Danny Panter

Extravagance

Re:Verse reading–Acts 4:5-31 (day five)

“…whom you crucified,” Acts 4:10

Peter does not mince words with his interrogators, or the two previous times he said the exact same thing. At first glance, this words would not appear to be the best of strategies. Peter’s aim is far more than to cast accurate blame, but rather to put on full display the extravagant love of Jesus. He contrasts their utter rejection of Jesus (which led to his death) against Jesus offer of forgiveness made possible through his death and resurrection. He wants them to feel the weight of this great extravagant work of love. He wants them to know that while they were Jesus’ enemies, he died for them and rose from the grave so they could know forgiveness and restoration. He wanted them to know just how good this news was.

The gospel is good news. Do we feel the weight of that? Do you?

Interruption

Re: Verse reading–Acts 3:1-20 (day six)

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Acts 3:1

I imagine going to the Temple to pray was a matter of meaningful routine. They found themselves there often, along with many new believers. They continued in their Jewish temple traditions in a renewed and refreshing way, in the power of the Spirit. They did not go to the temple to be accosted by a man lame from birth, and yet they were.

“Look at us.” Peter said. Amazing. He did not look the other way to avoid an awkward moment or inconvenience, or hope that the lame man would move on to someone else. No, he said, “Look at us.” Peter and John entered into interruption, and a man was healed, and no less significant, others heard the good news of Jesus.

They went to the temple for meaningful prayer and ended up with a meaningful interruption. Your interruptions can be just as meaningful. Don’t miss them.

Out Not Up

Re: Verse reading–Acts 2:1-41 (day six)

God confused all those gathered at the Tower of Babel by introducing new languages. They had insisted on staying together, building a tower to the heavens, and making a name for themselves. That is not what God had commanded; “fill the earth and subdue it,” he said.

The Holy Spirit’s arrival during Pentecost is another reminder of the eternal purpose of God, to advance His Kingdom, to fill the earth and subdue it. The Temple courtyard was full of Jews who had traveled from many nations, and by the power of the Spirit, each heard the Gospel in their own language (not confused), and many believed and were baptized. Peter did not have them build a tower, or insist that they stay in Jerusalem and start the first mega church, no they returned home; they went out bearing witness to Jesus. You can’t get any more Holy Spirit-strategic than that. God is committed to advancing His Kingdom out, not up. Our tendency is to be preoccupied with building towers, but God isn’t. It would help us if we thought the same way. Out not up.

Waiting, Pt. 3

Re:Verse reading–Acts 1:1-14 (day six)

“And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised.”–v 4

Both Pastor Don and Aaron have written about waiting this week. I figured I would have a go too (no need to excuse the pun). Jesus told his disciples they must wait for what the Father had promised, the Holy Spirit. They had to wait because they had no power of their own to fulfill God’s eternal purpose, to be witnesses, to make disciples, or even to teach (Matthew 28:20).

We on the other hand have no need to wait. We can go. We must. Why? Because the Holy Spirit has already come. We don’t even have to guess what God wants us to do. He has told us and he given us His Spirit. Stop waiting. Go.

Active Humility

Re:Verse reading–Philippians 2:1-11 (day six)

“…he did not count equality with God and thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. -Paul, Philippians 2:7

Jesus emptied himself. There is nothing passive in Christ’s humility. He did not allow the incarnation, He willed it. Jesus said, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:17) This is the kind of humility that Paul declares is ours in Jesus, an active humility. A kind of humility that takes the first move; it doesn’t wait to be asked, or need to be noticed by men to do what is required.

Remember when Jesus told His disciples, “If you really want to be great you must become a servant to all.” Nope, there is nothing passive about that, and I need a lot more of that kind of humility! How about you?

All Talk and No Action

Re:Verse reading–James 2:14-26 (day six)

“Faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6) That is how Paul describes a faith that works, much like his pastor friend James does in James 2. They were very much on the same page; both tackling the same issue-dead faith.

Dead faith is all talk and no action. It is all sitting, thinking, speaking, but no going and doing. If we are not careful we will describe ourselves mostly as a people who gather together and sit; we gather for worship, we gather for Bible study, we gather for meetings, etc. That’s not faith, and it is not what it means to be the church. The church is not a place or only a gathering; it is a people who are working out their faith through love in a particular place. By faith the church is sent, it doesn’t just sit.

Rich

Re:Verse reading–2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (day six)

2 Corinthians 8 teaches us very important lessons on giving. Have you ever given any thought as to why we don’t give? What keeps us from giving of our time, energy, and resources? It’s a worthwhile question. The Macedonians gave, not out of their abundance, but out of their poverty. In other words, they gave of what little they had not knowing where their next meal would come from. I don’t give like that. One, God has tremendously blessed my family; we are not poor. Two, we give regularly, but it is always out of excess; it never hurts to give.

Paul didn’t make that a requirement of course. He wasn’t expecting the Corinthians to unwisely put themselves in a financial bind, nor us, but I do think he wants us to see that whenever we give, we are always giving out of abundance. The Macedonians gave because they knew that although they were poor financially, they had been made rich in grace through Jesus, and therefore were eager to give of what they had to meet the needs of others.

You are rich! So give.

Righteousness

Re:Verse reading–2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (day six)

“…that we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

This is startling. This is the work of Jesus; he became “as if” he were our sin, so that we could become His righteousness. We have never known righteousness of our own, in the same way that Jesus never knew unrighteousness of His own. This is precisely what captivated Paul; he called it treasure. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” Jesus, the righteousness of God.

Does that good news startle you? Is it your treasure? What a worthwhile daily prayer:

Father, may I be totally and completely captivated by your Son, my righteousness.

Now pray it with me!

Activity

Re:Verse reading–1 Corinthians 12:4-13, 27-31 (day six)

The Holy Spirit is the activity of God personified. He hovers over the deep, He reveals, He teaches, He reminds, He heals, He brings life where there was none, He bears fruit, He gives gifts; where he moves things turn from black and white to vivid color. 1 Corinthians 12 is the Holy Spirit in theory; Acts is the Holy Spirit in action.

And here is another truth, as is true of Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s aim is to glorify God. He desires to draw attention to the beauty, majesty, goodness and joy of God in all His activity, especially in the life of God’s church. That is why He gives us gifts. His gifts are the other-worldly activity of God in us and through us to draw the world’s attention to the glory of God in the Gospel.

You can grieve the Holy Spirit; you can’t render Him dormant. Do this today: invite the Father to show you where the Holy Spirit is at work in your life; ask Him to show you the Spirit’s gifts.

Friends, Pt. 2

Re:Verse Passage – John 15:9-17 (day six)

This is an important question: what is the basis of our friendship with Jesus? Are we friends because we obey His commands? Do we earn Jesus’ friendship because of our meritorious behavior? Sometimes we can behave as if this is true. We lapse in our worship attendance, so we think, “If I return to worship I will find favor with God again”, or “If I get a few quiet times under my belt then Jesus will like me.”

That is not the Gospel; it’s heresy. We are friends because Christ first loved us (vs. 12) by laying down his life; we are friends because of His work, not ours. Obedience then is not the condition of friendship but the affirmation or confirmation of our friendship with Jesus.

Listen, you don’t have to earn Jesus’ love or His friendship; He has already loved you, He died on the cross for you. The cure for disobedience is not trying harder, but repentance and returning to your first love or remaining in His love; believing in the work of Jesus through which he calls you friend. We always obey whom (or what) we believe; believe in Jesus!