Month: October 2012

RE Verse reading–Acts 8:26-40 (day four) “On his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch. . .(who was) sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah” (vs 27-28)   Does anyone think this is a coincidence?  I don’t.  Miracles, for me, are not necessarily suspensions of natural law.  They are interventions of God in the affairs of men with outcomes that would have been otherwise impossible.  Acts 8, by this definition, was a miracle.  It happened with perfect timing.  One hour later, Philip would have missed the entourage and the opportunity.  The eunuch was reading the perfect passage of scripture (Isaiah–the lamb of God).  His heart had been perfectly prepared.  Philip had been perfectly equipped to trust the Spirit without question or hesitation.  People call these moments “divine appointments”.  I call them miracles.  Those who walk with the Spirit will encounter moments which carry the evidence of God’s involvement and pre planning.  What could be better?  God offers us life–the opportunity to be part of a miracle.

RE Verse reading–Acts 8:26-40 (day three)  “How can I (understand this passage) unless someone explains it to me?”  (vs 31)  An angel spoke to Philip but Philip spoke to the eunuch.  Wouldn’t it have been easier for the angel to go straight to the eunuch?  Cut out the middle man?  Maybe, but it is not how God works.  Part of the Father’s love for us (His grace to us) is to include us in His meaningful work–the reconciliation of people to God.  Our part is to tell the story of Christ.  Our part is to be available to the Spirit.  Our part is to ask questions.  Our part is to interpret scripture,  to help the new believer take the first step (baptism) and, sometimes, to go on to the next assignment.  There is a great plan at work in the world.  The beautiful and powerful drama of redemption!  What we need to remember is that we have a part to play!

RE Verse reading–Acts 8:26-40  (day two)  “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road. . .that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’  So he started out. . .”  (vs 26-27)  I love this story.  I do not love the reality it reflects.  The Spirit of God has the right to interrupt my day(s) . . .to substitute His plan, schedule, priority for my own.  He expects me (like Philip) to accept this leadership with a glad and willing heart.  This is not Philip’s first rodeo.  Acts 8 has already presented our exemplary brother with an “opportunity to be flexible.”   When persecution flooded into Jerusalem sending all but the apostles fleeing for safety, did Philip lose his job?  Probably.  Did he have to stop being a deacon?  At least in the way he previously understoood the task.  His reaction?  Walk with the Spirit! See opportunities!  Speak of Jesus!  Being faithful and being flexible are often the same thing.  For Philip.  For us.

RE Verse reading–Acts 8:26-40 (day one)  “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza’ ” (vs 26)  It is a deacon story.  The second in a series.  In Acts 7 we met Stephen who outperformed any expectations that being a deacon would be a contained, safe, low-impact sort of assignment.  Acts 8 introduces us to another “curve breaker” named Philip.  How can a man be a deacon if he is constantly traveling around preaching sermons and leading people to faith?  Who was feeding the widows?  I don’t know.  I do know an angel called Philip to this task and he obeyed.  No questions asked.  A high bar for us all.  The work of missions and evangelism can never belong to a special class of Christian.   Ministers AND deacons AND members . . .All who follow Christ must accept His assignment as He expands the church outward.  He leads.  We follow. Like Philip.

RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day seven)  “The Most High does not live in houses made by human hands”  (7:48)  One of the “hot button” issues of the ancient world was the Christian view of the Temple.  Following the example of Christ (in thought and deed) the early believers shifted their loyalty from place to person.  When Jesus said, “destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up” he was referring to His body.  Paul later conferred this distinction to every believer.  “Your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit”  (1 Corinthians 6:19)  Inflammatory idea!  The Jewish leaders regarded the Temple as a holy place.  It was a traditon and also a significant source of their funding.  Part of their negative reaction to Stephen can be traced this this prejudice.  Just one more example of how redeemed minds begin to to think new thoughts, and how unpopular it can be with people who want to hang on to the old thoughts.

RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day six)  “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham. . .a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt”  (7:17-18)  One of Stephen’s sermon insights is a good reminder for us.  God’s plan requires patience.  His plan is perfect but also progressive (one step and then another with a timing of His own determination).  Abraham follows.  His father dies.  Then he takes the next step.  His ancestors finally get settled in the land of promise.  Then a famine comes and a 400 year interruption.  Over and over the story encounters delay and direction change–only to reveal that God has been guiding all along.  One thing is certain.  None of us is in charge of God’s calendar.  None of us see the “big picture”.  Our only choice is to follow the Spirit as He presents the assignment/opportunity prepared for us.  Patience will be required.  Those who wait on the Lord. . .

RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day five)  “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?”  (7:52)  One of Stephens’ insights (as reflected in his sermonic summary of Israeli history) is the presence of persecution at every step of the journey.  Often, the Jews were the persecutors rather than the persecuted!  Maybe  Stephen was just preparing his own heart for what was ahead, but his historic point is hard to deny.  The patriachs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into slavery (vs 9).  A famine came (vs 11).  Pharoah took shrewed advantage of the people (vs 19).  The nation was unwilling to obey Moses (vs 39).  Helpful insight!  None of us who surrender to follow Christ should be surprised when we encouter turbulence along the way.  Either the message or the messenger (both?) will be roughly treated.  “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers and rulers of this world’s darkness”  (Ephesians 6:12)  Problems and persecutions will come.  They always have.

RE Verse reading–Acts6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day four)  “Brothers and fathers, listen to me!  The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia. . .”  His first assignment was food service–managing a Senior Adult lunch program.  His second assignment was to preach a sermon–speak truth to a hostile audience.  Faithful people never get to retire, we just move to God’s next assignment.  His sermon was excellent! ( My opinion–not the Sanhedrin’s)  Courageous.  Insightful.  Eastern in thought, so sometimes hard for us westerners to follow.  Please notice Stephen’s emphasis on God’s call to individuals.  Rather than focus on the nation, his retelling of Jewish history points to the importance of individual response to God.  Abraham. . .Joseph. . .Moses. . .David.  It is a reminder we all need.  What happens in a nation (or a church or a family) can usually be traced back to a receptive, obedient individual.  Great sermon, Stephen!  One person with God can make a huge difference!

RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day three)  “Yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”  (7:57)  He is the first martyr.  He will not be the last.  Stephen’s death at the hands of an angry mob reminds us of the terrible and deep opposition toward Christ that squats in the heart of people on this planet.  It is not us they resent.  It is Him.  Luke 19:14 gives words to their fury.  “We do not want this man to rule over us!”  Check Stephen’s sermon for evidence that he understood this defiant opposition.  Even people who say they love God still often resist His will.  We make excuses.  We refuse to follow.  Mark Twain said, “There is nothing as irritating as a good example”  Presented with the implied rebuke of a godly life, the world predicatably reacts.  It was true for Jesus.  It will be true for us.

RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day two)  “Then the hight priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these charges true?’ ”  It would have been easy to side step the charges.  They were, afterall, false (cf vs 13)  Stephen could have simply denied the accusations and preserved his life, but he didn’t because his goal was the salvation of his accusers rather than his own safety.  His attitude reminds me of a man who probably traced his own awakening back to this event.  In Romans 10, Paul writes, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation”.  With similar passion, he writes in 1 Corinthians, “I have become all things to all men so that I may by all means win some”  Like Stephen and Paul, life becomes a very different thing when the goal is salvation for others rather than safety for us.  In this grand enterprise, we seize opportunites, we accept the risks.  We are playing to win!