV
Along with John 14:6, Acts 4:12 should be memorized by every believer, since it makes it crystal clear that Jesus is the only ticket to heaven.
When I was a kid growing up in the Bible belt I remember being exposed to some eastern thinking in grade school. The ideas of many roads leading to heaven and reincarnation were as intuitively off as the idea that you could carve your own idol and then bow down and worship it. Yet in the last 40 years many things have changed. Through news and entertainment alike, media has exposed us to a whole new world which is largely made up and controlled by the nonreligious and certainly non-Christian. This new world has some positive elements, but it also has an incredible ability to sell and persuade. Now, 40 years later, it is common for people to hold to the ideas of many roads leading to heaven. Even many Christians believe, and quite strongly so, that Jesus cannot possibly be the only way.
But Jesus makes it quite clear. He is the only way. There is no other.
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